Nursery top up fee increase

[Vanillablueberry]

Hello. My nursery have just announced the fee increases from April. Our nursery hours are all covered by the funding but we pay an extra fee for meals/snacks. This is increasing by 40%. Is anyone else's nursery increasing costs this much? What do other people currently pay for food at nursery? I wouldn't mind but it's mostly cereal for breakfast, veggie pasta or rice, crackers, sandwiches and fruit. Am I being unreasonable?

Wow, how dare a private business make money... Childminders and nurseries do not work for the government but the government have still seen it fit to cap our wages.

Indeed.

And of course you are taking the risk of not being full all day every day, or losing “customers” at fairly short notice if mums go on a second maternity leave and decide to have the older one at home for a while, and September sees a clear out of customers when they go to school, and (depending on T and C) you don’t get paid if you are closed for sickness/holiday/family emergency.

Anyone who thinks CMs and nurseries are making a lovely profit could always go into that line of work themselves. I know I couldn’t and hats off to those that do!

I agree but as a sector you're up in arms about school nurseries taking over right? But the crippling cost of private nurseries is going to break sooner or later.

Appreciate you are paying £45 top up a day, but the PP is charging meals and snacks at £5 per day, which seems more than reasonable TBH!

If you cant afford it can you ask them if you can send your child in with food instead?

School nurseries actually receive more funding per hour than private and childminders. It is an unfair playing field and in no other area are the government basically saying this is how much you can earn.

Locally I know of 5 nurseries that no longer accept the funding. And numerous childminders no longer accept the funding and they still have customers. This is what will happen more and more or settings will just close. A few settings have closed locally. Parents will be screwed without childcare.

I have no skin in the game anymore, but I do feel as a sector they are being shafted by consecutive governments.

Are they supposed to provide care for free? Do you expect them to be volunteers? Maybe do this out of the goodness of their hearts?

That is exactly what some parents think. I've had sarky comments from clients when I've bought a new car (newer and bigger than I need for my family) 'oh we must be paying you too much'. Hardly.

Since the new funded hours have come in, I have genuinely not seen as much complaining about costs as I have in the whole of the nearly 20 years of childminding I have done.

Some are great and realise childcare doesnt come cheap. The expenses we shoulder are the cost of living increases that we all face. Food, petrol, heating, entrance fees, etc. Others feel you owe them free childcare thanks to the government rhetoric, and they squeeze every bit out of that scheme.

I will not feel ashamed of making a profit (a wage!) to spend as I wish on my home, my children, my holidays, just as they do with their wage.

Funding covers the care, education and resources to provide the EYFS. Settings are allowed to offer extras for a cost such as meals, nappies, extra curricular. If you choose to accept that offer then pay for it. Too expensive? Move settings.

OP is complaining about £7 for 3 meals and 2 snacks, ingredients, fuel costs, staff costs to order, cook and clear away after. That's hardly profiteering! 50p per snack and £2 per meal. I think the nursery is doing really well to stretch that to cover costs.

School Nursery, free 30hours 9-3 daily and £10.50 a week for meal, snacks and extras!

Exactly! Profit seems to be such a dirty word with a lot of parents. What they don’t seem to understand is we are not a charity, that ‘profit’ keeps a roof over our head, food on the table and a warm home. Of course, we’re not allowed to earn a wage, we just have to sprinkle some magic fairy dust and make things appear magically apparently.

I’m currently struggling to survive, so haven’t had a holiday in a long time and I’m trying to keep my car on the road as long as possible. One parent made a snarky comment that I’d had my nails done. I actually do my nails myself as don’t have the money to go to a salon. Even if I did, that’s my bloody prerogative! I am NOT a charity ffs!

As it stands, they won’t have a childminder for much longer anyway as I’m giving up. So tired of the fight, I can earn more money working in a supermarket presently 🙄

That's sad that you will be giving up.

I am fortunate that I do make a good income from childminding and it suits me well. I hope you can move on and find something you love.

Thank you

They are a business. If they don’t make a profit they will close down. Some nurseries aren’t taking funded places due to the insufficient contribution from the government.

@Lillupsy I think the government funding has muddled the whole perception of private childcare. It’s put you half in a “council employee” “I pay your wages with me taxes” type position <bleurgh> and half in a private service provider position.

The worst of both worlds sadly.

On a ten hour full funded day our parents will pay £10 - which is just £1 an hour. Much cheaper than ten hours at somewhere like soft play!

The extra fee includes breakfast, a fresh, on site cooked hot lunch, tea and snacks. Along with all additional extras over and above the mininimal EYFS provision. As well as professionals monitoring development and amusing and teaching your child all day. Obviously we have to allow parents to opt out of this fee if they choose but then they'd have to provide three full meals (which would have to have cool blocks for storage, be ready to serve and be allergy free), snacks and all the additional costs for their child take take in specialist sessions like sports, tickets to come to events etc, baking resources, costs of activities away from the building (transport etc). Much easier just to pay the fee and have everything included!

The crazy thing is people pay more and far less grudgingly to have their dog go to doggy daycare or be taken for a walk.

I think the real resentment lays in the fact a significant number of working parents would much rather be able to have the option to stay home with their young children but cost of society makes it difficult to do so.