Nursery fee increases usually arrive once a year, often in the autumn term, and usually as a single new number. The letter explains that costs have risen. It rarely explains which parts of your bill the rise applies to — and that is the part worth knowing, because some parts of it cannot rise at all.
What can and cannot go up
Can rise: your provider's hourly rate for additional paid hours, meal charges, consumables charges, and the price of optional activities. These are the provider's own prices and they are free to change them, with reasonable notice.
Cannot rise: the cost to you of your funded entitlement hours. That is zero, and a cost increase does not change it. If a rise shows up as a new or larger charge attached to funded hours, the rise is the problem, not the amount.
This distinction matters because a genuine cost increase is often implemented in a way that quietly crosses the line — a new "sustainability charge" per funded hour, or a consumables fee that becomes compulsory. The intention may be entirely innocent. The effect is a top-up fee.
A five-minute check
- Put the old and new invoices side by side. You are looking for new lines, not just bigger numbers.
- Confirm the funded-hours line is still zero. If a charge has appeared against it, that is your question.
- Check whether any optional charge has become compulsory. Meals and consumables must remain genuinely optional, with a reasonable alternative such as bringing your own.
- Check the published prices. Providers must publish their chargeable extras and prices, so you can confirm the new rate is the advertised one.
- Check your notice period. Your contract will say how much notice is required for a fee change, and whether you can leave without penalty.
What to say
Most providers are not trying it on. Nursery margins are genuinely tight, and the person who sent the letter is often the person who will care for your child tomorrow. Tone matters more here than in almost any other consumer situation.
Something like:
"Thanks for letting us know. Could you confirm which parts of the increase apply to the funded hours, and send the itemised breakdown for next month? We would also like to confirm the packed-lunch option is still available."
That is specific, easy to answer, and does not accuse anyone of anything. In most cases the reply resolves it.
If the answer is unsatisfactory
The escalation route is the same as for any disputed charge: raise it in writing with the provider, then with your council's early years team, and finally with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if the council does not resolve it.
Before escalating, be clear with yourself about what you want. A refund of an unlawful charge is one outcome. Keeping a good relationship with a setting your child likes is another, and they are not always compatible. Plenty of parents reasonably decide that a small disputed charge is not worth the friction — that is a legitimate choice, as long as it is a choice rather than something you felt unable to question.
Worth doing at the same time
A fee increase is a natural moment to check two other things:
- Whether your funded hours are right. Entitlements change as children get older, and a child who has become eligible for more hours does not always get them applied automatically.
- Whether you are claiming everything. Tax-Free Childcare adds 20% to what you pay for the hours that are not funded, up to £2,000 per child a year, and plenty of families eligible for it have never set up an account.
Both can take more off the bill than disputing the increase would.
Common questions
How much notice should I get?
Whatever your contract specifies — commonly a month or a term. There is no single statutory period for fee changes, so the contract governs.
Can they increase fees mid-term?
Subject to the contract, yes. What they cannot do is introduce a charge on funded hours at any point.
They have introduced a compulsory meal charge. Is that allowed?
No. Charges for meals are permitted, but they must not be mandatory and an alternative must be available.
Can I just move nursery?
You can, but check two things first: your notice period, and whether your funded hours transfer cleanly. During a grace period following a change in eligibility you generally cannot start a new place, so timing matters.