The DfE’s 30 hours guidance for local authorities states that providers must not ‘charge parents “top-up” fees (the difference between a provider’s usual fee and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver free places)’. But the then childcare minister Caroline Dinenage said in 2017 that nurseries should make supplementary charges if they need to do so to remain viable. The Government also amended its guidance to say that parents can ‘expect’ to pay for extras.
As the official position is somewhat contradictory, the key is to be careful about how these charges are framed.
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