Nursery sundries fee

[lizzlebizzle33]

Hi, so my son goes to nursery for 4 sessions a week (20 hours) and we pay £32 a month for his meals.

Last week I received a confusing letter which stated that the fees would be going up and a chart so you could see how many hours your child goes for and what the price increase will be.

It appeared it was going to go from £32 to £76 which I thought can't be right as that's more than double.

I have just dropped DS off and had a word with the nursery manager and it is right!! From £32 to £76 Just like that.

AIBU to be fuming? For myself and all other parents. I will really struggle to afford this but what other choice do I have but to pay it?

Of course it’s an incredible deal, not many, if any are saying it isn’t but to have one particular outgoing suddenly double is a shock and when you’ve budgeted for X amount, regardless of what a deal it is, to have it double is worrying and can massively effect the OPs financial situation

hen my DD was at her last nursery (6 years ago) meals weren't included so I fed her breakfast, provided a packed lunch and then gave her dinner at home. I had to pay £1 a session for fruit/snacks- so £2 a day as she was there 8am-6pm. You sound like you are getting a great deal

itsaboojum

think about it like this, ops gas bill is £32 a month, its suddenly increasing to £76 per month with no reason, or warning. She hasn't used more gas, she's getting the same service.

This nursery bill is the same thing. Whether you think its a good deal or not is irrelevant, she's planned for this bill based on what she has always paid - and now its over double without any notice.

Maybe you are very privileged, as you think that £76 is "hardly anything" but to many people, its quite a lot, actually.

OP signed up to the nursery presumably because it offered the 30 funded hours, so saying she's entitled is frankly stupid because actually she is bloody entitled to the funding, and deserved some notice that her bill was increasing by an enormous percentage.

Freddie I agree, it shouldn't be advertised as free, because in many cases it isn't totally free. It should be a contribution, or similar.

32pounds a month is extremely cheap for meals so I would of presumably expecting an increase. I used to pay 17 pounds a week.

Wowzers, I think that's super cheap. Our DS currently goes to nursery full time (17 months old) and it's £1200 a month... They do a great job and it's worth every penny, although I am looking forward to when we don't need to pay quite so much (it's literally most of my salary 😳

I can see that having to pay double is definitely going to hit you as an unaccounted expense. In the grand scheme of things it is not an unreasonable cost from the nursery but any extra cost when you are not expecting it can be a problem. Some people on mumsnet really don't seem to understand that there are people who don't have 'spare' cash and for whom unexpected expenses are a real problem as they are managing paycheck to paycheck.

Unfortunately a lot of people on Netmums don’t understand the genuine financial crisis facing childcare providers. There seems to be an assumption that everyone can have their children fed and looked after for free whilst nursery can keep going on 'Scotch mist.'

The most likely explanation for a sudden increase in meal fees is that they desperately need a cash injection because those fees have been held down far too low for far too long. IOW the OP should have been paying considerably more for quite some time already.

Even before the introduction of 30 under-funded ours, 50% of nurseries were financially unsustainable. Recent independent research indicates that the majority of settings are charging less than 75% of what should be the the minimum fee needed to ensure long term sustainability.

The funding is nothing more than an unavoidable trap for nurseries. If they don’t offer it, they will lose customers in 5he short term and go out of business quickly. If they do offer it, they don’t take enough money to keep up with rising costs, fall back on unaffordable business loans, and go out of business slowly.

Childcare providers warned this would happen and parents still voted for 30 hours regardless. That’s even when politicians were openly saying that the funding was only for 'education' not food or extras: and saying childcare providers would have to find "creative solutions" to cover costs (many were even told to take in washing and ironing to make up the money!)

Some people are very happy to grab their "entitlement" without any concern that it might ruin the childcare industry and leave future parents without any childcare at all.

No no boojum i think we all underatand, but that wasnt the point of this thread.

If it’s just a point of whether to fume or not, then only the OP is accountable for her feelings.

Back in the real world, I see three scenarios were most possible...

1. The nursery kept the meal fees down as low and as long as possible, then they spiked to a still altogether reasonable new level. This happened. The OP doesn’t like it. Some MNers have a problem with it.

1. Just keep those meal fees down too low for even longer until the costs take over, the nursery goes out of business and everyone there loses their childcare. Not sure how this benefits the OP.

