Making the announcement today (17 October), the Department for Education (DfE) said it is ‘taking action’ to tackle reported instances of parents facing ‘very high’ additional charges on top of the funded hours. It confirmed that his will be done in a way that makes the hours ‘accessible and affordable’ for all families that need to take-up the offer.
It added that ‘top-up fees’ could include mandatory extra charges for nappies, lunch or other ‘consumables’, and should not be made a condition of accessing a place.
The news, which forms part of a wider announcement on funding for school-based nurseries, comes after the DfE has agreed to replace the word ‘free’ with ‘Government funded’ from any marketing materials on the 15 and 30 hours.
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