nursery fees/funding
  Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:15 pm
Post subject: nursery fees/funding Hi ladies, I 've not been on for a while sorry but could really use some advice!
Fin goes to a nursery for two days a week he has since he was 9 months old! This mongh we were looking forward to a much lower bill but were pretty disapointed! Basically we pay £421per month this covers 7.30-6.30 so 11 hours. This means in total 22 hours, as he is eligible for 15 hours we thought we'd be topping up wigh a few extra hours but turns out they are going to charge us £337 does anyone know how the funding is worked out and also are all nurseries as cagey as mine? I just don't understand it but need to get it sorted asap as I return to work in feb and ollie is supposed to be starting too!! Thanks in advance for any help _________________  
 Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:20 pm
Post subject: That does seem a lot. When my daughter went it used to cost me £95 a week and that was 8 til 5, every day. That was with the 15 hours funding too. I am in Liverpool so it depends on how much their daily charge is!
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  Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:45 pm
Post subject: I think the 15 hours funding is to be taken over 5 days
Have your nursery averaged it out over the year? as the funding only applies term time. Also it doesnt start until next week. so My nursery work out how much I will pay funded and how much none funded then average it so my payments are the same every week. Yet another nursery I looked at made you pay the varying amounts. _________________ 
  Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:52 pm
Post subject: Hi our nursery fees for three full days with the funding taken off usually works out to £240ish (7.30am - 6pm) but this month has been £450! I think it has something to do with term dates and things as you only get 15hrs funded during term-time x x
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 Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 8:49 am
Post subject: Re: nursery fees/funding lilgem81 wrote:
Hi ladies, I 've not been on for a while sorry but could really use some advice!
Fin goes to a nursery for two days a week he has since he was 9 months old! This mongh we were looking forward to a much lower bill but were pretty disapointed! Basically we pay £421per month this covers 7.30-6.30 so 11 hours. This means in total 22 hours, as he is eligible for 15 hours we thought we'd be topping up wigh a few extra hours but turns out they are going to charge us £337 does anyone know how the funding is worked out and also are all nurseries as cagey as mine? I just don't understand it but need to get it sorted asap as I return to work in feb and ollie is supposed to be starting too!! Thanks in advance for any help Firstly, depending where you live £421 seems reasonable as my son goes to nursery three and a half days a week (32 hours) and it used to cost us about £650 per month. (It now costs us about £350 per month after 15 hours is taken off - so we are only paying for 17 hours per week now). The 15 hours is only applicable during school term time, so in theory when you have a full month of school, then you should only be paying 7 of those hours, so £337 does seem too high. I would speak to your nursery. Do you get a weekly or monthly bill. We get a weekly bill and it clearly shows the funded hours being taken off the bill. Hope you get it sorted because those 15 hours per week really do help us all. Good luck. xTx _________________  Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:34 am
Post subject: As other posters have said, it is termtime only. Although they can apply the discount across the 52 weeks of the year, equivalent to about 11 hours a week - my nursery does this by default (and claim they'll reimburse us if we leave right at the end of the summer term instead of at the end of august, although they had to think about this for a few days when we asked).
other points to consider: The hourly rate might not be the same at all times of day - at my nursery it is a bit over a fiver an hour for 8-6 but the extra half hours on each end of a day are £9.70 (each - so nearly £20 extra for 7:30-6:30, although that is per family rather than per child. And my nursery claims you can't have both extra half hours in the same day - even as a one off - as that breaches ofsted regulalations on length of day). If a funded session is 3 hours but the child attends 8-6 (say) then they would get 2 funded sessions so 6 hours, but the extra 4 hours fees will have to include all meals (not included in state funding) plus potentially nappies if they supply them (admittedly unusual at 3). Plus I assume the government hourly rate is capped at some value which will be affordable to a preschool in a community hall type setting but not necessarily to a day nursery with own building / garden. I found this on a Wiltshire council website, which implies in a private nursery they are capped at 3.71 an hour. The 2012-2013 hourly rates are: Provider Type 2012/2013 hourly rate Childminder £6.50 Maintained £4.07 Private/ voluntary/ independent £3.71 I think it used to be the case that you could only claim 2 x 3hr sessions in any one day, in which case you could only claim 12 hours if you only do 2 days, but that may have changed recently. I would definitely ask your nursery for clarification. My nursery gives out a sheet explaining if you attend for x halfdays a week (from 1 to 10), how many funded hours you can claim and what the weekly cost is. They don't go as far as explaining how they worked the numbers out though. I know the discount seemed disappointly small when it kicked in but we were kind of expecting that. If your nursery won't clarify and is part of a chain, try contacting the head office. Good luck getting it sorted out. Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 5:49 pm
Post subject: Funding is only term time and only works out at £3.52 an hour so some nurseries charge top ups. You have to split it over two days so sometimes that makes a difference because you then end up on a different - and generally more expensive - rate
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  Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 10:57 pm
Post subject: Ask for an itemised bill then you'll know, which they should be providing you anyway. If they aren't giving you 15 hours free and are making you 'top it up' like the other lady said, I'd use another nursery. My son goes to a private nursery that charges about 6 per hour but I still get a full 15 hours free even though the amount the government pays doesn't equal that.
Terri xx _________________ 
 Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 10:06 am
Post subject: Thanks ladies, I ghink me and oh are going tobarrange acmeeting with the owner so she can explain it to us as they must have a way to work it out. Your advice is much appreciated, I can always count on thecaskbaby ladies to know what is going on! You can see why oeople struggle to go back to work!!
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 1:31 pm
Post subject: when my son was in nursery we only paid the extra hours, he went 3days a week - 9.00-5.30 and was £120 a week(included his meals|) but when he got his 15 free hours it went down to £36 term time only and went back upto 120 the weeks he was there when the schools were closed.
They do seem to be charging you alot considering you should now only be paying for 7 hours a week. id be asking how they are breaking it down or maybe find a new placement. _________________ 
 Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:51 pm
Post subject: When did your son turn three? As the free funding doesn't start until the term after they turn three. Not sure if u knew this.
My daughters free funding starts this term and she will be going for two and a half days a week. _________________ 
 
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