Nursery charges - a few questions

[Morty_007]

Hi all,
I am in a bit of a quandry and wonder if others would be so kind as to share their experiences by answering the following questions for me.

1. How much does your nursery charge for your year old child per day?
2. Do you get charged for bank holidays even though the nursery doesn't open?
3. Do you get charged if the nursery closes for a period of holiday e.g: christmas week?

I'm sure I have a number of other questions but answers to these to start with may help me decide whether to ask the next lot!

Thanks for your responses in advance

[jackomdj]

sorry I can't remember how much - it just comes out of my salary (salary sacrifice so taken before tax & NI) & I am part time & pay for 2 with sibling discount too.

However we do get a credit for bank holidays & xmas time - although we sometimes have to chase HO about it!

HTH
Nicky

[mummybow]

Hi morty

i live just outside M25 so maybe an expensive area but my 18 month year old is in the baby room - 3 mounths to 2 years - and my charges for this year are £49.50 8 - 5.30 snacks but no lunch.

We don't pay when the nursery is shut - bank holidays or chirstmas etc - but must give one months notice not to pay our selves, therefore pay for sick days for example.

I know in our area that £50 a day is about right and child minders are cheaper.

Feel free to ask any more questions - also have a 4 year old who has done it all and about to start school on Thurs but we won't talk about that!!!

[brummiebabe]

Hi - I've got 3 children who've all been to nursery!!

I'm in South Birmingham - pay £30 per day for upto 2 year old (shortly due to go down to £28 per day once she's 2!)

This does not include food/nappies (although they do provide fruit/snacks, sun cream in summer etc!)

We do pay for Bank Holidays (I have no objections - it's a business & I wouldn't be happy if I didn't get paid for my B/H) but we do not pay for the week or so they're shut between christmas & new year!

We also get 2 weeks holiday per year - which we don't have to pay for.

At my old nursery it was £35 per day (although nappies/food were included) and you paid 52 weeks of the year!!!!!

Once they're 3, they get a term-time grant (my nursery lets me spread the discount over the whole year)

Any other queries....just ask

[TraceyB]

I'm in Havering and pay £35 a day - 8.30-6.00, this includes three meals.

I pay for Bank Holidays and Christmas closure! Felt this was unfair but as it was the only one I liked and felt happy with, I decided to go for it.

Good luck!

[Woby_Tide]

Dorset £35 I think though discount of 10% as we've two there, no food/nappies. Don't pay for bank holidays and get 2 weeks 'holiday' per year on top of 1 xmas closure

[onlyroz]

My Berkshire nursery is £760 a month for 9am-4pm care. You can pay more for 8am-6pm care but I can't afford that. The nursery is closed for 6 weeks a year, which we don't pay for - but the cost is spread evenly throughout the year so we pay the same amount each month.

[sooz]

Originally Posted by Morty_007

Hi all,
I am in a bit of a quandry and wonder if others would be so kind as to share their experiences by answering the following questions for me.

1. How much does your nursery charge for your year old child per day? £65 per day from 8am til 6pm Breakfast, lunch, tea & snacks, but you had to take in your own nappies.
2. Do you get charged for bank holidays even though the nursery doesn't open? Yes
3. Do you get charged if the nursery closes for a period of holiday e.g: christmas week? Only closed for 2 weeks per year, 1 at Easter & 1 at Christmas. And yes, we paid for these weeks too

I'm sure I have a number of other questions but answers to these to start with may help me decide whether to ask the next lot!

Thanks for your responses in advance

This was in London (but not central), & the prices were from 3 years ago. They went up every term too, so it's almost certainly over £70 now. Once no. 2 came along, a childminder was much better value.

[Yorkshire-Lady]

Originally Posted by sooz

This was in London (but not central), & the prices were from 3 years ago. They went up every term too, so it's almost certainly over £70 now. Once no. 2 came along, a childminder was much better value.

Can I just ask, would a childminder have been better value when you had your first child, and if so, why did you choose a nursery?

I only ask as I'm a childminder and often get phone calls from parents wanting spaces AFTER their child has been in nursery. Usually there is some sort of problem and they want to change care. Having said that, I've never had a parent take their child away and send it to nursery, unless it was just prior to starting school.

[flea72]

Originally Posted by Yorkshire-Lady

Can I just ask, would a childminder have been better value when you had your first child, and if so, why did you choose a nursery?

I only ask as I'm a childminder and often get phone calls from parents wanting spaces AFTER their child has been in nursery. Usually there is some sort of problem and they want to change care. Having said that, I've never had a parent take their child away and send it to nursery, unless it was just prior to starting school.

