Kids planet essentials and extras?!

[Emma4452]

Hi all, my son’s nursery was taken over by kids planet a year ago. There was a hefty increase in the daily rate in April. My new invoice has come in this week and the ‘essentials and extras’ has doubled from around £40 to £90! I don’t understand what this is for? It used to be labelled as meals on the invoices but the wording has changed. My son is almost 4 so already gets the 30 hours. I’m so confused, I emailed and have called this week but I just get told someone will be in contact with me. Other parents also have this £90 fee no matter how many days they’re in. Does anyone know what this is for? Thanks x

I believe it’s their meals and consumable charge but I’ve heard they are CFs and operate outside of the governments statutory guidance.
Ask at the nursery for a breakdown of what it covers and if you’re not happy talk to your local authority that looks after funding.

Thanks for your reply, what does the consumable charge mean? Thanks

Providers can charge for meals and consumables onto the funding as the funding only covers care. Consumables can very depending on the setting - if you have a baby then it’s things like nappies and wipes, for older children it’s trips and sunscreen etc

To be honest it’s all a fudge to get round the governments daft rules but they can’t just charge and not tell you what they are charging for. The LA will intervene if you think you are being charged unfairly

From the guidance:

Charging
A1.30 Government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high quality, flexible childcare. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional services.
Local authorities should:
A1.31 Ensure that providers are aware that they can charge for meals and snacks as part of a free entitlement place and that they can also charge for consumables, such as nappies or sun cream, and for services such as trips and specialist tuition. Local authorities should ensure that providers are mindful of the impact of additional charges on parents, especially the most disadvantaged. Providers, who choose to offer the free entitlements, are responsible for setting their own policy on providing parents with options for alternatives to additional charges, including allowing parents to supply their own meals or nappies, or waiving or reducing the cost of meals and snacks.

Thank you. We’ve not even been informed of this increase in charges. He’s been receiving the 30 hours since Jan. If I ask them what the charges are for, do they legally have to provide me with a breakdown? I honestly don’t understand what it could be for. He not in nappies, doesn’t have milk or anything. X

Yeah unfortunately nurseries can pretty much do what they want with the "consumables" charges. I was looking forward to the 30 hours funding, but my nursery kindly offset it with fee increases and the "top up" hourly rate increase. Before I even pay for the forest school (which is an extra on top of these extras) I am paying more than I did with the 15 hours funding. This top up doesn't even include lunch, which is an additional £4 per day! I know the funding doesn't cover it all but it's just insane, they're raking it in!
Don't even get me started on paying this "consumables" charge for bank holidays/ time they're off sick/ nursery closures!

It’s just terrible isn’t it! My elder daughter went to the same nursery and the same amount of days have increased by £160 in slightly over 2 years. i can’t believe they can get away with it and then attempt to boast that they offer free hours.

@Emma4452 id speak to your local authority. It won’t be their first rodeo with this provider.

Under the statutory guidance they also must provide invoices that are ‘clear and transparent’ that show you specifically your child’s funded hrs at £0 cost, then alongside this your invoice needs to give a breakdown showing charges for meals/consumables plus any non-funded sessions you have signed up to access. If a provider changes is changing how they offer funding (e.g times/days funded hrs are available) or changes how much their non-funded/meal/consumable charges will be they need to give notice of these changes coming in. That way parents can then choose to accept these or move their child to another setting. As PP said, if you aren’t getting this info from them go to your LA’s funding team and raise it with them to look into.

Thank you, I’ve definitely not been notified of these changes so I’ll raise it with them on Monday and advise them I’ll be speaking to the LA about it. Thank you x

They do need to provide a breakdown and they should allow alternatives like you to provide lunch. The fees are supposed to be voluntary but funding rates are low especially for 3 year olds setting may not survive without them

Apparently 3 year funding pay £5.88 per hour. Kids planet charge £8.46 an hour so the extras and essentials are to cover their losses. They are charging £2 extra per funding hours. Also I believe you cannot claim these extra fees from universal credit childcare you have to exclude them. For information purposes the government pay fees of £8.28 per funded hour for 2 year olds. There is a government gap. Also £11.22 per under 2, so they make more this way.

