thumperrabbit Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 We are £3.20 per hour No increase for 2 years We always used to increase but felt that parents were struggling to pay so we froze prices - we will however have to put them up if we want/can stay open next academic year. Our problem now is as fees are so expensive (according to parents) they won't take up full time hours until they are funded - by which time they are leaving to go to school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narnia Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 £3.70p per hour and we haven't put ours up for 2 years either. We are also finding more families sticking to the funded hours. Planning to have a rise in September, but we also have to consider there is another group in the near vicinity and if they don't raise theirs, it makes it harder for us to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melba Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 We are £4 an hour and the nursery near to us is nearly £6 an hour. Funny thing is that lots of people seem to think that they are better than us just because they are more expensive. But I feel that we would be prohibitively expensive for lots of people if we put our prices up at all now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klc106 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Ours are £3 per hour and have been since we opened in September 2011. We get more money for our funded children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumperrabbit Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 £3.70p per hour and we haven't put ours up for 2 years either. We are also finding more families sticking to the funded hours. Planning to have a rise in September, but we also have to consider there is another group in the near vicinity and if they don't raise theirs, it makes it harder for us to Yes, Its the same here Narnia, 2 other groups and we are all within £1 of each other and even though I've spoken to them and said it is in all of our interests if we have the same charges they won't divulge!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumperrabbit Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Ours are £3 per hour and have been since we opened in September 2011. We get more money for our funded children. We are the same as our funding now - although we never used to be. We've had no news on an increase of funding either, so I suspect it must be staying the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel10 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 We always reflect the funded amount for extra hours. Although I have just given out letters for September places and parents want to book 9-3 Mon -Fri. (we are a pre-school) I don't feel its a reflection of our quality though, just that our fee's are so much cheaper than nearby day care settings. I wouldn't mind but I feel that staff are earning low wages, with no sick pay, no pensions, no health care, no free shares, no cheap gym membership just so parents can drop their kids off for 30 hours a week and sit at home or earn fantastic wages at work. Oh dear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) We rarely get enough under 3's to make it really worth a difference, so many of my parents might do one term before the children are funded. At the moment I have 5 non funded children, but one is a staff member's child, so staff rate, one is my granddaughter, so no rate at all! and the other 3 will be off funding come April. Unless Kent step in and raise my hourly rate, I can see no way to raise our fees, we are only open for 15 hours and that won't change. Edited January 19, 2014 by Panders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Ours are 3.95 inline with 3/4 yr funding, though I did suggest to committee raising 2 year olds fees inline .....,if only to discourage them ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueJ Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Fees should always at least match the funding rate or there is a danger that you could be accused of subsidising unfunded children with the funding £s which I am sure I read somewhere in the funding rules is not allowed!!!! Our base fees are the same as the funding rate for that reason and then there is extra for meals for those children who don't bring a packed lunch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Fees should always at least match the funding rate or there is a danger that you could be accused of subsidising unfunded children with the funding £s which I am sure I read somewhere in the funding rules is not allowed!!!! That's my understanding too. :1b I didn't increase fees in Sept. (2013) - think I will 'have' to this September. I charge £4.50 per hour - this is higher than most local groups - but I offer an adult:child ratio of 1:4 - I couldn't possibly run on any less than £4.50 ( except that I do as I receive £3.90 for funded children) Just to say - that's 1:4 across the board - all age groups...... I do 'operate' in a fairly 'affluent' area - not affluent myself - because I work in EY 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 my trustees are keen on us charging the two year olds more from this september ....does anyone do this now and what happens when they turn 3...do you change from their birthday or wait until the end of term when they become funded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 my trustees are keen on us charging the two year olds more from this september ....does anyone do this now and what happens when they turn 3...do you change from their birthday or wait until the end of term when they become funded? so, yes - that's exactly what I do (no 2 yr olds in my setting - I don't take before 2.5) - so they pay the £4.50 as per my earlier post - this is in place until they become eligible for their funding...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 so, yes - that's exactly what I do (no 2 yr olds in my setting - I don't take before 2.5) - so they pay the £4.50 as per my earlier post - this is in place until they become eligible for their funding...... so if any 3 year olds attend extra hours do they pay the 'funded rate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 so if any 3 year olds attend extra hours do they pay the 'funded rate? Nope - £4.50........I am only open for 15 hours so in theory this is not likely - it does happen though where we 'share children' - i.e. they may attend a Nursery for 15 hours and then come to me for 6 (or somesuch) - this might be where 'mums' are working part-time (feel I'm rambling here - hope you're keeping up! ) So an easier answer would have been any child not eligible for funding or claiming 15 hours funding elsewhere are charged at £4.50 per hour. :1b 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Nope - £4.50........I am only open for 15 hours so in theory this is not likely - it does happen though where we 'share children' - i.e. they may attend a Nursery for 15 hours and then come to me for 6 (or somesuch) - this might be where 'mums' are working part-time (feel I'm rambling here - hope you're keeping up! ) So an easier answer would have been any child not eligible for funding or claiming 15 hours funding elsewhere are charged at £4.50 per hour. :1b Ah right (!) i'm not quite in the same position. So we have children from 2.5 old but lots of our children also do 'extra sessions. so the trustees want me to charge extra for my 2 year olds than i do for the 3 year olds because they need a 1-4 ratio instead of a 1-8 and funding rate is different so in theory if we follow the above arguement then i should be charging the 2's about £5 per hour which is more than the 3's pay (lots of my funded two's also do extra sessions!