Summary: Mr X complained that the Council did not ensure that the day Nursery, which his son attended, provided itemised invoices for additional services over and above the free education entitlement. We do not find fault with the Council’s actions. Therefore, we are closing the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council failed to ensure his son’s (Y’s) day Nursery (the Nursery) provided him with itemised invoices for the extra charges he had to pay. The Council has responded to Mr X’s complaint, but he remains dissatisfied because he considers that the Council’s response does not address his main concern.
2. Mr X says that the injustice is that he could not decide whether the extra charges were reasonable and also he could not choose which extras Y required and what Mr X was prepared to pay for. Mr X and his partner had no choice but to keep Y at the Nursery because of their work commitments.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as nurseries.
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these.
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated the Council’s actions. I have not considered the Nursery’s actions.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance, as set out below.
8. I issued a draft decision statement to the Council and to Mr X and have taken into account their further comments.

Back to top

What I found

Legal and administrative background

9. The Childcare Act 2006 (as amended) places a duty on councils to secure early years provision free of charge. Regulations set out how councils should discharge their duty. The government has also issued statutory guidance councils must follow and from which they must not depart unless they have good reason.
10. All children who meet the eligibility criteria can take up a free childcare place if their parent wants one. This is known as the Free Early Education Entitlement.
11. Children are entitled to between 570 and 1,140 hours of childcare over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year depending on their age and eligibility.
12. The statutory guidance 2018 says the free places must be delivered completely free of charge. Councils should ensure that providers do not charge parents “top-up” fees (any difference between a provider’s normal charge to parents and the funding they receive from the local authority to deliver free places).
13. Providers can charge for meals and snacks, and consumables such as nappies or sun cream, as part of a free entitlement place, although these charges must be voluntary. Where parents are unable or unwilling to pay, providers who choose to offer the free entitlements are responsible for setting their own policy on how to respond.
14. Councils should ensure that providers are completely transparent about any additional charges, for example for those parents opting to purchase additional hours or additional services.
15. Councils should “Work with providers to ensure their invoices and receipts are clear, transparent and itemised allowing parents to see that they have received their child’s free entitlement completely free of charge and understand fees paid for additional hours or services”.
16. Councils must exercise their functions with a view to securing childcare providers’ compliance with these requirements.
17. In April 2024 and 2025, the Government updated the guidance. But this revised guidance was not applicable at the time of this complaint.

The Council’s procedure

18. The Council has an Early Free Education Audit form in order to collect information from providers, and it also asks for their policies, fee structures and registers. The Council meets providers to carry out audits. During these meetings, the Council will check invoices for randomly selected funded children. The Council offers business support if the provider requires and gives feedback from the meeting.
19. The Council checks compliance with any actions required.

Events of this complaint

20. Y started at the Nursery in 2022. In 2023, Mr X started to question the additional cost of £32 per day for meals and extras. The Nursery offered him a ‘standalone’ placement where no charges would be made, but this did not suit Mr X and his partner because they both work fulltime.
21. In November 2023, Mr X asked the Nursery to itemise the extra costs. He considered that the Nursey had not sufficiently itemised the charges. He explained that the monthly invoice recorded ‘meals and extra supplement’ was £32.00, whereas the daily rate with meals was £74. 23. He therefore considered the additional cost appeared excessive.
22. The Nursery responded to Mr X, but it did not provide a breakdown of the costs, as he had requested. Mr X was dissatisfied and complained to the Council.
23. Y finished at the Nursery in July 2024.

The Council’s complaint response to Mr X

24. In October 2024, the Council explained that the surcharge was a private charge set by the Nursery. The Council said, following Mr X’s complaint, it had carried out an audit of the setting in September 2024. The Council confirmed that the Nursery had policies on consumables and standalone places available to the parents. The Council pointed out that the parents had signed a form in June 2023 stating they were willing to pay the supplement.
25. The Council was satisfied that the Nursey had provided transparent and itemised invoices.
26. Mr X replied, stating that the Nursey did not provide itemised invoices explaining that the statutory guidance required councils to be sure that invoices were transparent and itemised, as recommended by the Ombudsman.

The Council’s response to our enquiries

27. The Council has explained that the Nursey provided itemised invoices which set out the funded sessions, paid for sessions and any additional charges. The Council says that there was no requirement for the Nursery to provide a breakdown of the additional charges or provide parents with the option to choose which items they wanted.
28. The Nursery offered the parents a standalone placement, but this did not suit the parents’ working hours. The Council has explained that the Nursery provided general information to the parents which confirmed that the surcharge covers ‘meals, refreshments, consumables and towards an enhanced activity programme’.
29. The Council says that the 2018 guidance did not require early education providers to itemise the additional charges. However, the new statutory guidance advises that providers should provide a breakdown of:

free entitlement hours, privately paid sessions, food charges, non-food consumable charges and activity charges.

30. So, the Council is now seeking this information from providers when carrying out its audits.

Findings

31. The Nursery made a charge (an ‘additional parent contribution’) for meals, refreshments, consumables, and an enhanced activities programme for children receiving the free early education entitlement. The charge is clearly stated in the Nursery’s price list.
32. The contract, signed by the parents, says that they agreed to pay the additional parent contribution for meals, refreshments, consumables, and the enhanced activities programme.
33. The Nursery offered the parents a standalone placement. But this did not suit the parents’ working hours.
34. I recognise why Mr X considers that the supplementary charge was not detailed enough and why he would have wanted a more itemised invoice to ensure that the ‘free’ place was being delivered completely free of charge. But, at the time when Y was at the Nursery, the requirement was for councils to ensure invoices included the free hours, the paid hours and any additional charges.
35. At this time, there was no requirement for the Council to ensure the additional costs were itemised. Moreover, the charges challenged were clearly stated ‘up front’ and explicitly described in the contract which Mr X signed. Therefore, I would not expect the Council to have sought a detailed breakdown of how the supplementary costs were arrived at.
36. This is in contrast to other cases, which we have investigated, where top-up charges were hidden in complex fee structures.
37. Accordingly, I consider that there is no fault by the Council, and it provided Mr X with an adequate complaint response. If Mr X considered the extra charge was excessive or not value for money, this was a matter he needed to take up with the Nursery (which he did).
38. It is also encouraging to see that the Council proactively audits nurseries in the area to ensure they are adhering to the requirements of receiving free funding, in line with the new 2024 statutory guidance.

Back to top

Decision

39. I find no fault by the Council. Therefore, I am closing the complaint.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman