Am I being overcharged at nursery?

[Blahneheneh]

We have recently started getting the 15hr free childcare from our nursery which my son has been attending for over two years. He used to go in for 3 days but we decided to have him in 4 days instead since we believed that the 15 hour free childcare can help pay for that extra day. However, when we received the invoice for the month of April, we were very confused with how much money we had to fork out to pay for the fees.

The nursery charges £55.00 for a full day with meals included. Before the funding began, the invoices we received did not charge for meals. He takes his own snacks with him and he has lunch at the nursery but that was never paid for. However, the new invoices now charges £8.00/day for snacks and meals on the days that are funded plus £8.00/hr top up fees. We then had a look at how the nursery implemented the 15hr funding each week during the term time and it didn’t add up.

So the first two weeks during the Easter holidays, we had to pay in full at £55/day when he was in nursery as the free hours can only be used during term time. So, 8 days x £55 = £440
However, the last two weeks (term time) was invoiced liked this:

4 days:
Monday = £55.00 (meal included)
Wednesday = £36 (5 hours free childcare and 4.5 hours from our own pockets... 4.5 hrs x £8.00)
Thursday = £36 (5 hours free childcare and 4.5 hours from our own pockets... 4.5 hrs x £8.00)
Friday = £36 (5 hours free childcare and 4.5 hours from our own pockets... 4.5 hrs x £8.00)

In total = 55 + (36 x 3) = £163/week
Plus the meals at £8.00/day = £24/week

This is how we thought we were going to get charged with the 15hr free funded hours
4 days:
Monday = £55.00 (9.5 hours) (meal included)
Wednesday = £55.00 (9.5 hours) (meal included)
Thursday = £0.00 (9.5 hours free childcare)
Friday = £ 32.00 (5.5 hours free childcare and 4 hours from our own pockets... 4 hrs x £8.00)

Hence, 55 + 55 + 32 = £142/week
and then £16/week for meals

That’s a £21 difference each week (without the meals) during term time this month. That’s £42 more. Also, I don’t understand why they are charging us £8.00/ hour top up fees along with another £8.00 for meals? Other nurseries in the other areas charge less than this and that’s with meals included. My son also attends nursery during the school holidays and I’ve been told by other practitioners in the area that they charge slightly less per hour for kids who attend nursery on both term time and non term time. Am I understanding this all wrong or do you think the nursery is overcharging?

Its up to the nursery how many free hours can be used each day.
Meals aren't included in funding, or things like nappies, wipes etc.

Other nurseries in the other areas charge less than this and that’s with meals included then go to another nursery

Your nursery is charging correctly. The government funding doesn’t pay the same amount that you would pay, so when you pay for a day it’s £55 and so that includes your meals etc, when you’re using the “free” time the government pay less than the £55 so the nursery then have to charge for meals etc on top otherwise they simply wouldn’t be able to run the “free” hours at all. It’s a lot easier and more accurate to think of it as “subsidised” rather than “free” childcare that the government offer.

This is the case for all nurseries that I know of who offer the free hours.

Where you are paying £8 per hour the nursery is probably getting less than £7 per hour for the funded hours (it depends on what county you're in). They have to make up that money somewhere. Funding also creates a huge amount of admin which nurseries are just expected to do.

All nurseries have different charging structures, so what one nursery tells you that they do is irrelevant. Our first nursery charged a set amount per day and it was the same regardless of term time or school holidays. Our current nursery charges less for school holidays but we also get less at school holidays.

The nursery can offer the funded hours in whatever way works best for them as the money given for funded hours doesn’t cover their costs. They don’t have to implement the funded hours (ours aren’t), never mind implement how you think it should be done.

You have upped a day at nursery, so presumably you can cut back on that. Or you’ve also said there are nurseries cheaper in the area, so get on a waiting list for them.

Sounds normal. Non funded children have a flat rate and funded children have childcare and consumables charged separately. They should have made this clear to you before funding started though - this is the issue really.

Yes this sounds right.
Nurseries need to make up the shortfall in the government funding.
How you worked it out is irrelevant, the nursery can choose how and when they offer funded and paid hours.
The daily charge for lunch will be the “consumables” charge that the government are allowing nurseries to charge because they know that their funding rates doesn’t cover the actual costs.

I don't think they're overcharging you necessarily, but I understand what you mean. Could you ask them to apply the free hours in the way you prefer and see what they say?

I’d be surprised if they were able to apply funded hours the way individual parents would like them. You wouldn’t normally get to choose how the funded hours applied. Nurseries are having to allocate them in a particular way in order to remain financially viable.

No harm in asking, but I agree it seems likely they've got a policy of X number of hours per day to maximise top-up fees.