Nursery World - Nurseries forced to increase fees for thousands of parents

Nursery fees for 83 per cent of parents have either increased or are set to increase in the next two months, reveals new research.

The survey revealed nursery fees have risen, or are due to rise, for 83 per cent of respondents, PHOTO Adobe Stock

The survey of 3,407 parents conducted by campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed also found that for over a third of respondents their fees have risen by at least 10 per cent in the last two months.

One parent, Charlotte from Rochester, who has two children in nursery full-time and will see her childcare bill rise by an additional £2,893.80 a year from January, said, ‘I might as well quit my job now. I’m going to be going through our budgets to see what we should do, and then if I decide I need to leave the workplace.’

Joeli Brearley, chief executive and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said nurseries weren’t to blame for hikes to childcare fees, but the Government for failing to tackle the cost of childcare and making the situation worse by not providing enough support amid a cost-of-living crisis and increase to the national minimum wage from April.

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