Barley Barn Day Nursery in North Weald opened nine months ago and already has 75 children on roll.
When director Stacey Smith opened the nursery, she offered a price freeze to parents who registered in the first three months as a promotion.
'We kept seeing reports in the news about nursery costs spiralling and people's salaries not increasing at the same rate as nursery fees, so we discussed whether we could make it a permanent feature of the nursery,' she said. 'We decided that with some careful planning it would be possible.
'Most nurseries implement a 3 to 6 per cent annual fee increase, so this means large savings for all parents.'
The fee freeze will come into effect immediately, so when a child starts at Barley Barn now, they will be charged 2011 fees until they leave and start school.
Parents pay more for a child aged under two, so when the child reaches their second birthday they will be paying a cheaper rate still on a 2011 pay structure.
'It will make it easier for parents to plan their spending costs,' said Ms Smith. 'We have told our parents about it and they are very pleased. We have also committed to only one fee increase a year, as I know of a couple of nurseries that have raised their fees twice in the past year.'
Ms Smith admits that the freeze will lead to a heavier administrative burden.
'I do all the invoicing and admin and it will be an added task. But it will be worth it,' she said.
Ms Smith stressed that her scheme would not hurt the business, because it would attract more parents to the nursery.
