Nurseries cannot charge extra to access free hours: updated guidance

[MidnightPatrol]

The DfE has updated their guidance to say while nurseries may ask for voluntary contributions towards nappies, food etc - they may not have mandatory top up fees to access free hours. Councils will have the power to fine providers who are asking parents to pay extra.

news.sky.com/story/amp/parents-must-not-pay-mandatory-extra-charges-to-access-free-childcare-government-says-13313166

This is surely only going to reduce access to free hours for the majority, and push up costs for those paying for unfunded hours? And quite possibly, lead to nurseries closing.

Other consequences which we are already seeing:

• Minimum attendance to access free hours (4 days for the 30 hours or 3 days for 15). I am not clear if this would be banned under the guidance.
• Nurseries not offering the free hours
• Unfunded hours becoming more expensive to offset

YABU - nurseries should not be able to charge extra
YANBU - nurseries need to be able to cover their costs

Given the funding is not enough to provide places, what exactly do the government expect the nurseries to do?

Unfortunately this is the way that government wants the system to operate with non funded hours subsidising their underpaid funded hours so they can say it's free and nursery is over charging....politics many fall for.

Leaves nurseries in a very difficult position if parents start refusing to pay - presumably they can’t just ‘expel’ the children for this reason without potentially facing legal action?

This was early on in the thread - but of course a private business can give notice (probably one month's notice) to a customer, especially if that customer is not paying in line with the contract.

Yep. Unfortunately they can. Nursery owners have parents over a barrel and they know it.

When you say “unfortunately” - would you change contract law to put special conditions on nursery contrast? Bearing in mind if you made nurseries give eg 3 months notice of fee increases, parents would have to give 3 months notice to leave, say. Or would you make some other change to the system?

Erm yes, I would make many other changes to the system...

Cool, what would you do?

I think I would look for parents to get a pot of childcare vouchers that was approx equivalent annually to the current allowance (eg £75 per week for 52 weeks, or whatever, possibly with a bit of regional variation). I wouldn't make these term time only or anything as that's quite outdated now, IMO.

Then the parents could spend these at any Ofsted registered provider as easily as cash. If they wanted to spend them upfront or save them up for times (eg December) when money was tighter, that would be fine. If they never used them, the vouchers would be cancelled periodically, maybe once a year or once the child started school.

Then it would be a true subsidy but with more flexibility for the parents to mix and match childcare if they want, to change provider etc.

That would be ideal, give them your the provider and then pay the rest. If you wanted to pay less then you find a different provider. I’ve been saying the same all along. It could still be arranged through the tax free childcare site to ensure that the vouchers are used for registered settings.

Yes, with school nurseries session prices matching the voucher prices.

Yup.
This makes sense to everyone except successive Governments.

Apparently, according to them, but definitely not according to anyone I spoke with!