nursery imposing new rules help !!!!!!!!!!

[mum2boys3girls]

Today the nursery where my dd2 attends have turn around and said as of September she will have to attend 5 days from 9 till 1245 she will also have lunch(which I provide) , the grant covers her for 9/12noon so they are charging £5.00 for the 45minute extra which will be £100.00 a month . I asked if she could do 3 maybe 4 days but they said no . Not sure what to do ???? as I didn't want her to do five days and lunch any advice greatly appreciated have rung round a few other nurserys but no places for September .................

I would speak to the other parents and see what they say. They surely cannot force you? Are you working and thus rely on the nursery place? If not I would be tempted to tell there where to stick there new rules...

their new rules .

Will the hundred pounds a month be your only outlay to the nursery, if a grant covers the rest?

Spoke to a few other parents and they are not happy either ... Yes the £100 is the only outlay to the nursery which is the 45 minute extra .. It took ages for her to settle and she loves it now we qualified for the grant in April and I pay 25.00 a month to cover additonal ... having five children another £75.00 to find each month .......

It seems like they are trying to squeeze extra money out of parents....does your original contract with them cover any changes in conditions? It would seem fairer if any new customer would be subject to the new conditions, without penalising existing parents.

I thought the free nursery place HAD to be free, and nurseries can't charge "top up" fees for the places? I'd call your council and ask for clarification on the rules.

thats what I thought

I didn't think they could do this either. If they accept the free places, they have to let you use it without topping up.

There are a lot of problems in this area right now, the government are giving families 15 hours free education in the term after their third birthday.

However, and it really is a big however, many independent nurseries genuinely cannot run only on that income. If it is in a state nursery class attached to a school, the school subsidies the provision, but not in a privately run setting.

There are loop holes, and yes settings can charge a top up if they use the loopholes. Where I work, the council have people employed to work them out, because there is no way the council can put every child into 15 hours free education, as there aren't enough state nurseries.

Sadly the change in conditions has been enforced on them, this is not just to squeeze money out, in many areas, this is to stay afloat. Settings are closing - I know 3. And they had to wait until after the election because it was undecided: Tories wanted the funding cut completely, Libs want to keep it. It is very late in the day ( imagine how your provider is coping )

One option is to phone the council who have to offer you 15 hours free education, but that could be at any setting in your borough.

HOWEVER, settings only have to offer 15 hours free education ( plus top ups if necessary for extra time/ provision ) you are parents don't have to take it. The funding is paid pro rata, so they can attend 3 sessions a week and still claim the funding.

If there are other unhappy parents with a child the same age could you see about a nursery share? Maybe three days one week two the next and vice versa?

Its just a thought but it would mean that it works out funds for the nursery and they have an extra space plus you don't have to do the five day a week thing.

The new fifteen hour provision is supposed to be offered fexibly, but I know a lot of nurseries are struggling to fulfill this aspect. You are completely entitled to take your dc out of the nursery at noon so you don't have to pay the extra. They should also be able to offer the provision over three or four days, but that might be fewer hours e.g. 12.5 as at present. I think that £5 for 45 minutes doesn't surprise me, as a childminder I charge £4.50 for an hour (so £3.38 for 45 mins), however the early years funding in my LA is only 3.77 per hour & I would therefore be making a loss on every child who took just the early years funding, therefore I would charge an increased 'session' fee for the extra hours they attended to help make up the shortfall. However I have to be very careful on how this is done as a straight forward top up is not allowed & it would have to be a minimum session time of say 5 or 6 hours per day which are charged at a certain fee in addition to the early years fee making it more financially viable for me & any other business offering the early years funded sessions.

As far as I know you have to attaend a minimum of 2.5 hours a day, over 3 days a week.
The maximum is 15 hours.

these should be delivered flexibly, in a way which parents can benefit.

Most preschools and nurseries here have survyeed parents to see how they can deliver this flexibly and fairly.

Our funding owrks out at £3.86 per hour.
Thsi si also what we will charge per hour.

If you google it you can find out a lot more,; include your local authority name in it and you'll be able to see how they are advising.

I work in a nursery and you do not have to accept these new conditions. You are entitled to the free hours i.e 9 till 12. This should be free at the point of use.
You do not have to leave her an extra 45 mins and be charged for it.
Stick to your guns, and tell them you will collect your DD at 12, and no, you won't be paying any extra.

I have just read my local authorities local code of practice on delivery of free Early Years provision for three and four year olds
2010 ? 2011, which is based on the National Guidelines.

It states:
'Funding can only be paid for up to 15 hours per week over a minimum of 38 weeks,
delivered flexibly over three days ? parents must fund any additional hours. Parents
can claim a maximum of 10 hours free entitlement (which can now include any meal
times) during any one day. The remaining five hours can be split over a further two
days.'

and

Parents can be asked to pay for additional hours outside the free entitlement hours.
Taking up additional hours must not be a condition of attendance. Providers may make
an additional reasonable charge for snacks, but this must not be a barrier to
attendance.

Note - taking up additional hours must not be a condition of attendance and the free entitlement can be taken flexibly over a 3-day period.

You need to contact your Local Authority Sure Start Partnership or Early Years Team for support.

Hope this helps.

As KT12 rightfully says they are not allowed to do this and they risk losing the Early Years Funding from their County Council if they try to.

Dear RatherBeonthePiste

I am very concerned about the impact of changes to funding on our local Montessori school. I was interested by your remarks regarding the stance of Tories and Lib dems and wondered if you could tell me where you got this information. I would like to join / set up a campaign for a reversal to the implementation of these funding changes. Would like to talk directly but you need to CAT me. Thanks