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Nurseries

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum. For more guidance on early years development, sign up for Mumsnet Ages & Stages emails.

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Original poster

Extortionate nursery?

38 replies

pleasechange · 16/01/2008 10:06

I picked 4 nurseries to visit (for my as yet unborn baby, was warned to look early!) and went to see 3 of them last week. I was happy with one of them (except small concern on food), and it is £735 full time per month, which seems reasonable for the area. I am going to see the final nursery tomorrow - from what I've read, it is my favourite so far (and got outstanding report from Ofsted). BUT it is £985 per month (north west england).

Does that sound very high??

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Hulababy · 16/01/2008 10:14

So £735 works out at about £35 a day
And £985 works out at about £49 a day

What do you get for the extra £14 a day?
Why is it so good?

It does seem very high but I would need to see it and find out why, and if I was prepared to pay that amount extra for the additional benefits they offer?

Important also to remember that more expensive doesn't always mean better. So try to make sure that you are not swayed by a percieved "better nursery" just because of the cost.

PortAndLemon · 16/01/2008 10:24

Well, it's significantly cheaper than ours, but then we are in SW London (actually [slightly pained grin]). And ours isn't even the most expensive in the area, although there are others that are cheaper.

Things that I can think of offhand that probably affect how much our nursery charges:

Opening hours. They are open longer each day than any other local nursery
Staffing -- affected by opening hours, obviously, but also our nursery only has staff doing 8-hour shifts (10 hours is common at many nurseries). I suspect they pay better than most, as well, as they have outstanding staff retention rates.
What's included -- ours includes all disposable nappies, formula if you're using it, meals and snacks, and it's very good quality food too

There are other factors that IMO make it better, but those are the ones that will obviously hit the bottom line and so impact costs.

titchy · 16/01/2008 10:42

£49 a day is still only () £5 a day which is what CMs charge.

MrsDandOllie · 16/01/2008 10:48

The things I found that made the nursery prices vary to a large extent in my area were...
what is included - nappies, all food and milk etc
opening hours
extra 'features' - some charged a big premium for features such as a separate sleeping area with lots of cots so each child had his/her own space and own sheets etc, cctv type thing that could be accessed by parents during day, more trips out...

I ended up going for a mid priced one that included all food and milk, I provided the nappies and it didnt have the jazzy 'extras' but it did have a cosy friendly atmosphere and just felt 'right'

I also found that looking around and putting your name on the lists is all well and good before baby is born, but I got so much more out of a second good look round with my son when he was born as I knew then what things were more important to us and it really really helped me to judge the places by seeing how the staff acted towards my son when we looked around.

HTH!

happystory · 16/01/2008 10:50

titchy do you mean £5 an hour?

morningpaper · 16/01/2008 10:50

Our more-expensive nursery also pays the staff higher wages than the other nurseries. This is obviously a Good Thing.

LyraSilvertongue · 16/01/2008 10:52

DS2's nursery was £56 a day, but that's in London. I'd expect the north west to be cheaper tbh.

donbean · 16/01/2008 10:53

OMG!
North west England are you sure?
That is an OBSCENE amount of money, that is more than my mortgage.
How can people afford that.
Seriously!
My pal pays £23 per day for an excellent nursery in the north west.
I cant get over that.
am very nearly speachless,
very nearly

Hulababy · 16/01/2008 10:54

The nursery that is more expensive round here offers French lessons, specific gym lessons, dance classes, etc. It is also quite an academic nursery - gets children sat down school syle once preschool age. I found it all too much too young persnally, but someone we know really liked it.

NormaStanleyFletcher · 16/01/2008 10:56

My DDs North West Nursery is only £26 per day!

I have to provide nappies.

maretta · 16/01/2008 10:59

Think it depends where in the north west you are - south manchester / cheshire is more expensive than other areas.
We have a more expensive nursery and they provide formula, nappies, pay their staff better and have better facilities.

ComeOVeneer · 16/01/2008 10:59

ds's nursery is £55 per day, and you provide packed lunch and nappys etc (if they still need them).

maretta · 16/01/2008 11:00

packed lunch?!

bundle · 16/01/2008 11:02

is it a chain?
our community nursery charged us £950 pcm for 2 children, 3 days a week. but I do live in london

dooley1 · 16/01/2008 11:02

you pay £55 and they don't even feed the children

LyraSilvertongue · 16/01/2008 11:04

I'm shocked that the children don't even get food for £55 a day!

ComeOVeneer · 16/01/2008 11:04

They have no facilities to cook meals. That is the cost if you go fulltime. Morning session (9-12.15) is £31, staying for lunch is £2.50 (until 1pm) and afternoon session (from 12.30 -3.30 inc lunch) is £24.

dooley1 · 16/01/2008 11:14

mine go from 8am to 5.30pm get 3 meals a day and it costs £31

Original poster

pleasechange · 16/01/2008 11:52

Thank you all for your replies. I will ask tomorrow if the fees include nappies (does include healthy food).
Hulababy - this one sounds like the one you desribed. They do dance, yoga, french etc and are focused on education. I'll try to make sure that when I visit tomorrow I'm not swayed by this and concentrate on where I think the baby/toddler would be happiest!

I'd love to know where you all find nurseries at £23-£26 per day - I wish! I'm in Sth Mcr though so I suppose there's a premium

Cheers

OP posts:

bozza · 16/01/2008 12:11

I think we pay about £32.50 a day in West Yorkshire. When my DS started there 6 1/2 years ago it was £21/day. I wish my salary had gone up by 50% during that time.

TheGiftedandTalentedGoat · 16/01/2008 12:21

the whole dance, yoga, french thing is abit of a swizz imo. your child will be 3 before it can appreciate any of these extras and in the mean time you have paid over the odds for a baby/toddler to stand in a room wiggling their bum whether tehy are doing dance,yoga or french.

basically you need to know if the staff are nice and will cuddle your baby and what staff turn over is like.

ruddynorah · 16/01/2008 12:30

i pay £190 a month for 2 afternoons a week. expensve for round here, £22 a session. includes nappies, wipes, milk, cooked food (much home grown as it's on a farm). we're near leeds.

Hulababy · 16/01/2008 12:38

Nurseries locally here are now about £35 a day inc lunch but not nappies or wipes IIRR. They were under £30 a couple of years ago when DD was there.

milliec · 18/01/2008 12:36

Message withdrawn

nailpolish · 18/01/2008 12:38

all i can think of is imagine having more than one child at nursery (which i did for a year)

nearly £100 a day!!!!!!!!

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