These questions and answers are about the changes to the nursery fees for Children's Centres and Children and Family Hubs
Why are these changes needed?
Until now, Hackney Council has maintained a subsidy to all parents and carers accessing childcare in its children’s centres.
The subsidies varied depending on the family’s income, falling under one of five categories (fee bands):
- Band 1: families with an income of under £34k (up to 64% subsidy)
- Band 2: families with an income between £34k and £55k (up to 58% subsidy)
- Band 3: families with an income between £55k and £70k (up to 52% subsidy)
- Band 4: families with an income between £70k and £100k (up to 47% subsidy)
- Band 5: families with an income over £100k (up to 28% subsidy)
The current fee structure provides a subsidy on a sliding scale from 63% to 4.6% to all parents and carers, with the largest share of the subsidy to families on Fee Bands 1, 2 and 3. A 63 percent subsidy means that the council pays £6 and parents pay £4 for a place that costs £10 per hour.
The council has looked at what other similar local authorities are doing and found that the majority do not provide any additional childcare subsidies beyond the government funding. The amount of money spent by Hackney on children in the early years is significantly higher than the majority of other London boroughs.
Adjusting the childcare subsidy model, along with other measures such as reviewing the use of agency staff and operational costs will help us to strengthen the sustainability of our children’s centres, while still providing much needed financial help to families who need it most.
The changes are expected to achieve up to £1.1m additional fees and charges income through our children’s centres. We expect that the upcoming changes will contribute to the Council’s £51m budget gap by 2026/2027, which will contribute towards our ongoing efforts of maintaining a balanced budget. This will ensure that we can continue to make the most out of the resources we have available, without compromising on the support offered to our most vulnerable families and children.
Do these changes affect Children and Family Hubs and Children’s Centre non-childcare services?
Families using services at Hackney’s Children and Family Hubs and satellite Children’s Centres will continue to have access to a range of universal services for babies in the first 1001 days, that support parent-infant relationships, perinatal mental health, drug and alcohol misuse, domestic abuse, oral health, parenting, home learning and early language. Children and Family Hubs support families with children across all stages - early years, primary and secondary, to bring together services to improve access, connections between families, professionals and providers, and put relationships at the heart of support to families.
What Children’s Centres do these changes apply to?
The new fees will apply to the nurseries at:
- Ann Taylor Children and Family Hub
- Clapton Park Children’s Centre
- Woodberry Down Children and Family Hub
- Hillside Children’s Centre
- Linden Children and Family Hub
- Sebright Children’s Centre
- Lubavitch Children’s Centre
- Oldhill Children’s Centre
- Comberton Children’s Centre
- Fernbank Children’s Centre
- Mapledene and Queensbridge Children’s Centre
When will the changes apply?
The new fees will apply starting on 1 September 2025.
This is at the same time as the national expansion of government-funded childcare. From September 2025, eligible children from 9 months to 5 years old will have access to 30 hours of funded childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year.
This means that some working parents that previously had to pay for all their childcare will now get a significant part of it paid for by the government. This can make the overall cost of childcare more manageable for many families.
What are the new fees and the new income bands?
The new fees are structured into 3 bands. A subsidy will be maintained for band 1 and 2 on a sliding scale, and withdrawn from the current band 3 to 5. Families earning over £55,000 and out of borough families will not be eligible for council-subsidised childcare and will be placed on the new band 3.
The changes will affect families in different ways. Higher income families and those eligible for 30 hours childcare entitlement will see a smaller increase. Some families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare, Universal Credit Childcare or Study support which will help to reduce the cost of childcare. Families where one parent is earning over £100k will not be eligible for 30 hours and will be required to pay the full cost of childcare. Middle income families may see the greatest increase in fees, however, these costs will be reduced if eligible for the 30 hours of funded childcare offered as part of national expansion of government-funded childcare, or other types of childcare support.
The new fee bands are:
- Band 1: income under £34,000; 7.5 percent increase with a subsidy
- Band 2: income £34,000 to £55,000; 7.5 percent increase with a subsidy
- Band 3: income over £55,000; no subsidy
The current fees and new fees are available here: Fee Structure September 2025
Why are these changes taking place now?
Until now, unlike other local authorities, Hackney Council has maintained a subsidy on a sliding scale to all parents and carers accessing childcare in its Children’s Centres.
Previous parents and carers were given notice in 2019 of the decision to withdraw the subsidy to fee Band 5, along with a significant reduction of the subsidy to Fee Band 4 in September 2020. The planned changes to Fee Bands 4 and 5 paused in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic when childcare was only available to key workers and vulnerable families.
The national expansion of the funded entitlement to eligible children from 9-months means this proposal can now be resumed, with plans to withdraw the subsidy from Band 5, along with Bands 3 and 4, due to receiving government help with childcare from September 2025. Doing nothing would see families earning over £55k continue to be subsidised by the Council whilst also in receipt of the funded entitlement.
By removing the subsidy from the families with an income over £55k the Council can ensure it continues to provide financial support to the parents and carers in greatest need.
Why are you not consulting on these changes?
The Childcare Act 2006 requires local authorities to consult before making changes to children’s centre services. The Childcare Act also allows for a charge for childcare provided by the Council. The Childcare Act 2006 does not require local authorities to consult on the charge for childcare, the Council is therefore not consulting on any changes to fees, and has not previously consulted on fees.
What other support is available?
Early help
Families in need of targeted support will continue to be supported to access the support they need. To find out more about the range of support services available Early Help Support Services.
If you have questions about our childcare offer please contact your children’s centre manager.
Help with childcare
You can find out more about other ways you can get help with paying for childcare by visiting help with paying for childcare or the Childcare Choices website.
You can also look for more information about Hackney’s childcare and early years offer on our Local Offer website.