To be pissed 3YO had beans on toast for lunch

[Zachary143]

Annoyed that I pay £2.50 for lunch for LO.

I initially wanted LO to have packed lunch when starting nursery full time however was told that this was not an option and that children had to have nursery lunch however I was reassured that it would all be fresh, wholesome and home cooked.

In the past LO has been given thing like packet noodles and sweetcorn. Pudding is usually angel delight or fruit. Also when it's a child birthday the cake is given as pudding so their not really having pudding that was part of the paid for meal.

The cheap lunches are pissing me off, I can provide him with better quality packed lunches and it'll cost me less.

[C8H10N4O2]

So, you're paying £2.50 for 6 hours childcare plus beans on toast? Thinking of it that way, it's a good deal

No she is paying £2.50 for substandard snacks by the sound of it whilst being promised proper lunches and being disallowed from supplying her own.

The other 30 hrs is paid for through taxation, its not free. Its poorly funded and telling nursery staff and mothers to just suck it up and be grateful is exactly why nothing changes. We still have the most expensive childcare in Europe.

[skirk64]

Nothing wrong with beans on toast - I was fed on that as early as I can remember.

£2.50 sounds steep on the face of it, even with Heinz beans and decent quality bread you would be looking at under a pound. However, you're not just paying for the food. You're paying for the electricity and/or gas for it to be cooked. You're paying for the water and washing up liquid for the utensils and plates to be cleaned. You're paying someone to cook and clean - someone who is not therefore looking after the children. You're paying for plates/cutlery/pots/pans/cooker/toaster when they need to be replaced.

[Floweree]

@C8H10N4O2

So, you're paying £2.50 for 6 hours childcare plus beans on toast? Thinking of it that way, it's a good deal

No she is paying £2.50 for substandard snacks by the sound of it whilst being promised proper lunches and being disallowed from supplying her own.

The other 30 hrs is paid for through taxation, its not free. Its poorly funded and telling nursery staff and mothers to just suck it up and be grateful is exactly why nothing changes. We still have the most expensive childcare in Europe.

Yes I agree with this.

Also its widely acknowledged that free school meals are sometimes the only food a child receives and therefore its important that they are balanced. It's odd how no one seems that arsed before school age. There are benefits to going to pre-school or nursery from age 3, no child should be disadvantaged and not go because the £2.50 a day for crap food is a lot; but why the 'you should be grateful for whatever as it's cheap' (when it might be a lot to some), rather than wanting to improve things for nurseries and families.

[IbrahimaRedTwo]

Its because of allergies as pp mentioned

Rubbish. Plenty of other nurseries can cope with packed lunches and allergies, I wouldn't trust a nursery who said it was beyond them.

[fizbosshoes]

I amazed that people are currently paying £50/day for nursery. it was £56/day when I looked into nurseries in my area 15 years ago, (I'm pretty sure it's over £70/day now) and was part of the reason I didnt go back to work til my DC were at school!

[DarcyLewis]

@3Britnee I did used to be chair of a non-profit preschool. We still had to charge about £43-52 a day (younger children more expensive) plus children brought their own lunch.
Biggest costs were staffing, building, utilities, insurance/registration fees, training, equipment & resources. And even then we could only pay staff slightly over minimum wage.

[Thefaceofboe]

At my nursery the children have beans on toast once a week for tea as it’s the one meal every single child enjoys worth £2.50 in my eyes if they enjoy it!

[fairgame84]

YANBU
My 16yo son gets stuff like roast dinner, curry or gammon and chips for school dinner and it's only £2.15.
£2.50 for a 3yo to have beans on toast is a rip off.

[fizbosshoes]

Off topic but its surprising for some people the hidden costs of running a business. I think a lot of people thought furlough payments were keeping businesses going during covid, and whilst they are of course a major help to cover staff wages, there are so many factors that lots of people either ignore or dont know about. Rent or leases, maintenance, rates, utilities, various insurance policies, security, licences etc.

And if you think nurseries are expensive whilst paying staff NMW, care home fees will blow your mind!

[Jellybabiesforbreakfast]

On the fees issue, we pay over £80 per day. This is fairly standard for our area - not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. £50 seems like an impossible pipe-dream. On the other hand, our nursery pays staff above NMW so they have a lower staff turnover than average. As they made clear in their most recent fee increase email, staff costs are their biggest expense.

[sashh]

I'm surprised that anyone thinks that baked beans on toast is a nutritious meal. If it's out of a can, it has very high levels of sugar and salt and saturated fats.

