Unborn babies signed up for nursery places

Desperate couples are willing to pay a deposit of more than £1,000 simply to have their baby's name put on the waiting list for a place at a good pre-school
13 April 2012

Parents are registering their children for places at leading private nurseries before they are even born.

Desperate couples are willing to pay a deposit of more than £1,000 simply to have their baby's name put on the waiting list for a place at a good pre-school.

Case study I had to wait eight months, even with 'priority'

A survey of some of the most sought-after fee-paying nursery schools, kindergartens and pre-preps in London found some are fully booked until 2011.

As well as a large deposit, the nurseries routinely ask for a registration fee of up to £125.

Once a child has been given a place, fees range from at least £1,000 to more than £3,000 per term.

Peter Jennings of education consultants Gabbitas said today: "Parents are signing up their children from birth for nurseries much more than they are for public schools, which allow parents to register three or four years before their children enter.

"But parents won't find a place in a nursery if they leave it until their baby is 18 months old, or in some cases two to three months old.

"The most popular nurseries are those with the staff to give individual care, the best facilities and a long-standing reputation.

"People are prepared to pay deposits at two or three different nurseries, which they won't get back, in their desperation to get a place."

The survey found that the average registration fee was £70. Deposits varied from £100 to more than £1,000.

This means that parents who sign up to several nurseries so that they are not left high and dry if their first choice does not have a place could end up paying out thousands.

Georgina Hood, principal of Paint Pots nursery schools, said getting a child into a nursery was fraught with difficulty.

"The waiting list system is a bit of a farce," she said.

"Ours is like an airline flight - it looks booked up but you never know when someone's going to drop out.

"Parents listen to their peer groups and panic, thinking they have to register from birth at as many nursery schools as possible. Morning places are like gold dust and everyone tries to register for them.

"But waiting lists are transient - people move away or they take up a place somewhere else.

"If people register their child for an afternoon place they could possibly take up a morning place that became available later."

Thom Crabbe of the Daycare Trust said: "Quality matters to all parents. If affluent parents face challenges it will be even more difficult for those on a low income and it is for these families that good quality childcare can be particularly beneficial."

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