We understand that Childcare fee increases can impact families greatly, and can assure you that any fee adjustment at Bumbles reflects extensive evaluation of operational costs, staffing investment, and regulatory requirements. As a provider caring for children across five Bumbles settings, our priority has always been, and will always remain, delivering high-quality, consistent, and nurturing early years care for your children.
Bumbles has a good reputation for being completely transparent regarding fees and has always displayed the daily rates for each age group on the Bumbles website. This is to give prospective families immediate access to costs to help determine whether registered Day Nursery services is something they value and want to opt into for their children.
Childcare Fee increase
This year, Bumbles fees are increasing by up to 8.8%. An increase does not apply to our Breakfast club or Camp provisions. Three core reasons that Bumbles fees are increasing are:
- Continual Investment in Our Team and Early Years Careers
The single most important factor in the quality of our nursery is our team. The childcare sector in Northern Ireland has faced significant recruitment and retention challenges in recent years. Early years professionals carry enormous responsibility, yet the sector competes in a wider employment market where flexibility, work-life balance, and higher wages are increasingly expected.
Whilst nearly 50% of our team have been with us 5+ years, we endeavour to attract, encourage and retain new recruits who want a career in Childcare, thus ensuring survival of the sector. Therefore, a substantial portion of Bumbles fee adjustment has gone directly towards increasing salaries (by an average of 8%).
Every group and setting operates with the confidence, knowledge, and calm leadership that parents rightly expect. Every child deserves a familiarity of faces and routine that Bumbles as a little village has grown into. You can learn a little bit more about every unique individual that works at Bumbles by visiting our Team page and clicking on their profile.
2. Rising Operating Costs Across All 5 Bumbles Settings
Like many sectors, we continue to experience sustained increases in core operating expenses, including:
- Food and nutritional provision
- Utilities (electricity, gas, water)
- Mandatory Staff Training when onboarding (Safeguarding, Paediatric First Aid, *Designated Child Protection Officer, Food Safety & Hygiene and more)
- Commercial rates
- Rent and property costs
- Settings maintenance
- Insurance
- Educational resources and equipment
- Cleaning and hygiene contracts and supplies
- Technology, IT and phone systems
We are committed to maintaining high standards in our provision. This means providing fresh and nutritious meals, well-resourced learning environments, safe and stimulating indoor and outdoor spaces, and ongoing staff training and professional development.
3. Meeting Regulatory Requirements
We are required to undergo regular inspections from multiple external bodies to ensure that we consistently meet high standards of safety, safeguarding, staff qualifications, and overall quality of care. Preparing for and maintaining compliance with these inspections involves ongoing staff training, enhanced record-keeping, policy updates, and in some cases, investment in facilities and resources. In recent years, one significant change is the requirement that every setting must have a designated “Person in Charge” (PIC) who is supernumerary (ex-ratio) on site at all times. As an employer, further employment law changes include SSP being paid from Day 1 (from April 2026) which again has finance implications as this cost is not recoverable from the government.
Childcare fees and financial support available
Bumbles Day Care Fees as of 1st April 2026 can be viewed here. Please see the table below which explains the financial support available towards Childcare costs. Further below, is an example of a the final cost of a day at Bumbles with both the NICSS and TFC support applied.
Government and Workplace Financial Support towards Childcare costs
There are a number of schemes available that Bumbles works with in order to help support our families.
Scheme | Support | Who qualifies |
NICSS (Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy scheme) | 15% off fees (application approval required by setting for 15% discount to be applied to your booking pattern) | Working ≥16 hrs/week, child under 12 (17 if disabled) for childcare in a registered NI provider |
Tax-Free Childcare | Government adds 20% via your TFC account. Links with Famly app automated payment. | For working families. Government tops up payments by 20%. For every £8 you pay in to your TFC account, the government adds £2 (up to £2,000 per child per year). Working ≥16 hrs/week, each parent earns <£100k, child 0–12, You must choose a registered Chidlcare provider. |
Universal Credit | Parents may claim back up to 85% of eligible childcare costs. You must pay your Childcare provider first and then claim back. | Subject to eligibility and income thresholds. |
Employer for Childcare Vouchers | Closed to new applicants. | |
Various Workplace Back up care schemes through Bright Horizons | 20 days childcare covered by your employer. | You must work for affiliating companies, e.f Citibank, PWC |
Yellownest Workplace scheme | Salary exchange leading to a reduction in Tax and National Insurance contributions (up to 39% savings) | You must work for affiliating companies. |
Bumbles Employee | 30% discount | You must work in a permanent role at Bumbles Day Care Ltd. |
Even if you don’t qualify for one scheme, you may qualify for the other.
Example comparison cost for NICSS and TFC schemes applied:
Year | Daily Fee | After NICSS (15%) | After Tax-Free Childcare (20%) | Approx. Real Cost |
April 2025 | £68 | £58 | £46 | ~£46/day |
April 2026 | £74 | £63 | £52 | ~£52/day |
Full-time (5 days/week) example:
£74/day → £1,603/month → £1,091/month after both supports
Headline increase of £6/day → real increase ~£4/day
Moving Forward Together
We are proud of the strong partnerships we have built with families across Belfast for over 30 years. We know that behind every enquiry, email, phonecall, visit, show around, there is a family carefully balancing finances, work, and home life.
We recognise that the sustainability of childcare provision is a key focus within Northern Ireland’s emerging Childcare Strategy, and it is our sincere hope that the strategy delivers on its actions to improve affordability for families, strengthen workforce support, and ensure long-term sustainability for providers across the sector.
We thank our past, current and future families for their continued trust, support, and partnership in making Bumbles your chosen Childcare provider.
