Fees & Funding Information

How our sessions and funding works

Bright Beginnings runs two sessions each day, each for 5 hours:

Morning session: 7.30am – 12.30pm

Afternoon session: 12.30pm – 5.30pm

Early childhood centres receive government funding for each child hour they attend, up to certain daily and weekly limits. This funding helps cover the cost of qualified teachers, resources and running the centre, and allows us to keep parent fees lower than they would be without funding.

Our session structure lines up with this funding model. When your child attends, we receive government funding for those hours (at different rates depending on age and funding type), and you pay the parent fee shown below for any hours not fully covered by funding.

Fees for children aged 0-3 years

For children under 3 years, our current fees are:

Fees for children aged 3 years and over

Once children turn 3, the way fees work changes because of 20 Hours Free ECE and additional Ministry of Education funding for 3–5 year olds. The centre receives a higher funding rate for the 20 funded hours, and may receive standard ECE subsidy for additional hours.

To keep things simple for families, we set clear session fees for 3+ year olds. These fees apply to hours outside the funded 20 Hours ECE, and to any extra hours your child attends.

20 Hours Free ECE (3–5 year olds)

All children in New Zealand become eligible for 20 Hours Free ECE from their third birthday. This is a higher rate of government funding that can be used for up to 20 hours per week, with a maximum of 6 hours per day, at an approved early childhood service.

At Bright Beginnings, you can use 20 Hours Free ECE across our 5‑hour sessions (for example, four 5‑hour sessions per week). For the hours you allocate as 20 Hours ECE, you are not charged any fees.

Why you may still see a fee when using 20 Hours

This is where it can get confusing, so here’s a simple explanation:

• 20 Hours ECE only covers up to 6 hours per day, and 20 hours per week.

• If your child attends more than 6 hours in a day, or more than 20 hours in a week, the extra hours are not covered by 20 Hours ECE.

• We charge for those extra hours at our 3+ hourly rate of $6 (or via our half‑day/full‑day pricing), because the funding for those additional hours doesn’t cover the full cost of care.

How 20 Hours ECE and our $6/hour fee work – examples

Example 1 – 4 hours in one day (3+ years)

• Child attends: 4 hours.

• 20 Hours ECE used: 4 hours.

• Extra hours: 0.

• Parent fee: $0 (all 4 hours are funded).

Example 2 – 6 hours in one day (3+ years)

• Child attends: 6 hours (for example, 7.30am–1.30pm).

• 20 Hours ECE used: 6 hours (this is the daily maximum).

• Extra hours: 0.

• Parent fee: $0.

You will still see 6 hours recorded on your enrolment form and attendance, but there is no charge for those 6 funded hours.

Example 3 – 8 hours in one day (3+ years)

• Child attends: 8 hours.

• 20 Hours ECE used: 6 hours.

• Extra hours: 2 hours (8 – 6 = 2).

• Parent fee: 2 × $6 = $12.

In this case, 6 hours are free to you because they are funded by 20 Hours ECE, and you only pay for the extra 2 hours that sit outside the daily funding limit.

Example 4 – 25 hours over a week (3+ years)

Imagine your child attends 5 hours a day, 5 days per week:

• Total attendance: 25 hours.

• 20 Hours ECE used: 20 hours (the weekly maximum).

• Extra hours: 5 hours.

• Parent fee: 5 × $6 = $30 for the week.

The first 20 hours are covered by 20 Hours ECE; the remaining 5 hours are charged at our standard hourly rate.

Minimum enrolment pattern

To support consistent routines for tamariki and maintain sustainable staffing, Bright Beginnings has a minimum enrolment of two days per week for all children.

Within this minimum pattern, families can still choose how to use their 20 Hours ECE (up to 6 hours per day and 20 hours per week). We do not charge fees for any hours claimed as 20 Hours ECE; fees only apply to hours outside the funded 20 hours (for example, extra daily or weekly hours at our standard $6 per hour for 3+ year olds).

If you’re unsure how a two‑day pattern and 20 Hours ECE would work for your whānau, we’re happy to talk through different options and give you a clear weekly cost estimate.

Casual and extra days (3+ years)

Sometimes families need an extra or one‑off day of care. For casual or extra days that are not part of your child’s regular enrolment pattern, we generally can’t claim 20 Hours ECE funding for those hours, because 20 Hours is tied to your signed, ongoing enrolment hours.

For these casual days, we charge our standard casual session fees for 3+ year olds:

• Half‑day casual (one 5‑hour session) – charged at our casual half‑day rate – $34.00

• Full‑day casual (two 5‑hour sessions) – charged at our casual full‑day rate – $48.00

If you find you’re regularly booking extra days, we can update your enrolment agreement to include those days as part of your usual pattern. Where possible, we’ll then allocate 20 Hours ECE to those enrolled hours so you can benefit from funding for them.

No optional or voluntary fees

At Bright Beginnings we do not:

• Charge “optional” or “voluntary” fees for hours covered by 20 Hours ECE.

• Ask for donations as a condition of enrolment or attendance.

Any charges you see are for hours outside the funded 20 hours, or for additional attendance your child receives.

Need help understanding your fees?

Every family’s timetable is a little different, and it’s completely normal to have questions about how funding and fees work together.

If you share your preferred days and times with us, we can:

• Show you which hours would be covered by 20 Hours ECE.

• Calculate the exact number of chargeable hours at our fee rates.

• Give you a clear weekly cost before you confirm your enrolment pattern.