Nursery fees 💸

I had to do a mix of wfh and office time with my first as she didn’t get funding till almost 3 and it was £126 per kid per day. So just 2 days a week was £1000 a month.

Now we get funding so it’s £180 per kid per month for 2 full days. We’ve got 2 in childcare now for 2 days a week which isn’t too bad but I’ve not returned to work post second baby.

Idk if this is an option for you, but me and my partner work different shifts, so he works morning and finishes at 2 and I work 12-8/10pm-6am.
So we’re doing nursery 2x a week fully funded (will go to 3 when he’s older, still fully funded) and then my mum is going to have him a few times a week for a few hours. So he’s gonna go to nursery in January on a Tuesday and a Thursday then a couple of hours at my mums on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Then decide the 3rd day at nursery later down the line.

You need to do a big out matrix of all the options... honestly my note book was mad with number!

I work 30hours a week - so could just do 4 half days at nursery a week, and my mum one day a week - but I didn't use up all the 3 hours... so tweaked and tweaked and worked our what gave me the most flexibility, what was financially sensible etc and what was future proof... but lots of working out...

Just FYI, you may be aware already but the 30 hours is term time only, so if you stretch it across the year (52 weeks as opposed to 38) it actually works out as 21.92 hours a week. Thats about 2 nursery days (which are usually considered to be around 10 hour days, and most nurseries will charge by the day even if you want to drop off at 09:00 an collect at 16:00).

Some nurseries charge additional fees, some don’t. But you’ll need to check that. Where they charge additional fees, you can usually opt out if you’re willing to provide your own consumables (nappies, wipes etc) and meals. So it’s worth working out which would be more cost effective.

Your other option is to look at a childminder, often works out better financially - particularly if you need more than 2 days a week childcare.

Good luck ❤️ (and congratulations!)

Also consider that you're only entitled to the funding for your baby the term AFTER they turn 9 months. My baby will turn 9 months in September so I will have to wait until January (the new term) to get the funding 🥹

Apart from the 30 hours, tax free childcare support through the government childcare account. For every £8 you pay into the account, the government will top it up by £2.
They top up to a maximum of £2k a year but honestly every little helps!