1. Keep the meal fees down for funded parents who already pay the least. Cross-subsidise by imposing heavy basic fee increases on parents of non-funded under-3s. So the mums who get the least help have to pay more, starting at the worst time: immediately after maternity leave. Wouldn’t most fair-minded people see this as inequitable?

Youre not in ops world where this is clearly a big deal for her. You ranting about the unfairness of the funding (and weve all agreed its not very good!) Is probably going to upset the op and others and will do nothing to help the situation you are oh so furious about.

I get what you're saying but this isnt the time or the place imo.

Radical

Unfortunately a lot of people on Netmums don’t understand the genuine financial crisis facing childcare providers

I didn'was one of them. Thread's been a real eye-opener.
I posted earlier in the mistaken belief that the costs quoted were on TOP of a decent hourly/day rate, & paid either directly by OP herself or via vouchers. Soon realised my mistake & am aghast at how unsustainable the model must be.

oops, correction - 'I was one of them'

Thank you all for your replies.

Just to clarify, I am not moaning or complaining about the price of the meals, I don't deny that £32 a month was a very good price.

My point was that it will more than double with only 2 week's notice.

I fully understand that 76p an hour is still a good price for the food my Ds is offered, given that it is home cooked on the premises and is healthy, fresh food.
(Sometimes when he tells me what he has eaten I am actually jealous)

Its really not that I am upset with the new price, just shocked at the sudden huge increase.

Just to answer a pp point, school nurseries don’t have to offer the 30 hours. Dd1’s school don’t so dd2 is starting a different school in september, and in that school there were only 5 30 hour places.
I have moved my dd2 from private nursery to school nursery as private nursery was still going to cost £350 a month with the 30 hours and school nursery will cost me zero. It’s been a tough decision to make but ultimately £350 a month is unsustainable for me.

@gingajewel it was me who posted the question about school nurseries and the free hours so thanks for the clarification. I’m a bit confused by your scenario though - are you saying that your DD2 will go to a school nursery which offers the 30 hours and charges nothing on top, giving you the same as you got for 30 hours plus £350 in private nursery? How does that work?

My main issue with school nurseries is that they all seem to finish at 3pm so you need wraparound care if you work, whereas private nursery keep them till 6pm.

My point was that it will more than double with only 2 week's notice

It is short notice to be fair, and to be honest I would question whether they were desperate for the money and this was a last ditch attempt to stay open

@ArgumentativeAardvaark, yep I have moved my daughter so school nursery as it is free for the 30 hours and I will send her with a packed lunch. Her private nursery charge around about £350 a month as they add in charges for food and also all the holidays are charged for and then spread over 12 months (free 30 hours is only for 39 weeks a year so the other 13 you are charged full price for) luckily for me my mom is a teacher so I only need term time child care as my mom has my dc in the holiday!

£11 a day here (10 hours) on the free days for sundries
That’s 3 meals, 2 snacks and all the stuff
Itsvin line with all other private nurseries locally
We have used the nursery for a decade and believe them when they say it’s that or drop standards or bust

@gingajewel thanks for clarifying, I was really scratching my head to work out how the private nursery could charge 350 in extras! It’s funny, the majority of people with kids in school nurseries have the opposite problem- they would prefer year-round care because they end up shafted in the school holidays. Lucky you with a Mom so generous with her time.

My DD starts school nursery in April. I'm going to bank all my flexible leave and annual leave and DH and I will share holidays along with DM who will have both some weeks. That will work for us as I cannot afford a childminder. I am looking to save £400 plus a month. Nearer £500.

That is a big increase but maybe they discovered they were undercharging when the books were done.

When my children went there were no free hours. The first two went just mornings. Third went twice a week and local playgroup were parents stayed. DD went to a nursery which was open all day and she went mornings and lunch as I was working. Sometimes she stayed full days if I was on supply. I ended up paying for nursery without much left over some days. She loved it though.

I ‘d be grateful you get some hours free.

Just worked out it was about £340 a month if she went every day full time. She left to go to school 25 years ago.

@ArgumentativeAardvaark I am so so lucky, both mom and sister are teachers so I don’t have to worry about school holidays, am so lucky I really am. If I had to use childcare I would have left dd2 in private nursery!