How to publish chargeable extras on your nursery website
Short answer: if you offer funded hours in England, your council expects your website to show, for each setting, what you charge for meals, consumables, activities and additional hours, the pattern of hours parents can take their funded hours in, and the alternatives for parents who don’t want to pay for extras. Every extra must be optional.
Updated 28 October 2026, from DfE’s statutory guidance valid from 1 April 2026. A guide, not legal advice: your council’s funding agreement has the final word.
Who this applies to
Group settings in England that deliver funded entitlement hours. Councils may exempt childminders and any setting caring for ten or fewer children at a time; exempt providers can still publish through the council’s Family Information Service. Check your own funding agreement.
What to publish
- Funded hours: which sessions or hours parents can take them in, free of charge
- Additional paid hours: your hourly or session rate beyond the funded hours
- Food: meals and snacks, per day or per session
- Non-food consumables: nappies, wipes, sun cream
- Activities: trips, music, languages and other optional extras
- Alternatives: what parents can do instead, such as bring a packed lunch or their own nappies
- Admissions criteria, if you have them
It must be clear, current and easy for parents to find. In practice that means a fees page in your main menu, not a PDF buried at the bottom of a policies page.
An example layout
Made-up figures, to show the shape. DfE’s own chargeable extras template sets out the same breakdown.
| Item | Cost | Optional? |
|---|---|---|
| Funded hours, 8am–2pm term time | Free | — |
| Additional hours | £7.50 an hour | Yes |
| Lunch and two snacks | £4.00 a day | Yes, or bring a packed lunch |
| Nappies, wipes and sun cream | £1.00 a day | Yes, or bring your own |
| Weekly music session | £2.50 a week | Yes, children not taking part keep their usual activities |
What you can’t charge on funded hours
- Top-up fees covering the gap between your usual rate and the funding rate
- Materials, toys, books and equipment needed to deliver the EYFS
- Compulsory registration fees, deposits or non-refundable retainers for funded places
- Extra charges for children with SEND as part of their funded hours
- Un-itemised charges such as “enrichment”, “sustainability” or “business continuity” fees
- Any extra as a condition of getting a funded place
Invoices and declarations
Your invoices should itemise funded hours, additional paid hours, food, non-food consumables and activities separately. Before a child starts a funded place, parents should sign a declaration showing their funded hours, their pattern of attendance and any optional extras they’ve chosen. Keeping your website, invoices and declarations consistent is the easiest way to show your council you’re compliant.
Questions
Do nurseries have to publish their charges on their website?
If you offer funded hours in England, DfE guidance says the costs of chargeable extras should be published on your website, or on your council’s Family Information Service if you have no website. Councils may exempt childminders and settings caring for ten or fewer children at a time.
What counts as a chargeable extra?
Consumables such as nappies, wipes and sun cream, meals and snacks, and optional activities such as trips, music or language classes. Additional paid hours beyond the funded entitlement are also shown separately.
Can a nursery make parents pay for meals on funded hours?
No. Meals, consumables and activities can be charged for, but they must be optional. Parents must be able to opt out, for example by bringing their own lunch, and a child can’t be refused a funded place because the parent opts out.
What can’t a nursery charge for on funded hours?
Top-up fees, compulsory registration or retainer fees on funded places, extra charges for children with SEND, materials needed to deliver the EYFS, and general un-itemised charges such as enrichment, sustainability or business continuity fees.
Is there an official template for chargeable extras?
Yes. DfE publishes a chargeable extras template on GOV.UK, and many councils ask providers to follow it or their own version.
Sources
- Early education and childcare: statutory guidance for local authorities, DfE, valid from 1 April 2026, paragraphs A1.31 to A1.43
- Chargeable extras: template, DfE
More on what else belongs on your site: what must a nursery website include?
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