A parent returning to work after maternity leave is working out childcare costs. She messages a local nursery: How much is a full day? How do funded hours work with your fees? Are meals included? Do you charge for nappies? Is there a registration fee? The nursery manager receives questions like these every day, often from parents who find childcare costs confusing and worrying.
Fee and funding questions are among the most common a nursery receives. Clear answers help parents plan.
Why fees cause so many questions
Childcare is a major household expense. Funding schemes can be complex. Parents often do not know what is included or what extras to expect. Uncertainty makes them anxious. Students face similar confusion about fees and funding, as described in fees and funding questions from prospective students.
What parents ask
Parents typically want to know the cost per session, half day or full day, how funded hours are applied to their bill, what is included (meals, snacks, nappies, activities), whether there are extra charges, whether there is a registration fee or deposit, how and when fees are paid and what happens during holidays or illness.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a nursery might publish. Your answers should come from your own fees page.
Parent: How much is a full day? Assistant: The fees page lists the daily rate for each age group, which includes meals, snacks and nappies. There's a one-off registration fee, also shown on the page.
Parent: How do funded hours work with your fees? Assistant: The funding page explains how the nursery applies funded hours to your bill and which sessions they can be used for. For whether your family is eligible, the page links to the official guidance.
Parent: Do you charge when my child is ill? Assistant: The fees page explains that fees are charged for booked sessions, including when a child is absent through illness, as with most nurseries.
Holidays and closures
Parents often ask how fees work when the nursery closes for holidays or bank holidays, and whether term-time-only places cost less. Publishing a clear policy on closures, and on how fees are calculated across the year, prevents confusion and awkward conversations later. Some nurseries spread fees evenly over the year; others charge by attendance. Whichever approach you use, explain it plainly.
Siblings and discounts
Families with more than one child in childcare often ask about sibling discounts. If you offer one, say so on the fees page. It can be a deciding factor for families choosing between nurseries.
Eligibility needs care
Whether a family qualifies for particular funding depends on their circumstances. The nursery can explain how it applies funding but should point parents to official sources for eligibility.
Fees for families planning ahead
Parents planning a place months ahead often ask about fees early, as described in nursery place enquiries from parents planning ahead.
Answering at any hour
Parents often work out childcare costs in the evening. SpideyChat for nurseries and childcare providers answers fee questions from your own pages at any hour. More on nurseries using it is in AI receptionist for childcare nurseries and how nurseries answer parents and fill places with a chatbot.
A fees page parents understand
Write a clear fees page covering rates, funding, inclusions, extras and payment. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.