Nursery says the extras aren’t included in the funded hours but I never realised it would cost this much

[Yluna47]

My ds is 2 and has been at nursery since January. He goes 3 days a week while im at work and generally he loves it there, runs in without looking back at me most mornings so no issues with the actual nursery.

He’s eligible for the funded hours now and I thought it would make a decent difference to what we pay but honestly im a bit shocked by the latest invoice. I know its not completely free and I wasn’t expecting to pay nothing but I thought we’d be saving more than we are.

Before the funding we were paying around £610 a month for the 3 days. Now its just over £360. Which is obviously a saving but when I looked at the breakdown there’s £250 for the extra hours, £55 for meals and snacks, £35 consumables and £20 activities. I thought some of this would be included in the funded hours but apparently not.

The meals one is annoying because you have to pay it, they don’t let you send food from home. The consumables is apparently things like wipes, nappies, suncream and craft stuff. He’s potty training so doesn’t use many nappies now and I do wonder what we’re paying for some months, but I know they still have things to buy for all the children. The activities charge is for things like music sessions and other things they do during the week.

I did read the paperwork when he started but if im honest I didn’t properly understand all the funding stuff. It said there would be additional charges and I signed it, so I know I can’t really say I wasn’t told anything. I just didn’t realise it would still be this much once the funding kicked in. I think I assumed the funded hours would come off the bill and then we’d pay for whatever hours were left, but it seems to work differently.

My partner thinks we should just leave it alone because ds is settled there and we both work, so what else are we supposed to do. He’s not wrong really. I don’t want to move him somewhere else just to save money when he’s happy and knows everyone. But £360 a month is still a lot for us and I was hoping we’d be able to put some of that money away instead.

I’ve asked another mum at nursery what she pays and she said hers was cheaper but her child only goes two days and I don’t know if she’s getting the same hours as us. I don’t really want to start asking everyone what they’re paying because it feels a bit nosy.

Are these charges normal? I know nursery staff need paying and the funding doesn’t cover everything but I can’t get my head around the fact its advertised as funded hours and there’s still so much to pay. Can you ask to opt out of the extras or would they just tell you to find another nursery? Has anyone actually managed to get their bill reduced without changing childcare completely?

That is an incredible deal. I paid around £2k per month for similar albeit not just term time.

In Northern Ireland we don’t have funded hours at all. My son is at preschool which is free, but we still pay nearly 900 a month for his 4 day a week nursery place as they do wraparound for his preschool. Plus £42 registration fee, £21 a month for snacks, and uniform. So utilising a free preschool place costs us more than just keeping him in daycare for an extra year. Make it make sense! I would be delighted if our fees dropped by half.

Preschool is also only 3.5 hours a day part time, and if you’re lucky enough to get a full time place it’s usually only 9-1.30pm so always need wraparound care here

No but I don’t have a choice really when the waiting lists are long and they don’t have the days I necessarily want. I’ve paid a deposit for each, happily for peace of mind and choice once baby is here and we have a better idea of our budget. They won’t struggle to fill the space when I pull out, there will be someone very grateful to have the space at short notice - my childminder has no room until September 2028 now! It’s what everyone does around here because the childcare is so limited and you have to sign up when you’re about 5 minutes pregnant with no real knowledge of what life is going to look like nearly 2 years on.

Yes I know why - I’m just saying some don’t do this so it’s cheaper

So lucky that our daughters who have children work in education so only need nursery during term time and even luckier that they go to nurseries attached to schools so the cost is zero.

£360 is what we pay for 3 days and consider it incredibly reasonable as a subsidy. With food and classes etc, I'd guess that our son costs us about £600/month all in. Three times more than the cats for a whole human.

What did you expect a whole extra human needing 24h care to cost!?

My child is in 3 days a week term time only so the free hours are not stretched and the bill comes to £50-60 a month. I can't believe some of the amounts people are paying on here!

Charging separately for craft supplies and activities is questionable. But realistically knocking nappies off is not going to make a massive financial benefit. Id suck it up personally. I think we pay around £7 a day for extras (nappies, food etc).

I'd research what your alternative childcare options are ( and are there spaces) before kicking up a fuss. You have signed the contract, your DC is settled and you're happy otherwise. Theres value in that.

