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04
Nov 2022
Rising nursery costs in Harrogate district 'could put children at risk'
A parent from Harrogate has raised concerns that the growing cost of living, including childcare fees, could see children put at risk.
The mum, who asked us not to use her name, said rising fees were putting pressure on household budgets as they also faced increased costs for mortgages, fuel and more.
As an NHS nurse, whose partner is in the police, she said she had little money left each month after bills were paid - and now she faces a further rise in nursery fees from January.
She said:
With a take-home monthly pay packet of £1,700 from her full-time role, the mum said she already pays more than £550 a month on childcare, and her mortgage has recently risen by £200 a month. She also pays for business insurance on her car to be able to do her job, and often buys equipment out of her own pocket because NHS budgets are so stretched.
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She also said she worried that families facing growing costs might decide to remove their children from childcare, even after accessing funded hours on government schemes.
Not only could they potentially be left somewhere unsafe or unregistered, such as with an older sibling or family friend, but their contact with professionals would also be delayed and any early warning signs not spotted.
She added:
Her son is at Nature's Little Learners nursery in Starbeck, where he is entitled to 30 hours' free childcare funded by the government. That provision is given to working parents of children aged three and over and only applies during term-time, so is used by many pro-rata across the full year.
Difference in costs
However, the owner of the nursery said the money paid through North Yorkshire County Council for those funded places was significantly below the cost of offering them.
Sam Williams said parents would pay £62.50 for a full day's nursery, from 8am to 6pm, from January. By contrast, the money paid to the nursery through the funded hours scheme was just £43.10 per day.
As a result, most nurseries charge a fee to cover extras, such as food and equipment. Nature's Little Learners had been charging £8 per day for this, but from January will charge £19.40 to cover the difference in costs.
If it did not do so, she said, it would not be able to continue offering childcare.
Other nurseries around the UK have been forced to close their doors as a result of rising costs. Ofsted data for April 2021 to March 2022 showed there was a net decrease of 4,000 childcare providers.
Ms Williams said:
Ms Williams said the nursery had introduced flexible timings for families who did not need childcare from 8am or until 6pm, allowing them to pay less and use only the hours they needed.
As a result, the nursery's staffing costs would be lower during those times. She said while staffing was the highest cost for any nursery, there were also growing pressures with rising costs which childcare providers were facing.
She added:
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