Funded hours and consumable cost

Nursery’s are a scam. Sounds like they prefer the people who pay the consumables

Sadly they are ‘funded’ hours not ‘free’ hours. I looked round every nursery in my local area and there were only 2 that allowed for the use of the funded hours without charging some kind of additional fee. It’s pretty common to be charged extra because the government don’t pay as much as the nursery earn from parents paying the full cost, so they can’t afford to run at just the government funded rate

I would guess that because the money the nursery gets for the funded hours is way below what they actually charge so without a certain amount of people paying consumables they wouldn't be able to stay open.

Yes but then there should be an option for families to manage this cost like bringing a packed lunch or providing wipes etc. £3.75 per funded hour for consumable cost for a 3year old is downright outrageous that’s almost half the cost of the care itself!. There was no mention of this in any of the documentation signed during sign up. Or explanation of how the funded hours would work if used. I honestly feel like we have had the rug pulled from under us.

The biggest reason we use a childminder

These funded hours from the government aren’t enough to cover the nursery, hence why alot of them are extremely fussy about how the hours can be used & charging for consumables. Luckily I landed a fab nursery that allow the funding to be used in the best way for me, and include consumables. I’d look around if you have time for a nursery that will accommodate you better, not piss you around!

As others have said, the hours are not free, they are funded. And also as mentioned what they receive from the government does not actually match their fees so they’re running at a loss. They are not allowed to charge a ‘top up’ so use the terms consumables etc instead to make up some of the difference. Is taking a packed lunch not an option? It is at our preschool. Surely even with the consumables fees you’re better off?

Do they go to a private nursery or a preschool?

some nurseries charge more than others for consumables, it’s about looking around etc, it def would’ve been advertised somewhere. i’m pregnant with my second and i have recently registered him for a nursery in january 2026, in april when he gets his 30 hours funding the consumables cost is £6 a day, which is really good, but i have seen others that charge significantly more but it is also about what’s included in the consumables and what you have to provide etc xx

It definitely depends on the nursery you’re sending them to. At our nursery, everybody provides their own wipes and nappies so the consumables cost is purely for food. A full days worth of consumables (3 meals and 2 snacks) costs us £8.25. This saves us a fortune as a full day fee without funded hours is £66.

My nursery charges £12 a day for meals and consumables outside of funded hours, which I think is fairly reasonable considering he gets 3 meals and snacks. Plus they have weekly forest school, football coaching and dance classes. I would def question why theirs are £30 a day as that’s more than I pay a week

Our nursery charges £1.20 per funded hour. £30 a day seems extreme! I would definitely have a look at other nurseries in your area and hopefully you can find one that isn’t so pricey!

Our nursery charges £75 a month as a consumable charge.

My babys nursery don't charge for consumables for under 2s, but after that I don't know. I'll assess in a years time when she's 2 if it's worth me paying for meals etc, or whether I'll just bring in my own food for her

From April 1st it is being made illegal to make that fee compulsory so that is really unfair!! They’re trying to find a loophole

For me I feel trapped. The boys have been there about 7 months I’ve found work that works around my child care. The option to leave is not there. places are scarce and the ones I’ve found can’t take both boys on the same day or days that match work. The 30 hours came into effect this April so it’s new for us. When we signed up it was not made clear that consumables will still have to be paid even with funded hours. All this time I thought we were paying consumables on the days the boys didn’t have funded hours I ate it in the hopes that things will change in April. But here we are This feels illegal some how. I asked you guys really to get a better understanding on if this fee was normal

@Barbs I feel like it is illegal. The new law is that it should be voluntary for everyone not that there’s a certain amount of spaces.

@Katie I know! Funded implies it's paid for, it's literally the definition of funding. Either the Gov are not paying the actual funding costs or the nursery's are being greedy. Not sure which one.

@Danielle funding is just what the government give nurseries for these spaces, they “pay for them” except for the fact that it is usually half of what a nursery space costs. the funding the government provide doesn’t cover anyone’s wages, it barely covers food (if there’s a nursery chef) and if nurseries provide nappies wipes etc, it really is a minimal amount. nurseries are allowed to do a consumables fee, not because they’re “greedy” but because the government funding is not enough for them to go on. they have to pay wages, buy food, buy learning resources and toys, furniture for the nursery, nappies, wipes, creams, etc. as someone who has worked in nurseries since 2018, i’ve witnessed the stress management have to go through, from parents, from government, lack of communication or involvement for early years by the government, fee rises etc, these are companies trying to stay afloat.

The amount they get from the government for the funded hours doesn’t always cover their staffing costs so they can charge for meals, drinks, resources etc to cover that cost but £30 is extortionate really.

Apparently they have to say voluntary but my childminder made it clear that it’s because they’re forced to say that by the government and it’s actually mandatory . The government don’t want fee on there but they don’t pay them enough to survive!

My nursery charges £24.50 per day for consumables. Technically they’re not allowed to charge top-up fees so they label it as consumables to get around this. There’s no way a three year old is using this amount of food etc per day. It is ridiculous but is the governments fault for underfunding and unfortunately we have no choice but to pay it really.

@Sinead I hear you. So the government are not "funding" it then are they? There lies the problem then? Because funding means that it's paid for in full.

@Danielle essentially yeah, they call it funding but it’s actually significant underfunding and it’s tough on everyone :(

@Sinead like don't get me wrong it's a help for parents, better than paying in full but they make it confusing by using words we all know mean one thing but they mean another. Maybe they should advertise it as part funding?

@Sinead when you put it like this I understand. Honestly the nursery is freaking amazing. I guess I would have just liked more transparency. Also I’m annoyed that the concept of free child care is not actually the case. As someone said above the word funded implies it is all paid for. And that was what I was looking forward to. I know it still might be significantly less than we would have been paying but still it feels like a scam either the government or the nursery. Somebody is scamming someone. What is a 3 year old doing at 30£ a day

I wonder if it is a voluntary cost can we opt to pay another amount 🤔

@Barbs honestly everyone is struggling and it is a joke, i completely sympathise and understand, like i said i am a nursery worker and though you’d think id have any kinds of benefits putting my child in my nursery, i dont, and struggled for a long time. but again its about looking around. my nursery currently does not have a consumables charge, but parents provide their own nappies, and a packed lunch or book a hot dinner. some nurseries include everything in the funded price, and others dont. each and every nursery is in their own financial spot, so though some may charge more than others, that doesnt mean they’re greedier it just means they struggle more. the big time nurseries like busy bees which have over 100 branches or something stupid wouldn’t charge consumables because they are a large chain and don’t suffer the hit, whereas the smaller private ones may charge something because it impacts them greatly. it varies place to place xxx