Nursery are threatening to remove my child as I questioned fees

[Girlmum1984]

My daughter turns 3 in a few weeks and we will be able to claim 30 free hours. When this happens, my consumables fee will increase from £12 a day to £29. have questioned this with management and asked for a breakdown of what this fee includes. They have listed food, nappies etc as well as a few activities (baking, PE classes, music classes). The activities listed take place twice month and so far haven’t been on the day that my child attends. All of this would never add up to £29 daily.

Unsatisfied with the response, I emailed the local council to understand how consumables fees can be issued to parents and it there were any regulations. As a result, they contacted the nursery manager and investigated. They were satisfied with the findings and basically said there are no regulations they need to follow when it comes to consumables fees and they can charge what they like. Annoying, but fine.
I have now had an official looking email from my nursery to say I have impacted the staffs mental health by making this enquiry and they are going to discuss whether our contact will be terminated as a result!
I’ve never had any issues with staff in the past and we’ve always been on friendly terms. My daughter enjoys the setting and the care they provide isn’t in question.

can they kick her out as their manager has an issue with me contacting the council about them? Thanks

This. Asking questions is not in itself rude or disrespectful. It’s reasonable to check you understand things properly especially when so much money is involved.

I’m a childminder, this weekend I will be working on updating my CV. Enough is enough, this is the final nail in the coffin. I’ve never been greedy, I would never take advantage of people however I still need to pay my bills. I’m tired of being expected to supplement the childcare costs of the children I care for. I’m a damned good childminder, I treasure all of the little ones who step through my doors and I am rated outstanding. I am also one of the cheapest childminders in my area but the funding for 3/4 year olds falls so short it’s criminal.

@Loopydaloppy can I ask what is the funding for 3/4 yr old per hour?
I hear people saying thinks like it’s as low as 2.75 an hour and then others being saying greedy childminders it’s £8/hour?!
we are not white yet at that stage!

Funding rates vary by areas. It’s very much a sliding scale when it comes to the funding, the older a child gets then the less funding is paid. 9 months to 2 years is the highest rate whereas 3/4 year olds get the lowest rate.

hand on heart, I don’t think I’ve ever met a greedy childminder, far from it. I never went in to this career to get rich, I just want to pay my bills and feed my children 🤷🏼‍♀️

@Loopydaloppy
i had no idea it varied by area, such a postcode lottery!
I can understand the variation by age given the different ratios efc.
no I’ve never met one either, maybe a profit driven nursery but not a childminder.

They aren't meant to check extra but consumables is a grey area that many setting use to get around it.

Agree with pp, it's discounted hours but that's not such a positive sound bite.

Unfortunately, the ratios don’t quite work with childminders. We are limited to a maximum of 6 children under the age of 8. If we employ an assistant then we can care for more children but as a lone worker I am limited to 6. Only 3 of those children should be under the age of 5 although we can have a variation on that depending on reasons such as sibling continuity of care. If you can only have 3 children under the age of 5 and those children are on the 3/4 funding then the situation becomes more dire.

It's a grey area because providers aren't allowed to call it top up fees. If providers were allowed to call it top up fees it would be completely transparent but that would show successive governments up for under funding and promising parents 'free' childcare.

well yes

3/4 year olds is usually around £5.20-£5.80 and hour depending on local authority.

The nursery staff need to grow a backbone!
‘Mental health’ because you wanted to clarify how funding works through the official channel? Let’s hope Ofsted don’t upset them at next visit then…
I would be looking for a new nursery now, not least because I’d worry this could influence how staff engage with your child now.

As a childminder I can no longer afford to offer the 3/4 yr old funding. The rate is just too low

Law has been changed over night and they can't now charge you, only if you are willing to pay voluntarily.

Be interesting to know if you keep your child's place if you don't.

That was always the case. The change is that invoices must be more details so parents know what the extras are.

I think it's because the ratios go up the older children get. So you can look after more 3 and 4 years per hour. A lot of childminders do before and after school too so I guess charge whatever the childminder wants for those.

@littleluncheon
How many 3/4 year olds are you allowed to look after? Can you add over 5s - 11 too?

Max of 3 under 5s and another 3 under 8s.

The childminder ratio doesn't change unlike a nursery.
There's a limit to what can be charged for wrap around especially now schools are supposed to be providing it.