Thank you, am I within my rights to ask for a £ for £ breakdown of this cost? They seem very reluctant to provide me with information as to what it’s for. Thanks

My DC2 goes to a KP nursery, like you it wasn't one when we first put DC1 in but was later taken over.

I often ask for a full breakdown of my invoices which I do get but they only break the sessions down for me not the consumables charge. I haven't asked for a further breakdown to be fair as haven't needed it for my own personal purposes but I've been tempted to and I probably should tbh. This thread has spurred me on to do so!

The consumables charge is horrible and like you it is more than the nursery used to charge prior to it being a KP nursery, but not as much of a jump as you're describing at yours. I suspect that's just because our nursery charged a higher consumables rate than yours did even before KP took it over. But I do sympathise a bit in the sense that the funded hours obviously don't come close to the actual costs of providing the care.

This is not correct. There is not one set funding rate across the country. Each local authority sets its own funding formulae.

Did you speak to your LA @Emma4452 ?

Not yet. I spoke to head office today requesting a breakdown for what exactly the essentials and extras is for. He said he would send it in an email, which when it came through, was just a generic leaflet that didn’t give any specifics. They seem reluctant to detail the charges exactly but I’m unsure if I’m within my rights to request this or not. Thanks

Maybe the figures are different accross the country, but essentially they are claiming the difference so they don’t miss out as the funding they receive does not meet what they charge.

Keep pushing for clarity OP. Some of the big chains will do everything they can to avoid being transparent with their parents.

It’s just frustrating isn’t it. I just don’t understand what I’m paying for for this amount. They told me the food, wipes and nappies on the phone but I don’t understand how this can be when she’s been out of them for years! At one point they said it was to cover the cost of trips, but they’ve never even left the nursery! I’m more than happy to pay for food/ visitors etc but at the moment, I feel like it’s a number plucked out of thin air and to help pay for the nappies for other children. We used to have to take our own nappies in.

Fundamentally @J91979 the provider can choose not to accept funding if they don’t think it’s enough for them.
But is they choose to take the funding they should not be asking parents to “ top up” the funding and it’s not allowed and should only be charging for the things they are allowed to charge for.

@Emma4452 whilst I can understand whilst it's frustrating I have some sympathy in the sense that they charge all funded hours children the same consumables top up which I feel like from a business POV they would surely have to or it would be so difficult for them to sort it fairly? So lots of those children will still be in nappies and wipes and they will be charged the same as the kids who aren't and it will be spread across them all? So my remaining child at the nursery is only 2 and in receipt of the 15hrs for 2yr olds. He has been out of nappies for a couple of months now but obviously we don't pay any less now than we used to when he was in them. It's my understanding that consumables are allowed to cover e.g. craft resources and all kinds of disposable things too on top of food, nappies, wipes, nappy creams, I'm trying to think what else it could reasonably cover e.g. disposable gloves for intimate care/nappy changing, trips as you say (the pre-school children in our nursery occasionally get taken to local shops to buy things at the very least), extra food and resources at events they do e.g. stay and plays, graduation type events for the preschool etc...? Just being charitable I guess it goes to cover all that type of thing too and children aren't charged individually depending on whether they attend or use every specific resource? I mean for one some children may have disabilities meaning they're in nappies for longer but understandably aren't charged more for that?

Thanks for your reply. I understand how this would be for a business. My issue is that it’s a completely new fee to us this month. Both my children have attended here for years. We always had to provide nappies etc. it did change hands a year ago but with my son receiving the 30 hours since Jan, and no prior warning, I’m just very confused as to why our ‘extras charge’ has come in. I understand it’s hard for businesses to sort/ work out but I feel like we’re either paying their ‘top up fees’ which they’ve tried to word differently now that the free childcare for more children has come into force.

The funding rate the government pay is too the LA who takes their costs and apply their funding formula so not all settings in a LA get the same. The rates government pay reflect staffing ratios so 2 year olds have less children per adult so more expensive to care for.

It's nothing new settings have been saying all along the funding is too low have you signed any petitions calling for proper funding?
If settings don't break even they join the record numbers closing.