30 Hours Free Childcare in Baschurch
Funded places for working parents at Bojangles Day Nursery
Bojangles Day Nursery in Baschurch (Walford Campus, SY4 2HL) accepts the full 30-hour funded childcare entitlement for working parents in England. We're registered with Ofsted under URN EY370743 and rated Good at our most recent inspection in January 2022. If you and your partner each earn at least £195 a week and neither of you earns over £100,000 a year, your child is eligible from the term after they turn 9 months until they start school. This page explains how funded places work at Bojangles, who qualifies, and how to apply. Everything reflects the entitlement as it stands in 2026, after the September 2025 expansion that opened the 30 hours to children from age 9 months.
What is 30 hours free childcare?
30 hours free childcare is the UK government's flagship childcare entitlement for working parents in England. From the term after your child turns 9 months old until they start school, eligible parents can access 30 hours of funded childcare per week during term time (38 weeks per year), or around 24 hours per week stretched across our 48 operating weeks.
The hours are funded by central government and paid directly to the nursery. There is no out-of-pocket charge for the funded hours themselves. Some additional charges apply for meals and consumables on funded-only days — we explain those further down the page.
For a fuller overview of all the funded entitlements available in Shropshire (including the universal 15 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds, and the 15-hour benefits-based entitlement for 2-year-olds), see our parents' guide to funded childcare hours in Shropshire.
Who qualifies?
To qualify for 30 hours funded childcare in 2026, every adult in your household who works needs to meet the income criteria:
- You (and your partner, if you live together) each earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Minimum Wage — around £195 per week or £10,158 per year from April 2025
- Neither of you has an adjusted net income above £100,000 per year
- Both parents have a UK National Insurance number
- Your child is at least 9 months old at the start of the term in which funding begins, and has not yet started school
You qualify if you're employed, self-employed, a company director, or on statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, or shared parental leave. Special rules let one partner be exempt from the earnings requirement if they receive Carer's Allowance, Contribution-Based Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, or Severe Disablement Allowance.
The system checks eligibility automatically when you apply, so you don't have to interpret the rules yourself — but understanding them helps you spot whether something looks wrong.
How to apply for funded hours at Bojangles
Application is a parent-led process — you apply directly to the government, then bring the eligibility code to us. Here's the sequence:
- Apply at childcare.gov.uk using the government's Childcare Service. You'll need a Government Gateway account, your National Insurance number, your partner's details if applicable, and information about your employment and income.
- Receive your 11-digit code. The service checks your eligibility in real time. If approved, you'll see your code on screen and receive it by email.
- Give the code to us along with your National Insurance number and your child's date of birth. We use these to claim funding from Shropshire Council on your behalf.
- Reconfirm every three months. Codes expire if not reconfirmed. You'll get an email reminder around four weeks before the deadline. We'll also remind you if we see a code due to expire.
Apply at least four to six weeks before the term in which you want funding to start. Term start dates are 1 January, 1 April, and 1 September. Applying earlier is always safer than later.
How we deliver 30 hours at Bojangles
We're flexible about how the entitlement is used:
- Term-time only: 30 hours per week across 38 school weeks. Suits parents who don't need cover during school holidays, or who supplement with family help.
- Stretched all-year: roughly 24 hours per week spread across our 48 operating weeks. Suits parents who work year-round and need consistent cover, including most of summer.
- Combined with paid sessions: if you need more than 30 funded hours per week (for example, four or five full days a week with funding covering the first three), you can pay our standard daily session fee for the additional days. We accept Tax-Free Childcare for those top-up sessions.
We'll talk through which pattern suits your working week when you register, and we'll write it down so there's no ambiguity later.
What's included — and what isn't
The funded hours cover the cost of childcare delivery: staffing, learning activities, EYFS provision, key person care, outdoor play, and the use of our purpose-built setting and grounds. They do not cover food or consumables — the government rate is set on a childcare-only basis.
