Paid nursery inset days

I'd be really annoyed by this. We used two different nurseries for DS, neither of which had an inset day. They did very occasionally ask us to pick up by 5pm for parents evening or for a twilight training. One of closed for deep cleaning on one day because nearly every child and half the staff came down with a vomiting bug in the space of a morning.

I'd be concerned about something going on if they suddenly need 6 full days of training that required a nursery closure.

Either way you'll get charged the cost.

Nurseries that send staff on training at weekends - staff need time back in lieu so cover is added. This will be factored into business cost so you will be paying for it.

Nurseries that send staff on training during working hours - staff cover is needed so again this will be factored into business costs and you will be paying for it.

Nurseries that have insets - no cover needed but closure needed. You pay for it.

Nurseries that have insets that are 'not paid for'. Costs are factored into daily rates to cover this absence.

Any way they do it your child benefits. Having staff that are qualified in first aid, food hygiene, safeguarding, curriculum updates etc all impact on your child.

I would be furious! Nursery is already SO expensive so to pay for days I am looking after my own kid and not working or paying twice for alternative childcare would be extremely frustrating. I pay about £75 per day for my DD so that’s £450 per year down the drain for the inset days.

Ignore all the pps saying they need to train staff and deep clean etc etc - do it outside the opening hours or train staff in shifts to cover the childcare too and deep clean at night/weekends! If my nursery can manage without inset days and be perfectly clean with great staff and yours did for the last 3 years, there must be a way yours can going forward!

Likely its yet another way to try and top up their income because the government doesn’t properly subsidise nurseries and the free hours they offer are underfunded.

You expect that many inset days with school. It is expected. Not at a non school nursery though.

Mine doesn't have inset days. Just bank holidays and other holidays. That seems like too many. YANBU.

Training days are presumably to teach their staff things they need to know in order to be caring for/teaching your children, therefore they have to do them to remain open. If they can't charge for them, then they can't afford to pay the staff to do them, then how do they continue to care for and teach your child?

None of the nurseries I used for any of my kids had Inset days until DD, who's at a school nursery, and they don't charge us anything. Inset days are a school thing. You certainly shouldn't be funding these "Inset" days and having to cover the childcare yourself for the privilege, that's a total joke.

This is frustrating, and you’re well within your right to be annoyed about it. No one is making you send your child there, so if you’re not happy with their policies and the fees, choose another nursery?!

But you're still making a false link between someone using a private nursery and private school. There's no connection. Anyone who uses a nursery that isn't one attached to a school is using a private nursery and it doesn't come with any suggestion they are planning to send the child to private school.

OP I'd be annoyed too. I get paying bank holidays, that's fine and part of the deal but closing for 6 extra days means finding 6 more days of childcare as they are otherwise normal working days

You mention it 3 times in your first post!!

This is a paid, private full time nursery, not linked to a school

I currently pay about 2k for a 1 year old with 15 hours and 1k for a 3 year old with 30

If I wanted to deal with inset days and random time off I would do a school nursery!!

I get the expectation of private nursery. I was only saying that if you continue down the fee paying route in the future then you'll be dealing with this issue on a much grander scale.

I didn't realise you were a preexisting customer of the nursery.

I think you need to ask the nursery for clarification as presumably you've already signed the contract based on expectations of previous years. Would be very interesting what the contract says about the inset days.

If they are charging you for the extra 6 days then that is shit. If these days have been factored into fees then there isn't much you can do do. You need to ask the question though.

I agree it is annoying given you are still paying for those days… but then also have to pay for more childcare on top (or take six days random annual leave).

Well you are the one who is making a big song and dance about it being a private nursery that you pay a lot of money for so I'm just saying a private setting doesn't mean the kids spend more time is said setting.

You may still be able to do a late application if needed OP, we did as we didn’t think circumstances allowed, but have worked it out. We heard back within about 10 days and we have a space and have secured breakfast, wraparound and after school place

May be different where you are but could be worth a look

It’s not - they just thought it sounded clever 😂🙄

We use a private nursery that has 5 training days (which really impresses me) and they are clear that they don’t charge for any nursery closures which includes the training days and bank holidays. Though the cost is then averaged out over the year so you wouldn’t notice it on a monthly basis.

Had two kids at two different private nursery's. Never had inset days. They do close for Christmas two weeks and that's paid but I knew about it. The first nursery did have something in the contract about May needing to close for training days but over the three years it never did. If someone was on training they brought someone else in to keep rota

Some Mumsnetters tend moan about nurseries as if they are actual personal staff !

People on mumsnet are obsessed with defending nurseries. You could say your nursery have announced a new policy where they now own your child and will be sending them up chimneys and most posters would make it your fault or explain that soot is good for their immune system.

No, YANBU. Absolutely ridiculous when nurseries decide to charge when they choose to be closed. My nursery doesn’t do it, no good nursery would. It’s also illegal for them to allocate “free” hours funding from the government to days when they’ve refused to open.

Everyone bleating “when are they supposed to train them”… on inset days is fine. Just don’t charge parents when you’re not open - obviously.

Oh ok, have you asked them ?