Changes to preschool opening hours and fees

[AlwaysAnExcuseForEverything]

My DD just turned 3 and will qualify for 15 funded hours of childcare from September. I am planning to send her to the preschool in the same village as DS's primary school.

Preschool currently is open 8:50am-2:50am, comprising a 3 hour morning session and 3 hour afternoon session. They have been requesting a voluntary £1 donation per session to cover their additional expenses (happy to pay this).

However, I've just had an email saying that from September, the morning session will be 8:30-11:30, afternoon from 12:30-3:30. If you are in receipt of 15 hours' funding and want your child to stay for a full day, you have to pay £6 per day to cover the additional hour over lunchtime. (Children receiving 30 hours can be collected at 2:30pm if parents wish, with the option of a £6 top up to cover 2:30-3:30pm. This early pick up option is not open to children doing 15 hours. )

I could still send DD for 5 mornings or afternoons a week and pay nothing. However, the additional to-ing and fro-ing when I have another child to drop off and collect, not to mention the additional petrol, is really prohibitive. (We do not live within walking distance of the preschool or we would walk there in a heartbeat.) I was only envisaging sending DD for 2 full days a week, forgoing the extra half day she is entitled to, for this very reason.

I'm cheesed off that I'm now looking at paying £12 a week to cover the additional lunch hours but won't actually be using all her funded hours. I thought the govt crack down on top up fees was meant to make childcare more accessible, not less. It might not seem much money to some people but it will make a difference to us.

I'd be interested to hear what other preschools are doing in light of the top up fees ban.

They haven't inserted an artificial break into the funded hours though as 30 hours parents can use 8.30-2.30.

And there's no artificial break for 15 hours parents as they can use 8.30-11.30.

The additional fees are only if you want to extend your funded hours.

Yeah I'm not going to report them. Can't see that achieving anything beneficial.

You’re right OP…your pre-school shouldn’t be placing an artificial break in the day. However if you were to complain to the LA for instance about this and the charge of £6 for the additional hour over lunchtime, I guarantee they will either increase the voluntary donation amount being asked for say £7 per day to cover it, stop offering funding altogether or just close. I work in a Funding Team. When we follow up this type of complaint, providers will do one of these options. And if they do close, I also guarantee parents will then be getting back in touch with us to complain about having to move their child.

£12 a week is fuck all to have someone else care for your child

Well of course she doesn’t want that. she wants 100% FREE child care because ‘she is entitled to free child care
with her 15 free hours!!

I think more parents should complain to the point of making nurseries close or stop offering free hours then the parents who complained at paying £12 a week have to pay full price

Thanks for this pragmatic insight.

It's simply really - the Government have decided what they will pay child carers for the funded hours, without giving a thought to what the child carers actually charge or need to make in that hour. The hours they pay for is something like 1/2 the normal rate for childcare. The carers either just don't provide funded hours, or they make-up the costs, either by charging the children who qualify for the funded hours extra, or charging more for other children. The Government either needs to up what they pay, or make it very clear that they are providing "subsidised hours" not "free hours".

As I said, I have no intention of going over their heads about this. However, it isn't unreasonable or entitled of me to wish that the system worked the way it says it does on paper. I've seen plenty of posts on another recent thread from people who pay nothing at all for term-time-only preschool provision. And if they pay anything over lunchtime, it's because an actual cooked meal is provided. I'll be sending DD with a packed lunch.

I’d pay £12 and pick up when you get your ds. Otherwise you are doing an extra run.. but charging is reasonable as it’s to cover staff costs. If you don’t use the half day they can’t claim for it

Fundamentally, the preschool seems nice and I want DD to go there. Things never change for the better but in this case I will have to suck it up. It's only a year until DD starts school anyway. Thanks all and goodnight!

Came on to say exactly this. The LEA can pull them up on it. Cheap or not, they’re not applying the funding properly.

Is this a joke when I pay £2k per month for childcare haha… perfect example of why the British public will complain even if they are getting everything for free

Maybe not. But they are trying to find a way to balance the books so that there will still be a Nursery there for parents to use next year.

I'd gladly contribute £12 a week if my child were benefitting from that.

I think they are applying the funding properly. In my area nearly all pre schools attached to a school only offer mornings or afternoons for 15 hour entitlements and 30 hours for full days. You wouldn't be able to take your 15 hours over two days around here. You'd have to go to a private nursery to do that and their rates and ways they apply funding is different too.

You are able to get blocks of funding either mornings or afternoons. They are not stipulating that to get 15 hours funding you have to pay the charge. That is their offer. All mornings or all afternoons.

I get what you’re saying but most new cars cost that anyway so just putting it out there as it has changed my life!!! My electric is same cost per month as the petrol was - I lease appreciate not everyone does but I’m astounded at how cheap to run it is. It’s also lovely!