so last week i delved into my coat pocket to be starkly reminded of what our child care costs amount to each month. OUCH. i spoke on the radio about it and the lovely people at LBC fell over in shock. it is indeed more than our mortgage.

today in the press and on the news there were numerous articles/reports on how nursery costs are rising by nearly 6%, and that fewer families are now getting any help at all with these, following the childcare tax credit cuts back in april.

daycare trusts annual survey reported that the average cost of 25 hours of child care is around £100. however the most expensive nursery fee recorded in the survey maxed out at £300 for 25 hours, that equals to £15,000 for a full year of child care, of just 2 1/2 days a week!

so actually what does that make our annual bill? *taps calculator* sixteen thousand, five hundred and seventy-eight pounds and thirty-six pence. (if i type it out i can’t see it you see). clearly we are distinctly above average. jeez louise these are hefty numbers.

now i know for a FACT that the lovely ladies at the nursery don’t even get paid as much as we pay for the childcare and believe me they truly truly deserve it.  i’ve tried finding out exactly how much before, but i am lead to believe that absolute top whack is around 15k, and 17k if you are room leader. but that is top whack, so how many truly get paid anywhere near that at all?

what pours more salt into the wounds is that you sign up for your hours, your weekly attendance, ronnie is full-time, which is 7.30 – 17.30 which is a long old day and as part of my package at work i get 6 weeks holiday. however you pay the nursery monthly and it is calculated on a 51 week year, as the nursery is shut for one full week over christmas and the new year. no other holiday allowance is made, so if you choose to take your holiday entitlement and spend time with your family you still have to pay the fees regardless! so for my 6 weeks holiday entitlement, i still get the pleasure to pay £1950.39 a year for childcare that i just don’t get. that surely is wrong? and that really does need to change. i would actually consider that to be fraud in my books paying for a service you just don’t get.

yes it is true that both parents can claim childcare vouchers through their employers but that is basically completely funding my 6 week holiday, so all a bit pointless really, rob peter to pay paul or is that rob paul to pay peter?? you know what i mean.

so tell me where is all this cash going? someone somewhere is getting very very rich at the expense of every parent that depends on the service. captured audience. in the words of catherine tate “what a f*cking liberty”