Admissions
Westwood Nursery is available for children from the age of 6 months to school entry age.
We offer places to students and staff of the university and then members of the public community, if availability allows. Places are allocated on the basis of date of application and availability of required days/times of care.
We are very pleased to meet all prospective parents and children: please ring 01225 386518 to make an appointment.
Waiting list
A child can be placed on the waiting list by returning an enquiry form to e-mail nursery-enquiries@bath.ac.uk.
We allocate places on the basis of the child's position on the waiting list and availability. Subject to availability we offer places on a full time or part time basis appropriate to the requirements of parents. It should be noted that students or staff have an equal level of priority in this process.
If we offer you a place we will require a deposit of £120 from you to secure the place. This deposit will be deducted from the fees due and is non-refundable in the event of the place being cancelled by the parent. There is also a £30 admin fee which is non-refundable. We will also ask you to complete documents required for information and sign a contract regarding nursery terms and conditions .
We will contact parents on the waiting list periodically to determine whether they wish to remain on the list. It is important that prospective parents keep their email contact details up to date and let the Nursery know if they no longer require a place so that they can be taken off the waiting list.
Fees
Current fees as at 1st August 2023
Hourly rate | Day rate 8.30am - 5.30pm (includes lunch) | Morning rate 8.30am - 1.30pm (includes lunch) | Afternoon rate 1.30 - 5.30pm | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Staff rate | £7.28 | £65.52 | £36.40 | £29.12 |
Student Rate | £6.14 | £55.26 | £30.70 | £24.56 |
Community Rate | £7.35 | £66.15 | £36.75 | £29.40 |
30 hours free BANES grant
Fees for those qualifying for the 30 hours free BANES grant
Children receiving free hours will be charged a supplementary fee to cover additional costs for resources and other items not covered by government funding. Supplementary costs will vary between children depending on the number of hours attended and the number of free hours claimed. Fee schedule sill be provided to all parents with supplementary fee costs identified.
NurseryPlus
NurseryPlus is the University's salary exchange scheme for employees using Westwood Nursery.
It will allow these employees to exchange a deduction from their salary prior to tax and national insurance in return for nursery care, which can result in significant savings on childcare costs.
How to join NurseryPlus
- Read the NurseryPlus FAQs and illustrative savings document to ensure that this scheme is suitable for you.
- Obtain your annual fees schedule from Westwood Nursery to confirm what your monthly and annual nursery costs are going to be.
Work out what proportion of your nursery costs you want to exchange under the scheme. If you also intend to use childcare vouchers to help pay for your nursery costs please also indicate this on the form.
Complete the application form and forward it to Westwood Nursery by 20th of the month preceding the month you wish your NurseryPlus membership to start.
Changing your child's nursery sessions
If you are thinking about changing your child's nursery session, as a NurseryPlus member you need to request a change to your monthly salary deduction.
Please complete the Request for Change form and return it to Westwood Nursery.
Childcare vouchers
Changes to childcare voucher schemes
The Childcare Voucher Scheme has now closed to new joiners.
If you are registered in the Fideliti scheme, you will be able to remain in the schemes as long as:
- you continue to make childcare voucher deductions (the Fidelitii scheme minimum is currently £10 per month)
- as long as you remain with the same employer and
- your employer continues to offer the scheme. More information is available on the Fideliti website.
What are childcare vouchers?
Childcare vouchers are a Government-approved, tax-efficient way of paying for childcare. As part of the scheme you can exchange up to £243 a month of your gross salary for childcare vouchers (depending on whether you are a higher or lower rate tax payer).
The childcare voucher scheme at the University is provided by Fideliti
The vouchers can be used up to the 1 September following the child’s 15th birthday or 1 September following the 16th birthday for children who are registered disabled.
Childcare vouchers can be stored in your childcare voucher account and only expire once the relevant birthday has been reached (bullet point above).
As long as the childcare provider is registered/approved, the vouchers can be used for such things as:
- Out of school clubs
- Extra-curricular activities (e.g. music or sports lessons)
- Breakfast and after-school clubs
- Holiday clubs or schemes
- Activity holiday companies including Activate Sport, Barracudas, Camp Beaumont, XUK Activity and XUK Excel
- Qualifying childcare offered by schools
- Nurseries
- Nannies
- Au pairs
- Crèches
- Childminders
About Fideliti
You can visit Fideliti online via the Fideliti website or call the Fideliti helpline on: 0800 288 8727. Please quote our Employer Scheme Reference UNI9778.
If you are already part of the Fideliti childcare voucher scheme, you are able to take a portion of your salary as childcare vouchers. These vouchers are not subject to tax and national insurance deductions. This is referred to as a salary sacrifice scheme.
Please note that by joining the scheme you are agreeing to a change in your terms and conditions of employment.
If you are part of the scheme you will have access to an online account, and can use an e-voucher to make payment to your registered childcare provider. You can also select auto-pay vouchers which enable you to specify a date and payment amount for automatic payments to your childcare provider each month. You can choose to receive up to the current maximum amount (currently £243 or £124 of vouchers per month, depending on your tax bracket).
The Government have introduced the Tax-Free Childcare scheme (TFC) on 28 April 2017.