Free hours my arse

[wonkylegs]

Grrr just got the bill for Nxt months nursery fees. Now that DS is 3 he's getting he's getting his 'free' hours , great so my bill should be going down by quite a bit.... Nope it's not because now I'm getting these free hours I no longer get a full time discount despite him being there full time and so the rate for the rest of his hours has gone up (quite a lot) so I won't be getting a smaller bill ( I don't think £20 off a £750 bill counts) this hasn't been mentioned once when they made such a fuss about claiming these hours grr really winds me up
Good thing we can just about spare this cash , can so understand how some people find it difficult to afford to go back to work

I would dispute that with the nursery manager, I don't see why you no longer get the full time discount, most nurseries simply deduct the grant from the fees you paid before. Are other parents in the same boat? If so, you could band together to bring up the issue.

That is but does not surprise me. The nursery my DC go to increase the daily rate by £4 for 3-5 year olds as apparently they need more equipment/dedicated staff (which never materialised!) so although the price went down, it wasn't that significant.

This coincided with DS2 starting nursery aswell so we really need the decrease in fees and had budgeted accordingly

that's unfair, they are now actually receiving more money for your child, as they will receive the funds from the govt for the free hours.
I would challenge it if you can

So they are using fake discounts (or special rates for 3-4 year olds) to pocket public money meant to help parents?

I would be looking for alternative, reputable childcare and reporting their sharp practices to Ofsted.

Thieving scumbags.

I would challenge this also. If they won't discount then I would simply tell them that you wish to remain on previous fee structure and not receive the grant.

He is still full time and they are still receiving full time pay for him. I think that is possibly illegal? And I'd be moving my dc.

My bill was always calculated full tie discount applied and then the nursery voucher taken off.

That is out of order! (I am a nursery owner) you should still get the full weekly discount if you are still using. Check your small print of your contract just in case theyve put it in there.

Wow, that's very wrong. Check small rpint and then, if it's actually in there / you can't win by arguing, I would take the extra £20 hit and officially withdraw from gvmnt funding - that way they aren't fleasing the tax payer for the extra cash and you'll get your discount again (it'll hit them in the pocket - and no business wants that)

If they do insist that that's their 'rules' I would report them to the LEA - they need to know that they are part funding an immoral pre-school.

iirc the reimbursed rate isn't necessarily as high as the hourly rate you may otherwise pay. Therefore it sounds as if to maintain the same income per child they increase the rate for the balance of hours. Not at all sure this is legit and might be worth asking LA, effectively it is top-up fees by the back door.

That is

They are receiving extra money to fund those three hours - it makes not difference whether the rate is lower than you currently pay, they should deduct what they are receiving from what you pay them.

The only reason to give discount for full time is that you don't have 'gaps' in the hours that are being paid for which may be hard to fill - if he is still there full time they there is no reason to charge as if he were part time!

What a con!

I would do as others have suggested and say "actually I don't want the grant, I'll pay for full time"