To start refusing to “contribute” to preschool ?

[MrsA2015]

Sick and tired of almost daily texts and “kind requests to contribute” something to DDs preschool, she attends 15hrs and has two lunches plus snacks a week that I pay for which is fine. We’re also required to pay an additional £40 a term for alphabet club and sporty club (glorified hour in the playground with a coach). Only reason I pay for the extras is because for two terms she was the only child not attending and was feeling very left out. This is all fine I’m happy to pay for it.

Now here comes the whinge every sodding day almost there’s a classroom event (think special card making ) or holiday themed session or special trip to park across the road to collect leaves that ALWAYS requires a contribution £1-£3. Im completely at a loss as to why we need to pay for activities that are basic in preschools? I’ve Evaded payment some days as after all it isn’t compulsory but then you get badgered till you have to say I don’t want to pay, then I just feel like a selfish cow. I totaled up how much extra I contributed last two terms that was almost £50! They do a few random class picnic days where staff will buy picnic type food and ask us to contribute £5 instead of food.

Does anybody else have this issue? I’m prepared for a flaming but just getting fed up with the constant asking.

None of my friends in RL have this issue and are very surprised

In the school, my children attend they have had to seriously consider stopping residentials/ trips of any kind because of the fact that donations towards these activities are not mandatory and not enough parents are contributing. The school is a small countryside school and does not have a large number of low-income families attending. I have no problem with this if parents generally can not afford these costs but it is not the parents who are struggling who refuse to pay on the whole.

Our local pre school do fundraisers instead. They have a Christmas and summer fayre where parents can donate a raffle prize which I didn’t mind doing at all. I quite often had unwanted brand new gifts to donate anyway. You take the kids to the fayre and they spend a few pounds to have fun. They also did sponsored walks with the children once a year.

Both great ideas - but who plans, organises and runs these events? Because if the nursery staff have to do it, they will be working for free to provide nice things for your children. Which doesn't address the under-funding problem at all.

Never had this..... taking the Mickey.

Well if they don’t have enough money you can’t really blame them for wanting to raise enough to cover costs.

Well if they don’t have enough money you can’t really blame them for wanting to raise enough to cover costs

True. But you also cant blame parents for not being able to afford to pay it and refusing it.

All pre-schools/nurseries have this issue. They get the same funding. Obviously if they are larger organisations and can offer more hours than the free hours then that can help.

Like with any government initiatives it sounds great on paper but was not very well thought out, and the pre-schools/nurseries bear the brunt

I think you are being massively unreasonable if you don't think that "you get what you pay for".

15 (free?) hours childcare is just that. Extras need paying for.

Charging extra to go across to the park? Definitely taking the piss, find out how it is run and funded, seems excessive.

Wow daycare and nursery in NZ is all about making a profit. I’d not be paying a thing! We already pay so much in fees.

Funding in our area is £3.27 ph per child yet the actual cost to nursery is way more. Our nursery list £50K last year because of the 30hts funding

Lost

I’ve had a similar moan to friends, just like your daughter my daughter attends preschool only we are funding a few extra days ourselves, we also pay lunchtime sessions (30 minutes you can’t use for funding for, there’s no food included in that) and breakfast club. I was doing a higher degree so we couldn’t get the 30 hours (not technically employed) but we needed childcare, obviously our choice/circumstances, but we are already forking out a lot on a weekly basis. Then similar to yours we get a constant stream of messages for £2-£3, the thing is these are added into the payment app which you can’t remove so it isn’t voluntary, if you don’t pay you get automated reminders in texts AND emails saying you owe it, more often than not it’ll be something that they did on a day our daughter doesn’t even attend. They just charge everyone and don’t give you a choice. It doesn’t sound like a lot £3 but it mounts up. Our daughters nursery is attached to the school she’ll be going so not a private nursery, so we also have to pay an annual contribution to the school building (or something) too.

When I’ve moaned to friends with slightly older children about it they’ve all said, might as well just give them your card and pin! It’s a common thing at least where we are anyway.

