Dad Wins Landmark Case Against Market Harborough Nursery

A dad has won a landmark ruling over top-up fees at a Market Harborough nursery, that could have wider implications for nurseries and local authorities across the country.

Damian Roche questioned the amount he was paying Kiddi Caru Day Nursery and Preschool, as his then three year old daughter Blythe was entitled to 30 hours free childcare a week.

After the nursery, at Bowden Business Village on Harborough Road, and Leicestershire County Council, which administers the 30 hours free government funding, failed to resolve the matter, he took his case to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman has ordered the refund following an investigation, that could pave the way for other parents nationwide to make similar claims.

Damian, from Cottingham, who got his money back this week along with an apology from the County Council, spoke to Hfm’s Nick Shaw:

The Ombudsman said that the council ‘did not have sufficient oversight of the way the nursery charged parents when administering the free early years places’ and made a series of recommendations that means other parents who could have faced similar charges, must be refunded.

Its report on the case states: “We recommend the council takes whatever action is necessary to ensure Mr Roche and any other parents who have been charged “top-up” fees by Kiddi Caru Nursery and Preschool in Market Harborough receive their money back.

“Parents should be issued with a statement showing the number of free hours each child has received, any additional hours a parent has paid for charged at the published rate, and any refund due. The council should ensure this happens for children who have joined the nursery since September 2018.”

A spokesperson for Kiddi Caru Day Nurseries Group said: ‘We fully acquired the nursery in question in July 2017.

“After completing a full understanding of the newly acquired nursery and inherited funding methodology, we not only changed the way we offered the free early education entitlement, but also improved the transparency of the invoices, to ensure a greater understanding for our families but also to ensure a consistency of approach that is embedded across our other nurseries in the group.

“We will continue to work with local authorities, including Leicestershire County Council, as they monitor early years’ providers around the delivery of the free early education entitlement to families.”

Deborah Taylor, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for children and families, said: “We work with 539 providers who deliver the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) scheme.

“In the case of one nursery, the Ombudsman has concluded that its charging arrangements did not comply with the statutory scheme. Most unusually, when charging for private nursery care, this particular nursery sought to charge a variable hourly rate.

“We have reviewed their charging arrangements and accept that, during the period of investigation, they were unnecessarily complex. Due to the variable hourly charge, it was hard for the concerned parents to understand precisely what they were being charged for in relation to each hour of private nursery care. Improvements have since been made at this nursery.

“We continue to work with this and other providers to ensure the successful delivery of state funded nursery care which benefits approximately 11,500 children in Leicestershire each year. Not only does the FEEE scheme substantially improve the life chances of thousands of local children, it also supports families by enabling their parents to continue working.”