Playgroup fees - is this expensive?

[QueenEagle]

This afternoon, ds had a visit to the playgroup which he will be starting in October.

I was shocked at the cost - £4.75 per 2.5hr session.

Just out of interest, what do other mumsnetters pay?

Ds is starting pre-school (not attached to a school) in Sept which will cost £6.50 for a 2.5 hour session. SE again. It will be free from Jan onwards though so we only have to pay for this term.

i currently pay £4,50 each day for dd to go to nursery 2 days a week (thats with nursery funding) when the funding runs out its £23,00 a day.

£10 for 3 hours in west london -- and that's regarded as a bargain round here.

I looked round a few:
£4.50 at our local play-group for a 2.5hr session, and an extra £1 if you don't go on the parent volunteer rota
£8 at the village pre-school we're using, 3 hr session; once the vouchers kick in we'll be paying £1.50 for the extra 30 mins, plus for the extra weeks
£10 at the private montesorri in the next town
£15 at the nursery wing of the prep school

The thing that surprised me is that the vouchers cover any of them - from the £4.50 to the £15 per session - might move him into the expensive one when it's free

£4.75 seems reasonable for 2.5hrs. I bet the staff aren't paid much, the hall rental is cheap and they still only just cover costs.

we pay £5 for a 2.5 hour session. Apparently they get approx £8 for children over 3 from the government. When you take into account staff costs, insurance and hire of the hall, together with equipment etc it is actually not expensive (especially compared to sending them to a nursery or a child minder).

SoftFroggie, dd is at the nursery of a pre=prep school. The vouchers don't cover the whole cost their is an upper limit so it may be worth checking what it is in your area.

was recently paying £12.50 per three hour session.

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Well, I guess my playgroup is on the cheaper side then, having seen what some of the others are paying

It's 5-6 years since my older ds went there and I was quite taken aback at how much the fees have gone up in that time.

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My ds nursery fee it £10 for a 2.5 hour session! (it is a bit more pricey because it is a montessori nursery). I would be over the moon at £4.75 a session.

£3.75 for 2.5 hrs (Norfolk), but free from 1st term after 3rd birthday. Was a little cheaper (£3 or £3.50?) in Leicestershire 18 months ago.

oh, and our local Montessori would be free from 1st term after 3rd birthday, too...

want to echo what zebra says - that of-course once they are 3 they get the fees paid

OH QE, just seen this. I am stunned as my ds3 is going to have to pay £6 for a 2 hour session as from September! I think that is very steep but fortunately it is only until he is 3.

I used to be the treasurer of my children's old playgroup and I have to say that £4.75 for 2.5 hrs seems reasonable to me. When ds2 started (5 years ago) it was £3, then it went up to £4 when dd started (well before actually) and I think they were raising it to £5 when I had to resign when we moved.

£12.75 per 4 hr session (9-1pm - and they take a packed lunch). Worth every penny though - it's fantastic playgroup.

That's without the funding for 3 yr olds.

This is a private nursery/playgroup but only sessional - not a day nursery (in the 8am to 6pm sense). It's only open 9-1pm.