Terms & Conditions

Your acceptance of our terms is initiated at the booking and registration stage. Whilst this agreement naturally has legal implications, we always act with fairness and take into account specific circumstances before making decisions. The success of your child’s time here at Hollins Wood Childcare is dependent on the partnership between the Nursery and our parents and carers. 

Booking and Registration

• The booking is not complete until the relevant booking form has been signed and returned to the Nursery along with the administration fee of £50 which will also reserve your child a place at Hollins Wood Childcare.
• If you are unable to pay the administration fee at the time of completion of the booking form, but want to secure your place, then we can accept the booking form and keep your reservation allocated for 14 days.  Extensions beyond 14 days will be governed by other bookings coming into the Nursery and are at the discretion of the Nursery Owners / Manager.
• Changes to your booking before the start date – Changes will be accommodated where possible.
• Changes to your booking after the start date – Swapping or increasing sessions can be considered if available. If we cannot accommodate your request to increase or change sessions, then we can put you on our waiting list or you may wish to terminate the booking giving 4 weeks’ notice. Decreases to your booking require 4 weeks’ notice.
• Changes to a booking mid-month will result in invoices being billed as sessions taken and not averaged. Averaged amounts will resume the following month.
• Prior to making your booking we can provide 3 settling in sessions free of charge (possibly more, if required). In the unlikely event that a child does not settle at the Nursery, the parent / carer may terminate the booking with 2 weeks’ notice.
• Once a place has been taken up, the Nursery or our Before & After School Club, requires 4 weeks written notice of any changes.
• 48 hours’ notice is required for booking changes within the Holiday Club.

 Fees and Financial

• All on-going fees are payable on receipt of invoice for any given month by Standing Order, Childcare Voucher, cash or credit / debit cards. Charges may be incurred for late payment. Responsibility for paying fees resides with the parents or legal guardians of the child.
• Fees are calculated monthly, invoiced in advance at the beginning of each calendar month and payable on the same calendar month basis.
• The Nursery is closed at weekends, on Bank Holidays and between Christmas and New Year.
• The Nursery is closed between Christmas and New Year and our fees are structured accordingly; costs averaged over the year means effectively you pay for 51 weeks of the year.
• If your child attends the nursery on a Monday or a Friday, you will still be charged for Bank Holidays apart from Christmas when nursery is closed, however, we will compensate these days missed with the following:
  • If your child attends all year round, on Mondays and Fridays, we will allow 2.5 extra days as compensation for not being able to attend on Bank Holiday Mondays and Good Friday.
  • If your child attends all year round, on Mondays, we will allow 2 extra days as compensation for not being able to attend on Bank Holiday Mondays.
  • If your child attends Term Time only they will not be compensated for the one Bank Holiday missed.
  • These swap days must be used within the academic year September – August. They will not be carried over to the new school year. 
  • If your child attends nursery full time and all year round, they will be compensated with a discount in their August invoice.
  • To book these swap sessions, contact the office, clearly stating they are Bank Holiday swap days.
• Further discounts for Nursery closure may be offered in exceptional circumstances and assuming the closure is within our control.
• If your child’s start date is part way through the month then we will invoice for the actual sessions taken and begin the calendar month calculation the following month.
• Fees are reviewed once per year normally between January and March. Any changes to the fee rates will be notified to you at least 8 weeks in advance.
• Invoices will be issued each month and statements of account are available on request.
• Extra sessions are invoiced on a monthly basis at the end of the calendar month in question.
• There is no VAT to be paid on any of our charges.
• We are unable to refund fees for sessions not taken due to illness, absence, holiday or where the Nursery is forced to close due to circumstances beyond our control.
• The Nursery reserves the right to charge interest on late fees at the rate of 5% above the Bank of England base rate. Children may be excluded from the Nursery if fees remain outstanding beyond 30 days from their due date.
• There is a minimum booking commitment for children aged 0 to 5 years of either one full day or two morning or afternoon sessions. Bookings must be for the same session(s) each week. Shift pattern booking will be considered at management discretion.
• It is possible to swap days within the same week subject to availability. Additional days can be accepted as a chargeable extra and subject to availability.
• Our fees apply to normal opening hours of 7.30am to 6.00pm for a full day and 7.30am to 12.45pm or 12.45pm to 6.00pm for a half day. Fees are calculated evenly by calendar month and are discounted to reflect the fact that the Nursery is closed between Christmas and New Year.
• We do not provide discounts for holidays or extended periods of absence.
• Children who have teachers as parents are permitted a 2 week break / suspension of booking in August. Proof of employment will be required.
• Because of the staffing and resource requirements, as laid down by Ofsted, children who are collected after the agreed time will incur a late collection charge of £10 per 30 minutes.
• Discounts are available for siblings in the Nursery. The discount is allocated to the lowest amount and remains in place until the older child leaves. The rate of this discount will be 10% for each additional child.
• Discounts are also available for full time bookings, see separate schedule for fees.
• Parents / carers claiming the Early Years Free Entitlement from the Nursery should ensure that they are not claiming more than the statutory allowance. Please consult with the Nursery Manager or Director if in any doubt.

