It comes after a number of local authorities and nurseries have been told to reimburse fees to parents by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman after it found the way settings were invoicing looked like they were charging a 'top-up'.
The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said that it has heard from members that ‘several local authorities have been looking more carefully at providers’ invoices, making sure they are clear and itemised’.
One of these local authorities is Sefton Council, which sent a letter to providers in April stating that it had been ‘brought to their attention that some providers may be charging parents top up fees through extra hours or consumable charges as a condition of accepting a funded place.’
It goes on to ‘remind’ providers that parents must be able to access the funded hours ‘completely free of charge’. It says it will ‘request evidence’ of the terms provided to parents and policies and practices related to the funded entitlement.
Just last week, the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead was told to reimburse a proportion of a father’s childcare fees after the Ombudsman found the local authority did not work with the nursery his child attended to ensure its invoices were clear and transparent when it came to charges for consumables.
It is at least the third occasion the Ombudsman has raised the issue of extra nursery charges for parents taking up the funded hours.
Towards the end of last year, Nottingham County Council was told to repay a mother half the additional charges she paid for nearly two years because it did not ‘properly oversee a nursery’s charging policy’.
It followed a landmark ruling by the Ombudsman in 2021 over nursery ‘top-up fees’ involving the Kiddi Caru Day Nursery in Market Harborough in Leicestershire.
'Making the rules clearer regarding charges being voluntary would be helpful for providers'.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the NDNA, said, ‘The latest Ombudsman ruling continues to highlight the issue of calling the Government’s funded childcare offer “free”.
‘We know from our members that several local authorities have been looking more carefully at providers’ invoices to parents and making sure that they are clear and itemised. We would like to see local authorities being more supportive and constructive with providers, to work with them to make sure they are all keeping within the guidance.
‘We have asked the Department for Education (DfE) to make it clear that these places are not free, either to providers or to parents. The Childcare Choices website does now state that parents can expect to be charged for meals and consumables. But making the rules clearer regarding charges being voluntary would be helpful for providers who work hard to deliver high quality early education and care then have to worry about what they can charge for and how. The whole system needs to be simplified to make it more straightforward for parents and providers.’
