To think new parents are complaining more these days about nursery costs

[NameChangedOct24]

….even though they get the funding much earlier?

previously it was 15 or 30 hours from 3 years old. Parents would be grateful of the discount, with sometimes confusion about why the hours were not ‘free’ in private nurseries, top up fees and term time only stretched etc. I remember my monthly fee dropping from £1900 to £1400 from the 30hr funding and being happy with the saving.

recently though, working parents get some funding much earlier, which is great but they think it’s shocking that they still have to pay for childcare, on here and in real life. Eg colleague complains about it being only 15 hours, can’t afford to put them in 3+ days a week so need to wfh with toddler at feet. Aibu my colleagues don’t appreciate the better deal they have compared to a few years ago!?

It needs a massive overhaul. The original 15hrs were for education not childcare. They were offered as a way to ensure all children started school with a basic skill set. It wasn’t about childcare so parents could work.
Now they are offering more hours and from 9mths but still based on the term time model. Funding is given over 38 weeks, or stretched to cover the year. Unfortunately working parents need childcare all year not just 38 weeks.

We either need to make it easier for people to manage on one wage to allow for parents who’d like to stay home to be with their children in the early years or we need to change how the childcare system works to make if fit for purpose and fund it realistically.

Funding only applies in England as well - it’s sold as “kids in the UK” but Scotland you only get it from 3 unless you are care experienced or very low income (in which case it starts at 2). Frustratingly the 20% “tax free” account allowance hasn’t gone up in several years off the back of “widening free hours” so actually up here costs are up and for most parents of under 3s support is actually down. (And even when they turn 3 you have to wait until after the summer when the schools go back to start the funding in my area! So we miss out on quite a few months!) whole system is shit.

….even though they get the funding much earlier?

Its still more expensive than ever before, that’s a fact.
Due to the non funded cost per hour rising in most settings and additional payments for things like consumables the new funding barely changes the price.

The cost for my 1 year old with 15 hours of funding is the exact same price I was given 18 months ago when I signed them up for nursery prior to the new hours being announced.

The only people who benefit are those who already had family help with childcare and can put their children in for just the free hours.

If you need full time care “30 hours a week” is nowhere near when it’s spread through the year and there are enough non funded hours for the cost to be huge.

Everyone i knew moaned about nursery costs then and I would moan about it now too.

all i can see is the funding has sort of buffered against inflation a little bit, as the fees at my local nurseries are only a tiny bit more than we were paying 12 years ago.

The system doesn't work very well.

Because the funding is utter rubbish. So they’re not getting what they promised. Nursery fees are rising higher than wages

to give an example - if I was getting 15 hours funded, I’d still be paying more from my pocket at our nursery than I was last year due to she sheer amount the daily rate has risen plus the daily “consumables” fee. Nurseries are covering their costs of the poorly paid hourly rate they get from government funding and are passing it on. So actually in some places the funding isn’t making a slight bit of difference

Aibu my colleagues don’t appreciate the better deal they have compared to a few years ago!?

Also to add, this isn’t true. I pay more for my 1 year old with funding than I did for my now nearly 4 year old’s full time fees before the extended funding. It’s not a better deal than 3 years ago.
Due to a 10-15% increase every year and an additional increase due to the energy costs and this summer after the extended fees started.
Full time non funded price has gone from £1050 to £1650 in 3 years.

It’s fair to say our salaries haven’t increased by the same percentage.

When mine were toddlers (now at Secondary) I couldn't afford to go back to work... as a teacher. A combination of not qualifying for any help as DH earned too much (35k ish?), nursery costs and fuel. Plus I was on 24k.

At the time, my friend was a newly single mum. She said she would love to be able to afford to be a sahm... and was surprised it was the other way round, as she got 80% of childcare costs covered.

However new parents now have different experiences to parents then. Some things are better... shared parental leave, earlier funding. But nursery costs have definitely risen a lot. It was £60 a day back then

Its still more expensive than it ever was. Both of mine were in nursery in the last decade but before the new fees. Coupled with the fact that wages are not rising in line with inflation it's harder than ever at the moment.

Pleased I don't have to pay anything towards nursery or child minder

I don't pay anything towards nursery

Plus if I was to pay I'd get 85% back from Universal Credit

Mine are 18 and 16 so was a long time ago for me but are basic fees not much dearer now even with the funding

Don't worry about it, or tell your colleagues not t, most nurseries will be shut soon
The whole *free " hours thing means nurseries can't afford to employ enough staff even on minimum wage.
Two nurseries in our area closed or about to close in the last few months. So tell the parents to make the most of it now.
I don't know if CM are doing any better but I suspect they're struggling as much as nurseries.

Mine won't be and the CM is doing alright

Because whilst the government now has bought in earlier funding the nurseries have responded by putting up their rates. Therefore....no saving

Are you being serious? Nursery costs in this country are ridiculous, just because you 'had it worse' doesn't mean we shouldn't complain.

Nursery fees have rocketed in recent years though. Mine went up 11% last year and 12% the year before. It’s looking like 9% next year.

That’s a 36% increase in 3 years.

And when I got my 15 hours free, my bill went down by 8%. Not the 40% that people might assume it would be.

My mum stayed at home but she was quite miserable as she wanted to work. We were also much poorer than we would have been if she had been able to work.

And she sent us to playgroup several times a week and crèche at the church on a Sunday and our granny's on a Saturday so really she probably spent about the same about of time with us as a working parent now.

And my dad worked long days and was out doing a hobby all day on Sunday but noone ever judged him for that

How come? Genuine question.

The preschool year in a preschool setting is free her but that's not enough hours for working parents so even though my youngest is in a funded preschool 9-1 everyday we're still paying FT nursery fees on top.

I just don't. Lunch and breakfast is free and just get the funded hours

That kind of post always reminds me of someone on here saying a relative of hers refused to eat at places that do 'kids eat free' type offers because when his children were young they didn't have that kind of thing everywhere so now he can't benefit from it, why should the cost of his meal subsidise other people's children and allow them to benefit from the offer 😂

That's incredible. If only it were like that for more of us.

OP I think you are underestimating how much they have gone up.

my nursery went up by nearly 50% over 2 years from 2021 to 2023. (Probably more now but my daughter is at school).

if that amount is widespread the ‘free’ hours don’t make much impact even if they’re earlier.

Free hours for me averaged out as 22 hours week year round, which just covered two days and an hour for me.

My childcare fees excess were paid out of my savings - thank goodness i had some.

Of course they should complain.

Just because you also paid a lot of money doesn't mean it's ok for everyone to have to do that!

Women leaving the workplace left right and centre because they can't afford childcare and this is a big issue - the funded hours clearly haven't done what they needed to given nurseries etc hiking up prices to reflect NI increase and NMW increases.

It shouldn't be so expensive and as one of the richest countries in the world, we should be doing a lot better - if other countries can manage, why can't we? So yes, should from the rooftops I say.

My kids are both now in secondary school and I'm incredibly glad I'm not looking at nursery fees right now.
I really feel for anyone trying to balance the family books with that expense in the frame.
It's harder now for all the reasons pp have said.