Please help me work out nursery fees!

[elm26]

First time Mum, 2 year old starting nursery in September and we are entitled to 15 hours but we are both so confused! You wouldn’t believe we run a successful business would you 😂

We are entitled to 15 free hours from September. We would like her to do afternoon sessions as the morning sessions start at 7:30 and she sleeps until then and I’m also pregnant so will find it difficult to get a toddler and baby out of the door and to nursery for that time plus it would mean me waking her up.

I’ve attached the information sheet. Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks in advance.

How many hours do you want her to do? Every afternoon?

Are you entitled to tax free childcare?

It says the minimum attendance for the 15 free hours is 2 full days.

Working parent funding is 30 hours from September. She doesn't have to arrive for opening time.

How many days do you want her to go? It says that the minimum attendance for 15 funded hours is 2 full days so you probably can’t send her for just afternoons.

It looks like to use the 2 year old funding, she'd have to do a minimum of 2 X full days which would be £528 a month.

If you only want her to do afternoons, she wouldn't get the funding and 2 afternoons would cost you £502 a month or 3 afternoons £754 a month etc

You don't have to take them from 7:30 you know, that's just what time they open.

needs to be there atleast 2 full days to get 15 hours

That's what I just read too. It's not a very clear fees chart at all!
All I will say is be prepared for the 15 hours to not be totally free as the funding doesn't always cover the nursery's costs. We were paying about £300-£400 a month from memory even with 'free' hours.

Thanks everyone. If she does 2 full days that’s fine. I’m just being stupid thinking she’d have to go in for 7:30! I don’t know why they don’t seem to make it super easy to work out. X

Afternoons only sounds like a nightmare. 2 full days definitely better. The 15 hrs funding is only for 39 weeks a year so nurseries spread it out over 51 and charge you extra for the rest.

It's funded hours not free... Every nursery is does is so different it's impossible to work out bill unless you talk to your chosen nursery

Or if you read the information in the OP that said chosen nursery has provided...

That’s baffling. And more than £12 an hour sounds like a lot.

I don’t really know what the standard rate it but we’ve seen 3 nurseries and they are all around £12 an hour. I’ve never done this before but maybe it’s because they have outstanding OFSTED report, take the children to a sing and dance club once a week and also a little fooball club, they grow their own veg/fruit and herbs and they have an in house chef who uses what they grow to make some of the food. They have a bug house in the garden and also go out some weeks to do outside of the nursery stuff like look for tadpoles and build dens etc.

My boys have attended two separate nurseries and a school based preschool. Both nurseries were open from either 7:30 or 8 but children arrived between opening time and about 9:30 depending on parents needs. Same for pick up, the nursery was open til 5:30/6 but parents would pick up from around 4 til closing. Both mine were there early so we could then go on to work but were picked up before lots of their peers.

Can you ask the nursery for an example bill based on the days that would suit you? I agree that full days are better than more frequent afternoons.

With the preschool as it is school based it is much more like a school and everyone arrives at start time and is picked up between 3 and 3:30 which may be more what you were thinking of.

Omg....sorry to derail but I had no idea childcare was so expensive. My DD is now 25 and we used to pay £42.50 for a full 8am until 6pm day
I'm actually gobsmacked 😳

I've been looking at this thinking- why is it so expensive per day compared to what I pay?! Then realised their morning/ afternoon is 5.5 hours whereas I pay for a school day 9- 3 which is 6 hours and much more convenient hours! Do they offer school day hours?

@Abigaillovesholidaysschool hours aren't convenient for everyone though.
their hours are normal for a private nursery.
the fees include everything listed at the top, where I have to pay separately at mine for food and supply own nappies etc

All that is quite normal in most nurseries.

Be aware that nurseries aren’t allowed to charge ‘consumables’ in order to access the sessions. Consumables must be a shown as a voluntary contribution.

Just to point out you should get 30 funded hours from September not 15.

Ours don’t charge top ups, so we got two 7.5 hours school length days for our 15 hours (we do term time only). We provided nappies and wipes but there are no fees added. From sept we get 30 hours and that will be 9-3 5 days a week, we just provide lunch. They have gardens and grow food etc too.

At almost £13 an hour you’re paying a full time wage (I know it doesn’t include NI, heating, materials etc) but depending on their ratios, it seems a lot. How is anyone who makes minimum wage themselves (or not much above) supposed to afford that?

I’ve had a reply saying that 2 days a week with our funded hours stretched across the year will be £588.68 a month 😳 we just cannot pay that much. I’ve enquired at a recommended preschool that’s 9-3, a couple of people on our estate send their children there and love it and pay around £50 a month extra including lunch meal.

Yes that sounds about right for a private nursery with all the things you mention like chef and extra curriculars, we pay just over £1k a month for 4 days a week with the 15 funded hours.

Are you at home or do you need the childcare so that you can work?

When you say it's £50 a month extra, do you mean compared to the £588.68 quote from the nursery? Or compared to something else?