Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has given to nurseries and childcare providers on charging for (a) meals, (b) activities, (c) nappies and (d) any other items outwith the 30 free hours of childcare provided from September 2017.

The department’s revised Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities provides clear guidance to local authorities and providers in delivering the existing free entitlements for two, three and four-year-olds and the 30 hours extended entitlement.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596460/early_education_and_childcare_statutory_guidance_2017.pdf.

The guidance clearly sets out that providers can charge parents for meals, consumables (such as nappies and sun cream) and for additional activities (such as trips and yoga), as long as parents are not required to pay any fee as a condition of taking up their child’s free entitlement place. In April, the department also published Operational Guidance, providing practical examples and case studies of how the free entitlements can be delivered, including examples of charging models.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/610170/Operational_guidance.pdf.