Is nursery allowed to do this?

[MSG2092]

I have just got a bill for April 2024 now that my 2YO has started receiving the funded hours.
Nursery used to charge £6.93 per hour and there was no additional charge for food.
My new bill now has food charges of £10.10 per day on the non funded days. They are still charging the same hourly rate, but the government is actually paying more than that for 2YOs funded hours. So they are making more than previously with these new hours and my saving isn't what it should have been. Can they do this?
For context, before funded hours my bill this month was £873.87 its now £626.99, so obviously i am happy with a saving but I was expecting it to make more of a difference but then they suddenly started charging for food. Oh and they aren't allowed packed lunch!

Have they given you any warning of the new charges?
In short, they can do this but you have to remember they will get less funding from the government when your child moves onto 3 year old funding. They may be trying to even out the costs to parents over time

In most areas the funded amount is less than £6 an hour.

the funded amount in the vast majority of cases doesn’t come close to covering running costs.

Essentially yes. The funded hours are of no monetary value to parents. You just get 15 hours deducted and then further services offered to you are chargeable at the rate set by the nursery.

If it's outside of your budget then you'll have to look elsewhere.

Also the term doesn't start until after Easter hols. 15th is our area.

Funding doesn't start til.15 April in most areas as only term time

Your may invoice maybe slightly less?

@Sirzy They are receiving £7.10 for 2YOs from the government, so more than they were charging me and more than they are still charging. So they are getting extra hourly from the government, I'm still paying for the other 19 hours or whatever it is at the same rate as before PLUS £10.10 2 days a week for food. So they seem to be better off than before. I thought the point of the hours was to help parents more that's all, nursery seem to take some of that benefit.

Remember minimum wage is rising. Plus food, utilities, etc.

Yes, the funding covers the hours only. Anything else, like food, or nappies if they provide them, can be charged for on top of that.

Funded hours are for childcare only, any extras such as food or snacks are chargeable.

@zaffa it just seems unfair that they didn't charge before and have suddenly started with no warning

@MsAsparagus no, no warning given. Can't take packed lunch to keep costs down either. Good thinking re prepping for when they get less as they turn 3, that's probably what it is. It would have been nice to know, I was expecting £250 a month saving 😂still, not to be sniffed at, better position than before!

What nurseries are getting is nothing to do with you.

We are not allowed to make a monetary discount to your invoices, you won't get £7.10 x 15 deducted.

That’s a terrible way to treat one’s customers. Talk about taking people for granted.

Remember the funded hours are term time only so if your in a 52 week contract it will be averaged out too.

@LucyLaundry no need to be so rude! I was checking that my bill is correct as for the last 2 years I haven't been charged for food and now suddenly I am so a saving I was expecting is lower than expected. I then looked further into it, thinking perhaps its because the govt aren't paying them enough, but turns out for 2YOs it's more than I was paying. Please don't comment if you want to be rude, it was merely a question hoping people would know the answer

Can't take packed lunch because it's not allowed?

That isn't allowed, they are only allowed to charge extra if they are optional charges and not as a condition of getting the funded hours. You should be allowed to send food in and have that fee removed if you choose.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6172900ae90e07198018f9a1/Earlyyearssentitlements-operationalguidance33.pdf

https://www.pacey.org.uk/working-in-childcare/spotlight-on/30-hours-funding/information-for-practitioners/

@MsAsparagus I thought it might be because they were receiving insufficient ££ from government so it was a way of topping it up, but it isn't. It's still a saving I didn't have before, every little helps.

@CrispsandCheeseSandwich thank you, I'll talk to them about it next week when he's in again. It has still saved me a good £150 so I'm not unhappy, just was surprised by the new charge that wasn't there for the last 2 years

How do you know they are getting £7.10? Nobody can find out my exact hourly rate and there are variations according to send and deprivation.
Are you stretching funding to cover all weeks nursery is open or paying for school holidays ...funding is paid 38 weeks a year?
Nurseries have been struggling next month minimum wage increases as does local business and water rates.
Settings have only been told their individual rates this month so have had no notice themselves

But you're getting a £250 discount, for a month where two weeks are not funded?

Each member of staff is being paid £1 more an hour in April, than they were in March. That means the nursery needs to up their pension contributions too. So yes, they may be getting 17p an hour more for your child's funded hours, but they need to find more than seven times that, just to pay one early years practitioner.

(Not even going to mention the other price increases that nurseries are going through)

Your saving is very good, you can still use tax free childcare to pay that - which now goes further because your monthly bill is lower. Yes it's not free, it is funded. The campaign was never truthful and us childcare providers are left to deal with the ire of parents.

@jannier I got it from the county council website which states the funding for under 2s 2yos and 3/4yos for the last few years and from April 24. And then my hourly rate is on my invoice. I am happy with the saving, I just hadn't expected to suddenly be charged for food when I haven't had it as a charge for 2 years.

Sorry £150 saving, not £250. Not going to move mountains I agree, but it's extra in your pocket 😊

@ZoChan I am not unhappy and am grateful for the saving, it will make a big difference, it is just a shock that I wanted to check with others as my child has been there since he was 5.5months old and I have never had an invoice charging me £10.10 per day for food, and now I have. I wasn't expecting it.

I get that you weren't expecting it. Does my explanation of why they need to charge it, help? It's not for food, it's to pay the staff they need. If they don't have the staff, they'll have to close. We in the early years have been shouting for a lot of years, that this is unsustainable for parents and providers alike.

The inevitable conclusion of a badly thought through government policy was that providers would put up their fees to compensate for the low ‘funding’.