15 / 30 hours free childcare calculation

frosty12345

Hello, I was surprised to learn how my child's nursery calculates the 15/30 hours free childcare. I'm interested if this is standard or if its better/worse than how other nurseries handle it.

The nursery is open 52 weeks per year, Monday to Friday, from 7:30am until 7pm. Closed on bank holidays.

They have different prices depending on when the children attend. (Full day £68, Half day £48, Full week £306). Price includes food / nappies etc.

My child attends 2 full days per week (though the nursery is open for 11.5 hours per day, the child only attends for about 8 hours per day)

So the actual cost is: 2 days per week * £68 per day * 52 weeks / 12 months = £589.33 per month.

From 1st Sept, my child is eligible for the 30 free hours per week.

I had assumed that it would be calculated as;

Actual cost is: 2 days * £68 * 52 weeks / 12 months = £589.33 per month.

The 30 free hours calculated as: (30 hours * 38 weeks / 12 months) * £68 / 11.5 hours = £561.74 per month

Therefore the cost to me would be £589.33 - £561.74 = £27.59 per month

However, the nursery actually calculates the cost as shown below:

Since the child's age is 3, for the 30 hours, the nursery receives £5.15 per hour from the government.

So the 30 free hours are calculated as: £5.15 per hour * 30 hours per week * 38 weeks a year / 12 months per year = £489.25 per month

Therefore the cost to me is £589.33 - £489.25 = £100.08 per month

(Tax free childcare is then considered on the final sum).

I'm interested in feedback from members; how should it be calculated? How is it calculated at your nursery?

Newbie_John

I don't think there is one way for all, I think your one is really fair tbh.

Our one chagres £90 a day, £60 for a half day.
Currently with free 15h, meals of £20 are excluded as well as school holidays.

So that £90 day (10h) costs only £20 for a meal plus remaining 15 weeks - decent discount.
The half day is a joke - we need to pay for half day £60, then meal for half day of £10 then the rest of the year making it £89 😅

sheramber

They cannot charge you top up fees over the funded payment but they can charge for extras , such as nappies, meals, snacks , trips our etc.

These are voluntary payments and you could supply your own instead of paying  the nursery for them.

Your nursery is lumping these into one payment which clouds the issue.

https://www.pacey.org.uk/working-in-childcare/spotlight-on/30-hours-funding/information-for-practitioners/#:~:text=You are not permitted to,or require a registration fee.

scroll down to 

Are any additional charges are permitted?

hiddenverse

The gap between your number and the nursery's comes down to which rate is used. Your calc uses the nursery's own private hourly rate (about £5.91), while the nursery uses the government's funding rate for your area (£5.15/hour), which is usually lower.

Both of you are "stretching" the 30 hours over 38 term weeks correctly, that part isn't the issue. The real difference is that nurseries get reimbursed at a fixed local authority rate, not their private rate, so your actual saving comes out lower than expected. This is a very common gap, not something unique to your nursery.

Worth asking your nursery directly what hourly funding rate your local authority has allocated, it's public info and confirms whether £5.15 is accurate for your area.

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82079672#Comment_82079672

Since this thread was made two years ago I think the matter might be irrelevant now.