 Termination and Suspension of Childcare Services

• You may end this agreement by giving four weeks written notice. No specific reason for ending the agreement needs to be given, although naturally we would wish to understand the reason for the termination.
• Specifically, you may end this agreement with immediate effect if (1) we have breached any of our obligations under this agreement and we have not or cannot put right that breach within a reasonable period of being requested to do so (2) we change any of the terms and conditions in an unreasonable manner.
• Specifically, we reserve the right to end this agreement with immediate effect if (1) you have not paid the agreed fees (2) you have breached your obligations under this agreement and you have or cannot put right that breach within a reasonable period of being requested to do so (3) your child’s behaviour is unacceptable or endangers the safety and well-being of any of the other children or staff in the Nursery (4) financial, business or commercial reasons compel us to radically change the nature of the Nursery’s operations, including but not limited to permanent closure of the Nursery, change of childcare service, re-registration of child numbers and age groups, changes to the registration and bookings policy. Naturally, we will provide as much notice as possible given any of these events.
• We may suspend the provision of childcare for any of the above reasons and in addition

(1) if your child is suffering from an infectious or contagious disease or illness which may easily be passed onto others at the Nursery. The suspension will continue whilst we try to resolve the problem in conjunction with the parent / carer.

(2) where forces beyond our control compel us to either close the Nursery or reduce the available hours, such as an outbreak of disease that involves the intervention of outside agencies such as Environmental Health, severe weather such as snow or ice which significantly impairs safe travel to and from the Nursery, industrial action affecting travel to and from the Nursery, an Ofsted investigation or any other reasonable incident not in our control. In the event that the Nursery is compelled to close in reasonable circumstances beyond our control we are not able to refund fees or organise alternative childcare, nor can we accept any consequential liability sustained by parents / carers due for example to loss of earnings or costs associated with alternative childcare. Dependent on the nature of the closure we may be able to seek compensation through our insurance policy and every effort will be made to minimise the disruption to service and cost to parents or carers. None of the above compromises your statutory rights if the Nursery has been negligent. 

Staffing

• Staff are checked on commencement by the Nursery through the Disclosure and Barring Service to ensure there are no safeguarding issues of which we need to be aware. Suitable person checks also include but are not limited to identity verification, qualification checks, personal and employment references, medical checks and where applicable visas or permits to work in the UK. In some cases, because of the length of time that this process takes, a person may start work pending clearance provided they are at no time left looking after children on their own.
• Staff are also signed up to the Government Disclosures and Baring Update Service, enabling us to make regular checks on their eligibility to work with children.
• The Nursery observes the Ofsted regulations relating to staff and children ratios, currently 0-2 years 1:3, 2-3 years 1:4 and 3 to 5 years 1:8. In practice our ratios are usually above the Ofsted guidelines.
• Where a member of staff, within 3 months of leaving the employment of the Nursery, is employed by a parent/carer to care for their child, who was previously registered at the Nursery, then the parent / carer will be liable to pay a sum equivalent to two month’s salary for the employee at the time their employment with the Nursery terminated.
• If a member of staff is asked to take a child home out of Nursery hours it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that the driver has appropriate insurance, that the car is roadworthy and that car seats are available. The Nursery requires verbal confirmation from the parent/carer of the child being taken home by a member of staff.
• Parents/carers may ask staff to baby-sit outside Nursery hours. This is a contract between parent/carer and the member of staff, and the Nursery takes no responsibility. See Babysitting Policy for more information.

