Nursery fees up 20%

[chopette5]

Our nursery has put up fees 20%, citing rising costs and staff shortages. Is this reasonable? It's a huge increase for us in absolute terms (around £300 a month) and I don't know whether to try to fight it.

It's all extremely depressing.

Ours went up ten pounds a day! We're now really struggling 😢

Sorry OP, that's hard. Lots of places are increasing costs. I think all you can do is tell them you will struggle and see if they can do anything.

It's a lot. I don't know how people are supposed to be surviving with these increases but I don't know how the nurseries will survive without. This is why we need fully subsidised childcare.

Less childcare options = more parents out of work, more people relying on state support and less people paying tax.

I’m sympathetic. That’s a huge jump! You can be both sympathetic to the OP and the nursery.

More early years funding is desperately needed.

Thank you Pjani 😊 you can indeed be sympathetic to both the nursery and us. If it were an independent nursery I'd be inclined to be more sympathetic and suck it up, but it's a huge chain.

If they are keeping their profit constant in effect they are also taking a cut

Have your nursery considered being part of tax efficiency scheme? My employer has signed up - they pay my nursery fees from my pre tax salary which gives me a massive saving - double what I get on the tax free childcare scheme which is capped and shows no sign of increasing, My employer also makes a saving on their NI bill.

Ours went up 19% a few weeks ago. Luckily we only pay for one day but still!

My nursery did the same and we are on about £80 a day now too, but it’s a good nursery (it’s in a chain but they get excellent ofsted reports and minimal staff turnover) so I’m inclined to not change it.

They are a business. Either they can exist or go bust.

In 'real' (i.e. net of inflation) terms, keeping profits constant - if that's the case - means a cut, I agree. But a 18% increase to fees is a bigger cut to my income than a 0% decrease to their profits. There are cuts and there are CUTS. C'mon, they're not equivalent.

They are a business. Either they can exist or go bust.

No, actually, what a ridiculous oversimplification. They can exist and make a big profit, exist and make a modest profit, or go bust. I - and other parents at this nursery - suspect the first option. No-one is suggesting they reduce fees and go bust. That doesn't help the parents either does it.

I find it baffling that the things we care about most in the world, children and our parents are the things that get complained about paying for.

The day rate many years ago for the 1 yo room was £95 per day with a 5% discount for siblings (I've got twins). It was astronomical then and I dread to think what it is now but what can you do? The general population doesn't want to pay more tax to fund others life choices. The system is totally fucked.

Ours has just gone up 10% and I really feel for them. They have been very apologetic and made it clear its the only way, they also gave 2 months notice. I'd rather pay more than risk them closing down as we love it, but how they communicate it is really important.
It's such a difficult position for everyone, I feel for the nurseries who are having to do it and the people paying the bills. I wonder how many people will have to take their children out of nursery due to rising fees. Hope you find a way forward best for you OP.

This is why the government needs to pay the proper amount of funding. It should be about £8.50 per hour from the government but they're only paying about £4.50, so parents HAVE to pay the difference otherwise they would all close. Write to your MP, and look at Early Years Equality who are campaigning for proper funding. They're organising a March in March. Also staff are leaving because they're fed up of being termed as 'childcare'. It means that the government treats them as babysitters - a lot of them are qualified teachers. The whole thing's shocking.

This is the core problem. Lack of funding and lack of proper understanding about brain development in the very early years. The term affordable childcare' makes me shudder. This is the very time when children's brains are making the most neurological connections. Government should be investing more into this than anything!!!

Agreed! It's when babies' brains grow the most. I think it's totally unacceptable that the government think that they should be 'babysat'. I hate the term childcare. So do lots of practitioners (I own a nursery so see this first hand - my post-grads are livid!). Nurseries are usually owned by people for whom this is a vocation. Some of us have had energy bill increases of 500%. And no parents seem to be getting behind the petitions to get rid of business rates either. I'm not exactly hanging out on my yacht 😂 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think that's an insane amount to increase by.

I'm so thankful that my childminder charges £50 per day. She provides all food and I supple nappies and wipes.

It's a difficult one as you say your child is settled but it would be worth looking at alternatives.

Ours went up as well by £60 a month!

The manager/owner posted a sad, sob, tiny-violin worthy story on the Famly app and all the parents took the bait including me 😂😂

To be fair, they're all struggling to make a profit nowadays so I understand.

And we've only got 8 more months to go before DS starts reception so we're gonna be rich after September😂

We are counting down to September! Our nursery is one of the more expensive ones but they are really good and when the free hours kick in, their fees are all inclusive and evenly spread over the year so they then work out better value.

I have just accepted we are going to be skint this year and probably get into a bit of debt but we will be £850 a month better off come September,

@pjani

More early years funding means taxpayer's subsidising businesses! Choosing to use a full day nursery (as opposed to a cheaper childminder) is a choice

That lots of people feel are in their children's best interests - like picking an ofsted outstanding school instead of a satisfactory one.

Agreed. But this is one area which is proven over and over to have a huge return on investment. And private businesses don't waste as much money as state run institutions. They can't afford to. Leaving our children in the care of the state is having catastrophic consequences. Romania should be a warning to us all.

Childminders aren't second rate childcare, they follow the same minimum standards and inspection process.