Nursery fee increase

[Leopardspota]

Our nursery fees will increase by 6.3% (well above my pay rise!!) in January. They are now £126.50 per day, outer London.

AIBU to think this is huge? It was £113 per day when we started in 2023.

It's been a while since I had to pay for nursery. Completely shocked! I haven't a clue how people can afford it now! 😳

Goodness, ours were £70 at most, a few years ago (in Sussex).

Surely for a lot of people it’s not worth working?

I fully sympathise that that’s a lot of money and sadly everything these days seems to be increasing except pay rises :(

However on another thread I was just on there was a poster bemoaning how ratios were too high, that staff aren’t qualified enough, that trainees are allowed to work in nurseries etc. Everyday there are new threads about how nurseries aren’t providing enough stimulation, support, good enough meals, comprehensive enough feedback, the list goes on. I don’t know how parents can square asking for more and more and not expecting price increases.

if you ask any parent I’m sure they’d tell you their children and the single most important thing to them. That they treasure them more than anything else. Parents want the absolute best service, highly qualified staff but can’t seem to square paying for it.

I 100% think that we need to follow other developed countries models and subsidise childcare more to allow people to work. But the moan needs to be directed at the government for not supporting this initiative. Not directed at nurseries for having to charge more when they’re constantly being demanded more of.

Do you get the funded hours?

Ouch - is that full time or part time?

Three years ago I was paying £87 a day, and now it’s £110 a day (same nursery). Assume it will go up in January too.

Thats an extra £6k a year I need to find - or an extra £12k pre-tax.

This is full time so I actually get a discount - would be more per day if they went part time.

I’m just here as a twin parent to make you all feel better.

Yep. I can't even get nursery places for both outside of a school-length day, let alone afford those places so I can return to work!

My elder gets 15 hours.

They currently do 4 days each and cost £3400 per month. I’m sure a lot of people say ‘well if you earn over £100k you can afford it.’ I guess we can, just, it’s just that a 6.3% rise feels huge when we were already paying a lot.

I do value good childcare, hence I chose a nursery with a lovely vibe, great staff and lots of amazing activities. I don’t resent paying, I just feel the fee rise is a lot, so wondered if it is reflected in the industry.

I really feel that funded hours should be for all, after all we pay a huge amount of tax and then have to pay childcare out of our taxed wages.

Ouch. Well I have 2 kids, so I’m just spreading out the cost differently!

It’s part time - 4 days per week. I get a 7% discount for my eldest on top of the 15 free hours, so it’s a bargain at £1500 per month.

The amount the nursery gets for funded hours won’t be enough, so they will be having to raise the price for non-funded hours by more to make up for the increasing shortfall created by the increase in free hours availability.

I should add… I’m a teacher, so my husband is subsidising me being able to work (he wouldn’t mind if I didn’t work, but I value my career!) But we’d be £1000 per month better off if I didn’t work although I know pension etc isn’t included.

I did wonder about this. Which is so unfair on those of us who aren’t entitled!!

We have spent 50k on nursery fees in the last 4 years. We earn 70k between us.
2 kids, not London.
I would pay it again for excellent provision, which we did get. But yeah, it's hugely impacted our financial position short and long term.

It not worth it for me In the short term. but my littlest will go to school in 2029 and then I’d not just be able to ask for my job back.

It’s mind goggling when you add it up!

@Leopardspota I really wish I hadn't added it up and would urge others not to! I also had mine a tad too early so didn't benefit from any 'free' hours until right at the end. 2 years left to go but thankfully the bill is much smaller now with just one child with funded hours.

No one made you have them close together to be coughing up two lots of nursery fees together fhough

Nine month olds get 30 free hours now?

Are there any childminders available?

You are right to keep working if you can, especially with your pension which is one of the best around.

At least it is only double the rate of inflation. Guarantee my nursery will do a double digit increase next April as they have done for the last two/three years. The only way I manage is I alternate which childcare code I use (still keep my son’s going - could use for the after school club but keep it for the nursery bill)

I just did a quick calculation and this year Sept 25-Aug 26 will be over £40k. Next year will be better as eldest starts school😬

Well no… no one made me have kids, obviously.

We don’t get funded hours til 3.

I know nursery isn’t the cheapest option,
I was more wondering if the 6.3% was usual or not! It seems to go up by about that each year.

No funding when my eldest 2 were young. Made sure they were far enough apart in age as to not need to pay out 2 lots of nursery fees at once.

Also outer London - rises have been similar since my eldest started nursery about 5 years ago. My youngest gets 15 free hours from April and I cannot wait.

Agree that it felt both horrifically expensive and worth it - both the nurseries we've used have been excellent. But I am looking forward to the extra money when DC2 starts school!