Advice re: Nursery costs

[Pugarella]

Hi all,
Im in need of some advice on Nursery fees. Our little currently gets the 15 hrs childcare funding (we will only be able to claim 22hrs in December 2025 as the nursery wont allow you to claim the 30hrs if your little attends under 40hrs a week!). He attends nursery 3 days a week, 10 hrs a day.
Our Nursery bill each month is still £912. I see people on here talking about their costs being around the £300-400 a month mark for the same hours! And Im just wondering why the hell ours is still so extortionate.
Also, Im currently trying to get the Nursery to confirm a breakdown for what the 'voluntary contribution' of £8 per half day is! £16 a day which equates to £192 a month! Im assuming this is consumables (food, sun cream, extra curricular etc). Which seems outrageous. Our little doesn't use the nursery nappies or wipes as they bring him out in a rash and they have never gone on a trip in the 2 years he has been there. They also advertise gifted accessories like bags and water bottles, which we have never had. Am I being unreasonable thinking £912 a month is too much still? I know the government scheme doesn't cover a lot of the costings, but we are paying barely anything less than we did when the funding wasn't a thing. Also, it really enrages me when the nursery advertise they have just added a coffee machine to the reception for parents to use or a composting area for parents to take compost for their gardens.. like ok but Id rather not fund these things and the money we are paying be put towards the kids or not be added to my bill! Help!

@slidingsideways hope this sheds some light. This affects the costs of the nursery and the cost of living of its staff, therefore the fees and wages.

A London-Derby cost of living comparison will appear when Mumsnet releases it!

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/jul/12/father-refund-nursery-in-england-fees-investigation?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social_img&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawLni3JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuz2HSN7_nGxXNKWOX4ZCOpivaLIOORBJZy8sHR5vP-SFFQVBNh0Bck-Zw2a_aem_VgX0A5FiOf9j6XTZufaokg#Echobox=1752314587

@LianneVaughan why don't you spend your energy lobbying the government to pay settings enough so they dont need to pass costs on to parents instead of spamming threads to entice parents not to pay the fees that keep settings afloat. All that will happen is places will have to close and you'll be looking for new childcare, is that the goal?

Let’s be real — sharing a news article and pointing out something illegal isn’t “spamming.” It’s called raising awareness.

If you work in a nursery, fair enough — but that might also explain why you’re defending something that breaks the law. Charging parents mandatory fees for funded hours isn’t just unfair, it’s against the rules, confirmed by both the High Court and the Ombudsman.

Yes, funding is a mess. But defending unlawful practices because of it — and blaming parents for speaking up — helps no one.

I do not work in a nursery. The charges are what they need to charge, all they will do it rename them. They have to make this money to stay open. If they dont then they will close. Very very simple maths here. Never have parents had so much help, never have they complained as much.

And yes copies of the same post across multiple threads is called spamming.

This cost sounds about right to me. How many days do they do? My boy will be so 3 days a week from
septmeber and I'm expecting the bill to be about £820 ish

You keep saying this is “simple maths” — but it’s actually simple law. Nurseries can’t make funded hours conditional on mandatory extra payments, no matter what they call the charge.

What’s really striking is that you’re defending illegal practices in a thread where a parent is clearly being affected by exactly that — unexplained, high “voluntary” fees, no transparency, and still paying £900+ a month despite getting funding. That’s not theory — that’s reality for this parent.

You claim not to work in a nursery, but your comments come across as deeply biased toward protecting the provider at all costs — even if that means ignoring legal rights and dismissing concerned parents.

And no, sharing factual info across threads where it’s directly relevant isn’t spamming. It’s helping people understand what’s happening — especially when others are trying to shout them down.

They are definitely taking advantage with odd localized rules!

My DS has gone down to 3 days per week (30 hours) but across 51 weeks so spread out and with some top up payments we now pay £420 - and our nursery is an expensive one!

@LianneVaughan

Ok great, carry on and best of luck! Hope you get your wish.. To be clear I'm a childminder who does exactly what you.say, I offer funded hours with no mandatory charges, offer food and nappies for a small fee or parents can provide. Many of my parents have £0 invoices each month. They still moan mind. I'm just not short sighted enough to not see the problems with the system.

Good night, have a lovely weekend.

Our DC precious nursery was like this. We paid almost £1000 for 40 hours over four days but when we got the funding it saved us less than £100. Other private nurseries did things differently and the not for profit preschool also
stretched the funding further. Enquire with other nurseries if you're not happy as they don't all do this.

@ScrewedByFunding - but you are short sighted. Don’t hate the player, hate the game! Of course parents are complaining when nurseries use illegal practices. Why shouldn’t they? The government have pitched providers against parents. What providers and parents actually need to do is unite against the government and their low level funding.

So just to recap: you’re a childminder who proudly follows the rules, offers funded hours properly, gives parents a choice about extras, and some even pay £0 a month… and somehow you’ve made it your mission to defend nurseries that break the law and slam parents who are simply asking not to be overcharged?

Wow — sounds totally consistent. You literally prove it’s possible to do things the right way, but still rush in to shield those who don’t. Bravo.

And calling parents “moaners” while you admit the system is broken? That’s rich. You’re not offering insight — you’re just punching down while pretending to take the moral high ground.

If you're going to claim you're one of the good guys, maybe stop cheerleading for the ones breaking the rules. Otherwise, you're not helping parents or the system — you’re just making excuses.

Hello @Pugarella that does sound seriously frustrating. You’re definitely not the only one feeling confused about nursery fees and how the funded hours are applied.

We’re currently working with the Department for Education to help parents make sense of the recent childcare changes, and there’s a Q&A happening now with an experienced Early Years teacher where you can ask questions or just read what others are saying about fees, top-ups, and how different nurseries handle the 15/30 hours. You can find it here.

There’s also a general discussion thread here where lots of posters are sharing their experiences with costs and what they’re being charged for - you might find it helpful, or at least reassuring that you’re not imagining things.

Hope things get a bit clearer soon.