Conservatives & Nursery Top Up Fees

[gravelchops]

The Conservatives will allow nurseries to charge parents of three- and four-year-olds millions of pounds in "supplementary fees" if they form a government after 6 May, the Observer has learned. Campaigners have described the move, which would end the guarantee of a free place for every child that age, as "a huge blow to parents".

The party has kept the policy out of its election manifesto.

www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/25/conservatives-charge-nursery-places

dont nurseries do this anyway?
when dd was in pre school the govt paid something like £8.50 per session, dds sessions cost £12.50, we paid the extra £4. i know there is not a pre school in my borough that charges less than £10 per session, so everyone pays the extra

our nursery charges top-up fees, they just call it something else. The only truly free nursery is the one council nursery (in a very large borough) who are a state nursery.

Don't kid yourslef that it will be any different in practice. Supply and demand will keep prices capped in most areas.

At the (private) pre-school my dcs went to they had the five free session, no top up fees. Lots of people used the free sessions only and would not be able to afford any sessions at all if they had to pay.

The reason behind this is because so many nurseries are failing because of lack of funding.

70% of nurseries have reported having financial issues because of labour promised free nursery places but didn't fund them properly.

The measure is temporary until the Conservatives can carry out a funding review and sort out the financial crisis that labour have put nurseries in.

If you children are in a nursery that they love and are happy in, but the nursery is forced to close, you get a choice to make a contribution if you can or move your children elsewhere - surely this has to be better than no choice at all?

Our nursery already does this. DS gets two, 3 hours sessions out of a day paid for, then i have to pay for the extra hours plus costs for lunch and tea.

A lot of people who use day nurseries have to have their children there for more that 3 hours, 5 times a week

Good. The country has no money and is horribly overspending. The government should stop trying to roll out interventions that help children from deprived backgrounds to everyone until the country can afford it.

is this to do with the single funding that is being trialled at moment by current government? This single finding means nurseries will not be able to charge top up fees at all and must offer 15 hours free childcare which suits the parent....this isnt going to work for alot of settings and will see many childcare settings close. surely what conservatives are saying is they will scrap this single funding and stay with existing funding which means parents will have to top up.
its so difficult for my setting as the funding does not cover the cost of staff etc if we did not charge top up we would have to close.

Nurseries and playgroups have charged top up fees for years. My son went to a pre school that was open for two and three quarters hours. They charged £2 for the extra 15 mintues.

Its only state schools that offer a free session and two and half hours is next to useless for working parents.

There are working tax credits for those on low incomes to pay for daycare. Maybe free childcare is less important than free school education.

Labour have bankcrupted the country. Prehaps that the biggest issue.

The current policy of not being able to charge top is putting charitable pre-schools etc out of business.

Perhaps it would be better giving means tested assistance through the tax credit system.

I don't have an issue with this. We can't afford to keep handing out free places to all and sundry - even those who can afford it themselves or don't really want/need it.

Good - it sounds like a sensible solution to me.

ok gravelchops, your attempt at eliciting outrage has officially failed. (assuming that is why you posted)

Anyone who thinks any of the political parties are going to keep the free 3-and-4 year old places as they are is seriously deluded, IMO.

And as others have said, fair enough. And I speak as one who will lose out.

Bonkerz - we started single funding from 1st April. It has changed my view of the funded EYE......such a relief

"The party has kept the policy out of its election manifesto."

Sadly, like many other things. For example, Cameron has never pledged to ring fence the income of any NHS hospital. He will not be drawn on what effect his policies will have on NHS hospital incomes, he always avoids the question. The fact is that NHS hospitals will have real cuts in their income, and since the majority of NHS workers are women it will mean that many women (many of them mothers) will lose their jobs.

Speaking of the NHS, Labour's jobs tax is going to take an additional £446 million away from their budget. That's a lot of services that will no longer be on offer to sick people.

www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23782208-rise-in-national-insurance-to-cost-nhs-pound-446-mi llion.do

chandellina - i was initiating a debate not eliciting an outrage.

This is a parenting site and we are in the politics talk section. I think I am perfectly entitled to raise this for discussion.

The only person who appears outraged is you!

"Speaking of the NHS, Labour's jobs tax is going to take an additional £446 million away from their budget. That's a lot of services that will no longer be on offer to sick people."

That's on top of the jobs that have already been lost as Labour slash away and of course not in the right places.

As for the nurseries. Good, it's about time someone showed some common sense, putting businesses out of business is no way to stay out of a double dip recession.

gravelchops - sorry, just an attempt at humour. no outrage here.

Recession or non recession, a civilized country should have free nursery schools for children aged 3 +, imho.

Does anyone know how long any change is likely to take to come in? I want to put DS in nursery next year, but if it is then going to become unaffordable then I'd rather not have to take him out or move him, seems like it would be unsettling for him.

Huh? Why on earth is free nursery provision a sign of a civilised country?

a) to give children the same opportunities. Not all children have parents giving them access to creative things to do/books/storytelling/etc etc etc.
b) to help working parents, who, you know, pay taxes.
c) many countries in Europe have free nursery schools for 3+, and they work bloody well.