How Much Do You Spend?

[Guest]

Not sure if this is right place for this topic, but interested in know how much you spend on your weekly shopping supplies?

 

We buy fruit, bread,, breadsticks, butter etc thats just for snack time and then you have the added bits like baby wipes, spray, toliet roll, kitchen roll etc

 

We are spening about £25 to £30 a week at the mo and need to look at reducing it

 

This should be an interesting one!

[Panders]

What type of setting are you toddlermadness? I'm pre-school, 15 hours open for the children per week - my costs are a lot less than yours but if we are to compare like for like we will need more info.

[Guest]

Hi Panders, we too are a pre-school offering 15 hours, open 5 mornings and 5 afternoons a week. We currently have 45 children on the register.

[Rea]

We are a sessional playgroup, open for 22.5 hours a week. I think we spend on average about £40-£50 a month on all the things you mentioned. It can go as high as £80, but thats when we run out of everything at once, luckily it doesnt happen often.

Edited December 2, 2010 by Rea

[Guest]

Not sure if this is right place for this topic, but interested in know how much you spend on your weekly shopping supplies?

 

We buy fruit, bread,, breadsticks, butter etc thats just for snack time and then you have the added bits like baby wipes, spray, toliet roll, kitchen roll etc

 

We are spening about £25 to £30 a week at the mo and need to look at reducing it

 

This should be an interesting one!

 

 

Hi we too found it was getting too expensive. The education grant doesnt actually allow enough to supply the snack out of the pre-schools pocket and have adequate staffing,rent...... .We felt that we couldn't charge for it as it would get too complicated as all children do different sessions some want snack some dont go to the snack bar so we just said in a newsletter we were finding it financially difficult and we would be grateful for any donations.We put out a basket for fruit and a small tin marked 'fruit donations' beside the sign in register and it has really eased the financial worry.We keep emergency raisins and breadsticks in stock but usually manage with the things which parents donate.

[mps09]

Hi all,

 

We don't buy any of these things!

 

We are open 9-3 4 days a week and 9-1 on Fridays and have 30 children on roll.

 

Parents are asked to bring in 1/2 a piece of fruit for each morning/pm that their child attends, or breadsticks, carbohydrate snacks.

 

We also ask each family if they would please contribute just 1 item to our 'consumables' per term, and they supply all the things that you mention (except toilet rolls which are provided under our lease).

 

Most parents do provide something but it is not a problem if they don't. Quite often parents will give us the bogof items!

 

I know we are very lucky that our parents are so good - but it was more difficult when we first started asked (as we expected) but now it is just accepted, we put a box out at the beginning of term for donations ....

 

In our newsletter I always say that these things are just too boring to spend our funding on that should be going on buying exciting resources for the children! and make sure that we make a big deal of showing any new resources that we've purchased.

 

x x x x x

[Bigsue]

We are a sessional playgroup, open for 22.5 hours a week. I think we spend on average about £40-£50 a month on all the things you mentioned. It can go as high as £80, but thats when we run out of everything at once, luckily it doesnt happen often.

 

Wow you budget well!! I am useless

Mine varies open for 22.75 hours 30 children per session ours is a good £30 -£40 a week but this varies when we have extra food or tasters as we call it. We use a lot or real foods in role play and creative play so this comes into this budget. However its my bussines so I do tend to spend a little more as I love the fun factor of food in play and often staff will join in tasting etc We also do a lot of cooking particularly outdoors and it maybe an extra to normal snack etc

[thumperrabbit]

We are about £30 per wk - 25 children per day.

We do ask for donations of tissues, baby wipes, anti-bac and white A4 paper etc and when mums do donate we really appreciate it and give thanks on our Newsletter, unfortunately its always the same mums who do donate.

[Guest]

I like the idea of asking parents to donate fruit etc and brought this up with our treasurer not long ago but nothing was done

might have to bring it up at the next committee meeting!

 

Thank you for all you comments This is a great site!

[louby loo]

26 children each session, open 22.5 hours a week, and we spend roughly the same £18 - 30 a week. we do quite a look of cooking with the children.

 

Mind you I don't 'shop around' and get it at the nearest supermarket, which is not enroute to setting. We are privately owned and I do not get paid for my shopping time! I could get it for a lot less but if the owners not bothered..........

[Panders]

I think if you own the business you couldn't ask parents to contribute food etc., but this would be fine for committee run settings. I ask parents to provide own wipes, nappies, nappy bags etc. for the children, and we try to bear in mind that snack is just that a snack and not a feast - the paper products, t.roll, k.roll, hand towels I buy in bulk from wholesaler.

