Comparing local nursery prices should be simple.

You find the hourly rate. Multiply it by the number of hours you need. Make a cup of tea.

Done.

Except childcare fees have apparently decided that would be far too straightforward.

Two Peterborough families could need exactly the same number of childcare hours and still end up with very different bills.

One nursery might include certain things within its arrangements.

Another might charge separately for meals, nappies or additional hours.

 One might spread funded childcare across most of the year, while another uses it during term time.

Suddenly, that nice clear hourly rate isn't telling you very much at all.

So if you're comparing childcare in Peterborough, don't just ask “What's your hourly rate?”

Ask:

“What will I actually pay each week and across the whole year?”

That's the number your household budget cares about.

First, what are ‘funded hours’?

This is where childcare terminology starts getting a little... enthusiastic.

Funded childcare hours are hours of childcare paid for through government funding rather than directly by you.

Peterborough's current childcare guidance covers funded entitlements for children from nine months through to four years old, depending on the child's age and the family's circumstances.

That includes the universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds.

“Universal” simply means it's available to all children in that age group who meet the basic rules, rather than depending on their parents meeting working requirements.

Eligible working families may qualify for up to 1,140 funded hours across the year.

Sounds straightforward so far.

Unfortunately, this is where calendars get involved.

30 hours doesn't necessarily mean 30 hours every week of the year

One of the easiest mistakes is seeing a weekly funded-hours figure and mentally multiplying it across 52 weeks.

That's not necessarily how it works.

A nursery may offer funded hours over 38 weeks, broadly following the school year.

That's often called a term-time arrangement.

Another provider might take the annual funded-hours allowance and spread it across more weeks.

That's usually described as “stretched funding”.

Despite sounding like something involving Lycra, it simply means using fewer funded hours each week so they last across more of the year.

Imagine, for example, that your childcare funding is a cake.

A term-time arrangement gives you bigger slices across fewer weeks.

A stretched arrangement gives you smaller slices but makes the cake last longer.

There. Childcare funding explained through cake.

Much better.

Neither option is automatically better.

If you work mainly during school terms, a term-time arrangement might suit you perfectly.

If you need childcare throughout the year, stretching the funding may be more useful because it reduces the number of completely unfunded weeks you need to cover.

The important question is:

How many funded hours will my child actually receive, over how many weeks, and how many additional hours will I need to pay for?

‘Funded’ doesn't necessarily mean you'll pay absolutely nothing

This is another area where parents can understandably become confused.

Peterborough's provider agreement says funded childcare hours themselves must be available free of charge.

But nurseries can also provide things outside those funded hours or offer additional services and extras.

Depending on the provider and arrangement, that could include meals, nappies, wipes, sun cream, trips or additional childcare hours.

So when you're asking for prices, get the nursery to separate everything out.

You want to know what you're paying for:

• funded childcare hours;

• additional hours you're buying yourself;

• meals and drinks;

• nappies and wipes;

• optional activities or trips; and

• deposits, registration fees or other charges.

•  

And please don't feel awkward asking.

You're not being difficult.

You're trying to work out one of your household's largest regular expenses.

Nobody would take out a mortgage based on someone saying, “Oh, it's roughly this much.”

Childcare deserves the same clarity.

Two Peterborough nurseries show how different it can look

Looking at actual Peterborough examples makes this much easier to understand.

Lilliput Nursery publishes options for funded childcare offered either during term time or stretched across 51 weeks.

It also publishes an hourly charge of £6.50 for childcare outside the funded entitlement, along with optional charges for lunch and tea and a £2.50 daily charge for nappies and wipes.

Now compare that with The Day Nursery on Priestgate.

Its published funded-session information describes an all-inclusive option involving a voluntary charge, alongside an opt-out arrangement where parents provide meals and other essentials themselves.

It also distinguishes between 38 funded weeks and funding stretched across 51 weeks.

Neither example tells us that one nursery is “cheaper” or “better”.

That's not the point.

The point is that two childcare arrangements can be structured very differently even when both involve government-funded hours.

One family might prefer paying for certain things to be provided.

Another might happily arrive every morning carrying enough food, nappies and wipes to suggest they're setting off on a small expedition.

Both are perfectly reasonable.

You just need to know which arrangement you're comparing.

