To think this happens everywhere? Nurseries forcing parents to pay towards Gov free spaces

We pay £26 a day for a funded place. Better than £90 for a full day so I’ll take it!

Personally, I don’t think so? Most nurseries stretch the available funding out across the hours your child is in, so you’re getting a good few hundred pounds discount off what it would usually cost you each month. It’s not inadequate, it just is what it is; funding on core hours. It’s a form of free-bee and I’m grateful for it. The way I see it it’s just take it or leave it.

Yes mine did but I assumed they couldn't get by on funded hours alone. We also used a childminder and she charged the difference between the funded hours and her hourly fee, and she was very transparent about it. If I didn't pay I'm sure she'd have dropped us and taken a child that didn't use any funding.

How can some manage it for free but others can't?

Rent charges mainly, huge difference in what people pay.

What the Gov pays the nurseries doesn’t cover consumables - only the core hours. That’s why the nurseries then need to charge for meals, milk, etc. You’re still getting the core hours.

The government doesn’t pay enough to cover the hours.

You should be pleased the nurseries are offering them at all - crack down to the point they’re not financially viable, and the nurseries just won’t offer them (or close down).

Where I am several local nurseries only do the 15 hours and not 30.

It's ridiculous to make a fuss about it. The amount the government pays nurseries for the funded hours is a lot less than the cost of providing a good service. The tiny number of nurseries that don't find ways to top up (usually council run places or run within Infant schools as a "pre reception") have much lower quality of facilities etc, and if you don't want to pay a top up you use one of these places. Most people would rather pay a bit to ensure their child has a good experience of nursery. If there is a clamp-down on the top-up charges, each nursery will have to chose one out of (a) drastically reducing the quality/flexibility of the service they offer (b) de-registering from the funded hours system and charging all parents full price or (c) going out of business. Which of these do you hope your child's nursery will do?

Same as mine, apart from paying £3.95 for lunch and snacks mine go 15 hours with no other costs.

Yes but the funding for free hours doesn't cover the cost of provision. It's not the nurseries you should be cross with.

It's absolutely rife, but it's not everywhere. DD goes to a nursery that doesn't do this. Her 15 hours are actually 100% free. We had to view 3 nurseries to find this one though.

Pushing this onto councils to police, when the real problem is that the funding for “free” places is inadequate for childcare providers to provide a service, is a total cop out. What’s going to happen when councils crack down on providers? Well, they’ll be forced to cut places, or close down if uneconomical.

It definitely happens where we are. £15 per day consumables fee when using the free hours. Free hours can only be used school hours so 8am to 3pm. If a full day is needed it is a £25 top up fee. So essentially costs parents £40 per day for a free day. Full price for a day is £65.

So you save £25 per day / £100 per week as its over 4 days for the 30 free hours and pay £160 a week for 4 days or £225 for a 5 day week.

Yes absolutely, I don't know a nursery that doesn't charge to access these hours

Yes. I've looked into 2 nurseries and 3 pre schools, all range from between 100 - 400 pounds a month for TWO days a week. Ridiculous. The 30 hours means nothing.