 

Perhaps you and staff need to sit down and think about portion sizes and what you offer for snack do children need butter on their toast if they are having a topping, ours don't. Perhaps you can go down the contribution route, and as for your paper stuff - ask staff to be a bit more conscious of how much they use, I have one member of staff who unravels so much k.roll for a spill it's beyond belief and rather than wring out the water or whatever and use the wipe further on the spill, unravels another lot, sometimes unless these things are brought to attention it may not occur to staff - afterall in their own homes if they don't have to have an economic mind they just don't consider these things.

 

We use a clean piece of j cloth each day at the sink, but these days I cut it in half, rather than using a whole piece which just gets binned each session.

[Fredbear]

We are open 6 sessions per week and presently have 50 children on roll. We have a six/seven week rota for snack so it really does depend which week it is. We also cook each half-term so that bumps it up as well.

I have to say in the last year the expenditure has grown and we are always looking for bargains.

Intrigued Bigsue what do you cook outside?

[HappyMaz]

We use a clean piece of j cloth each day at the sink, but these days I cut it in half, rather than using a whole piece which just gets binned each session.

I do this too - I know the girls think I'm a looney but it is really a waste if you throw them away at the end of every day. Mind you, I remember when I first joined and j cloths were washed along with the tea towels!

[louby loo]

Mind you, I remember when I first joined and j cloths were washed along with the tea towels!

 

We still do!....... well we boil up good old fashioned dish cloths!!!

 

we do use j-cloth type things in the toilet area and chuck each day - but I get a big roll for £1 in savers or pound shop.

 

xxx

[Guest]

We use to ask for a donation of 50p per week from parents however we got slapped wrists from our PLA lady as you are not allowed to ask for money for fruit if children are funded. We spend about £30 a week on fruit and have 70 children over 10 sessions.

[HappyMaz]

are not allowed to ask for money for fruit if children are funded.

I'm not sure if this advice was related to the Single Funding Formula and the Government policy of making nursery education free at the point of delivery for eligible children. However our Local Authority has advised that we are perfectly entitled to ask parents for a voluntary donation provided children whose parents choose not to contribute in this way are not disadvantaged.

 

So for example, we could ask parents to bring in a set amount of money for snack each week, and put this into the pot to buy snack for all children in the group.

[Guest]

I send out a letter at the start of each term, explaining about voluntary contributions to snack and giving a suggested amount (25p per day attended or £1 a week). We are getting in £50+ from this.

 

We have a weekly fruit and cheese delivery for about £12, plus £15 a term on other snack stuff, plus my leader has to buy all her other stuff including toys, paper, cartridges, K roll, etc. from a budget of £165 a term (based on a 6 term year).

 

Giving her a budget was partly to put control in her hands, but also to encourage staff to prioritise their spending and to think about ways of saving money.

 

We have set up an office supplies account so we get invoiced monthly rather than buying in dribs and drabs. As a charity they will give you an account easily.

 

I wanted to get away from staff having to buy stuff themselves, it is really not fair on them.

[Bigsue]

We are open 6 sessions per week and presently have 50 children on roll. We have a six/seven week rota for snack so it really does depend which week it is. We also cook each half-term so that bumps it up as well.

I have to say in the last year the expenditure has grown and we are always looking for bargains.

Intrigued Bigsue what do you cook outside?

 

We cook Eggy Bread, sausages, beans, pasta, popcorn, soup, hot chocolate and anything you can cook on a little gas stove. We do it mostly in local woods, I have been with a group of practitioners when we cooked our own lunch and had ristoto and pasata dishes GREAT tasting when outside. NOT AT THE MOMENT WITH ALL THE SNOW!!!!

 

Sue

[Fredbear]

Wow Bigsue how fantastic, another question what age are the children within your provision.

[Guest]

ours too varies we but all usual but as bigsue says i buy real fruit and veg for homecorner or shop, replace the tins we have in the shop.

 

i like the children to have a variety.

 

we are open 5 mornings 26 children per morning, i also buy tea and coffee for the staff and print photos

 

spend on average between £25 -35 per week and that with my sainsbury's discount of a whopping 10%

[Bigsue]

Wow Bigsue how fantastic, another question what age are the children within your provision.

 

Children are aged from 2-5 years (the best age group )

 

Sue