Shocked by nursery fees! Post Reply

[LinsayS]

Hi All,

I've been looking at nurseries for my daughter who is 21 months old and I'm shocked how expensive the fees are. Given that it's a government objective to get parents back into work I find the child care provision costs an outrage.

I was very impressed with Wee One's in Wandsworth and keen to get her started on 2 days a week (possible as they have plenty of spaces at the moment). For £798 per month. If however we wished to go on holiday for 2 weeks it would still be £798 per month. Even if we went away for a week it's £798... Why are we paying for services we haven't used??? It makes no senseI And I believe this is common practice amongst private day nurseries.

For me it is a matter of getting my daughter to socialise and learn from other children on a regular basis...and to give me a little break and possibly take up some charity work again . I have no family in London and therefore need a little extra help.

Can anyone recommend an excellent nursery in the Wandsworth common / St John's Hill area that have a slightly more practical approach to budgets?

Am I alone in my POV? I appreciate companies can subsidise etc but I'm genuinely shocked!

Thanks
LinsayS

[erinisle22]

There are a few family centres/playgroups around Tooting that do morning sessions for over 2 year olds where you drop them off for about £9 to £11 per session. One is called Derington Family Centre and the other is Rookstone Playgroup.
There might be some nearer to Wandsworth Common that do this? I am about to look into putting my nearly 2 year old into Derington a couple of mornings per week so I can focus on my newborn and so he can enjoy being socialised with other children but I couldn't do it if it were that expensive!
Good luck in finding something more affordable.

[Goldhawk]

You could consider pre school instead of a day care nursery
But they only usually do a 2-3 hours either morning or afternoon

The cheap option is the preschool playgroups like the Bolingbroke http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/wand ... ZHJi_G_joc

[Camille]

Sure nursery prices are horrendous for us all but surely you are not surprised that they charge you when you are on holiday.
They still have to pay their staff while you are away and I guess if you are with a partner he will expect his employers to pay him during his holiday...

[irap]

Hi!

I agree, nursery fees are crazy but there is not much to do about it. The most important thing to think about is: these people are taking care of your child, so no point to save on it. They take care of you little treasure!

Also, it is totally normal for them to charge you even if your child is not there. Sometimes a nursery needs to hire an extra person just for one child, so it would be unfair to fire them just because someone goes on Holiday.

I used to work in a school in the US and the same happens there. Everyone pays all year!

When my little one was like yours we opted for nanny sharing some 15 hours a week so I would have three mornings off. This way he was playing with another child in a different environment and the cost was ideal!

IP

[shellbell83]

You still have to pay for fee's because the nursery is still open, there are still the same amount of staff...

Just because ur child is on holiday, should the staff not be paid..

Its the same as if u had a nanny... She/he will still need paying if ur on holiday they still have bills to pay, its not there fault ur on holiday...


Theres loads of crech's, playgroups, classes your child could go to

[carolhugs]

Hi,
Did you ever consider a ofsted registered childminder. Its usually a much cheaper option.

[kidzibuzi]

My son goes to Learning Ladders since he was 10 months and really enjoys it. It is in the middle of an estate, so they have space, a large garden, lovely rabbits and guinea pigs, but it may be a bit too far for you... The staff is wonderful and the cost is much more reasonable than all the other nurseries (230 per week full time) my first daughter had been before reception. I live in Clapham Common and the nursery is on my way to work to Victoria. The two lovely ladies who run the nursery for years never had a website so it has been difficult for me to find the nursery the first time, plus the number on the Ofsted was wrong... They are now making a website !
The address is : ground floor Falkener Court - Francis Chichester Way, SW11 5HX (0207 622 9300)