Yes, your child may be eligible for free nursery sessions.
The shortest answer to this is simple – if you are interested in a place, register now, as we have long waitlists!
This means that if you are interested in a place for your child, you should enquire and book a tour as soon as you can. You can send an enquiry via our website: https://hydratots.co.uk/enquire/.
It’s quite common for babies to be registered with us when they are still a bump. If you are pregnant, now is a really good time to look for a nursery place, even if you won’t need it until a year after your baby is born. We have children on our registers even before they arrive in the world. You can book a visit here: https://hydratots.co.uk/book-a-tour/
At Hydratots, we do not offer stretched hours. We allocate the funding during the 38-weeks term-time.
We offer two contract types:
Term-Time Only (TTO): Covers 38 weeks per year in line with the school term.
All Year Round: Covers 51 weeks per year.
If your child usually attends on a Monday or Friday, and a bank holiday falls on that day, you are welcome to swap the missed session for an alternative day (subject to availability). Please speak to the office in advance to arrange this.
The government only offers funding for 38 weeks of the year. However, there are 39 term-time weeks. Therefore, we charge one week (the unfunded week) at our private rates.
We offer four different sessions throughout the day: 8:00am–6:00pm, 8:00am–4:00pm, 8:00am–1:00pm, and 1:00pm–6:00pm. We also offer a 7:30am start, subject to availability and at an additional charge.
It’s fine for your child to be off due to illness or family holidays. However, we kindly ask that you inform us of any absences as soon as possible so we can update our records accordingly. This helps us with planning and ensures we maintain accurate attendance information for all children.
Please be mindful that you will still need to pay for any sessions your child does not attend.
You are able to split your funded hours between two settings. However, we ask that you inform us of how many hours of funding you will be using with us so that we can update our records and notify Sheffield City Council accordingly.
Nursery fees
Our nursery fees are typically reviewed every November in preparation for the new year (January–December).
We do have a 10-hour-per-week minimum attendance policy for our nursery children.
If you qualify for funding, you can claim 30 funded hours from the term after your child turns 9 months.
Payments are due in advance by the 1st of the month. You will receive an invoice around two weeks before it is due. This will be a physical copy, provided to you by the staff in your child’s room. You can choose to pay via bank transfer or through the Tax-Free Childcare system.
Fees are annualised. This means your fees are calculated as follows: your weekly number of days booked, multiplied by the 51 weeks that we are open, divided by 12 months. You are invoiced 1/12 of your annual amount, and the total will be the same each month.
The only month that will be different is your first month. This will be calculated based on your actual days attended to ensure you aren’t overcharged.
The easiest way to pay is to set up a standing order.
On accepting a place, you will pay a registration fee, which will secure your child’s place at Hydratots.
For every £8 you pay in, the government will automatically add £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children).
Check your eligibility here: www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare. You cannot use Tax-Free Childcare together with Tax Credits or Universal Credit.
Once eligible, you will receive an online account. You can deposit money using a debit card, standing order, or bank transfer, and the government top-up is added automatically once the funds show as “available.”
Select us as your childcare provider by searching for “Hydrakids Limited” with our address (Hydra Business Park, Nether Lane, Sheffield, S35 9ZX). You can then use the balance in your childcare account — including the top-up — to pay your invoice.
Please ensure payments are made early if your invoice due date falls on a weekend or Bank Holiday, as transfers can take 24–48 hours. It is your responsibility to allow enough time for payment.
To continue using Tax-Free Childcare, you must reconfirm your eligibility every three months. You will receive reminders for this.
The full breakdown of how funding will impact your fees can be found in our Fees & Funded document. You will receive your funded hours as discounted hours shown directly on your invoice.
Example: If you receive 15 hours of funding per week (allocated over 38 term-time weeks), this totals 570 funded hours per academic year. The 15 hours will be applied weekly and reflected in your invoice.
You will be charged for any additional hours booked at the nursery at our private rates. If you need one-off days, please contact the office.
The funded entitlement pays for agreed early education and childcare hours, including the core costs of delivering EYFS provision. Meals, snacks, consumables, optional enhanced experiences, additional hours and other services may be offered separately. Any charge will be clearly identified and itemised.
If a parent/carer does not wish or is unable to pay, Hydratots will agree a reasonable alternative, so funded hours remain accessible.
All 3 and 4-year-olds can get 15 hours of funded early learning a week until they start Reception or reach compulsory school age.
Funding starts from the term after your child turns 3.
Born on or betweenFunding starts
1 January to 31 MarchSummer term (April onwards)
1 April to 31 AugustAutumn term (September onwards)
1 September to 31 DecemberSpring term (January onwards)
You can check eligibility at childcarechoices.gov.uk.
We charge £5 per 5 minutes for ‘after-hours’ care when you’re late.
Hydratots may offer an optional consumables/enhanced provision package for specified items or experiences beyond the core funded offer. Charges are voluntary and parents may opt in or opt out.
Hydratots maintains accurate attendance registers and records arrival, departure, absence, sickness, holidays and relevant changes. Actual attendance is reviewed against the agreed Termly Pattern of Attendance and funded hours claimed.
Where attendance regularly differs from the agreed pattern, Hydratots will discuss this with the parent/carer and update the relevant agreement where necessary. Changes remain subject to availability, entitlement and Sheffield City Council requirements.
Hydratots is open Monday to Friday, 8:00am-6:00pm, with optional Breakfast Club from 7:30am. The nursery operates for 51 weeks and closes on Bank Holidays and for one week over Christmas/New Year.
FEL is currently delivered term-time over 38 funded weeks. Hydratots does not currently offer a stretched model across 51 weeks.
Funded days, start/finish times and hours are agreed with parents and recorded on the Termly Pattern of Attendance. Hydratots will not require purchase of meals, consumables, additional hours or other extras to access or bridge funded hours.
Example for 1x 8-6pm session per week Free entitlement hours –10 hours per week £0.00 Additional hours purchased 0 Meals/snacks (breakfast, morning snack, 2 course lunch, afternoon snack, tea time) £13.50 Consumables £16.00 (ask management for further clarification on what is included)
