The DfE’s 30 hours guidance for local authorities states that providers must not ‘charge parents “top-up” fees (the difference between a provider’s usual fee and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver free places)’. But the then childcare minister Caroline Dinenage said in 2017 that nurseries should make supplementary charges if they need to do so to remain viable. The Government also amended its guidance to say that parents can ‘expect’ to pay for extras.
As the official position is somewhat contradictory, the key is to be careful about how these charges are framed.
What are the rules?
Government guidance:
1. Funding ‘is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional activities’. Parents can therefore ‘expect to pay’ for these.
2. Where parents are unable or unwilling to pay for meals and consumables, providers offering the free entitlements can set ‘their own policy on how to respond’.
3. However, this must include alternative options, such as ‘allowing a parent to bring in their own consumables or a packed lunch’.
4. Providers should also be ‘mindful of the impact of additional charges on the most disadvantaged parents’.
5. All parents should have the same rights to access a free entitlement place, regardless of whether or not they choose to pay for extras.
How are settings translating this into practice?
PACEY recommends point one in the above list is shared with parents. It advises settings to keep additional charges separate, and not to include them in an hourly rate, as this could be seen as a ‘top up’ fee. It also recommends including a statement to support less well-off families, e.g. ‘If you experience difficulties meeting the cost of additional services, please come and speak to me.’
In reality, many settings are charging an amount which covers the gap between their funding and their usual fee and framing this as a consumables charge. One is Tops Day Nurseries, whose admissions policy has been approved by eight local authorities.
Managing Director Cheryl Hadland says ‘it allows us to charge additional extras for a whole range of things to match the difference between funding and the cost of the places. We do still have some completely “free” places.’ Key points from the group’s policy are:
We offer the free entitlement for three- and four-year-olds for every child, irrespective of background or family circumstances, subject to vacancies.
During core hours there may be additional charges such as for extras including snacks.
Optional extras such as Forest School, cooking school, nursery meals also incur an additional charge.
FAQs
How much should I charge and how should I ask for it?
Settings impose charges by hour, day, session, month or term, depending on their hourly rates, funding shortfalls, and other costs. One pre-school practitioner advises being upfront about it being related to sustainability, saying, ‘We’ve been open and honest with our parents, told them what our funding rate is and what our annual loss would be if we didn’t charge an additional fee.’ She advises settings to ‘Work out your loss (hourly rate minus funded rate) and that is your consumable charge.’
Some settings also report that sending out details of these charges in letters or policies which parents have to read and sign has more success than adding them to invoices. Settings also have the option of imposing additional charges as a condition of all places at the setting, free or fee-paying.
What can be charged for?
There is no definitive list of items which can be charged for. For example, some settings interpret ‘consumables’ more widely than others.
According to NDNA, items can include food, trips, additional classes and activities, e.g. yoga, music, nappies, suncream and wipes, Forest School, nursery uniform/weather-appropriate clothing and special events.
Some settings give a list of examples to parents, but make a point of saying the list is not exhaustive.
But isn’t the funded entitlement supposed to be delivered without extra charges?
Yes, so any extra charges have to be voluntary, with alternative options available, such as to bring a packed lunch. Bear in mind that the statutory guidance states that, ‘Children should be able to take up their free hours as part of continuous provision and providers should avoid artificial breaks in the day wherever possible. For example, the lunch time hour/session should form part of the free provision where the child is attending a morning and afternoon session.’
NDNA also says that ‘requiring parents to pay for lunch, or pick up their child in the middle of the day during the lunch hour, is not consistent with this statutory guidance’.
Can I limit the number of ‘free only’ places?
Yes. Providers can limit the number of funded places they offer, but not according to whether parents choose to pay for optional extras. There should be no difference in the ‘core provision’ of funded hours available to parents taking the free entitlements, regardless of whether or not they choose to pay for optional extras.
Can I charge different amounts for different groups of children?
Yes. Some settings have different additional charges for three- and four-year-olds and two-year-olds, which tend to have higher funding rates, for example.
Further information:
Early years entitlements: operational guidance, June 2018
https://bit.ly/2JdZZ63
Model agreement,
https://bit.ly/2EhH3D1
DfE 30 hours Q&A,
https://bit.ly/2VjfLo7
