Parents should not face ‘mandatory’ extra charges to access funded childcare
A local authority ‘should intervene’ if a provider seeks to make ‘consumables’ a mandatory condition of taking up a funded place, guidance says.
Parents should not face “mandatory” charges for extras as a condition of accessing a funded childcare place, Government guidance has urged.
The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its statutory guidance for local authorities in England to protect parents from paying additional charges on top of the Government’s funded childcare offer.
Councils should ensure that nurseries and other childcare settings are aware that they can charge parents for extras – such as meals, snacks, nappies or sun cream – but these charges “must be voluntary” for families.
The updated DfE guidance says a local authority “should intervene” if a childcare provider seeks to make additional hours, voluntary services or voluntary consumables a mandatory condition of taking up a funded place.
The expansion of funded childcare for working parents – which was introduced by the Conservative government – began being rolled out in England in April last year.
Working parents of children older than nine months are now able to access 15 hours of funded childcare, before the full rollout of 30 hours a week to all eligible families in September.
The latest guidance has been published after the Government vowed to take action last year to tackle reported instances of parents facing “very high additional charges” on top of the funded hours.
In October, the DfE said it would be engaging with local authorities and providers to clarify its guidance to help protect parents from overcharging.
The updated guidance – published on Friday – says the costs of chargeable extras should be available on the websites of childcare providers, and invoices should be itemised so parents can see a breakdown of the free entitlement hours, additional private paid hours and all the additional charges.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Giving every child the best start in life is my top priority, and integral to our mission to ensure tens of thousands more children are school ready every year.
“That’s why despite the inherited challenges we face, we are pressing ahead with the investment and leadership needed to support families and make sure that every child, regardless of background, can access the high-quality early education they deserve.
“Today marks an important step towards an early years system that is accessible for parents, sustainable for providers, and better serves children’s development.”
Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of parents’ website Mumsnet, said: “Mumsnet users tell us that additional charges often cause confusion for parents, and can make budgeting for childcare costs even more difficult.
“This new guidance will help families to understand exactly what they’re paying for.”
Lydia Hodges, head of the Coram Family and Childcare charity, said: “Our research shows that additional charges can be a major barrier to families – particularly disadvantaged families – taking up their funded early education entitlements.
“Supporting childcare providers through these changes will be essential, to ensure the sector remains stable, but this updated guidance is an important step towards a transparent system that allows parents to make informed choices about their childcare options and enables all children to access their entitlements, particularly those who stand to benefit the most from high-quality early education.”
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “While we fully agree that families should be able to access early entitlement hours without incurring additional costs, in reality, years of underfunding have made it impossible for the vast majority of settings to keep their doors open without relying on some form of additional fees or charges.
“As such, while it is absolutely right that providers should be transparent with parents on any optional additional fees, today’s guidance does absolutely nothing to address – or even acknowledge – the fundamental financial challenges facing the sector.”
He added: “So, while today’s guidance may rightly make charges clearer for parents, it does not take away from the fact that unless the Government takes urgent action to tackle sector underfunding, many providers will have no choice but to increase the price of any non-funded hours parents take up or optional extras they purchase – or risk facing permanent closure.”
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said: “The majority of nurseries are already following best practice on being clear with parents about their offer and what any extra charges are, associated with the funded childcare offer.
“The funding Government pays to providers has never been about paying for meals, snacks or consumables, it is to provide early education and care.
“In the current economic climate, taking away the flexibility for providers around charges could seriously threaten sustainability.”
She added: “From April, the operating costs for the average nursery will go up by around £47,000 once statutory minimum wages and changes to national insurance contributions (NIC) are implemented.
“NIC changes have not been factored into the latest funding rates, further widening the underfunding gap.”
The DfE said on Friday that thousands of early years educators are continuing to benefit from support networks and early maths training this year.
The Stronger Practice Hubs programme, which supports early years settings to deliver high-quality education by sharing knowledge and evidence-based approaches, has been funded for a further year.
In December, the Government announced that a £75 million expansion grant would be distributed to nurseries and childminders to help increase places ahead of the full rollout of funded childcare.
