Should I expect to pay additional charges to the childcare provider?
Early education funding is intended to deliver up to 15 or 30 hours a week of high-quality, flexible childcare. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, snacks or other consumables, such as nappies, sun cream, nappy creams, additional hours or optional activities and trips. Childcare providers can charge for meals, snacks, consumables and optional activities as part of the funded place, although parents must be able to opt out of these charges. Where a parent is unable or unwilling to pay these optional charges, they should speak to their childcare provider directly. The provider should have a policy in place to describe alternative arrangements for parents who opt out of additional charges. These arrangements might include; providing your own meals, snacks, nappies and sun cream from home. The provider must not require parents to pay these charges as a condition of taking up a child’s funded place. Where parents choose to purchase additional private hours, meals, snacks, consumables or optional activities, this is a private matter between the childcare provider and the parent.
A childcare provider may ask you to pay a refundable deposit. Providers should not request a registration fee for children who take up ‘funded’ hours only or those who are accessing Targeted funding for 2-year-olds.
Childcare providers must not:
- Charge top-up fees in respect of the funded hours (this is the difference between what a provider normally charges, and the funding rate they receive from the local authority)
- Impose conditions that require payment for the funded hours upfront
- Require the purchase of lunch as a condition of accessing funded hours over a lunch period.
- Impose artificial breaks for children who access funded hours before or after lunch. Funded provision should be delivered in continuous blocks
Childcare providers must ensure that invoices are set out clearly. You should be able to easily recognise and understand what hours your child has accessed in relation to the funded hours and be able to see how the fees relate to any additional services or hours that are being charged for.