You work in childcare so understand the limitations of the government funding. Imagine someone from a non childcare perspective, being told they get X amount of care 'fully funded' as per government guidance. Its a shock to these parents. However, as all staff should be trained in line with the EYFS requirements. So this means to atleast a level 2 or level 3 standard or higher. To tell a parent, 'you get what you pay for' is innaccurate. Some lower standard nurseries offer amazing care. Some more expensive nurseries offer average care. It just means the owner is better off. The only advisory I would give is look at the nursery and staff and look at their ofsted report to get a feel.

The government funded hours are way under the actual hourly rate cost AND only cover 38 weeks a year leaving a 14 week shortfall.

Imagine being told by your employer that yes you have a full time job, but we won’t be paying you for 14 weeks of it. It’s kind of the same thing so I understand why nurseries have to ‘top up’ otherwise it’s just unsustainable

Nurseries also tend to have ‘sessions’ for the funded hours - so a morning session of say 9-12 or afternoon 1-4 - so likelihood is you’re paying for wraparound care if there for a full day

3 days a week on 30 hours funded hours at our nursery would be £480 per month based on full time. Don’t forget the hours are stretched as they don’t include the school holidays, so actually about 20 hours per week really. Meaning you’re paying for a full day of around £90 which is about right.

Are we not just comparing apples and pears though? It may sound great that some parents are not paying any kind of top ups. But isn't it something like 1 in 5 childcare workers are unqualified? We viewed a few childcare settings and the difference was stark. There is a massive disparity in childcare settings.

Think of the funded hours as a contribution to your child care costs. Then your two basic choices choices are to look for a nursery that charges what you are willing to pay or use a registered childminder. .

I agree it isn't helpful that the Government paints a picture that child care is mostly fully funded for the majority of families and that makes it easier to go back into paid employment, when it isn't. But it is better than what is was for previous generations.

We pay about the same after the tax discount of 20%, our son does 3 full days but split as 2x full and 2x half days.

I couldn’t be arsed squabbling over the extras or making packed lunches or providing nappies so we pay the daily fee for “all inclusive”, I can’t remember how much it is but it’s worth it. I also agree with other posters that you want the nursery to survive and the free hours are a subsidy rather than there to make childcare completely free, and so I don’t mind paying the extras. I don’t think circa £500/month is a lot for the service we get so the OP is definitely getting a bargain!

I agree that the government is to blame for making it sound like the hours are free, not making it clear that funding is for care only, and not providing enough funding to councils to actually deliver free hours to parents. My council pays £6ph for three and four year olds. So if you are a childminder you are making just over minimum wage for three children, and from that you have to pay for nappies/wipes/toilet paper, food, toys, activities, equipment, cleaning materials etc. unless you charge more. But you are not allowed to force parents to pay extra for funded hours and you are not allowed to charge more for the older age groups. Nurseries have more children and manage to get round the rules a bit but it is still a dire situation

A family member said that if her child only went 2 days a week then basically they would be paying very little (they go 3 days a week too) The funding is only term time. I agree that it’s still a lot of money to find. They have also been told that the nursery may shut if you don’t pay for the extras.

It can be hard to get term time only.

But the nursery is also getting govt funding, not just the £360 and the rate of pay for under 3s is actually much higher

OP if your DS is only doing 3 days does the 30 hours funding not cover the hours he does? Are you England based as working parents get 30hours now the term after a child turns 9 months? Nurseries can only charge extra fees inc meals and consumables for the hours that aren't funded so I'm surprised it's so much. For the funded hours they can ask you but you can refuse and send your own food/nappies etc.

Decent affordable childcare has always been the holy grail of a just society. I was paying £400 a month 30 years ago (so nearly £1k in today's money) and that didn't include nappies. I looked around for cheaper but like you my DS loved it there and the provision was excellent so he stayed.

It also enabled me to try and earn more, build a stable future for us and to be independent. But it's not easy.

Even then they added on extras like activity costs etc. I think nurseries have to do it now to make ends meet.

That’s not necessarily true. Many school based or hall based pre-schools offer either whole day (9-3 ish) or half day (9-12 or 12-3).

In addition, lots of schools now offer wrap-around to pre-school children.

£1000 per month for a full time (non-subsidised) place would be a bargain now. I paid £1000 per month 13 years ago. The same nursery now charges over £2k per month for a full time (non subsidised) place.

I would have thought I’d won the lottery if I only had to pay £1000 per month for a FT place.

I never paid any extra for my DS, other than the extra hours for him doing year round instead of term time. Food and materials were included in the price. We sent in his own nappies, wipes, suncream and juice. It might be worth looking around to see if any nurseries in your area don't charge for extras. I think it is area dependent.