I think its because, when you first have a child you feel a bit more protective, and tend to think that there is safety in numbers. ie, you think that if your child was not happy/being mistreated at a nursery, there is always another member of staff who could step in, and also theres a sort of big brother thing going on. whereas with a childminder, there is no-one else around to see how your child is being treated.

then after a while at a nursery, you realise your child is just a number, and they arent getting much one to one care, and the atmosphere is quite clinical. Thats when you change to a childminder, as you actually feel that a homely environment is best for your child.

Also cost does come into it a bit. With one child you can afford £40 a day for a nursery. when you have two kids, a childminder works out a lot less, and as said before, you arent so precious with your children after the first one, and youre now more swayed by cost, than the perceived care your child will get

Flea

[peaseblossom]

We're in Sussex and pay £45 a day including meals, snacks and nappies 8am-6pm. It gets cheaper as they get older - for babies I think it's about £50. We do pay for bank holidays and when we're away on holiday, but the nursery is open every of the year day except bank holidays. They also put the prices up by loads every year!

All the nurseries in this area seemed to charge a similar rate when I looked around. Or if the day rate is cheaper, they are only open until 5.30, or don't provide meals.

[Daisydoll]

I'm in wigan and pay £23 per day from 9-6pm, but it is a sure start nursery so they are government funded which is why think they charge less. DD takes a packed lunch but gets a hot meal at tea time provided plus snacks. They do charge for bank hols but not for when they are closed over xmas, plus if I take dd out in school hols I dont get charged.Although when DD1 went to a private nursery as a baby it was only £26 but then I think it is generally cheaper around this area. I think overall though most nurseries charge in holidays.

[iskc85860506]

over 2 years pay £32.50, under 2s pay £34.50 8-6 per a day
meals included but we supply nappies (which are allways used alot quicker than they should be about half a pack unacounted for) I know this as they keep a diary of nappy changes, I have asked hundreds of times about this and got knowwhere!!

We dont pay for bank holidays.
They are shut for one week over xmas which we dont pay for.
We do have to pay for any holidays we take even though the kids are not at nursery.
We also pay for any days the kids may be off sick.

[sooz]

Originally Posted by Yorkshire-Lady

Can I just ask, would a childminder have been better value when you had your first child, and if so, why did you choose a nursery?

Yes, a childminder would have been a little cheaper for the same hours - £50 rather than £65. However, we didn't know her then.

I only ask as I'm a childminder and often get phone calls from parents wanting spaces AFTER their child has been in nursery. Usually there is some sort of problem and they want to change care. Having said that, I've never had a parent take their child away and send it to nursery, unless it was just prior to starting school.

We chose the nursery as we were new to the area, & it had been recommended. It was the most expensive one, but the others made me run screaming , especially the one for £28 per day, where the lunch menu consisted of veggie fingers every day, & the babies slept in buggies in the hall under the coat hooks, and when playing were basically in a large babydan playpen to keep the bigger ones off them.

I only found the childminder once we'd left the private nursery, & were struggling with school nursery hours & life. We looked for ages, & were let down by so many people (or even just not called back at all) She was & still is a godsend.

With no. 2 there was no question of him not going to her. We love her. I still want him to socialise with lots of others, not just the childminder's own, & her regulars, so he's also just started playgroup.

Plus, when both go, she offers buy one get one half price With no 3 on the way, I'm wondering if she'll be free

[Poodlecrazy]

Hi, I pay £28 a day (7:30am - 6pm) for a 4 year old, think it about £32 for a 1 year old. This includes everything, meals etc but wouldn't include nappies I don't think.

They don't charge for bank holidays or days when they are shut but do charge for holidays I take (fair enough)! I am in Wales by the way.

x

[Morty_007too]

Thanks for all your responses (I'm the OP on an alternative ID by the way!)

I have just doscovered that the nursery will be closed over christmas for a week and that we will be expected to pay for the time they have decided to close. I don't begrudge paying for bank holidays, the days I decided to take my son out of nursery or indeed any sick days but I do feel like they are taking the micky somewhat when they have decided on this closure themselves. Where will it stop? Will they decide that they are going to close for a week at easter too? Or maybe that they fancy a summer break next year too! My concern is that I etiher have to take time off work to look after my son or pay someone else to (whilst still paying them to be closed), neither of which I can really afford to do...thats why he is in nursery. And they have just hiked prices...they haven't given us a new daily figure (like they did when we first enrolled DS), just worked it out on a monthly basis and presented us with the monthly cost. I need to ask them what the new figure is.

