Hello Lindsay-

Childcare is expensive- but for good reason- the nursery has to pay for all their overheads, training staff, cleaning up after little ones, equipment, toys, activities, food, wear and tear and repairs on premises, insurance, Ofsted registration, food hygeine training, first aid certificates, advertising
- i could go on and on but trust me noone who runs a nursery makes a huge profit! The staff are usually not on low wages and so if you chose to go on holiday the setting cannot be out of pocket- otherwise people who go on 4/5hols a year would make nurseries go out of business!

You should certainly consider Ofsted Registered Childminders! I charge £350 full time per week all in for full time care and £640 a month for 2 full days per week at £80/day. your child would get to enjoy a huge range of activities and lots of socialising in a safe secure home from home environment. once they are 3 they get 15 hours per week free so that's a good time to then consider a nursery place as it will be more affordable.

I charge in full for my 4 weeks holiday per year, I week at Xmas, 1 week at Easter and 1 week in the summer and 1 in Autumn. So most people are on holiday over the Xmas and Easter break anyway - BUT if a family start with me and I have'nt booked my holiday yet and they have I will try and arrange to be on holiday the same week as they are away so although they are paying, its only 2 weeks of the year they are paying for when they are on a break which I think is a reasonable offer.

Good luck!
http://www.ichild.co.uk/katherinejoseph

wow 1700 is alot. I also really love Lilies nursery Wandsworth. There fees are all inclusive and the most expensive fees for a full time baby are £1396 and they give you your first month half price. Its a very competitive price and a lovely nursery if anyone is looking for a nursery in wandsworth i recommend visiting Lilies

I am also shocked at nursery fees. I have a little one starting at Kids Unlimited soon and it is £1700 per month. That means that I'd need to earn £26,000 a year just to break even on nursery fees. They are by no means the only one (and it is a gorgeous nursery don't get me wrong) but nursery fees around here are absolutely prohibitive. In my next life I'm going to open a nursery.

That's for two full days thou they have morning n afternoons sessions and morning Breaks that are very reasonable. Plus they don't make you pay a month in advance If you can't afford it :/ I recommend you go and talk with them. They are wry understanding and try to cater for every need. For your budget you could get a couple of afternoon or morning seasons :) good luck! X

I love the lilies nursery but £600/month is way out of my budget

Lilies nursery is a good one there fees would be 600.00 a month for two full days 8-6 all inclusive. Very flexible and your first month is half price. They are not far from at johns hill they are at the bottom of it next to the southside shopping centre. Here is the website if you wanna check out www.liliesbtcc.webs.com

I am also looking for a cheap place to send my son near St Johns Hill area.
My problem is I don't have the money to send him anywhere, if I did I would.
My budget for nursery/playgroup/creche etc is £300/month. My hubby works and I look after both children and we receive no help from the government

They are good and I would love to get there but the issue is with timings. They only open at 8 am....:'(

Blundells Day Nursery in Battersea is wonderful, they do not advertise but rely on recommendations. The standard of care and teaching is excellent - they have employed the same staff for over ten years! Their fees are very competitive - full time five days a week is only £900.
FYI Website address: www.blundellsdaynursery.co.uk

Hi falconmum,

Northcote Road actually has a pre-opening offer on the fees and registration which is before the opening on the 25th March! If you ring Jane on 0845 365 2900 she will be happy to help and work out how much it would cost you.

The kidsunlimited fees will vary depending on the age of your child, the number of days and whether any FEF applies. (free entitlement funding.) We also do corporate, sibling and recommend a friend discounts.

Hope this helps!

http://www.kidsunlimited.co.uk/nurseries/northcote-road/

On the topic of nursery fees, does anyone know what the fees are for the new Kidsunlimited nursery opening at Northcote road?

Hi there, as already mentioned have you thought about childminders? The fee is less, you can pick your hours/days and your child's care is more personal whilst still gaining those important social skills etc...may be something to think about. Although most of us do still expect payment during holiday, but would have a limited time, eg 4 weeks paid holiday as we would expect if we worked for a company :)
I hope you find something to suit you both!

Try out Treasured Times Nursery

They are £19 a morning from 9 - 12:15...

Look at their website

http://smurf4t.wix.com/treasuredtimeschool

They take children 2 - 5 years of age and price drops to £8.50 after 3 years of age when they get the grant.

With more than one little one, we quickly did the math when I went back to work and hired a nanny! At this point our 4 are between the ages of 2 and 8. All but the 2 year old go to school 5 days a week. Our daughter will start nursery half days next year. Our nanny has a baby who she brings to work - that means it's fairly affordable. I'm very happy with this set up - and the free nursery schools starting at age 3 are great in my opinion!

shellbell83 is right: just because you're on holiday, it doesn't mean the nursery staff are. Nurseries need to spend a small fortune on getting staff, getting a building, setting it up appropriately, keeping staff trained, etc.

To compound this, property is expensive to buy or rent, so you have to factor that in, when looking at nurseries in W'worth ...