Hmm!!

[Laura25o6]

So my kids do 2.5 days at nursery and there’s a letter in their tray saying I have to pay for them to take their own dinner. I make packed lunches for two kids. £2 per day

I have already payed for the food to begin with, why should I pay the nursery for it to be eaten? I just don’t get it.

Can someone explain this to me please xx

Paying for the person's time who is supervising them

I think you need to ask the Nursery. I am not sure i understand.

Find another nursery?

It's a stealth increase in fees.

@MrBloomsLeftVeg
Surly that’s the governments responsibility who pays them. Not the parents x

How much are cooked nursery lunches?

@Sparklingbrook

Cooked meals which come from the school adjacent to the nursery are charged at £2 per child per day. We have been told not to have cooked dinners until after the new year as children have only just started. They are LA children. The packed lunches are £1 per child per day. I know your thinking that’s nothing but I don’t get CB or any monies for them. And I’m on AO leave from work. X

No, I am just thinking would it be easier just to transfer to the cooked meals if it's the same cost. I wondered if it was to get the packed lunch children to have cooked as it's easier for the nursery or something.

Given that they have requested you send packed lunches I think you should have a chat with the Nursery and query what the charge is all about.

What's LA and AO?

Is it because the funded place covers a morning/afternoon session, not the lunch break?

I used to have to pay £1.50 for dd to take a packed lunch into pre-school. I assumed it was to cover costs of supervision or insurances.

Local authority

Adoption leave

As someone else said, funding usually covers morning and afternoon session only. Back when my daughter was nursery age, they charged £12 for lunch

I have to pay £5 for lunch time supervision for my ds.

I am very out if date (teenagers) but I had no idea about this. So it's commonplace?

Is it a lunch club? That’s what some of the nurseries where I live do. There’s a half day rate and then an additional £3 per day for lunch club attendance. It’s optional though. You can pick up your dc before lunchtime instead here. Is that an option for you?

La is looked after and refers to fostered or adopted children.

@MrTrebus
LA is Looked After
AO is Adoption Leave.

@BernardBlacksHangover

No it’s not a lunch club. They do 8.45-3.15 two days a week and 8.45-11.45 one day.

I think it's because the paid for sessions are the morning and afternoon session and you are paying the top up between what hours are funded and what hours they actually attend?

Seems a bit strange not to include it in the day rate tbh, as they’re obviously going to have to be there for lunch. I didn’t know that was standard practice. My dd has been to two nurseries and not had this. It’s only the pre-schools, which are attached to primaries and where the children can only do half days, that the lunch club seems to be offered round here.

Going on the hours/days my kids will do, I’ll send them with packed lunches 2 days a week. The third day they don’t stay for dinner. This is their second week being there. Only cooked dinners were mentioned when we did inductions. I understand if they had the cooked dinners I’d pay for as they request from the school on a monthly basis. The school will plan their food and send the menus over to the nursery and the parents will choose what they want for the kids.
I just don’t understand or agree why I have to pay for packed lunches when I’m providing that food.
I’m all new to this parenting business as we’re are going through adoption. I’ve spoken to my mummy friends who have children in nursery and some who have packed lunches don’t pay, and they have the same entitlement as me in regards to the 15 hours a week. I’m just puzzled. I’ll get my DH to sort it out. X

@Laura25o6

The free childcare scheme is supposed to be just that- free. It is not lawful to charge your child for a place.

My nursery started something similar (our DDs also adopted) under the guise of not allowing the free hours between 11.30 and 13.30- the lunch club approach described by others. We just said no and they accepted that.

The problem comes that in some areas child care is in high demand and LAs have limited powers/resources to enforce the rules.

You could start by asking to use the EYPP to fill the gap (also unlawful but they clearly don't care). If they really push it then personally I would be writing to OFSTED and the LA, but that is a big step. In many cases a frank but polite conversation sorts these things easier then you would expect.

@donquixotedelamancha

What is EEYP? X

@donquixotedelamancha
Sorry EYPP X