in thinking £728 a mth is a lot for 4 days nursery - in small northern city?

[mylittlemonkey]

I have just started DS at nursery and was so keen to find one i felt was the best for him and that i felt happy with that i did not pay much attention to the cost. However having looked at the costs of some other ones in my area they are quite a bit cheaper. This nursery is in a city centre but is quite a small city in North East.

I am happy with the nursey and DS seems to be settling in very well and staff there seem nice/ good with him etc. I know that is the most important thing but i just feel like i seem to have picked the most expensive one in my area and so just wondered what a reasonable charge for a good nursery was and whether people think that you get what you pay for in terms of nurseries in that the better/ more facilities/ good staff etc the nursery the more you pay or is it all down to location?

That's roughly what I pay in London. It varies massively from nursery to nursery, area to area.

It does get easier. DD's recently turned 3 so will be getting the 15 free hours (is it 15 or did I just make that up?) and we're moving her to a Sure Start children's centre which is so much cheaper (£540 for 5 days).

The cost of childcare is too high though. And the salaries for the poor nursery workers are too low.

That's almost exactly (within a few pounds) what it costs at DS's nursery for 5 days for an under-2. We are in the Northwest.