I don’t understand nursery fees

My LO has been going since she was 6 months old full time, and now that she's part-time, even with her 15 hours, I still don't understand how they can charge a fortune. The 15 hours isn't free its funding that the government give to them (i imagine the gov give the daycare a set budget to accommodate the parents who are using the 15/30 hours and then daycare charge for the rest of what they need to cover their costs?).. what I do know is that with my daycare, within a month of accepting the funding, they bumped the prices up by £60 in total for the 2 days she goes 🙃. This means I don't even end up saving anything with that as it's the same amount I would have been paying without the 15 hours... (mine gets the 20% tax free childcare help, too)

The 15 hours a week are term time only so spread across the whole year of the year it works out to be 1 day week funded (if its like my nursery you still have to pay an enrichment fee for like nappies, milk, food etc so I'll still have to pay about £300 a month even with them only using the funded hours up and no extra time) but the way you've just said how many days she'll go, you'll be paying for that extra morning session on the Friday (as the mon&tues morning session = the 1 funded day) x

I think all nursery’s are different mine will be starting in January on the 15hrs funded doing 3 5hr days each week and we only have to pay for food he will have there which is around £3 a day, we provide nappies wipes creams ect… and I believe there’s a very small fee for each day he is in but it’s very small.. this is term time only if we wanted him during half terms we would have to pay full price xx

If you can I’d look for a local childminder as they charge a lot less and accept the 15 hours funding. There may still be top up fees but nowhere near as much as a nursery. X

Most nurseries charge a top up fees as the 15 hours don't cover everything. So most look at how much parents who do get the 15 hours pay and whatever is the difference is what you pay

The gov uk website has some helpful info. Depends on when your child turns 9 months old Depends on when the hours start. My little one is 9 months Nov so our hours start in Jan. The 20% tax free child care is also helpful Keeping costs down. X

You only get the funded hours the term after they turn 9 months.. so check the dates! It’s 15 hours a week if term time only then 11 a week if all year round. My LO doesn’t get the funded hours till January. She does x3 mornings too and her full nursery bill this month was £670 😳😳 however I get the tax free too so only had to pay £540. I’m HOPING when the funded hours come through it’s majorly cheaper as I’m abit worried how much the gov with cover reading other people’s comments 🥲🥲 I admittedly did pick a more expensive nursery but she already loves it and she’s been going two weeks so I’m happy with the decision 😅😅 However another note! I wfh x2 weekly. It’s hard work. I’m not a fan. I can’t give her all the attention she’s used to. Giving me major mum guilt. (Just be prepared for that maybe too)

Just ask the nursery for a breakdown of the costs and then you’ll be able to see whether the price they’re quoting includes the free hours, and whether you’re paying extra for meals and nappies and so on. They probably quote the full price as not all parents are eligible for the free hours.

Doesn’t make sense does it, so my daughter will be entitled to 30 hours free from next month. And the nursery told us we’ll have to still pay around £300 a month, I said but I thought she has 30 hours free she said she does but there still an additional charge 😭 also. I don’t know about your nursery but mine advised me not to choose Mondays and Fridays? Because bank holidays always fall on them days and there closed so you’ll still pay for a session they didn’t attend ? Xx

My nursery's day rate is £66 per day. We send our youngest for 3 full days and our bill is a bit under £600. We get one funded day + meal fee and 2 days we pay the usual day rate. "15 hours" is not every week of the year is term time only so 38/39 weeks per year. Many nurseries, like ours, will spread this funding across the year so you pay the same every month. The government doesn't give "15 hours" they give them a certain amount of money and this usually doesn't cover their costs so they need to add top ups for meals and other items. So for 3 half days £300-400 is about right.

It’s 15 or 30 term time which works out 11.5 or 25 all year round, depending on nursery depends how they do it. Our nursery you get set hours so 8-3.30 which is free then if you want them in longer you pay wrap around care. You then pay a set fee per day per nursery and pay for food and snacks. That’s because the government funding doesn’t cover all the costs the nursery have and there is a short fall. My little girl does 3 and half days and ours are still over £500 but that is half what they would be if we didn’t get the free hours

Part of that will be that it's actually 15 hours a week for 39 weeks (term time only). Nurseries will spilt that differently. Some, like the nursery we've chosen, offer the 15 hours in a week within set hours for 39 weeks a year, close for part of the school holidays, and charge non-funded rates for the days they open in school holidays. Others will only offer 5 x half days a week as funded for 15hrs too (so if you need 2 full days your still not funded for ½ that time. Some offer full year but then that's only 11 hrs a week. It'll also be because the funding doesn't come close to being enough to adequately run a nursery so many will charge for 'extras' to make up the shortfall. Ours is currently £12.50 on a funded day + optional £2.70 a day lunch and I can't remember the cost for them to provide nappies etc. That £12.50 allows them to have more staff than minimum ratio, a season pass to a local wildlife park they visit often, snacks and resources the funding just doesn't cover.

The 15hrs is funded, not free, plus its term time only, so most nurseries will spread the funding over the year to keep your monthly payments the same. Even with my babys 15hrs a week, my nursery bill will still be over 800 per month for 4 full days a week

@Danielle I'm doing Tuesday to Friday , as most bank holidays fall on Mondays, hardly any on Fridays

It's not free anymore... childcare places can add fees to make it more affordable for them... its sneaky and sly... Every place will vary... the rates vary everywhere xx

@Billie how is it "sneaky and sly" if the money the government gives them doesn't cover their costs?

@Reena because it's a new thing and it varies everywhere. Some places won't even say what it's for just "consumables" even if you provide everything for your child they'll still say the same 😂 I've worked in settings before lol 😆 I literally pulled a setting up for it before and was told it was for art resources yet no one ever routinely did art with the children in there! It's sly and sneaky.

@Billie it's not new. There has been funding for 2 year olds and up for years. It's just an extension of this funding. Unfortunately the cost of everything has gone up and the government money is not enough and a private nursery isn't some altruistic place, it's a business and it's stake stakeholders need to know it's worth running that business.

Also I think it's worth noting that the funded hours start the term AFTER they turn 9 months... not when they turn 9 months. For example, my little one turned 9 months this term, so she won't be funded until January I work at the nursery where my little one goes so until we get funded hours, the nursery is giving us a staff discount

@Reena it is new being to the extent it is. It used to be something stupidly cheap a matter of years ago and you used to be able to by pass it by providing certain things for your child. Which you can no longer do. Therefore, it's technically new due to said update / degree of changes. And on top of that the area you are in also greatly impacts this. There is no need to have a go at the person who spent literal years in childcare. Different places and areas do, do things differently. This charge wasn't actually a thing where one of my children attended at all until last year = new.

@Sophie can you not get the discount and the funding? Some places will allow both... may be worth looking into as it can bring the costs down considerably more. I had access to both in one setting I worked in, another setting said they'd allow both but I missed the cut off date by a week 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️ xx