OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1.       The Nursery

  1. Our Aims: We are aware that the welfare and development of each child is paramount.  We treat and respect children as individuals whose needs should be catered for.  We admit all children regardless of their religion, culture, gender and physical ability and all values from different backgrounds are recognised and respected.
  2. The Child’s health: Parents must inform the nursery if the child has any known medical conditions, heath problems or has been in contact with infectious diseases. The child must not be brought to the nursery if unwell but note that the fees have to be paid regardless if your child comes to the nursery or not. An exclusion policy exists for infectious conditions.

2.       Parents’ Authority

  1. Parents consent to the use of such physical contact with children as may be lawful, appropriate and proper for teaching and to provide comfort to a child in distress or to maintain safety and good order. Parents consent also to emergency medical treatment including surgery and/or general anaesthetic, if certified necessary by a doctor and if parents cannot be contacted in time.
  2. Accidents and Loss: The Nursery and its Management will not be liable for accidents or loss of property unless caused by their negligence.

 

3.       Entry to the nursery

  1. Registration: Children will be considered for entry to the Nursery when the registration form has been completed and returned to us and the non-returnable registration fee paid.
  2. If the child starts in baby room, we cannot guarantee that there will be a place for him or her in our pre-school room. This has to be discussed with the manager 3 months before the transition.
  3. if you want to reserve a place for your child, please note that we can keep the place only for a period of one month, if you wish us to keep the empty space for a longer period, we shall charge you 50% of the fees for each month, this has to be paid monthly. We shall endeavour to provide a place for a sibling but we are under no obligation to do so, nor to give priority over children on the waiting list.
  4. Offer of a Place: If a place is offered, a deposit equal to one month's fees will be payable when parents accept the offer.  If parents are unable to pay the deposit in full immediately, this can be accepted in installments, subject to agreement from the nursery and providing that the installments are paid monthly until the deposit is paid in full. Parents are not deemed to have accepted the offer of a place until the acceptance deposit/or part of it, has been paid. Failure to pay an acceptance deposit will result in the withdrawal of the offer. The deposit will be credited to your child’s last month's fees, providing that four week's notice is given in writing but will not otherwise be repaid. The deposit cannot be refunded if a secured place is cancelled by the applicant within three months after the agreed start date.
  5. Unless four week’s notice in writing is given to alter a start date we will charge you fees from the start date stated on the application form.
  6. Please note that any overpayments will be refunded after 6 weeks from the last day of attendance.

4.       Fees

  1. Fees are subject to review at any time, with a minimum of one month’s notice.
  2. Payment of fees: Each invoice must be paid on the first working day of each month. Parents must set up a standing order. A child may be excluded from the Nursery at any time when fees are unpaid and will be deemed withdrawn without notice 7 days after exclusion from a nursery. In the event of illness or holidays, the full fee is payable to retain the place.
  3. A charge of £10 per week will be levied for each week that your fees remain unpaid.
  4. If payments are cancelled or returned by the bank, we reserve the right to apply a penalty charge of £35 to cover costs.
  5. There will be no refund or waiver of fees in the event that the childcare facility is closed or your child is released home early as a result of a Force Majeure event.
  6. If you are more than one month in arrears with your payments your childcare place will be terminated and in such circumstances you will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid in advance or any deposit.
  7. Unpaid fees: late payment of fees will incur a charge of £10/week. Such items will be recoverable by action if necessary. Please note that if the fees are not paid within a reasonable time we shall pass the invoices to a Debt Collecting Agency which will charge additional charges. Once the invoice is passed to the Debt Collecting Agency we cannot accept direct payment from parents as the debt is sold out. This may affect your credit rating as the Agency registers the debt.
  8. Fees calculation: In order to cover our overheads, there is a fixed amount that each full time child is charged per year. Part time children pay the proportion depending on how many sessions they attend.
  9. We divide this yearly amount equally by 12 months, so that your fees are the same each month and you know how to budget for these. This means that you pay for all Bank Holidays and 3 statutory staff training/development days. Additionally, the nursery is closed during Christmas and Easter and we have excluded these additional closed days from fees calculation. The closure dates will be given to you by the manager, this may vary from nursery to nursery. Please enquire in your nursery for other dates that the nursery could be closed and this includes summer closure.
  10. College parents: Please note that if you attend the college, your fees are paid for term time only.        We expect you to pay £50 retention fees for the half terms and holidays if you wish to retain the place in the nursery. If you wish to bring your child to the nursery during these holidays, you will be charged full fees. Your payments must be made monthly and if these are not met, we shall ask you to remove your child from the nursery giving you only one week’s notice. Your contract with us will be at end when your contract with the college expires.
  11. Should you wish to keep your child beyond that time, you will have to renew the contract with the nursery.
  12. Parents that have fees paid through Credit Tax: If your fees are paid through Child Tax Credit, you have to remember that the government covers only 75% of the fees. The remaining amount has to be paid by you monthly and if not, we shall ask you to remove your child from the nursery. A child will be deemed withdrawn without notice 7 days after exclusion from a nursery.
  13. Please note that we require a letter from Tax Credit confirming the level of your entitlement prior to your arrival to the nursery.  It will be your responsibility to ensure that the money is paid to the nursery when fees are due.