Make every nursery answer the same questions

This is probably the easiest way to compare childcare properly.

Before contacting nurseries, write down:

Your child's age, the days you need childcare, the hours you need, your likely start date and whether you need childcare during school holidays.

Then give exactly the same information to every provider.

Ask each nursery for a written breakdown covering:

1. How many funded hours your child would receive across the year.

2. How many weeks those hours are spread across.

3. How many additional paid hours you'd need for your chosen pattern.

4. The price of those extra hours.

5. Charges for meals, nappies, wipes and other regular essentials.

6. When the nursery closes and whether you'll need alternative childcare.

7. Any deposits, notice periods or minimum booking requirements.

8. Whether the nursery accepts Tax-Free Childcare.

9.  

Now you're comparing like with like.

Or at least considerably more like with like than “Nursery A says £6.50 an hour and Nursery B has a brochure involving seventeen different sessions.”

And what is Tax-Free Childcare?

Despite the name, Tax-Free Childcare isn't simply a tax deduction from your wages.

It's a government scheme that can contribute towards eligible childcare costs.

For every £8 an eligible family pays into its Tax-Free Childcare account, the government can add £2, subject to the scheme's eligibility rules and limits.

So if you put in £80, the government adds £20.

That's worth checking.

Some families may instead be able to get help with childcare costs through Universal Credit, which is a benefit designed to help eligible households with living costs.

Don't assume you're eligible or that you're not.

Check using the official government service based on your own circumstances.

Work out the yearly cost, not just a ‘normal’ week

This is where the true childcare cost often reveals itself.

A normal week might look affordable.

Then August happens.

If your funded childcare runs during 38 term-time weeks but you need childcare for most of the year, what happens during the remaining weeks?

Do you pay the nursery's normal rate?

Use grandparents?

Take annual leave?

Arrange another childcare provider?

Suddenly, comparing only a normal February week hasn't told you the whole story.

Try to get two numbers for every nursery you're seriously considering:

What will we normally pay each week?

And:

What will this childcare arrangement cost us across the whole year?

Include additional paid hours, regular extras and childcare you may need when the nursery is closed.

If you're expected to provide food, nappies or other essentials yourself, remember those aren't magically free simply because they don't appear on the nursery invoice.

Your bank account remains annoyingly aware of them.

Cheapest isn't always the same as best value

After doing all this, you might discover the nursery with the lowest advertised rate isn't actually the cheapest for your family.

Or perhaps it is.

But cost isn't the only consideration.

A nursery five minutes from home could save you considerable travel time and fuel.

A provider whose opening hours match your shifts might prevent you needing another childcare arrangement.

A nursery offering the right funded pattern might save more than one with a slightly lower hourly rate.

And sometimes you simply find a nursery where your child seems happy and you feel comfortable leaving them.

That matters too.

The point isn't to find the cheapest nursery in Peterborough.

It's to understand what each option will genuinely cost your family before you sign anything.

The question every Peterborough parent should ask

If there's one thing to take from all of this, make it this:

“Can you give me a written breakdown of what we'd actually pay each week and across the year?”

Ask what's funded.

Ask what isn't.

Ask about food, nappies, holidays, deposits and additional hours.

Ask what “stretched” means in that particular nursery.

And if you've asked three times and still can't work out what the place will actually cost?

Well, that's useful information too.

Childcare is complicated enough without needing the investigative skills of Sherlock Holmes simply to work out next month's nursery bill.

Peterborough parents: what caught you out?

If you've recently arranged nursery or childcare in Peterborough, what was the cost, charge or rule you didn't know about until you started looking?

Was it meals?

Nappies?

Holiday weeks?

Extra hours?

Or did somebody finally explain “stretched funding” after you'd spent three evenings trying to work it out yourself?

Leave your experience or question in the comments below  but please don't share personal financial information or details about your child.

The questions that come up most often could help shape our next plain-English Peterborough childcare article.

Here Are Some Useful Childcare Resources 

1. Types of childcare - Peterborough City Council

2. Childcare funding - Peterborough City Council

3. Nursery education funding - Peterborough City Council Learn Together

4. Peterborough FEEE Provider Agreement 2026

5. Lilliput Nursery Peterborough fee structure

6. The Day Nursery Peterborough funded sessions and pricing policy