On funded-only days, we therefore apply a separate £10.00 meals and consumables charge. This covers:
- Breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and tea
- Sun cream and barrier creams
- Hand-washing supplies and wet-weather kit (for use, not to keep)
All children eat the meals we provide. We don't have storage for packed lunches brought from home, so the £10 meals charge applies to every funded-only day. Most parents find the £10 covers more than they could provide for the same money. Nappies and wipes are not included; parents bring their own.
For our full fees breakdown including non-funded session pricing, see our Fees page.
Combining 30 hours with Tax-Free Childcare
30 hours funded childcare and Tax-Free Childcare are separate schemes. Most working parents who qualify for 30 hours can also use Tax-Free Childcare alongside it, which adds a 20% government top-up to nursery payments — capped at £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 if your child is disabled.
You open a Tax-Free Childcare account online, pay money in, the government adds 20%, and we draw payment directly from your account. Most parents use it for the meals charge on funded days, for paid sessions beyond their funded entitlement, or for wrap-around hours.
The one important exception: you cannot use Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare support at the same time. You have to choose one. For families on Universal Credit, the UC childcare element is usually the better choice; for everyone else, Tax-Free Childcare typically is.
Funded places available now
We have funded places available across all three rooms, with availability shifting week by week as families confirm starts. Before you apply for your funded code, please call 01939 260006 or send a message through the site to confirm the room you need is still open. We'll hold a place for a short period while your code is being processed once you've booked a visit. Our latest place-by-place position is on the main Baschurch page.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Bojangles Day Nursery is registered with Shropshire Council to deliver the full 30-hour funded entitlement for eligible working parents, from the term after a child turns 9 months old until they start school. Funded places are available across all three rooms — Baby (0–2), Toddler (2–3), and Pre-School (3–5) — subject to room availability.
You and your partner (if you live together) must each expect to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours per week at the National Minimum Wage — around £195 per week or £10,158 per year from April 2025. Neither parent can have an adjusted net income above £100,000 per year. Self-employed parents, company directors, and those on statutory leave qualify. Special rules apply if one partner cannot work due to disability or caring responsibilities.
Apply online at childcare.gov.uk through the government's Childcare Service. You'll need a Government Gateway account, your National Insurance number, your partner's details if applicable, and your expected earnings. The service checks eligibility in real time. If approved, you receive an 11-digit code to give to us along with your National Insurance number and your child's date of birth, and we claim the funding directly from Shropshire Council. Apply at least four to six weeks before the term you want funding to start.
Funded hours start from the term after your child becomes eligible. Term start dates are 1 January, 1 April, and 1 September. To start in April, your code must be valid by 31 March; to start in September, by 31 August; to start in January, by 31 December. You can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old — applying early ensures the code is in place when the new term begins.
Both. The standard 30 hours covers 38 school weeks per year. If you'd prefer fewer hours per week spread across more weeks (so you have funded cover during school holidays too), we can stretch the entitlement across our 48 operating weeks at approximately 24 hours per week. We'll talk through which approach suits your working pattern when you register.
The funded hours cover childcare delivery only. Meals, snacks, nappies, sun cream, and consumables are not covered by the government rate. On funded-only days we apply a meals and consumables charge of £10 per day to cover breakfast, lunch, tea, and snacks. All children eat the meals we provide — we don't have storage for packed lunches brought from home, so the £10 meals charge applies to every funded-only day. Anything beyond your funded entitlement (extra hours or days) is charged at our standard daily session fee.
Yes. Tax-Free Childcare is a separate scheme that adds a 20% government top-up to your nursery payments, capped at £2,000 per child per year. You can use it alongside funded hours to pay for any sessions beyond your entitlement, the meals charge on funded days, or wrap-around care. You cannot use Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare support at the same time — you must choose one.
Yes — we have funded places available across all three rooms. Availability changes week by week as families confirm starts, so please call 01939 260006 or message through the website to confirm what's currently open before applying for your code.
Ready to use your funded hours at Bojangles?
Book a visit and we'll talk through the entitlement, the application, and how the hours would fit your week. We'll also be straight with you if your child's preferred room doesn't currently have space.