Many parents are confused when they receive a bill from their nursery even though they're using funded hours. The culprit? It's usually consumables charges.
What Are Consumables and Why Do They Exist?
A consumables charge refers to any fees a nursery asks parents to pay on top of their government-funded hours to cover ‘consumables’: things a child consumes such as meals, snacks, nappies, sun cream, wipes, as well as outings or extra enrichment activities.
Nurseries charge these fees because the hourly rate local authorities pay nurseries is calculated to fund solely the staffing and delivery of childcare, not these day-to-day extras.
As a result, nurseries often face a funding gap between what the government pays them for funded places, and their actual costs of providing these places. To help bridge this gap, many nurseries charge consumables charges for these 'additional' items and activities.
The rules on what can and can't be charged, and how, differ depending on whether you're in England, Wales, or Scotland.
How Consumables Charges Work in England
In England, government guidance dictates that nurseries are allowed to charge for consumables such as meals, snacks, nappies, sun cream, and for services like trips or specialist tuition.
However, these charges must be transparent and voluntary. A nursery cannot make paying for consumables a condition of your child taking up a funded place, and it cannot use "top-ups" to quietly recover the gap between its private rate and the government's funding rate.
A few things to know if you're in England:
- Nurseries must be transparent. You should be able to ask for an itemised invoice to understand any additional charges, rather than one unexplained top-up fee.
- Parental Declaration Forms. Statutory guidance from the Department for Education asks nurseries to complete a parental declaration with you before your child first takes up a funded place, setting out your funded hours, your pattern of attendance, and any additional optional charges you've agreed to pay, so both you and the nursery are clear on what's been agreed.
- You should have an opt-out. If you'd rather provide your own nappies, sun cream, or packed lunch, in principle you should be able to and the nursery is expected to have a policy offering an alternative.
How Consumables Charges Work in Wales
Wales takes a noticeably firmer line on cost caps than England does. Non-specific top-up rates aren't permitted, but nurseries may charge for food and off-site activities.
- Meals are capped. In a full day session (approximately 10 hours), parents should not be charged more than £11.25 for meals. This would typically include:
- 3 meals at £3.13 per meal
- 2 snacks at 94p per snack
- Packed lunches should be allowed. If a nursery lets fee-paying parents bring in their own child's packed lunch, it must extend the same option to families using the Childcare Offer.
- Off-site activities can be charged for — on-site ones can't. Nurseries can charge parents for off-site activities that incur a cost (the Welsh Government doesn't set a rate for these, since costs vary by activity). But regular activities that happen within the nursery as part of a normal session can't be charged for separately. Parents must be able to opt their child out of paid off-site activities, and taking part shouldn't be a condition of using the setting.
How Consumables Charges Work in Scotland
Scotland allows consumables charges, but one meal per day should be included in funded hours.
A meal is included, not extra. Every child attending a funded ELC session is entitled to one free meal (this can be served as breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depending on the setting) at no additional cost.
- Extras should be optional. Where nurseries do charge, it should generally be limited to things like additional snacks outside the included meal, or the cost of specific outings that carry a genuine external cost (for example, an entry fee for a trip to the theatre).
Should You Push Back on a Consumables Charge?
This is the question a lot of parents quietly wrestle with, and it's understandable.
A few things are worth knowing before you decide what to do:
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Ask for an itemised breakdown. You're entitled to understand what you're actually paying for: meals, nappies, activities, outings, rather than a single unexplained line.
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Most nurseries will talk to you. If cost is a genuine barrier, many settings have (or are expected to have) a policy for families who can't or don't want to pay for consumables: this might mean providing your own nappies or packed lunch instead. Raising it early, calmly, and directly with your nursery manager tends to go a lot further than refusing to pay outright.
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Do the maths: Would bringing your own food and nappies actually save money? Factor in your time, the cost of items, and convenience. A nursery's meal charge might work out cheaper than what you'd spend buying and preparing the same food yourself, especially once you account for the extra admin of packing a bag every day. For some families the saving is real and worth it; for others, the time and hassle outweigh what they'd save.
Refusing to pay outright, without first understanding what the charge covers or discussing alternatives with your nursery, is not the best move, not least because it can strain what's usually a genuinely collaborative relationship between you and the people caring for your child every day.
A conversation almost always gets you further than a standoff.
Frequently asked questions
Typically meals and snacks, nappies, wipes, sun cream, and sometimes materials for activities or outings. It refers to items and services that get used up or cost the nursery money beyond simply staffing your child's care.
Funded hours are calculated to cover the cost of delivering early years childcare. Nurseries find that the funding rate doesn't fully reflect their real running costs, so charging separately for food, nappies, and extras is often how they keep the numbers working.
Start with the nursery itself and ask for an itemised bill or a walk-through of the charges. Most questions can be resolved this way, since nurseries are used to explaining their fee structure to parents.
Full-time nursery in the UK typically costs between £1,000 and £1,800 per month, depending on your location, the nursery, and your child's age. Costs in London and the South East tend to be higher.
Schemes such as government-funded childcare hours and tax-free childcare can bring that figure down significantly. Use the Nuuri cost calculator to estimate what you'll actually pay after funding based on average costs in your area, or for a specific nursery.
Government guidance states that consumables charges should be transparent and voluntary, meaning nurseries should be able to provide a meaningful alternative e.g. providing your own food from home.
However, refusing to pay outright, without first understanding the charges or discussing alternatives with your nursery, is not a great move, not least because it can strain the collaborative relationship between you and the people caring for your child every day.
First, try asking for an itemised breakdown to understand the charges better, do the maths as to whether an alternative will save you money (e.g. providing packed lunches and snacks), and have a conversation with your nursery.
