Nurseries

It tends to be term time only settings that offer the full 15/30 hours every week. Ift would seem your nursery is open all year round, as it looks like they have chosen to use a “stretched” model. They spread the funding out across the whole year which means you can’t claim the full 15/30 hours weekly but it does mean that your not left will a full price bill some months!

Because it’s funded, and there are still costs for consumables etc. Plus, it’s only term time so the cost ends up being split. It’s not that they aren’t accepting it, but they have their rules around the funding.

@Chantelle even with term time only it is still expected to pay a cost. For example if I wanted to do the stretched hours it works out 11.25 a week - so I could still do two 5 hour mornings within that.. but yet I’m required to pay for 3.25 hours a week or something like that. Does that mean there are nurseries that I will be able to not have to pay anything towards? @Emily the cost for consumables is is also broken down with it however I’m still required to pay so much of the daily hours x

I believe the funded hours during the day are only those within "school hours", so between 9 & 3ish and doesn't include lunch time. So if your little one starts at 8, for example, you would have to pay for the hour between 8 & 9 and if they are in nursery over lunch time, you would also have to pay for that hour.

Each nursery is different, and private nurseries generally offer more flexibility than school attached places. The nursery my daughter went to was really good, I used the free hours and I only had to pay for food which was £3.90 per day, that was it. Where I viewed other nurseries that wanted £15 extra per half day for ‘food’ which is nonsense it’s a top up fee. Go view a few nurseries and find out their policies and fees, I do think with the government recently bringing in changes to childcare funding it is harder to find a place and most will want you to pay something extra.

Each nursery can set their own rules.

Every nursery is different. A friends nursery only allow funded term time (38 weeks a year) whereas ours will accept funding all year round. If that’s the way they want to do it there’s not much you can do

Every nursery is different but 15hours is actually 11hours funded & usually if using funded hours your charged consumables on top. 30hours is 22hrs a week. If using them the whole year and not just term time. Al it varies on the charge for consumables. But anyhow we had it explained to us - hope that helps x

It's quite common for many nurseries to do this as the funding doesn't cover their costs so they have to make it up somehow. Even though we are able to utilise our full 30 hours, we have to pay £11 a day for consumables. Some nurseries you won't have to pay anything on top but I imagine these are few and far between. Some will also have rules that you have to attend X amount of days utilise the full funding for example.

Thanks everyone. So yes the stretched time is 11.25 a week but I want to do two 5 hour sessions a week - which would well be included in this. But I’m expected to pay £22 on top EACH SESSION. I thought that was a bit extortionate 💀💀💀

That’s quite normal, as you are covering the day to day running of the nursery, nappies, wipes and food etc.

I do feel that £22 per session is quite a lot!! Howevee it obviously depends on your location etc! We get funding for 2 half days per week, only those days we pay £2.50. It would be slightly more on a full day. I think we pay £0.50 per snack and £1.00 per meal. So for her funded Monday (7:30am - 1:00pm), we only pay the £2.50. We provide our own nappies and wipes though which keeps the cost down more, but still £22 is crazy!

@Bec super glad you said this because the sessions I was looking at was 8:00-1:00pm - definitely validated how I feel because I definitely thought £22 on top is crazy.. Xx

I’m going 2 mornings, and still have to pay I don’t know exactly what for but I do 🤣