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

The voluntary statement was removed 1//4/2024

“The free childcare entitlements are not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables (such as nappies or sun cream), additional hours or additional activities (such as trips). Providers may charge a fee for these additions.

I don't see how this makes a mockery of free childcare. Do parents expect taxpayers to cover ALL the expenses? If one cannot afford to supply wipes and nappies, perhaps one can't afford a child???

Parents get vast benefits that non-parents don't. (and they don't have to repay those benefits even if their offspring turn out to be antisocial/criminal/burden to society, etc.) Complaining now that disposables aren't provided as well is very entitled.

@Lilacbluewaters
Well, if they're included in the Ts&Cs and you signed the contract you have no option but to pay them or you'll be in breach of contract.

@Lilacbluewaters you should be able to access 15 hours completely free of charge. The nursery should offer you options to allow this to happen eg bringing your own snack or lunch, not using the app etc.

If in doubt, phone your local authority and ask to speak to the Early Years Funding team. They should speak to the setting and remind them of the conditions attached to offering funded sessions.

When you put it like fhat

£4 per day for childcare when parent is working so earning money - is very good

Presumably when you enrolled your DC for nursery you were required to sign a contract with the nursery? What do the terms and conditions of this contract say about fees?

My child is at a school nursery for 15 hours a week and we pay £2 a week for snacks. Occasionally there are other events we need to pay for like trips or visitors coming in but some of these are optional. They also get free fruit or veg daily.
£80 is extortionate. And they don't need a snack as they can just eat their free fruit provided by the government. So if you don't have meals there, don't need a snack or use wipes and nappies then I really don't understand what they can be charging for.

Top ups are normal
These institutions are underfunded and make the shortfall up this way

Mine did school nursery, 3 days a week 9am to 3pm and I would pay just under £200 per full term which covered the additional hourly rate past the 15 hours and then the sundries. We still had to provide a lunch box though.

So what OP hasn't been asked to pay seems about right for around here if she doing similar hours.

Nursery's can add charges but they must be optional. Ask for a break down and explain you will provide wipes, snack etc so ask the charges to be removed. (You may have to pay for any already provided. )

If they refuse speak to children's information service on your local authority. They are not allowed to do that.

I don't think this will be compulsory. Another poster mentioned by law they have to give you the option of sending food and sundries in instead.

I'd certainly be querying if this is compulsory or voluntary with the LA.

I used the 15 free hours for my eldest at a private nursery setting and was never charged for anything. I sent her in with a packed lunch. She wasn't in nappies, but if she had, she wore cloth, so she'd have had her own.

There's no way I'd be paying £80/mth for this, it's a hill I'd die on - regardless of our finances.

I'd be making it clear that your child doesn't use nappies or wipes, that you'll send in a snack with him, and that you have no desire to use their "app".

Fucking chancers.

3 year old ought to be eligible for free fruit and free milk. How many snacks does he need in a 3hr session?

The nursery which is attached to my school and very much included in our school, does not charge. They only charge 2.50 for a school lunch but that's optional as you can send a lunch in.

Our nursery runs differently to others, you can either do Mon 9-3, Tues 9-3 and Wed 9-12 or Wed 9-12, Thur 9-3 and Fri 9-3.

They are asking equivalent of £4 a day? Is that right.
I remember our state preschool years ago asked for £1 a day to cover snacks and expenses

My DS attends a school nursery, as is a nursery for age 3+ that’s attached to a school. Does lunch, assemblies etc with the school. He does the 15 hours at the moment, 8:45-11:45 per day, and we pay nothing extra. Snack is given and the apps (tapestry and class dojo) are free.

We can either top-up to full time school hours for £80 a week or use the 30 free hours when I’m back at work. When he does go full time it’ll cost £2.25 per day for school lunches but that’s it. DS isn’t toilet trained (suspected ASD) and we just send nappies and wipes in.

£80 a month for a school nursery when you’re only using the 15 hours is ridiculous. All of the school nurseries in my area work the same as DS’s. It benefits them to have a nursery as it encourages applications for the reception places.

Lots of 3 years olds are still in nappies. Mine started pre school when he had just turned 3 a week before. He was still in nappies.

No extra charges. Took a bag with supplies but snacks were provided.

I wouldn't be paying for consumables my child isn't consuming, so no nappies, no wipes, and tell them you'll provide your own snack, amd you'd like a breakdown of the costs for thr activities. Also ask for contact details above them to query the charges. It's a public school, they can't demand it. If they continue to be awkward, just continue to ask for someone higher up to query it with

I suspect it is voluntary.

Let them know that you can't afford to pay this, don't need nappies or snacks.

We had a similar issue when I ran the pre-school committee, someone couldn't pay and just picked them up for the non-funded time and sent in their own snacks etc.

I just recieved a £100 extra bill as voluntary payment for my sons forest school too which I was not aware of. I emailed about it and she said it needs paying. I emailed again as asked her to confirm this is voluntary and I could decide what i paid. She reluctantly agreed. They wanted to charge and extra £2.80 an hour for snacks and firewood. I ended up sending what I could afford, I'm currently also on a UC top up and a surprise £100 felt extreme for the 2 afternoons he does there a week!

Because traditionally day nurseries existed to provide up to full day care 51/52 weeks of the year from children from 0 upwards.

Preschools and school nurseries were usually half day provision in the year before starting school, term time only in order to prepare children for starting school. They wouldn’t necessarily have provided meals.

At some point the last Labour government introduced an entitlement for all children ages 3 to 12.5hrs per week free education for 39 weeks of the year. Some 2 year old were entitled to it in some places some 3 year olds were entitled to 30hrs education. It could be taken in any provision that provided free places that the parents chose.

It’s got fiddled a bit with over the years not least with the Tories adding an extra 15hrs childcare for children with working parents. I suspect this means the delineation between what different types of childcare does has got slightly blurred.

Schools in England can’t refuse to take a child in nappies, so can’t see how a school nursery can refuse a child in nappies

It's all run by the school but I do pay for that.
(I use my funded hours at the private nursery actually so all the school nursery use is paid for.)

Top ups are normal. My nursery charged £75 per day. The gov free hours covered about £55 of that, and we topped up the rest. 'Free hours' is a bit misleading in most cases with private nurseries, it's more like subsidised hours.