I wouldn't care but I am quite unhappy with the "care" they provide anyway, and have had to speak to both the manager and the owner on a number of occasions about NOT giving DS food I have asked them NOT to give him and actually adhering to my wishes for his daytime routine...e.g: putting cream on his eczma every nappy change (this I know they haven't done because the pot I put in his bag still has the manufacturers seal on it.)

I don't want to take him out of the nursery because all of the babies we met from the first time mums group go there and I don't want him to lose that contact with them. I work full time so we don't get to go and play with them any other time and he has quite close bonds with them already. (please don't tell me it won't matter to him at this age...it would matter to me for him and that would be really hard for me to cope with. I carry enough mummy guilt as it is.)

I feel like I may be being unreasonable but it seems so unfair to pay for the holiday they have chosen to close for. We weren't told about it when we enrolled. Sorry this has kind of turned into a bit of a rant.

I don't know what to do

[DaisyFlower]

Firstly, I think you are over reacting a little on the holiday point. Most nurseries close for a week at xmas so its not unusual. Staff need a break and to be able to spend some time with their families. This doesnt mean that they will start closing for other weeks, thats why a nursery is better than a childminder as there will always be staff to cover for other staff members holidays.

As for charging, have you asked other parents if they are happy with paying for that week? Its unusual to charge when they are closed, but lots of childminders also charge for their holidays which can be 4 or 5 weeks a year so possibly 1 week is not that bad overall.

What makes you think they are giving him food you have asked them not too? Has your little one told you this? Could he have simply shared food with others - not uncommon for little ones to share.

The excema cream they should be doing, not sure what else your daily routine consists of but you have to be realistic in that they cannot follow the exact routine you have at home.

Check your contract, it should state if they charge for that weeks closure.

[sooz]

Originally Posted by Morty_007too

Thanks for all your responses (I'm the OP on an alternative ID by the way!)

I have just doscovered that the nursery will be closed over christmas for a week and that we will be expected to pay for the time they have decided to close. I don't begrudge paying for bank holidays, the days I decided to take my son out of nursery or indeed any sick days but I do feel like they are taking the micky somewhat when they have decided on this closure themselves. Where will it stop? Will they decide that they are going to close for a week at easter too? Or maybe that they fancy a summer break next year too! My concern is that I etiher have to take time off work to look after my son or pay someone else to (whilst still paying them to be closed), neither of which I can really afford to do...thats why he is in nursery.

(If you are not self employed), you'd be a little p*ssed off if your employer decided not to pay you over the xmas hols.

It sounds like you have other reasons to be unhappy with this nursery though.

[Yorkshire-Lady]

As I said, I'm a childminder and don't charge when I go on holiday, as the parents have to pay another childminder. If they are on holiday, they still have to pay.
I work closely with about 4 other childminders and we all tend to cover for holidays. This ensures the kiddie always know who is loking after them.

[Morty_007]

Hi all thanks for your responses.

I know they are giving him food I have asked them not to give him because they write it in his diary/book at the end of the day! It has happened on at least 2 occasions so far with chocolate and banana. The requests were on his daily routine. I don't expect them to follow our daily routine to a T, but they did ask for a typed version of our daily routine (including things to omit from the childs diet) so that they could follow it, so thats what I gave them. Of our diet list, they have given him 2 out of th eonly 3 things we have asked them not to give him and documented it in his book. They have decided to deviate from his sleep routine and then send him home tired and cranky because he hasn't had a nap...because they haven't tried what I have asked them to try...because thats what we do at home that works (nothing way out or difficult, just put him down in his pram. which they have plenty of room for.)

As for not paying the staff over the christmas holiday...i'm not suggesting that the staff shouldn't get paid, I was merely suggesting that asking us to pay when we have to find alternative childcare elsewhere, which we will have to pay for, is a little strange. All businesses have to deal with paying staff while they take leave and to do this they budget throughout the year.

If we had been quoted a figure for the year I wouldn't have as much of an issue but we were quoted per session and weren't told this would mean paying for time when the nursery closed for it's annual holiday.

I have just spent half an hour on the phone to a friend who has her daughter at the same nursery and she is considering taking her daughter out all together and making other arrangements because of this.

There are 5 other mums in our little group and only one of them doesn't have a problem with it...she is a teacher and it turns out there are different rules for teachers. They DON'T pay for bank holidays, the school holidays or the week at christmas...can anyone explain why this is fair?

TBH I don't want to get into arguements. I want to do what is right for my son.