You won't automatically get the 30hrs, you have to register and get a code to give to the Nursery
Parents - changes coming to government childcare contributions
- Thread starter Participant
- Start date
You won't automatically get the 30hrs, you have to register and get a code to give to the Nursery
Well I'm about to benefit from an effective £8k pay rise. Who says wage inflation is lagging behind RPI? 
My son's nursery have confirmed his 30 hours free place from September and that they'll be operating the scheme. I've given them a government code, which needs to be renewed in mid-July.
!!NOTE THAT THE RENEWAL DATE I WAS GIVEN IN MY ORIGINAL GOVERNMENT CHILDCARE ACCOUNT EMAIL HAS MYSTERIOUSLY MOVED FORWARD BY ONE MONTH IN MY ACTUAL CHILDCARE ACCOUNT!! I'm sure they'll send reminders anyway, but still...watch out for that.
My son spends 3 days / 24 hours per week at nursery, but their days are classed as 10.5 hours (0730 - 1800) irrespective of the actual hours spent there! This would mean an additional charge of ~£125 per month, but the nursery have unofficially indicated that they'd waive this for children only doing three days per week \0/
Regarding tax free childcare vs. vouchers, I'll be keeping the vouchers and ignoring tax-free childcare as it's more tax-efficient for my situation, despite what the calculator indicated (as stated by a poster above).
My son's nursery have confirmed his 30 hours free place from September and that they'll be operating the scheme. I've given them a government code, which needs to be renewed in mid-July.
!!NOTE THAT THE RENEWAL DATE I WAS GIVEN IN MY ORIGINAL GOVERNMENT CHILDCARE ACCOUNT EMAIL HAS MYSTERIOUSLY MOVED FORWARD BY ONE MONTH IN MY ACTUAL CHILDCARE ACCOUNT!! I'm sure they'll send reminders anyway, but still...watch out for that.
My son spends 3 days / 24 hours per week at nursery, but their days are classed as 10.5 hours (0730 - 1800) irrespective of the actual hours spent there! This would mean an additional charge of ~£125 per month, but the nursery have unofficially indicated that they'd waive this for children only doing three days per week \0/
Regarding tax free childcare vs. vouchers, I'll be keeping the vouchers and ignoring tax-free childcare as it's more tax-efficient for my situation, despite what the calculator indicated (as stated by a poster above).
Soldato
- Joined
- 27 Mar 2013
- Posts
- 9,148
Well I'm about to benefit from an effective £8k pay rise. Who says wage inflation is lagging behind RPI?
My son's nursery have confirmed his 30 hours free place from September and that they'll be operating the scheme. I've given them a government code, which needs to be renewed in mid-July.
!!NOTE THAT THE RENEWAL DATE I WAS GIVEN IN MY ORIGINAL GOVERNMENT CHILDCARE ACCOUNT EMAIL HAS MYSTERIOUSLY MOVED FORWARD BY ONE MONTH IN MY ACTUAL CHILDCARE ACCOUNT!! I'm sure they'll send reminders anyway, but still...watch out for that.
My son spends 3 days / 24 hours per week at nursery, but their days are classed as 10.5 hours (0730 - 1800) irrespective of the actual hours spent there! This would mean an additional charge of ~£125 per month, but the nursery have unofficially indicated that they'd waive this for children only doing three days per week \0/
Regarding tax free childcare vs. vouchers, I'll be keeping the vouchers and ignoring tax-free childcare as it's more tax-efficient for my situation, despite what the calculator indicated (as stated by a poster above).
I think the problem with the tax free one is that it works if yours kids are both the same age. For us (my daughter is 3.5 and my son is 9 months), we wouldnt gain much long term as she will only be there for another year. Also the 30 free hours takes a big chunk away. Like you both my kids go 3 days a week but our nursery is averaging out the 30 hours over the whole year so no large jumps come holiday time. They have a supplimentary charge called wrap around care but thats a tenner a day so massively cheaper than paying normally. And they do a 10% sibling discount.
