Can’t afford the additional charges at nursery for my 3 year old

[Lilacbluewaters]

Hi,
my son recently started nursery attached to a school, he turns 4 in March. He receives the 15 funded hours. However the nursery have sent an invoice with additional charges for things like nappies. Wipes, extra activities, snacks and their app. I wasn’t aware of this and I can’t afford the extra £80 per month for this.
will I have to withdraw his place?

If OP DC is still in nappies of course she'd have to pay for them. She'd be paying for nappies if the DC was at home too.

This. Surely only the parents of the DC using nappies should pay for them.

@caringcarer surely she just needs a couple of spares in his bag.
Not pay £80.

The £80 was not just for 2 nappies though was it?

@caringcarer yes but a school based nursery I personally would have assumed everything is included - just like the OP did.
As I have said though when my daughter was at nursery just over a decade ago it was "marketed" as 15 hours of education not childcare. I am now aware from this thread it seems to have changed.
I still don't think there should be a charge though no more than the non compulsory terms of Reception should have any charges (as statutory starting school age is term after a child is 5 but Reception starts the September after a child turns 4).
But if the government has essentially changed what the 15 hours is all about then I really don't know what's what anymore 🙂

The £80 isn't really for nappies, wipes, snacks, craft materials, the app or anything else - that's a bit of a red herring.
The charges are just a top up to cover the difference between what the funding pays and what the nursery's running costs are.
It's just that the law allows charges for 'consumables' but not a top up fee.

@Needmorelego you do realise many schools are absolutely broke.

I sometimes look at finances for school nurseries, some of them are running at a loss, as very hard to cover ratios and have enough funding to cover staff salaries.

If will have been written in the policies u signed.
most nurseries r struggling to keep afloat hence y so many have young apprentices, if u want quality childcare use home from home such as a childminder, but its subsidised hours not free hours so if u choose somewhere that charges more than the Council pay them which often happens for 3 and 4 year olds u have to expect to have other charges.

@crumblingschools I know schools are broke.
But as far as I thought (until this thread) the Nursery Class in a primary was just another class. No one would expect an £80 fee for their child in Reception (which all or part depending on birthday is under statutory starting age).
It seems things have changed.
From the sound of what nurseries in schools are now (going by this thread) I probably wouldn't send my daughter to the nursery class if she was a 3 year old now. I would wait until Reception for her to start.

The hourly funding rate is only intended to go towards the actual childcare (and is far below what that alone costs). It doesn’t cover nappies, wipes, creams, food etc., Unfortunately the government falsely ‘marketed’ the funding schemes as free childcare but it’s not as settings would close if they had to supply everything out of the appalling hourly rates.

Most nurseries charge an amount per funded hour used, for example we used 22hrs a week funded stretched all year, and pay £20 charge a week for the extra stuff, so we don't pay any fees, and pay £80 a month, but before that our bill was around £600 so £80 a month is a huge reduction

and yet if you tell the childcare provider you will supply your own and so shouldn’t have to pay the top up charge you’re not allowed to with the majority 🤔

nurseries are cartels

A nursery needs 6 children to pay the wages and cost of employing one staff member minimum wage...from the remaining 2 children they have to cover....office staff, utilities, rent, rates, consumables like paint, glue, cleaning equipment etc....the aim of a business.... because it is a business is to make a profit they cant make anything and are often running at a loss ....hence the government pushing schools for 2 year olds....they have lower overheads, empty classrooms and can have a higher ratio. The costs of dumping babies in large classrooms with less staff are hidden as its the child who suffers.