Can’t afford the additional charges at nursery for my 3 year old

@crumblingschools that's what I thought 🤔
Edit: about the following the curriculum thing.
The "school" nurseries taking babies from 9 months is not what I have always thought of school nursery to be.
To me it's a class in a regular classroom often next door to Reception and sometimes sharing the toilets/playground/equipment.
I guess there has been changes since more "free" hours have been bought it.
It's unbelievably confusing now.

Any nursery has to follow EYFS curriculum/guidance for 3-4 year olds so you shouldn’t get different standard, you might just get different hours. A school nursery will still be set up for children who need nappy changes etc. It shouldn’t be that different, and all school nurseries I know take 2 year olds and many of them are looking at taking 9 month olds. Many schools want to encourage children to come to their nurseries to encourage them to then go on into their schools

@Saltandvin if a child is in a full time child care setting they have to follow the same EYFS curriculum though don't they?
So even in full time they could devote part of the day to doing the same activities as the children in a pre-school nursery do. Do they not do that already?
The difference is a childcare nursery is more set up for things like nappy changes but a school nursery is usually just a regular classroom.
I actually thought it was standard for all primary schools to have a nursery class - I apologise for now realising that isn't the case.

That’s odd they don’t expect you to provide the nappies and wipes. You can try and claim the invoice back on UC, unfortunately it’s just the way it it nursery fees are extortionate but atleast they are at a pre school with school attached not a private nursery where your costs would be more than double that

Only if you are working though.

@Lilacbluewaters i don’t know if you are keeping up with your thread or if anyone has already said this, but if you are in receipt of UC you can upload your invoice onto your account and receive up to 85% of the invoice back from UC. Alternatively, you can look into tax free childcare which would reduce the £80 per month by 20% too

Nursery care, residential care for old people - licence to print money, and ‘care’ is a joke.

Why? As a teacher I don't have the luxury of sending my own children to such a setting because I am at work, perhaps teaching yours. Why should my children get a lesser EY education just because it's a private settings? Not to mention that many, many schools simply don't have nurseries nor the space to incorporate them. Again, why do the children who will go to these schools get a sub-par, and apparently more expensive, experience?

These charges are how the nurseries can survive, as gov funding isn’t enough for them to operate. This will get worse I imagine if they will end up closing.

My nursery charges an extra £1 I think it is per funded hour and say its for the same reason- nappies, wipes, extra activities and formula for under 1's. It's not an optional fee as in you can't opt out and provide your own... I think this is pretty standard for funded hours not but that being said they should have informed you about it properly prior to starting so you may get out of paying the first bill unless they can prove they told you and you've missed it!

A 'TA' working in a nursery class/2 year old class would have a level 3 nursery nurse/early years educator qualification just the same as in any other early years setting.
A school can't use any old member of staff without early years training in nursery.

@Shinyandnew1 I think it shows there should be clear differences between a childcare based nursery (where they can help with potty training) and a school based nursery which is more "Reception Lite".
If that makes sense.
As I said earlier using the word "nursery" for such different types of environments makes it all so confusing.
I didn't send my daughter to nursery for childcare - I sent her for a pre-school educational setting.
Maybe the "nursery class" within primary schools should be renamed Lower or Junior Reception (like in America what used to be called Nursery School is now mostly known as Pre-Kindergarden or Pre-K)
Or all schools start using "Foundation" so you have F1 (3-4 year olds) and F2 (4-5 year olds).
Parents can then choose between a pre-school setting or a more childcare setting.
But this is me rambling.......

Well, presumably they wouldn't just arrive at school aged 12 having never been to school before!

It's typical to be potty trained before starting school. If a child is not, then the EYFS teacher/senco would meet with the parents to discuss what's going on. If they are still in nappies, a care plan would be drawn up with an aim to toilet train them. Often there is already involvement with the continence team, so they would be included in the support. This support would be ongoing.

@crumblingschools well exactly.
But presumably a school would be contacting social services or talking to the parents about whether there is a medical/disability need.
If that's the case at what age would they do that? 5? 7? 10?
There must be a line somewhere of "this isn't ok for your child to be nappies".

@Needmorelego with that age you would either assume some undiagnosed need or neglect

@Shinyandnew1 even if they were 12 and the parents just said "well she isn't potty trained"?
I don't mean to sound goady.....but there must be a line somewhere. Surely?

There is no line. Schools have to accept pupils in nappies.

Experienced teachers earn £50k, the on costs are more than 30%, so that's £65k per teacher x 2 = £130k. Plus cover for supply staff if they are off sick/maternity etc. Slightly over minimum wage.

@jannier

All TAs working with Nursery aged children have to have a 'full and relevant' early years qualification.

This means that schools absolutely should not just be moving staff to work in nursery unless they are appropriately qualified. A level 3 qualification in Teaching and Learning in schools is not a full and relevant qualification. In an emergency, someone without the appropriate qualification can be used, but not on a regular basis.

I absolutely agree with you that many school TAs don't have the appropriate training, which is why they are not allowed to be in Nursery.

@Shinyandnew1 but unless there is medical/sen reasons where do they draw the line?
At what age? 6? 16?
(I have a child with SEN so I am not being goady or anything)

Schools cannot discriminate, look at the Equality Act-if a child is in nappies and school-age, they are entitled to a place! They can't say, 'x isn't toilet trained so they can't start'.

No you have to have one qualified teacher in the class. A level 2 or 3 TA is normal for schools....but they are TAs not childcare so all have different training to early years less experience of the emotional development and the areas like potty training as more focused on teaching ....many of ours swap year groups so you could have someone who was working with 5 and 6 year olds now with 2 and 3.year olds...where expectations are totally different.

@crumblingschools surely schools can only accept children in nappies if they have SEN?
Not just because they aren't potty trained.
Where would they draw the line - 6 year olds, 10 year olds, teens?
(This is where the whole argument of is this childcare or education comes in)

The app is a business decision not an extra consumable. They have to, by law, keep
you up to date on your child. They can do this easily enough with a folder and a meet up with your child key worker once a year/term what ever is recommended. They can use a book.

I’m amazed some nurseries state children must be out of nappies when schools aren’t allowed to, especially if the nursery is attached to a school.