Don
Right, we've just had the charges calculation through from our son's nursery. As of September with our 30-hours, we will be paying MORE than we do at the moment with 15 hours!
How can that be I hear you ask. Well, with the old system they just gave us 15 hours per week gratis. With the new system they just take the £3.90 per hour (or whatever the figure is that the government pays) away from their standard hourly rate. This means I will be paying £850 per month rather than £800 that I currently pay.
How can that be I hear you ask. Well, with the old system they just gave us 15 hours per week gratis. With the new system they just take the £3.90 per hour (or whatever the figure is that the government pays) away from their standard hourly rate. This means I will be paying £850 per month rather than £800 that I currently pay.
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Sep 2005
- Posts
- 4,301
Amazing. Who thinks of this crap?
They can't actually do that, Nursery's can't charge a 'top up fee' ie : the difference between the standard rate and the funded rate for the 15/30 hours
What they can (and should) be doing instead is charging extra for everything else that is provided - snack, breakfast, activities and being creative with their wording, but to do it as you have described is just not allowed
To be fair, Nurseries are closing left right and centre.
You wouldn't have thought the increasing of the funded hours to 30 would make that much difference, but it has - and the increase to the funding rate was nowhere near enough, combined with the annual rise in Living wage and Nurseries are becoming financialy non-viable
I know that sounds mad with the amount they charge, but its true
Well I'm about to benefit from an effective £8k pay rise. Who says wage inflation is lagging behind RPI?
And that's why I'm sat here trying to come up with creative ways of getting some of that £8k back off you
Don
Well, they are. I have challenged them on it and they say "That's the way it is, take it or leave it". Unfortunately, there are only 2 nurseries within a sensible distance from where I live that offer full-time (not just term time) so I have no choice as the other one is fully booked.
Well, you could report them to your LA if you wanted to, as it's part of the funding agreement between the Govt/LA and Nurseries in receipt of funding that top up fees are not allowed
Soldato
Yeah they can not do it that way, I was reading about a highly rated nursery closing in our town because they did not want to charge extortionate rates for the extras to bump up their income.
They are not allowed to have a top up fee, they were asking for a small donation each week.
EDIT: Just a thought but would the loophole be them saying well you are "contracted" to a minimum of 40 hours and we charge £x an hour normally so here is your bill.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 30 Jul 2013
- Posts
- 28,905
Don
Well, what choice do I have? 2 other nurseries in the local area have closed and so I'd damned if I do, damned if I don't.
I either pay it or I quit my job.
I either pay it or I quit my job.
Deleted member 66701
D
Deleted member 66701
Don
So, say I report them to the council and they decide it's not worth it and close? What do I do then?
Caporegime
- Joined
- 30 Jul 2013
- Posts
- 28,905
Blame the Government for another hairbrained scheme?
They've launched a scheme that most Nurseries can't actually afford to offer and are forcing them to go along with it.
They've launched a scheme that most Nurseries can't actually afford to offer and are forcing them to go along with it.
Don
We're heading towards a rather bizarre future where only the wealthy or unemployed can afford to have children. The rest of us can't afford it.
Soldato
Yup, do this!
We reported ours to our MP after they tried to pull similar, and surprise surprise, 2 days later we got a call saying they'd "made a mistake in their calculations" (yeah right...) and here was the bill for the correct amount...
Are they really doing so badly they'd close over it? And are they literally the only childcare provider within a feasible distance?
Don
OK, there are 3 providers that do full-time (not term-time only) within a 3 to 5 mile radius. One of them I have been on the waiting list for since my son was 1 (he's now 3), another is so expensive we couldn't even consider it as the fees were about 20% more than my take-home, and the third is where he is now. There were 2 more (he was at one of them) but they both closed early this year.
The main issue is that I start work at 08:00 (locally) and my wife at 07:00 (in London) so we need daycare that will take children from 07:30 and is within a 30-minute drive. This cuts our options down significantly.