How is your nursery implementing the free 30 hours?

[Appuskidu]

I am a teacher with a child who's just left nursery so this doesn't affect me directly, I'm just a bit stunned the way it is being implemented-though I probably shouldn't be, going on track record!

I've just read this

link

I just wondered how many of your nurseries just won't offer it?!

Our nursery is offering the 30 hours. Dd goes 3 days a week, including during half term so they have already the 30 hours over 51 weeks instead of 39 weeks. It means we have gone from having to pay £115 per week to just under £50 per week. We have to pay top ups for her meals but it's still less than half what we were paying before so it's good for us.

I'm offering it, but having to introduce extra charges, which I never did before. I really can't believe that what the government has done is actually legal! It is being challenged by champagne nurseries for lemonade funding. Have a look at their Facebook page m.facebook.com/groups/1723679677878224

Also watch this video

Our nursery has been doing it since the spring as we were part of the trial service. It's not changed anything here. It's worth pointing out though that it's 30 funded hours, not 30 free hours. It isn't necessarily free depending on the nursery you use and there may be top up fees depending on overhead and staffing costs, which makes perfect sense to me. We run a small business and you have to cover your costs and not make a lose, and obviously a nursery paying London rents is going to cost a lot more than ours does (which is in a rural area with more reasonable rental costs, lower staff salaries, etc.). But for us, it has been 30 free hours, with no additional costs above what we already pay (we already pay for small surcharges, like for sun cream use (if you don't bring your own), snacks and hot meals, which hasn't changed. That combined with the tax free childcare plan has made a huge difference in our bills though, so every little bit helps, even if it wasn't completely free, so I would hope all nurseries would offer it, but charge top up fees to cover their costs where necessary. It's ultimately only going to hurt their business if they don't offer it at all as new families will end up going elsewhere.

mindutopia - nurseries and preschools are not allowed to charge top up fees at all. They are allowed to charge for extras such as nappies/wipes/snacks/trips etc, but these have to be separately itemised on the invoice. You can't just charge a blanket top up to cover the difference between the funded rate, and the amount you'd usually charge.

I'm involved with two nurseries. One is a school nursery and one is a private nursery. Both are implementing the 30 hours without any additional fees (lunch is chargeable at £2.50 but optional as packed lunches are welcome).

I am yet to see the working out for my DC's nursery!

Ours is doing something I think they called "stretched hours" so instead of 30 hours just in term time, they're doing 22 hours 51 weeks a year.

DS is only 18 months and I have a feeling the scheme won't be around when he turns 3 so haven't looked in to it too much.

My nursery shut down because of it.

Some ideas to make it viable proposed have included....paying all staff including management and degree level the same rate so cutting wage bill, asking parents to volunteer to do admin (who pays for DBS and what about safeguarding) asking staff to work unpaid hours so that they can keep their jobs, taking in ironing (yep seriously), charging for extra lessons like dance and language, introducing fees for consumables like paint (do you say no to those who don't pay) having better toys for those who pay for them...hmmm...
The funding rate given to an LA is not what is passed onto the setting thy remove admin charges and what is passed on is way less then break even in many areas. Other settings are supposed to work together to pick up the shortfall so if you need 7am to 6pm and your nursery is 9 to 4 you are supposed to use a child-minder to pick up your child but then your child takes up a 9 hour space with the child-minder who if they are taking the rest of the 30hours isn't even getting the full rate for the 4 hours that they work, it is suggested they charge a holding fee but nobody explains how and doesn't that then mean the funding is not free? Potentially income on one child could be cut by £85 a week that's a lot to loose when you have 3 spaces and if 3 are taking funding its not sustainable.
I'm still questioning why you would need free funding of 30 hours if you work 16 hours or why it benefits the country giving free funding to families earning £399,000 a year (they are hardly needing finical help to stay in work at this income) If the level had been set so that it helped the low to mid earners stay in work it would have cost less and been more beneficial to the economy.

Sorry a combined income of less than £200,000

Two 3 hour sessions a day, 5 days a week, term time only. My eligible child only goes 2 days a week (20 hours a week) so I only get 12 free hours. I pay £60 per week for the rest.

Not blaming nurseries - it's clearly under-funded - but the government should be prosecuted for misadvertising! I doubt most parents are actually getting 30 free hours of childcare when they need it.

I haven't seen anything about it at ours so I assume they're not doing it. Ds is a year away so we might reassess then