5.           FREE ENTITLEMENT-NEG (Nursery Educational Grant)

  1. We are registered to claim the “3 and 4 year old free entitlement (NEG)” on behalf of eligible children aged three and four years, who are not attending other nursery classes. If your child is eligible and attends solely the free entitlement/funded hours we reserve the right to charge extra for meals and additional activities as the free entitlement covers only access to EYFS and the correct ratio in the nursery. The meals and additional activities will be charged at our standard rate and you will be invoiced for these monthly.
  2. Please note that children who access only the free entitlement hours and do not attend additional hours are permitted to attend the nursery during term time only. If, however, there is a requirement from parents to accommodate children during half terms and holidays, these sessions must be booked at the beginning of each term and paid for at the time of the booking.
  3. If your child attends more sessions than the ‘free sessions’ during the week, we will take the NEG off your bill by crediting the grant to your fees.  This takes place 3 times a year, at the beginning of each school term. You may be able to get extra help to pay for extra hours from the childcare element of Working Tax Credit, student support or other sources of funding.
  4. If your child is entitled to free entitlement/funded hours you must declare any claims made at another setting.  This information must be given to the setting at the point of registration. Failure to declare this information will result in the parent being required to repay to the nursery any/all amounts credited to your account and subsequently not funded by the local authority.

6.       Cancellation, Withdrawal and Fees in Lieu

(a)      ‘Notice’: means four weeks written notice for our nursery, delivered to the nursery, and actually received by the manager.

(b)     Withdrawal: The return of the deposit is subject to a minimum attendance of 3 months. After this period, should you wish to withdraw your child from the nursery, 4 week's notice must be given in writing. You will be required to pay the normal fees during this notice period regardless of whether your child attends or not. When the nursery has been given 4 week's notice in writing, of your intention to leave, we shall refund your deposit against all or part of your last month's fees.

(c)      Cancellation: The deposit will be retained if the parents, for any reason, cancel their acceptance of a place or the child does not join the Nursery.

(d)     Removal: Parents may be required to remove the child permanently if it appears to the Manager that the continued presence of the child is incompatible with the interests of the Nursery. There would be no refund of fees in these circumstances but the deposit would be returned and fees in lieu of notice would not be charged.

7.        General Conditions

(a)      Please note that, when we take children on a part time basis, we are being asked for flexibility. Consequently if your child stays on a part time basis, we may have to ask you to be flexible as well, if we need to make space for a full time child.  We may ask you to adjust your hours/days to suit us.

(b)      Children should be picked up promptly at the end of their session.  If for any reason the carer is late please inform the nursery as soon as possible so we can arrange staff cover.  Children who are picked up late will be subject to a charge, £1 per minute The late fees have to be paid weekly. Note that parents have to phone the nursery when they are running late so our staff can make cover arrangements.

(c)      Only persons on the registration form may pick up the child.  Any changes will only be accepted in writing and the person concerned must be introduced to the child's key-worker.  Emergency carers will need to provide an ID and state the password.

(d)      Under NO circumstances will a child be allowed to leave the premises unaccompanied or with a person who appears to be unfit to look after the child's safety or who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  In such an event another family member will be contacted.

(e)      Extra sessions can be booked in an emergencies if space is available, 48hr must be given if these are not taken otherwise you will have to pay the booked time.

(f)       Any changes to days your child regularly attend must be given in writing one month prior to change especially if your child reduces the hours.

(e)      Learning Difficulties: Parents will be notified if it appears to the Nursery that a child may have learning difficulties or special educational needs. Our staff are not, however, qualified to make any medical diagnoses and we shall endeavour to seek outside help if parents are happy to cooperate.

(f)       Insurances: The Nursery undertakes to maintain those insurances which are prescribed by law. All other insurances are the responsibility of parents.

(g)      Concerns/complaints: Parents who have cause for serious concern in relation to any matters of safety, care or quality of education must inform the Manager and if they are not satisfied they must speak to area manager or the proprietor.

Cybertots Group of the Nurseries