Health, Safety and Absence 

• It is understood that the Nursery is under an obligation to report to the appropriate authorities any incident where we consider a child may have been abused, neglected or in some other way harmed either physically or emotionally. This may be done without informing the parent or carer, in accordance with our Safeguarding Children Policy.
• Intimate care can be provided by a male or female member of our staff and can include feeding, washing, dressing, toileting and nappy changing. In instances where a parent or carer has requested that a particular member of staff perform certain activities, other members of staff will be informed and a full explanation given. Naturally, any confidentiality will be observed. Furthermore, the Nursery will ensure that practitioners’ employment rights are not infringed.
• The Nursery is committed to the identification of and provision for children with Special Educational Needs.  We believe that the potential of every child in our care is maximised, irrespective of ability, disability, race, gender and social background and to enable equal access to the curriculum in an environment where every child is valued and respected. Parents and carers must ensure we have all the relevant information regarding special needs to enable us to appropriately care for your child.
• In fairness to all our staff and to the clients and children that use our facilities we expect reasonable standards of behaviour at all times. We therefore reserve the right to exclude any child whose conduct is, in our opinion, disruptive or in any other way unacceptable to the smooth and efficient running of our Nursery. Naturally every effort will be made to avoid this action and may include special needs assessment or one to one care if funding allows. We ask all parents / carers to appreciate this and to understand that, in the event of having to exclude any child, all fees are non-refundable.
• All Nursery meals are prepared on site with consideration to provide a well-balanced diet. Vegetarians and special dietary requirements are catered for. A copy of the seasonal menu is displayed in the Dining Room and on the Nursery website Please ensure you keep us notified about your child’s dietary needs and preferences.
• We reserve the right to administer basic first aid and treatment when necessary. Parents will be informed of all accidents and will be required to sign an accident form. For accidents of a more serious nature, involving hospital treatment, all attempts will be made by Nursery to contact the parents but failing this, we are hereby authorised to act on behalf of parents to consent to necessary treatment from a suitably qualified medical source. We will administer prescribed medicines if parents complete a ‘Medicine Consent’ form; however, the first dose of medicine must be given at home and parents must take all medicines home at the end of each day unless otherwise agreed.
• We may require parents to withdraw their child from Nursery, in the event that they require special medical care or attention, which is not available or refused by parents or it is considered that the child is not well enough to attend Nursery. We may also ask parents to withdraw their child from Nursery, if we have reasonable cause to believe that they are or maybe suffering from or have suffered from any contagious disease/infection and there remains a danger that other children at the Nursery may contract such a disease/infection. We accept no responsibility for children contracting contagious diseases/infections whilst at Nursery; however, we will publish infection notices in the Nursery to keep you informed. Parents are requested to inform the Nursery if their child is suffering from any illness or sickness before attending Nursery.
• Parents are requested to inform the Nursery of any food, medicine, activity or any other circumstances that may cause the child to have an allergic reaction/ allergy. Parents must provide details, in writing, of the severity of the reaction/ allergy and must continue to inform the Nursery of any changes/progress to the condition, in writing, when they become aware. Parents are requested to inform the Nursery of any changes to key information.
• Children who are unwell should not attend the Nursery. Children who have suffered from sickness or diarrhoea will not be admitted back to Nursery within 48 hours after the last bout. If children fall ill during the day parents will be contacted to arrange to collect them. If the parents are unavailable, other authorised contacts will be called.
• We suggest that all personal toys, books or other equipment are left at home. Comforters can be brought into the nursery.
• The Nursery provides a car park when dropping and collecting your child. Please ensure your child is supervised at all times in the car park. Do not park close to the buildings and be aware of your speed. The Nursery is not liable for any accidents or injury whilst customers are using the car park.
• Children should come in normal day clothes. Please avoid ‘designer’ clothes as accidents can happen. Two changes of clothes should be provided, in a labelled bag (Hollins Wood bags will be provided when your child starts at nursery). Please label your child’s clothes to help avoid items going missing or being misplaced. The Nursery does not accept responsibility for accidental injury or loss of property, although we take very good care of child property whilst in the Nursery.
• The Nursery does maintain those insurances required by law. Details are posted in the main office area.
• The Nursery acknowledges its duty of care to uphold the Statutory Guidance issued under section 29 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, the central function of which is to take due regard to our role in assisting the prevention of adults and children in our care from being drawn into terrorism or radicalisation. 

