New budget - I'm excited!

[gemloving]

I am so glad the topic of childcare is finally being discussed and it seems changed are being made.

I can't see us getting free hours for 1 year olds but 30h for 2 year olds would be fantastic and such a great move into the right direction.

I have a 4 year old and an almost 2 year old in the system!

I don't agree for the reason highlighted in your post - women will bear the burden.

Plus why oh why is that something the state should fund? It would cost the state more than childcare hours do, and there would be no benefit to the economy (compared with a parent in work and nursery workers)

Both of mine go to a childminder (I chose not to send mine 4 year old to preschool as I preferred the home setting and he goes to two play groups on two days with them), so I supposed in a way, I'm not too aware personally of the actually nursery set up but it been very eye opening to read about this and I hope this is being considered.

My childminder does have a top up fee too and a food charge of £5 a day but the free hours have really made a difference especially now that both of mine go there 3 days a week.

I'd like a balance. I ultimately think for the idea to work you can't just throw money into the pockets of SAHM's.

The reason parents could stay at home when we were younger and our parents were younger was because you didn't need two wages and a Side Hussle each just to break even every month. So the change that would enable a parent to stat at home needs to come from raising wages and lowering ridiculous rent and energy prices. Ain't gonna happen.

As for free childcare this is going to absolutely cripple already fragile settings. The government fucked over childminders and nurseries by giving them scraps, if that, when the pandemic hit then did nothing to help them recover after. They clearly seem to want to destroy the childcare industry entirely and this will definitely do it.

Genuine question why do they want to destroy the childcare industry? What's the end goal there?

The only people who think this is a good idea is those who don’t understand the childcare sector.

If this goes ahead, especially if it’s administered in the same way the current 30 hours for 3 and 4 year olds, it will be the straw that breaks the back of childcare as we know it!

Just as a fun wee anecdote we have no choice but to send our DC to an expensive nursery because there are now ZERO childminders on our side of the city. The nearest one is 6 miles away into the countryside with zero public transport and even if we did drive she only covers the area closest to her.

There used to be four within walking distance and two cheaper day nurseries that the government destroyed financially while partying and having affairs etc etc.

My understanding is they will also increase the funding for the free hours to make it more sustainable

"They also said that the DfE had been pushing for the hours to be funded “at cost” rather than the current low rate, which has led to childcare providers struggling and in many cases asking for top-up payments from parents."

From the Guardian

Probably for similar reasons to destroying all public services. Then again who knows why the Tories keep doing senseless shit that makes life unbearable and unaffordable to us pesants.

Unregistered childminders and nursery’s who don’t have the correct safeguarding procedures and qualified staff in place will not receive the funding! So no, that won’t be the case!

You can guarantee that the Guardian have just skimmed out the fun stuff and when the details actually come it it won't be anywhere near as exciting as it sounds. There will be little nuances in the fine print that mean the nurseries end up paying more and the parents still have to top up ridiculous amounts. "Free" is just a fancy word to make it sound like they are helping when they aren't.

Who is 'they' in this quote?

I don’t understand which part of my post you’re replying to. I don’t think we should be “throwing money into the pockets of SAHMs”?

But even if they do increase ratios, doesn't mean childcare settings will take on more kids. All the childminders and two nurseries local to me do not want to take on more children as increased ratios means increased risk as there is less adult supervision and accidents will be more likely to occur. Unless you just have the increased number of kids sat in front of a TV all day.

Might have missed it but if the childcare settings are losing out why aren’t they charging an appropriate ‘top up’ for food to make up the difference or on the weeks of the year that aren’t covered by the funding? Surely there can be a way to do this. So if a nursery charges £75 a day and a parent needs 10 hours of childcare a day can’t the nursery get 6 hours funded of £5, charge additional 4 hours at £10 and £5 food on top? That’s £75 but the parent only paying £45 and is £30 a day better off?
or… if ppl start only using 6 hours increase the food bill?
Not sure I understand why nurseries can’t get it to work for them given the flexibility to charge for extras?

If my 2 year old was to receive 30 free hours now, I'd be happy with that even if the nursery put the prises up. So say my bill would've gone from £1,000 to £400 but would instead go down to £500/600 id still be saving money and the nursery would gain more out of it so surely win win?

Same here 😕 I love my job, but the nursery I work in is already running at a loss and we cannot recruit new staff. I think this will be the end for us.

@Led9519 as it stands childcare settings are not allowed to charge top up fees for funded places. They can charge for "consumables" but it has to be made clear to the parent that this is voluntary. Parents can choose not to pay the voluntary charge which a lot do. Some nurseries say parents must pay the voluntary charge or the space is not available. Some settings charge a premium for 1and 2 year olds to cover the shortfall of 3 and 4 year olds.

I agree and I'm the same. As a childminderni won't increase my ratios, its not safe or fun for anyone!

However that doesn't matter to the government, it will just absolve them of they obligation to.pay a decent rate by telling settings they could always take on mire children. It puts the blame on the settings when they close then doesn't it?

There is a rumour in the childcare sector that if all private nurseries and childminders are forced to close through lack of funding for the childcare sector then the government (although more of a Labour idea) will ensure that all primary schools take on children from nursery age and will be state run childcare.

@specialkallday from my understanding is that vulnerable children cannot be charged a top up fee and they have to be taken in and get priority which can cause an issue. I have little knowledge about the system but that's what I believe.

I don’t think it’s necessarily true that higher ratios is a bad thing- when we lived in the US DD’s 2’s class at daycare was 1:8 (but they voluntarily took an extra adult for outings so 1:6) and it was fantastic, France is also 1:8, whilst Germany, Denmark and Sweden don’t even have legal ratios. It probably all comes back to the same old chestnut that English nurseries can’t pay enough to keep well qualified experienced staff, because the funding they get from the government is a fraction what it actually costs to look after a child, so they’re relying on their younger children to subsidise but there’s a limit to what parents can afford to or are willing to pay. And this new policy will just make this worse, not better unless they’re going to change the way the funding works.

I'm not charging a top up because a) it's illegal to charge top ups and b) because the parents simply wouldn't be able to afford it.

I never became a childminder to rip people off but I've spent all the years I've been a childminder hearing how the childcare sector rips off parents, how we must be creaming it in until I stop people in their tracks and ask them how much they would want to be paid and if they would be happy to swap roles.

If childcare providers upped their fees in line with nmw and inflation we'd price ourselves out of work. Nobody who goes into work in this sector through greed they do it because they want to offer the best service and experience for all children but this is becoming increasingly difficult hence why there's such a shortage of spaces currently because settings are being forced to close in order to survive.

My understanding (could be wrong) is that nurseries aren’t obliged to offer the 30 free hours currently, is that right? If so, I assume the government is thinking they’ll say they’re offering it, but it’s not their fault if nurseries aren’t. Knowing full well they aren’t paying enough for nurseries to be able to offer it.

It is legal though? In that you can set a charge for consumables like food/nappies?
I don’t want my childminder to run herself into the ground for me, I want her to earn a good amount but, as much as is feasible, utilize the schemes available to us in a win/win?
it is genuine ignorance I don’t know what the shortfall is per hour as I don’t know what our LA funding is per hour.