You need to clarify if it is a commercially run 'nursery' type environment or a committee led community 'not for profit' group. I was involved in our village playschool for over 10 years (long after my DS had left) & the official funding just doesn't cover the costs. Staffing has to (obviously) be the correct ratios plus all the essential costs involved in providing an environment that meets the Ofsted & educational standards is not cheap. Some people seem to think a playschool can be run by a few SAHMs, a box of junk materials and a load of cast off toys .

Find out how it is run and maybe get involved to help?

So many of these smaller playgroups are closing which is a great shame.

Wow that is a lot of extras - for card making etc? That is pretty basic stuff. Mine only asked for a box of tissues per child per term

I'm surprised your RL friends aren't experiencing this. The free hours is a great idea in theory but in relatity it doesn't work because the government don't pay enough so the preschool has to make the money somehow.
You can move her to another preschool but I bet you will still be paying the extra somewhere.

Are the fees somewhat lower than the average, which attracted you there in the first place?

The nursery need to charge more up front, so there is a realistic fee for the care and activities they provide.

I guarantee they aren’t taking the piss, but are scrimping to cover the shortfall caused by the pittance they receive for 30 hours.

Our disgrace of a government have a lot to answer for.

When DS was at pre-school he was full time. There were regular very steep rises in fees for the time above 15 hours and eventually management admitted they were having to use full time fees to subsidise the 15 free hours... not just for the full time SDs but the nursery in general.

Grit your teeth and unless you genuinely cant afford it pay up OP or someone is subsidising the shortfall and its probably the parents who actually pay

That said, those hours need to be funded properly by government so to that extent YANBU

I am on the committee of a parent run charity pre school that has been running for over 25 years. For the last 2 years we have been running at a loss, and unless we make drastic changes we will be out of money in about 18 months. As many PP have said, the money received from government simply does.not cover the basic costs of rent, staff wages, insurance and training - let alone extras like craft supplies, snacks, the occasional trip or visit.

We have always relied on fundraising to some extent - the usual raffles, tombolas etc. But we are now having to consider things like a voluntary termly donation from parents, or charging for a lunch club.

We can't force parents to contribute as they are entitled to the free 15 hours. And we know that there will be some parents who simply cannot pay, and we wouldn't want them to be excluded. But if we can't raise enough extra funds we will have to close, it's that simple.

Is this a preschool attached to a school or charity? If so this is pretty much how they work (I know several which even charge for books / stationary / paints). I much prefer paying £££ for private nursery so at least I know everything that is important to me is included.

@FamilyOfAliens - exactly what I thought. The poster doesn't mind donating a raffle prize - but presumably don't want to get stuck in actually organising and running the fair.

Those nursery workers really do sing for their supper. It's all graft with no financial reward really. A lot of their work is done for love. My eldest is 18. My youngest is 5. I've seen, over many years, the unresolvable damage years and years of cuts have done to nurseries. Just wait until you get to primary, OP. Seriously-and sadly- schools need all of our support because if we don't contribute to our kids' education, who will? Funding is a joke. The rest is really on us. So, sadly, if you want your child's experience to be enriching, you now have to play an active and financial role in ensuring this happens. It IS taking the mick and fundamentally, I don't agree it should fall on parents to help fill an unfillable hole created by tight budgets and no spending. But it's a sign of the times, it is what it is. It's been this way for years now, and it's definitely not going to go away. Generous funding and education are rarely bedfellows. And this isn't any school's or nursery's fault.

They are obviously struggling financially

I can't imagine what food they're buying at £5 a head. Individual sushi platter for each child??

Yanbu

They should be upfront at enrolment about how much it will cost. They shouldn’t keep asking for various amounts at random times.

They have meals delivered by an all organic all free range caterer so hardly strapped , They have a kitchen and said they outsource so they don’t waste time cooking... privately run but no parent committee ? There’s aren’t many options in my area for childcare and my friends don’t live locally for those suggesting I move to where they send their children.

Some of the posters have hit the nail on the head, it’s more the frequency than anything, I feel like they use the element of surprise instead of just putting prices next to the year timetable .