Security and Publicity 

• As part of the nursery’s fulfilment of the Early Years Foundation Stage we regularly photograph and sometimes video the children taking part in their activities.  Imagery is never published without the consent of the parent or carer. Our guidelines are as follows
  • Photographs in the Nursery are only taken with Nursery cameras or authorised devices such as ipads / Tablets.
  • Staff mobile phones (with or without cameras) are not allowed in the main part of the nursery or any of the playrooms / outdoor areas.
  • Photographs taken of the children are not stored on the Nursery computers.
  • Photographs are vetted for suitability before being printed or published.
  • All children are dressed appropriately before pictures are taken.
  • No photographs are taken in sensitive areas such as toilets or nappy changing rooms.
  • Parents are requested not to use their mobile phones within the Nursery premises unless absolutely necessary.
  • Facebook is used to share experiences and stories about life at Hollins Wood. All parents will have to give permission for pictures to be used of their child.
  • If you do not wish your child to be photographed or recorded please discuss with the Nursery before your child starts.
• When starting at Hollins Wood Childcare each child will have an online account set up with Tapestry which will become their Learning Journal and record of time at Hollins Wood. See separate information and policy.
• Entrance to the Nursery building will be permitted by a member of staff to parents who are known to them. If unfamiliar, passwords will be asked for, to ensure safety of all children in our care. Security and safety of your children is of the upmost importance.
• If your child is going to be collected by someone other than yourself the Nursery will require prior notification and they must be aware of the agreed password. It is the responsibility of parents to keep us informed of any changes in contact numbers.
• Under no circumstances will the child be allowed to leave Nursery with anyone unknown to Nursery staff unless the parent or carer has previously arranged this. If the parent / carer has made alternative arrangements by telephone, the Nursery will require the name and telephone number of the person permitted to collect the child and proof of identity will be required upon arrival at the Nursery. A list of responsible adults who are authorised to collect the child should be given to the Nursery Manager. The Nursery does also use a password system for entry to the building.
• We ask parents / carers not to allow access to other parents unless the office staff have authorised their entrance.
• We observe the The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 which is a statutory act of the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Act defines what types of data are allowed to be collected, how they should be stored and what can and cannot be done with that information. In particular The Act states that personal data relating to individuals must be stored securely and only used for legitimate purpose.
• Please see the Privacy and Data Retention Policies for more information.

 Other

• If you have any complaints about the service that we are offering, can you please in the first instance contact your child’s keyworker, then the Nursery Manager or Proprietor, and in the final instance, Ofsted.
• We may change the terms and conditions where such change arises from regulatory issues or changes in legislation affecting us, proposed changes in invoicing procedures, or in our reasonable opinion it is in the interests of children attending the Nursery. We will give you at least one month’s written notice of such change.
• We will not be in breach of these terms or otherwise liable to you by reason of any delay in performance or non-performance of its obligations due to an event outside its reasonable control including ‘acts of God’, fire, flood, snow, lightning, war, act of terrorism, strikes or other industrial action. See section 4 for more information.
• Acceptance of this agreement is implicit when you sign our booking document and applies to all parties noted on the booking form, irrespective of whether the secondary parties have signed the form. We would respectfully request that if parents / carers experience difficulty in fulfilling any of the conditions of this agreement, that they contact the Nursery Manager or the Director as soon as possible. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.