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Ah right (!) i'm not quite in the same position. So we have children from 2.5 old but lots of our children also do 'extra sessions. so the trustees want me to charge extra for my 2 year olds than i do for the 3 year olds because they need a 1-4 ratio instead of a 1-8 and funding rate is different so in theory if we follow the above arguement then i should be charging the 2's about £5 per hour which is more than the 3's pay (lots of my funded two's also do extra sessions!) Oh yes that's quite 'different' - that said, I think I probably agree with your trustees........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fimbo Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 we currently charge our funded rate (£3.25) for all our children, under 3's and over 3's- but that has recently increased, so we will look at increasing our fees in Sept 14. It took us a long time to get it up to the funded rate -we were charging £2.50 ph for a very long time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 we currently charge our funded rate (£3.25) for all our children, under 3's and over 3's- but that has recently increased, so we will look at increasing our fees in Sept 14. It took us a long time to get it up to the funded rate -we were charging £2.50 ph for a very long time but your funded rate will be different for the under 3's won't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumperrabbit Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Do you think charging more for 2year olds would put parents off? Ok if you are full but a big risk if you're not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnyday Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Do you think charging more for 2year olds would put parents off? Ok if you are full but a big risk if you're not? I can see where you're 'coming from' thumper.........I don't have an answer - sorry...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Do you think charging more for 2year olds would put parents off? Ok if you are full but a big risk if you're not? I think if you explain (assuming you get the chance!) that they require more staff and slightly different facilities, then they should take that on board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Do you think charging more for 2year olds would put parents off? Ok if you are full but a big risk if you're not? i'd be interested to know what others say about this...we've never done it before and i'm a bit nervous about how it will be perceived 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mps09 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 i'd be interested to know what others say about this...we've never done it before and i'm a bit nervous about how it will be perceived Hi, We charge £3.70 per hour whatever the age of the child (we take them from 2) however for a funded child who claims funding elsewhere we charge £3.80 an hour, extra hours over 15 are charged at £3.70. We receive £3.81 (I think!) for funded children, but £5 for funded 2 year olds. I totally agree that 2 year olds should be charged more, they need a higher ratio, and are more work! in a nice way!! . I know this might sound a bit blunt - and might sound a little too sweeping but....all the 2 year olds attending our pre-school do so either because they receive 2 year old funding or because parents are working, .... in which case we are much much cheaper than the local nursery! However, my committee didn't agree.... funny that given that their children are all under 3!!!! B) Hope that makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I'm also trying to convince committee that the 2 year olds should be inline with our funded rate as the 3/4 year olds. It's interesting finleysmaid that some of your funded 2 year olds meet the criteria for 2 yr funding but can then afford to fund extra sessions, I wonder how a couple of ours ever got it, when others appear to struggle and get no help 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lashes2508 Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Our session fee is £11.50 , no difference for 2 or 3 years old. There used to be a lower rate for 2 yr olds but they left earlier . All pay the same and leave the same time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'm also trying to convince committee that the 2 year olds should be inline with our funded rate as the 3/4 year olds. It's interesting finleysmaid that some of your funded 2 year olds meet the criteria for 2 yr funding but can then afford to fund extra sessions, I wonder how a couple of ours ever got it, when others appear to struggle and get no help i have some who need additional hours due to family circumstances. It isn't really something we offer under 3 but we have had to help them out....we are trying to fund them from other sources. Also criteria in this area also covers sen. ....none of them undeserving at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouseketeer Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 We never took them at 2 until the funding started and we were asked to take a couple, then others with 2 year olds who were willing to pay wanted to come and it didn't seem fair to be saying no if we had spaces, but in hindsight I wish we'd limited the number per session, regardless of available space, sessions and human resources Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SazzJ Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 £3 per sessions (3 he session so £9) for 2,3 & 4 year olds Just increased it to £10 to try and cover overheads On a local mums in (location) Facebook page who have reported 13% increases in there monthly fees resulting in a full time place needing to find an extra £100 per month to cover fees and some have 2/3 children there We are debating increasing 2 year olds inline with 2 year old funding though but if we do that we would need to put the 3/4 year old in line too so £3.75 an hour for 3/4 year olds and £4.45 for 2 year olds x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 We are 13.50 per session and have been for 2 years. I think we will go up this year. I am full and have a long list . I am aware of financial concerns but we are a business and have to survive, I would like a pay rise this year:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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