Nappies and milk cost extra at nursery amid free childcare chaos
‘Business isn’t sustainable’
FAMILIES are being hit with extra charges for meals, milk and nappies at nurseries under the strain of a new childcare scheme.
Providers say they have also had to raise fees because they are not being paid enough to offer 30 free hours of childcare a week – which is being introduced next month.
It means parents with younger children, who are not yet eligible for the scheme, and those who need more than 30 hours of care per week, face bigger bills. Families have also been told they may have to pay for basics such as meals and nappies to help keep costs down for nurseries.
Childcare providers say they are under pressure after being forced to raise from 15 to 30 the weekly number of free hours for working parents with children aged three and four in England.
Nurseries and childminders say the Government is not providing them with enough funding to offer the scheme.
And, as the Daily Mail revealed earlier this week, the scheme has fallen in to chaos over the introduction of a computer system.
Chaos at HMRC is adding to the confusion. Delays and mistakes mean many parents are still waiting for a code from the taxman to give to their nursery. Without it, the provider cannot claim funding for the free hours.
Some families have also been unable to access their new taxfree accounts and have been late paying fees as a result.
For the scheme, each local authority pays a different hourly rate, but nurseries say it can be as much as £1 an hour less than what they would usually charge parents. Figures show that of the 85 per cent of nurseries planning to offer places to parents claiming the free 30 hours, 60 per cent can do so only if they charge extra for meals and activities.
More than half also plan to restrict the number of places for these parents to as little as one or two, according to the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA).
Others may reduce the hours on offer to parents each day. Many nurseries are also planning to hike their hourly rate for parents who do have to pay.
Four in five nurseries plan to increase their fees this year, anticipating rises of 4.5 per cent.
At Playsteps Nursery in Swindon, manager Jo Morris said she had to double the monthly fee she charges for basics including meals, snacks, milk, nappies, cream and Calpol.
For parents who send their children to nursery from 9am to 4.30pm three days a week there will now be a £67-a-month charge. Those who go from 8am to 6pm two days a week will pay £63 a month. She said: ‘We are not being greedy, we are not profiteering, we are trying to survive. Without charging for additional services we wouldn’t be able to offer 30 hours because the money we get from the Government doesn’t cover our costs.’
Miss Morris said she charges an average of £5.25 an hour but gets only £4.70 from the local authority.
Helen Gration, of Yorkshire Montessori Nursery Company, adds an extra charge of £1 per hour. She said: ‘The level of care we give is not cheap and so there have to be additional charges. Our business isn’t sustainable otherwise.
‘To call these hours free is wrong. That was a vote winner, now it’s time to get realistic.’
Nurseries are allowed to charge extra fees for additional services. But these fees cannot be a condition of a child taking a place.
Purnima Tanuku, of the NDNA, said: ‘Childcare providers simply can’t afford to deliver free childcare at the pocket money prices being offered. These hours are not free … they should be called funded or subsidised.’
Robert Goodwill, minister for children and families, insisted the scheme was being delivered with ‘great success’, adding: ‘We have always been clear that our 30 hours funding is expected to cover the cost of delivering free childcare.’