To think some nurseries are pleading poverty unfairly?

[caffelattetogo]

We are currently looking at nursery for our DC and quite a few locally charge a top-up fee for funded hours. When we queried this, they said it was because the rates paid for by the government via the councils are too low.

So, I asked our council what they pay, and it's pretty much the same rate per hour as most of the local nurseries charge normally - which would usually cover their costs.

I'm hearing nationally many nurseries saying they will close if they don't charge additional fees but it seems that some are profiting by getting their full funding and top up fees. I understand that each nursery is a business and they want to make a profit, but I wish things were a bit clearer from them about why they need more.

I’m actually really sick of parents moaning about this!

You are getting an absolute bargain for childcare in most cases! £9 for a whole day of childcare in our setting.

.
Do you want good quality care?
Do you want staffing levels that appropriate, safe and manageable according to the needs of the children?
Do you want a well thought out, wide and varied curriculum?
Do you want staff to be paid fairly?
Do you want high quality resources replaced when necessary?
Do you want staff to be qualified and experienced?
Do you want staff to work in an environment that supports their well-being (reflected in how they care for your children and wether they turn up for work?)
Do you want staff to have access to CPD to continue to broaden their knowledge and develop the educational opportunities for your children?
Do you want settings to be able to employ a one to one for the child that needs it, allowing your child to continue about their day without disruption?
Do you want the building heated?
Good quality food, nappies, wipes, formula?
(and much more…)

or would you prefer none of the above?

You can spend hours researching and checking companies house but why? You need to get your head around the fact that child care is really fucking expensive. Thats it. It is. Those years are a struggle financially, but it does end, but there’s no getting around it if you work and need childcare. Do they make a lot of money? No. Is it a really lucrative industry no? Is it hard work? Definitely!

I have an acquaintance and she owned many nurseries, maybe 4-7 over the years. The business itself was not a huge money spinner but the properties were. She owned them, so when she sold up, that’s where she earned the money, not charging £80 to look after a child from 8am-6pm.

So you have detailed insider knowledge in how it all works or are being a busybody?

Where is this available for £9 a day please?

We are in the south east, and I know we are definitely not the only setting that sets our consumables charge somewhere around that rate.

I agree with you.

Provision for children with special needs.

Government academy programmes means that LA/councils can not open new schools.
They have to be awarded permission to build by the DfE, then DfE try to find an academy trust to open a school.
Years in the planning and agreements. We have the permission to build and no trusts willing to open the school.
Meanwhile children’s needs are not met and mainstream schools are buckling under the pressure.
Savvy parents will take the LA to tribunal, so that their child’s needs are recognised and met. The tribunal meets the parents rushes in 96% of cases.

No LA school places, so school named as private specialist provision and out of the county.
At the minute it isn't unusual for those private school places to cost £120,000 per child, per year. These are not children with highly complex needs in resudential care. These are children coming out of mainstream schools
In addition, the LA has to find money for taxi costs to and from the out of county school.

Complete breakdown in the system. Abandon the politics and let the LA use the £120,000 per child per year to fund local specialist, council run, provision. Meet the needs of our children, locally and publically.

That’s the top up fee

I read this

”The LawChildcare settings aren’t allowed to charge you extra for the hours your child is attending as a funded child, but they are allowed to dictate how they offer their funded places, which can leave parents confused. For example; if a child attended a setting for 30 hours a week, the setting wouldn’t be allowed to ask for an extra £1 for every hour attended. However, they would be allowed to charge for trips, food, etc as the EYF isn’t intended to cover this, and they can dictate where the hours are used to suit the business.”

No surprise at all. The local spent a quarter of a million pounds on our local village library (heaven knows how as all they did was decorate and put in new shelves, new computers, etc., and mood lighting!). And less than a year later they closed it, and with undue haste ripped it all out and it all ended up in several large skips! Then a year later, after a local election, they re-opened it again, and had to spend another quarter of a million on kitting it out again, more new shelving, more new computers, and more new mood lighting. Utterly bonkers. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing and they just don't care. They have a "budget" to spend and they make sure they spend it, on anything!

Which LA do you work for?

Mine is struggling to save £5m again this year, in Children's Services alone, due to Tory budget cuts.

FIVE MILLION in funding services for including for vulnerable children. (SEND, children’s social care including social work support, fostering and adoption, early years, safeguarding, school transport, school place management)

Certainly nothing left to waste.

I work for a central government department @LanahLane not a Local Authority.

But I deal with lots of them - not just one. So I've had the opportunity to see how crap some of them are with managing money. It's not to say that some are struggling with funding their statutory duties, but lots don't manage money very well. It's not an easy thing to do but that's why a top notch CFO gets paid highly - and they're worth every penny!

they have to cover cooking staff, perhaps rent of the building. If they own a building, then maintenance costs, gas & electric, insurance costs, childcare staff need paid.Its a business at the end of the day and a lot of hidden costs you don’t think about, this is a naive post OP