Not necessarily, lots of beans have much less fat and sugar than the ones I ate as a child

Link to Heinz reduced sugar beans
www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295444766

In 1/2 a can 3.9g of sugar and 0.9 g of sugar

[vannyy]

Is the £2.50 just for the food or the break cover as well. Our nursery charges £2.50 because the 30 hours doesn't cover 6.5 hours a day, only 6.

[Laquila]

I remember once politely complaining about Angel Delight being served at my kids' old nursery (alongside crumpets/teacakes etc) to be told "well it IS the sugar-free version"...

As a former volunteer preschool committee member, it is not a mystery to me that no-one has yet started a successful chain of not-for-profit nurseries.

[MintyMabel]

Imo nurseries should be run by the government as a national service, but that will never happen.

The difference in quality between the private nursery I paid 40 quid a day for ten years ago, and the local authority run nursery DD went to before school was night and day. Government run is rarely better.

And nurseries aren’t making millions in profit. It isn’t a particularly profitable business. The costs of running a nursery are really high. They have 1:3 ratios for the youngest children. Almost half their costs go in wages. Add on business rates, taxes, building costs, insurances, resources. The profit margins are amongst the lowest of any business.

My friend looked in to starting a nursery when she discovered there were no places available in her local area and waiting lists were over 2 years. No matter how she put the numbers together, it just wasn’t going to make her much money at all.

But, hey, if you think it’s such a great business, go start one.

[3WildOnes]

@3Britnee My son went to a not for profit pre school. before his free house i payed £17.50 for a morning 9-12 and £35 for 9-3. Once he got his free hours i just payed the difference so i think about £6 for a morning session and £12 for a 9-3 session. This didn't include lunch as they bough a packed lunch, just toast and fruit for snacks.
My daughter is currently at a private day nursery where they have a chef who cooks lovely organic meals but I pay £85 a day.
I wouldn't be happy with angel delight.
I think you really get what you pay for.

[3WildOnes]

Ugh so my typos paid not payed and hours not house brought not bought

[Blondeshavemorefun]

I wouldn’t have a problem beans on toast

I do this for my toddler

But I would want to see a weeks menu

How often is a child’s birthday at nursery

Once a week ?

[TheKeatingFive]

The difference in quality between the private nursery I paid 40 quid a day for ten years ago, and the local authority run nursery DD went to before school was night and day. Government run is rarely better.

Not in the UK, no. But that's not universal. Plenty of countries offer high quality, heavily state subsidized childcare. It's just a question of political will and priorities.

[VeganVeal]

I really fancy beans on toast for lunch now, ummm lovely

[SchadenfreudePersonified]

We had it yesterday Vegan, because, like you, my bean-tastebuds were alerted but this thread.

I am happy to report - it . . . was . . . LUSH!

[minniemomo]

Remember you are paying for staff to prepare it too

[greeneyedlulu]

Thats not on, I've no issue with beans on toast (besides the mess) but how comes you're charged separately for lunch? The nursery I use, you pay the day rate which includes all food and nappies. They also have a great cook on site and we are emailed fairly regularly with menus, I wish I could there

[greeneyedlulu]

I wish I could eat there that was meant to say 🤦‍♀️

[SylvieHortensis]

@Thefaceofboe

At my nursery the children have beans on toast once a week for tea as it’s the one meal every single child enjoys worth £2.50 in my eyes if they enjoy it!

You need to get a better nursery cook if that's the only meal they all enjoy.

[BoyTree]

Someone needs to set up a not-for-profit chain.

As other PPs have pointed out, there are/were hundreds of not for profit preschools which get the majority of their income from gov funding. They rely on teams of volunteers putting in thousands of unpaid hours for very little recognition or appreciation and the model is gradually dying on its arse as more and more of them are absorbed into schools.

The fixed costs of running a setting (mandatory training, insurance, premises, resources and staff wages) take up most of the funding meaning that committees, as well as being responsible for all of the above plus managing the staff and fulfilling their obligations to Ofsted, also have to fundraise for any extras.

Add to that the fact that, unless the charity is incorporated, the committee (the volunteers!) are responsible for any debts that the setting may incur if it has to close.

It really isn't a particularly lucrative business, largely because it has been so criminally undervalued and under funded by successive governments. I wish it were easy to provide affordable, high - quality childcare, but the truth is that the government is very much all mouth and no trousers when it comes to actually making that a priority!