My childs nursery is only giving out some of my 30 hours free childcare

bo_rai_cho

I qualified for 30 hours childcare, my child only goes in 2 days a week which is 20 hours.

I understand I am only eligible for 38 weeks throughout the year, but they calculate it over the entire year and divide it by 52 weeks so you are apportioned 1140 hours/52 = 22 hours a week free.

Therefore I think I shouldn't be paying anything, however they have pulled out some new rule within the nursery which says the child has to come in for a minimum of 3 days a week, if they go in 2 days a week they are only apportioned 66% of the allocation and therefore she only qualifies for 765 hours.

On top of this they pulled out another clause saying if a child is on the scheme, the nursery can charge for meals separately which adds about £50 a month. I was never charged this before.

This stinks of a con, a bit like the help to buy scheme, where the nurseries are still getting full benefit of the government grant and claiming all the money but only passing some of the savings onto the parents.

Has anyone experienced this? Can they force parents to come in 3 days a week if they want to use the 30 hours childcare scheme? I can't find this anywhere, it seems like a con to get parents to come in more, pay more and claim less. On top of the meal con.

KxMx

As I understand it, the money they get from the Government doesn't actually meet their costs, hence the meal add on to make up the income they need.

Darksparkle

I don't know any nursery that doesn't do this except for school/council nurseries. Private nurseries are a business, it's hardly surprising they want to make a profit. The government gives them buttons.

Comms69

bo_rai_cho wrote: »

I qualified for 30 hours childcare, my child only goes in 2 days a week which is 20 hours.

I understand I am only eligible for 38 weeks throughout the year, but they calculate it over the entire year and divide it by 52 weeks so you are apportioned 1140 hours/52 = 22 hours a week free.

Therefore I think I shouldn't be paying anything, however they have pulled out some new rule within the nursery which says the child has to come in for a minimum of 3 days a week, if they go in 2 days a week they are only apportioned 66% of the allocation and therefore she only qualifies for 765 hours.

On top of this they pulled out another clause saying if a child is on the scheme, the nursery can charge for meals separately which adds about £50 a month. I was never charged this before.

This stinks of a con, a bit like the help to buy scheme, where the nurseries are still getting full benefit of the government grant and claiming all the money but only passing some of the savings onto the parents.

Has anyone experienced this? Can they force parents to come in 3 days a week if they want to use the 30 hours childcare scheme? I can't find this anywhere, it seems like a con to get parents to come in more, pay more and claim less. On top of the meal con.

Sorry you think the nurseries make money in these schemes?....

It’s a private business; they can set their own rules. You don’t walk into Waitrose and say Tesco’s only charge X, so that’s all I’m willing to pay...

johnsmiffy

Under the funding agreement the childcare setting has with its LEA they will be allowed to charge for some extra items (meals, nappies, etc.), but not charge any top-up fees for the hours which are provided 'free' under the universal 15 hours entitlement, 30 hours extended entitlement or the funded 2's 15 hours entitlement. Obviously any hours over and above the 'free' entitlements can be charged for.

Many settings do charge fees for meals as they are allowed to, and depending on the funding rate a setting receives from its LEA, the funding may will not cover the cost of providing a meal to every child.

Having said that, most settings will provide a snack to children which they do not charge any extra fees for - this may be something which they can't charge for and is covered by the funding.

KxMx wrote: »

As I understand it, the money they get from the Government doesn't actually meet their costs, hence the meal add on to make up the income they need.

I know there is much debate about whether the funding the LEA's pay to settings is enough to cover their basic costs, and at the risk of starting a longer discussion, I have issue with this.

I do accept that for many years the funding levels have been kept low and whilst costs continued to increase, the funding rates were pegged at previous years levels or increased by single digit percentages. Unfortunately, any increases did not reflect the fact that not only were general costs increasing, but also employment costs were increasing with the welcome introduction of the National Living Wage and auto-enrolment pension scheme.

I am Chairman of a local charity whose main activity is as a childcare setting. We run the setting with more staff than the required minimum under the adult-to-child ratio, provide children with a snack during session time, do everything other settings do and still manage to make a healthy surplus over the financial year. We do not provide a lunch for the children and parents need to provide a packed lunch for the children staying over the lunch period.

The only difference between us and most childcare settings is that we do not have an owner and as a charity we are not specifically there to make a profit, but simply to cover costs. However, if a small charity can do it, I am sure an owner can also do it!

Oh, and we still to maintain a 'high' Good Ofsted rating, so keeping costs down hasn't impacted on the quality of the childcare we provide.

johnsmiffy

Comms69 wrote: »

Sorry you think the nurseries make money in these schemes?....

It’s a private business; they can set their own rules. You don’t walk into Waitrose and say Tesco’s only charge X, so that’s all I’m willing to pay...

A) Not all are private businesses; and
Under the provider (funding) agreements the childcare setting will have with their LEA there will specific rules they have to stick to. These will indicate what they can and can't charge extra for but only for the hours which are funded by the entitlement, i.e. the 'free' hours. Any non-funded hours are open to the settings own rules.

Jhorkan50

Good morning,
I have used a childcare calculator this morning to determine the best option for my wife and I in terms of tax-free childcare benefit. I am a 40% rare taxpayer and my wife a 20% - day es it matter through who’s wages the childcare vouchers are deducted in terms of taxable savings please?

midnight_express

Many nurseries have been forced to close because of this "free" childcare scheme.

Darksparkle

Jhorkan50 wrote: »

Good morning,
I have used a childcare calculator this morning to determine the best option for my wife and I in terms of tax-free childcare benefit. I am a 40% rare taxpayer and my wife a 20% - day es it matter through who’s wages the childcare vouchers are deducted in terms of taxable savings please?

If tax free childcare is the better option why take childcare vouchers?

Comms69

johnsmiffy wrote: »

A) Not all are private businesses; and
Under the provider (funding) agreements the childcare setting will have with their LEA there will specific rules they have to stick to. These will indicate what they can and can't charge extra for but only for the hours which are funded by the entitlement, i.e. the 'free' hours. Any non-funded hours are open to the settings own rules.

Yes absolutely; but to suggest they’re making a killing of the government is just wrong.

PersianCatLady

bo_rai_cho wrote: »

I qualified for 30 hours childcare, my child only goes in 2 days a week which is 20 hours.

I understand I am only eligible for 38 weeks throughout the year, but they calculate it over the entire year and divide it by 52 weeks so you are apportioned 1140 hours/52 = 22 hours a week free.

Therefore I think I shouldn't be paying anything, however they have pulled out some new rule within the nursery which says the child has to come in for a minimum of 3 days a week, if they go in 2 days a week they are only apportioned 66% of the allocation and therefore she only qualifies for 765 hours.

On top of this they pulled out another clause saying if a child is on the scheme, the nursery can charge for meals separately which adds about £50 a month. I was never charged this before.

This stinks of a con, a bit like the help to buy scheme, where the nurseries are still getting full benefit of the government grant and claiming all the money but only passing some of the savings onto the parents.

Has anyone experienced this? Can they force parents to come in 3 days a week if they want to use the 30 hours childcare scheme? I can't find this anywhere, it seems like a con to get parents to come in more, pay more and claim less. On top of the meal con.

If it is that much of a con, why don't you not use the scheme at all and keep your child at home with you and allow someone more grateful to make the most of the free hours?