Consumables

[mumof2wife]

weve just moved over to our funding hours and have been told our consumables has gone up to £2.50 an hour with April pay increase so it’s quite a jump
I’ve found out this is compulsory and while I understand they have to claw back the money somehow i also am struggling to make ends meet so I’m looking for any saving possible
anyway the list for consumables on request is
toilet rolls, wipes,apron, gloves and face wipes and I don’t think it justifies to £185 a month
can anyone tell me legally if they are even allowed to charge for this as I would have thought this is basis PPE? Help

I don’t think they can make it mandatory. The gov guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/free-childcare-if-working/what-youll-get but there was a news story a couple of months ago and I don’t know if the guidance actually changed. You should still be able to access your free hours without a mandatory charge. Sorry it’s early and I’m not much help. https://news.sky.com/story/amp/parents-must-not-pay-mandatory-extra-charges-to-access-free-childcare-government-says-13313166

The guidance has changed from April and settings must ensure the charges are voluntary and parents should have the option to provide their own snacks, meals, wipes, sanitiser, nappies, other consumables instead of paying the charge.
All part of Labours bigger plan to close down private settings and eventually get all the kids in school from 9months. It’s a disaster. Pay the consumable.

I don’t mind paying a consumable, I always was before hand but the increase is so much higher and I’m happy to provide a list of things my child needs but their list mostly is is PPE which I just found strange - I understand everything else it’s just this consumable charge that was all.

I’m all for paying for consumables. I had to pay extra for wipes and suncream, etc when mine were in nursery, plus £1100 each for actual nursery costs because there was no government funding.

But two things that jump out here: these seem to be bits for staff, not for your child. A child who is in nappies using wipes isn’t also using toilet roll. Also, aprons and gloves, do they really use them every time they change a child? That seems very wasteful and excessive. Normal hand washing should suffice in most situations.

But is it actually £2.50 an hour for consumables? That’s a lot of consumption, if so! I think we paid £2.50 a day plus there would be a one time summer charge of £2 to cover suncream for all of the summer months unless we wanted to supply our own. I can’t imagine using £2.50 per hour worth of wipes or gloves per child. That’s a whole packet of gloves or several of wipes every hour.

It’s definitely £2.50 an hour which I find high considering their list. My child is Potty trained and I’ve always provided food, snacks, nappies wipes so it’s just literally the PPe which again I’m happy to provide. It’s gone from £2 to £2.50 nursery fees have increased but as I say that’s fine it’s just this consumables which seem unjustified

I definitely use gloves for each child! Why would I risk it? I don’t want some kids poo under my nails🤣

I didn’t think they were allowed to charge for PPE when it’s for the staff not the child so if a parents chooses to opt out which they did say we can ( just that no one does and they don’t want our child to miss out!) then the staff have PPE for
the children’s parents who’ve paid for PPE but not for the ones who haven’t?!

Also, aprons and gloves, do they really use them every time they change a child? That seems very wasteful and excessive. Normal hand washing should suffice in most situations

Gloves and apron when cleaning bodily fluids is basic good hygiene and the norm in every childcare setting I've been involved with. Fresh ones for each nappy change too. Much much quicker to clean any poonamis or pee that could happen during nappy changes. OFSTED pulled up the only setting I've ever know where staff were discouraged from using gloves and aprons every nappy change because the owners thought it wasteful. OFSTED criticised them for that and it's was a measure they were made to change.

In a home setting with just my child I have the time to go shower and clean myself if anything gets on me, in a daycare setting where I have another 15 children to change and ratios to uphold, gloves and and aprons massively reduce the chances of getting shit and piss on clothes and skin and taking much longer to clean up.

OP shouldn't be paying for the gloves and aprons but using them every nappy change isn't excessive or wasteful. It's basic protection when dealing with bodily fluids.