Fallen in love with a school, no idea how to afford it

mygirllollypop

I went to visit a Montosorri School today and it is incredible, Come home feeling really positive about the school and ready to fill out the forms and discovered the fee's forms at the back of the pack.

It's £5508 a year, per child for school and £185 per week for Nursery, I was expecting fees just not quite so high!

I have a 4 year old & a 20 month old.

My 4 year old is due to start School in September, but possible wll be on the Easter intake at the Montosorri. I was hoping to start them both after the Easter break untill this afternoon.

I am currently trying to find a job again (eurgh) and signing upto Agencies to try and get some care work as it seems to be an industry there is always jobs in!

I've read that people can claim Childcare costs against the school fees up untill the children are 5, is this true?

If I can get a part time evenings/nights for 16 hours I know I would be able to get some of my babies childcare fees covered I think it's 70%? and I might still be able to go to college during the day.

I've had a look at entitled to but I can't work it out untill I know whether the fees are eligable.

Does anyone on here have their children in a Montosorri?


In my current circumstances I can probably afford £300 a month without too much bother, so I am going to try and make sure I am getting the best deals on all my utilities and work abit harder at chipping away my debts!

elsien

My mother used to own and run a montessori nursery school. In the end she found it too restrictive as (at the time, not sure how much things have changed in the last 15 years) montessori were very strict about only using their equipment and following the routines to the letter.
So mum changed to a school based on montessori principles but which she felt gave her more flexibility in the toys she used and how she used them and the daily routine. And her fees were the same as the non montessori nurseries in the area.
If you can't afford the fees, perhaps there is something similar but cheaper in the area?

cte1111

Here's some info on tax credits for childcare:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/children/childcare-costs.htm#4

How much help you can get
You can get help with up to 70 per cent of your childcare costs - up to certain limits.
If you pay childcare for:
one child, the maximum childcare cost you can claim is £175 a week
two or more children, the maximum cost you can claim is £300 a week
This means that the maximum help you can get for your childcare is:
£122.50 a week for one child
£210 a week for two or more children
But you won't necessarily get the full £122.50 or £210 a week - the actual amount you get will depend on your income. The lower your income, the more tax credits you can get.

I think the rules are due to change soon though.

Are you currently at college? If so, maybe there is some childcare available at the college or similar?

jackyann

I do know the Montessori method and it is a very good system of pre-school education; but I would really stop & think. Have you looked at your local pre-school / nursery provision?
Maria Montessori's ideas have informed the training of early years educators, along with others. Most state pre-school provision is of a high quality. If you spend money you can ill afford on private education at this stage you may find yourself under stress. I have seen families on a treadmill trying to afford private education - kids would be better with less stressed parents who have time & energy for them.
Directgov can lead you to all the info about childcare vouchers etc.

mygirllollypop

Thanks, we live in a really deprived area and the local school are Ofsted Rated 3 and Ofsted Rated 4 and on special measures. You cannot get into the good local schools unless you are in the catchment areas and even there is a fight for places, It would cost me about the same extra just to rent a house in the area hehe!

There is a Free school opening up in 2013 which looks promising which I don't think will have fee's but I am not 100% sure yet.

I thought perhaps even if I could scrape the money together for a year there I loved the style of learning and she was instantly off and playing with the equipment and loved it too. Then it might be worth switching her to the Coast school when it opens, or looking at my options again.

College will help with fees but they don't have any childcare provison.

mandragora_2

Do not ever worry yourself up over private school fees. If you can't afford it, but can afford to instead be at home with your pre-school children, spending your time with them, taking them to things like toddler group, playing and socialising, really, really don't beat yourself up over it. If you have to work, to balance books elsewhere, fine, do so, and make the best possible provision you can for your children. They will be fine. But never, never go to work to pay for private school for pre-school age children. If you care enough to find out what they offer, you're capable of giving them far more yourself.

MandM90

Some things to consider:

Not all private schools participate in the free nursery hours; DDs school doesn't

Have you checked the fees won't rise in the future? Unfortunately, relative to us, you're lucky to have fairly low fees. DDs are almost 7k for nursery and will only go up. A lot of schools increase the fees as the child gets older.

Check for extra fees, such as milk/fruit/meal supplements, registration fees and other subsidies and breakfast club or aftercare costs if you will be working full time.

Tot all these up, work out the monthly extra costs and work out whether you really can afford it. Like a previous poster has said you could always stay at home and support your children with extra activities, by helping them and pushing them to achieve at home.

Also, have you considered whether it would be cheaper to rent/move to an area with a better school?

property.advert

My (discounted) nursery fees were just shy of £10,000 gross. Full would have been nearer to £13,000 and government assistance was £240 a month for 9 months a year, so about £2,000.

Caroline_a

I think OP that, lottery wins excepting, that unfortunately you can't afford it. We all want the best for our children, schooling, clothes, toys, but unless you've unlimited money there will be caps on what you spend.

Moving to another area has been suggested - possibly a good idea, because if the schools for little ones aren't good then the secondary schools are unlikely to be better. If you feel that your children need private education then you have to be very sure that you can afford it for a long long time, because moving them because you have run out of money is far more damaging.

mardatha

What Mandragora and Caroline said. It's too stressy and risky. xxx

Mr_Thrifty

On a similar note, I have just been to my local Bentley dealership and have finally found the car of my dreams. It is a brand new Azure Turbo, it is really really nice. I was just about to buy it, then noticed the price! I had no idea companies could charge so much for what is just a car. But it is the car of my dreams and all the other cars in my area are no good; many of them are even second hand! What should I do?