Nursery Fee Increases

[Berlioze]

Out of curiosity, how much have your child's nursery fees gone up by in the last 2 years? I think mine have gone up by a ridiculous amount but need a benchmark, %-wise please as I know starting fees will vary depending on the region.

It's most likely because they are independent, and this is a minority now, that's one, and two they are likely struggling to find staff because staff have historically been underpaid, same happened in retail and hospitality. Independent nurseries have largely been screwed over, alongside us, parents, by the government underfunding and by the private equity "funders" - read up on the sector in the Financial Times, honestly, there are some very eye-opening articles about it.

What I'm talking about is different - it's a cartel situation where it's clear the same service can be provided cheaper but they price-matched. It's anti-competitive behaviour.

I don't want to raise it with my MP.

Then put up with it. It's your choice, and mine too.

The inadequate level of funding is the main issue. It's led to providers charging extra top up fees, sundry fees and putting all sorts of conditions on use of funded ours around us. We have the issue with quite a few providers not accepting funded hours around us. This means those that are able to get away with putting the conditions on the hours. 3 of the private nurseries around us have declared they can only accept 5 children on funded hours and 3 on the 2yr old funding, everyone else has to pay full price. 2 of the private nurseries are accepting all children on the funding but talk of the town is they are about to go under. The nurseries have also put in that funded hours are 9-12 and 1-3. Any child care before 9am is premium price, any child care after 3 is charged a premium price, plus lunch charge, plus subs. One of my friends worked it out that they were pretty much getting the same amount from the extra charges as they were paying pre funded hours.

The preschools are accepting the funding but only offer 9-3 and they are not allowed to use the wrap around until they are in reception. Our preschool has also added a lot of small print in, so you can use your "free 15 hours" 9-12, then there is a lunch charge of £9. The free hours can only be taken in mornings, so 5 mornings. The afternoons are charged at £20 until 3pm. Those with "free 30 hours", can take them but the lunch charge is £9, plus top ups at £5 a day. There is a £15 fine for any children not collected at 3pm. One of the mum's got fined as she collected her child at 3.10 due to her cleaning shift over running. This is standard at the 5 preschools. Ours is actually the cheaper and lenient end. One preschool in town starts charging fines at 3.05. They expect the parents to have collected by 3 on the dot.

My best friends day nursery went under last month, she is yet to find another nursery for her DS. Every single nursery has a huge waiting list, just for places. She has been told if she wants the funded hours she will have to wait until one of the existing 30hrs funded children leaves. There is a separate massive waiting list for the funded hours places at the remaining nurseries near her. Her DS is 3. She is currently relying on grandparents, her DHs shifts and her employer good will allowing her to work weekends to catch up. She approached a few child minders and they won't take him because of the funding. One told her, she only takes funded hours if the child has been CM by her since 9 months old. It's her policy apparently.

We are already in a funded child care desert. 3 nurseries in town closed, 5 child minders packed up, one at playgroup the other week is finishing in August as when the 9 month funding comes in it isn't financially viable. Nurseries round us restricting places. It's going to be just like NHS dental. You are entitled to it, but finding a provider will be like finding rocking horse poop.

We need to get into MPs about funding this properly or it is just going to harm working parents more and more.

Perhaps if/when Labour get in, changes might be made. I can’t see Rishi Sunak’s government making changes that make parents any savings when his household stands to make money from it. I’ll post this again:

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/rishi-sunaks-wife-has-shares-in-childcare-firm-that-will-benefit-from-budget-policy-12844890

14% increase here.

I am sorry it is such a big increase.

Mine went 3 days per week to an owner-managed single nursery (ie not a chain). We are in the SE not London and my youngest left in 2014 so they both only had the 15h from aged 3 (which the daycare did treat as entirely free but which had to be taken 2.5h in the morning, 2.5h in the afternoon etc, so you only got the full benefit if you did at least two and a half days)

Anyway, the cost at the time we sent them, almost 10 years ago now, was £50 per day.

So I guess I am surprised that, with energy prices increases, NMW increases and the govt funding changes - which are national rather than local - your nursery was only charging £57 a day in 2022.

Also, I don’t think it’s a cartel if managers observe publicly available information on what competitors charge and adjust accordingly. Cartel implies secret collusion.

My nursery was charging £45.50 in 2020, £57 in 2022 and £80 in 2024. We need to compare proportionately, this is why I asked for percentages.

Yes, it's shit - thanks for solidarity.

I suppose what I was saying is that the 2022 cost seemed low to me given that, whilst things like rent and business rates may be less in different regions, electricity and NMW are the same across England. So I can believe that 2022 was unsustainably low, rather than the cost today being outrageously high, if that makes sense.

have checked today’s prices at my old nursery and they are £81-£85 a day (highest cost is for babies)

Going up 9.5% in sept. Thank god he only has a year to go from then. We are not in uk so no free hours for us.

in contrast I only got a 6.5% pay rise and my husband 4.5%. It sucks

My brain malfunctioned, I didn't mean cartel but price fixing, also anti-competitive behaviour. A cartel does not need to be formal collusion, in any event. Here the three providers price-match in the last 24 months, all of them are chains filling up owner's pockets and nothing else. Too many corporate greed apologists on MN.

OP your not going to get the nursery to change their minds on cost so your choices are move to another nursery and factor in the additional time for driving, see if a nursery near either work is cheaper and has space, examine how many days you put them in and see if there is any flexibility with either of your employers to either reduce hours or condense hours.

For what it's worth we did our maths with 2 in private nursery it was actually cheaper for my DH to drop a day a week then it was to put them in 5 days. We also have flexible work policies so condense hours and finish earlier 1 day a week so reduced nursery hours for that day too.

Again, it isn’t price fixing to look at the local market and see what others are charging. if one childminder charged £20 an hour and her neighbour £7, wouldn’t you expect the first childminder to wonder why she had no clients and research it? Same vice versa - if one has a long waitlist, then customer demand is healthy and prices can move up.

I’m not an apologist for corporate greed, whatever that even means.

West Midlands here. Fees were £48/day in Sept 22. Went up to £52 April 23. £62 April 24. That's 7.30-6, with meals and snacks included.

Tho £2 knocked off when they turn 2. My oldest is now 2, but my youngest started this week.

Cheaper than quite a few nearby I believe, tho more expensive than a few