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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think people should pay for their childcare?

88 replies

MacInTheBox · 17/07/2019 19:45

Okay, so perhaps a bit of a clickbait-esque title but all the same...

Picked DD up from nursery today to be handed a letter and told that they would be closing for good on Friday. I am absolutely gutted.

DD has been attending the nursery since she was 9 months old, she's 3 now. We've always been very pleased with her progress and all of the staff are so lovely.

The reason for the closure is that there is about 20k of unpaid nursery fees. Financially they couldn't keep up. I am gobsmacked at just how much they were owed!

I suspect there are other factors at play, such as the free childcare places, etc. But I can't believe that people would/could continue sending their children to nursery without paying?!

I'm now faced with having to sort out a new nursery for DD ready for when we get back off holiday in 2 weeks. I feel sick to my stomach that we might not be able to find a place for her and what a mess we'll be in.

I know that lots of people are facing financial hardship. We are not hugely well off ourselves, but we've always managed to keep up to date with nursery fees because it's a service we rely on. If we couldn't we would have no choice but to find an alternative. AIBU to feel this way?

OP posts:
GabsAlot · 17/07/2019 20:21

As much as i feel for them they must have known before now they woulod close this week 2 days notice isnt good enough

Trafalger · 17/07/2019 20:22

ponoko you couldn't be further from the truth. The childcare funding for all 3 year olds is so severely underfunded that it is putting a lot of childcare providers out of business. It is actually costing the childcare money to offer these places but they feel they have to offer them as otherwise people would go elsewhere. They are getting an average of about £4 an hour in funding. Some way less. It is impossible to sustain when minimum wage and pension contributions keep going up and up.

Theemojimovie · 17/07/2019 20:24

Op you can find a childminder for that kind of fee, but it will be at their house. They need to be trained, insured, registered and inspected by Ofsted in exactly the same was as a nursery. They will take typically 3-5 children, of various ages.

Original poster
MacInTheBox · 17/07/2019 20:26

@GabsAlot

I agree, it has surely been handled quite badly up to this point. We should have been told about this much sooner so we could arrange alternative childcare.

OP posts:
Sobeyondthehills · 17/07/2019 20:26

I am not sure, but I had a feeling a lot of these sort of things were down to universal credit and the free hours, so while yes it is up to the parents to check it, the free hours are not being "paid"

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 17/07/2019 20:28

We have, however, always prioritised the childcare funds above other things because we couldn't do without it.

Yes I guess it does come down to what you prioritse. You're right. Sorry for being judgemental before.

myself2020 · 17/07/2019 20:29

@Ponoka7 free places don’t keep nurseries going. councils usually pay under cost, so the free places is what kills nurseries...,

Maryann1975 · 17/07/2019 20:31

@Ponoka7 haha! Do you know anything about the ‘free’ hours? Where I am, the local authority pay less than £4 per hour. The average childminder is £4.25p/h plus food. It is definitely not the ‘free hours’ keeping any of us in business! I agree it’s great for parents who have seen childcare bills plummet but this is at the expense of childcare settings, so please don’t think that the scheme is all positive.

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 17/07/2019 20:38

What is the solution then?

WhenOneFacePalmDoesntCutIt · 17/07/2019 20:38

when it's the free places that are keeping a lot of nurseries going.

it's exactly the opposite!

stucknoue · 17/07/2019 20:43

The situation is pretty bad here, loads of parents gave notice for this week and there was 7 kids today! Meant to be 30

merlotqueen · 17/07/2019 20:45

OP, find yourself a childminder, they usually have free funded places too are also expected to provide champagne childcare on lemonade funding and are leaving the profession in droves

happyhillock · 17/07/2019 20:47

Maybe you can find a childminder locally

XingMing · 17/07/2019 20:48

It's the same in elderly care. Councils place lots of people and demand the cheapest possible packages; care homes charge self-funding residents about three times as much to make the books balance.

FurrySlipperBoots · 17/07/2019 20:52

Could you afford a nanny instead? If so maybe ask her favourite nursery nurse if they're interested? You'd probably be looking in the region of £9ph.

Maryann1975 · 17/07/2019 20:52

@CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook What is the solution then? that councils and the government step up and actually provide the funding to meet their promises. It’s an excellent vote winner telling parents they will get free childcare, but they have to pay an adequate rate for that childcare.

LillithsFamiliar · 17/07/2019 20:59

Any business that relies on regular client payments has to have a robust collection system. So yy it's a shame but it is the nursery management's fault that they didn't adequately risk assess for bad debt, or have a system in place which meant it couldn't accrue to the extent the business had to close.

Paramicha · 17/07/2019 21:03

Yes, people should pay for goods and services received, but good business practice wouldn't have allowed this to happen.
Them closing so suddenly also means they have taken their eye off the ball ito knowing where they were financially.

mumwon · 17/07/2019 21:06

nanny share? Find another parent in same boat? as stated the convoluted multiple methods of government grants, credits & other childcare funding where for instance in one form - parents get credit on line (which can be difficult to check enrol in & figure out how much you have left or with Universal Credit whose arbitrary system is unfair) and usually lands up in arrears & I expect they found themselves in debt for rent or whatever & their account or social services withdrew their ability to remain open quite suddenly - its happening all over to nurseries old peoples care homes & god help us but some schools & colleges are heading the same way

mumwon · 17/07/2019 21:07

it may be the company that owns them has gone into liquidation

Original poster
MacInTheBox · 17/07/2019 21:09

I agree regarding how the nursery have (it have not) managed this. It's obviously not all down to parents not paying.

Tomorrow I'll be getting on to childminders and nurseries to see if I can find somewhere for DD to go.

I'd prefer to keep her in a nursery if I can. The whole point of stepping her up to 5 days was as preparation for school and i would like her to still have that sort of structure.

OP posts:
Thehop · 17/07/2019 21:10

I work for a small private nursery. Our unpaid fees for current children are £34k

Funded 3 year olds are costing us £2k a month (and we don’t have many)

It’s a shaky industry that people don’t see as important.

DarkDarkNight · 17/07/2019 21:17

You are right, but if you give people an inch they take a mile. Thye should have been stricter with insisting on payment.

The government offering ‘free’ childcare and paying providers a pittance for it is a real scandal. I would say this will have a lot to do with closures of nurseries.

Nomorepies · 17/07/2019 21:19

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on the poster's request.

chipsnmayo · 17/07/2019 21:21

My DD is 21 so I am long past the days of nurseries and this was pre 30hrs, but I remember back then I had to book and pay in advance for the first few months.

Bit of a PITA as ex shifts often finished early so we paid more than we consumed but oh well.