15hrs free funding: Is it common for providers to charge some kind of fee on top?

[splishsplosh]

I found a private pre school (the type open 9-3) where dd can do a couple of afternoons a week - filled in the forms etc - then got a call the next day telling me I would have to pay £50 as a non refundable deposit. As she is entitled to funding I asked what a deposit could be for? So they told me it was an admin fee.

I checked with Family Information Service who said providers could only charge for over 15hrs, or for extra services.

But when I queried this with the pre school they said no, it was only free at a council nursery, and they had to cover costs of the folders, photos, staff, activities, etc and offered me the chance to pay in installments.

As far as I can work out they are not allowed to do this, but several people have said they also know of places which have charged deposits or admin fees... is this happening widely? And if so, why is it being allowed to happen? Or am I wrong, and it is actually OK?

There is no standard government rate for paying settings for the children getting their 15 hours funding, it is decided area by area. Many areas pay less than it costs a setting to run so settings have to decide between breaking the rules and charging a top-up or not taking part in the scheme or closing all together. It's not fair on settings and it's not fair on parents and I do fear for the whole scheme once the 2 year-old part is fully rolled out, it hasn't been costed properly.

Ewaczarlie - they are not allowed to charge top-ups. There are ways places are getting round this (higher fees at other times generally) but absolutely no top ups. If a child does just 15 hours, then they must be able to do that with absolutely no cost. Not for uniform, not for snack, nothing.

And what OldBoots said about the funding is exactly right. Every council has their own way of calculating the rate the setting gets, and different settings will get slightly different amounts also, depending on the formula their council uses. It is unfair, random, and is going to put lots of good preschools out of business.