Nursery Fee Increases

[martinguy25]

When we first put our Daughter into nursery, we searched around a few different Private nurseries, as these where the only option for full day childcare on the days that both my partner and I were working.

The cost was obviously a factor in choosing the nursery, although we didn't choose the cheapest option, as a more expensive nursery seemed like a nice environment for our daughter to spend her days.

The nursery we opted for was at the time £46.90 a day all in and stated in their handbook that their prices increase by approximately 3% per year.

Now it's been just under 2 years and in that time we have had 3 price increases, with another planned for January, when my daughter turns 3y/o. Prices have increase by 3%, 1.5%, 8% and the latest increase will be a whopping 25% (from £46.90 per day to £66 per day in Jan).

The nursery is blaming these increases on lack of government funding and the increase in business rates. Now it has been announced that nurseries in Scotland have been exempt from all business rates, and they have also increased the funding for the funded childcare for 3 and 4 year olds, but the nursery is still sticking to the latest 25% fee increase.

Does anyone have any experience with this and know if there's anything we can do to fight the increases? With waiting lists at all other nurseries, we do not have the option to move our daughter at such short notice and feel like moving her would also be a very traumatic experience, given that she loves the nursery and the staff and children she is there with.

P.S. other nurseries in the area are only £50 per day or less and the daily rate goes down with age, as the ratio of practitioner to child decreases.

I think traumatic is abit strong, kids are amazing at adapting. That being said if you like that nursery and you think they're worth the money there's not alot you can do about the price.

What does it say in your contract with the nursery about the increases?

DD’s nursery is £84 per day but apparently hasn’t had a fee increase in the last four years. It sounds like your nursery might be heading into financial trouble if they are having to alter the fees that much?

It's unlikely that nurseries are profiteering - most are running on extremely tight margins. And if there are new external shocks, they really don't have a choice other than to pass these on.

Also, you've been taking your %ages based on the price when you started, not the compound interest across all the increases (which will be how the nursery sees it).

Move if you are having affordability issues, but do remember that there is no way you can predict fee increases in the other nurseries which are currently cheaper.

All percentages I mentioned where based on the price difference from the previous fees. Overall the price will have increased by 40% in less than 2 years from the price we were originally paying. Much more than the 3% annual they are stating.

You have a choice
Choose a different nursery
You can't fight price increases
It's not up to parents to dictate fees
All you can do is take your child out m

Nurseries are businesses, not a charity service. You either pay the increased fees or move your daughter based on which is less disruptive/most appealing.

FWIW I disagree with the PP as some nurseries make a lot of profit - not all of them are in the ‘close to going out of business’ category. One local to us was making £80k profit a year after paying their directors!

My maths is probably out then!

(On compound interest, I made the final figure a bit over £69 (not a huge difference, though))

£80k might not be much, depending on turnover.

But martin if this has soured your view of this nursery, then I think you have little option other than to leave as soon as you can secure a place elsewhere. You might have to pay fees in lieu of notice, which will be extremely galling, but in the longer run you stand to be both happier and better off.