Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions detailed in this document represent the key elements of our booking agreement. However, as you can appreciate there is a significant amount of day to day detail which cannot be reasonably contained in one document. Consequently, you are also able to view supplementary information, policies, procedures and reports by requesting the information required from our office or you will find them on our nursery app.

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

1. The booking is not complete until the relevant registration form has been signed and returned to the Nursery along with the non-refundable administration fee:

1.1. £100 for the Hollins Wood Childcare (Nursery)

1.2. £50 for the Treehouse Club (Before & After School Club)

2. Changes to your booking before the start date

2.1. Changes will be accommodated where possible.

3. Changes to your booking after the start date

3.1. 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.

4. Decreases to your booking require 4 weeks’ notice.

5. Changes to a booking that commence mid-month will result in invoices being billed on a sessional basis for that month as the month cannot be averaged. Averaged amounts will resume the following month.

6. 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.

7. Once a place has been taken up, the Nursery or Before & After School Club, requires 4 weeks written notice of any changes.

Fees and Financial

1. Responsibility for paying fees resides with the parents or legal guardians of the child.

2. 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 will be incurred for late payment.

3. Fees are calculated monthly, invoiced in advance at the beginning of each calendar month and payable by no later than the 15th of the month issued.

4. Any fees not paid by the 15th of the month will incur a late payment charge of £15. Please contact the nursery office if you are unable to pay your fees, where a payment plan may be considered in exceptional circumstances.

5. In the event that fees remain outstanding at the end of the month, the nursery place will be suspended unless an agreed payment plan is in place.

6. The Nursery is closed at weekends, on Bank Holidays and between Christmas and New Year.

7. The Nursery is closed between Christmas and New Year and our fees are structured; accordingly, costs averaged over the year means that you pay for 51 weeks of the year.

8. If your child attends the Nursery on a Monday or a Friday, you will still be charged for Bank Holidays apart from Christmas and New Year when Nursery is closed, however, we will compensate the paid Bank Holidays missed with the following:

Standard bookings:

a) 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.

b) 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.

c) If your child attends all year round, on Fridays, we will allow ½ an extra day as compensation for not being able to attend on Good Friday.

d) If your child attends Term Time only, we will allow ½ an extra day as compensation for not being able to attend on May Day.

e) If your child attends full time, therefore unable to have swap sessions, you will be compensated for these days in your August invoice.

f) To book these swap sessions, contact the office, clearly stating they are Bank Holiday swap days.

g) Bank Holiday swaps need to be used by 31st August.

Funded bookings – only all year round (stretched) 30 hours:

h) Funded sessions on a Bank Holiday will be given back as swap sessions.

i) Stretched 30 hours per week over the year (38 weeks) = 22.4 per week (51 weeks in total per Clause 7 Fees and Financial). Our funded full day is 7.5 hours, meaning 22.5 hours are used each week based upon 3 funded days. Over the year this adds up to an additional 7.5 hours being accessed. This will therefore be deducted from your Bank Holiday swap days.

j) Attending Mondays & Fridays = 4 Bank Holiday swaps (1 used to cover extra hours)

k) Attending Fridays but not Mondays = 0 swap session (1 used to cover extra hours)

l) Attending Mondays but not Fridays = 3 swap session (1 used to cover extra hours)

m) These swap days must be used by 31st August. They will not be carried over to the new school year.

n) If your child attends nursery full time and all year round, the Bank Holiday days will be swapped for a none paying day in the same week. The office team will automatically do this for you.

o) To book these swap sessions, contact the office, clearly stating they are Bank Holiday swap days.

Funded bookings – Term Time 15 & 30 hours:

p) There is only one Bank Holiday within the term, and this is not included in the 38 week term so no swap sessions are required.

9. Further discounts for Nursery closure may be offered in exceptional circumstances and assuming the closure is within our control.

10. 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.

11. Any changes to the nursery fees will be notified to you at least 8 weeks in advance.

12. Invoices will be issued at the beginning of each month and statements emailed at the end of each month.

13. Extra sessions booked for that month, after invoices have been issued, are either added to the following month invoice or re-issued if before the 10th of the month.

14. Nursery fees are VAT exempt per current legislation. Should fees become VAT’able, VAT will be charged at the prevailing rate from any date of change.

15. 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 such as extreme weather conditions.

16. There is a minimum booking commitment of 1.5 days for children aged 0 to 5 years of either one full day and a morning / afternoon or three morning or afternoon sessions. Bookings must be for the same session(s) each week. Shift pattern booking will be considered at management discretion.

17. It is possible to swap days within the same week, strictly subject to availability. Additional days can be accepted as a chargeable extra and subject to availability.

18. Our fees apply to normal opening hours of 7.15am to 6.00pm for a full day and 7.15am to 12.45pm or 12.45pm to 6.00pm for a half day.

19. All year-round booking fees are calculated evenly by calendar month and are discounted to reflect the fact that the Nursery is closed between Christmas and New Year.

20. Term Time only bookings are calculated on a sessional basis each month.

21. We do not provide discounts for holidays or extended periods of absence.

22. We have a limited number of Term Time only places available. Please enquire with the nursery office if this is something you would like to be considered for. Term time placements involve attending nursery 38 weeks of the year, having Stockport school holidays away from nursery. Other authority holiday will be considered if ratios and availability permits.

23. Because of the staffing and ratio requirements, as laid down by Ofsted, children who are collected after the agreed time will incur a late collection charge of £5 for every ten minutes.

24. 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, or they access a funded place. The rate of this discount will be 5% for each additional child.

25. No discounts will be applied to a funded place.

26. Discounts are also available for full time bookings, see separate schedule for fees.

27. Funded places have additional fees charged daily to cover the costs of food, resources and activities.

Termination and Suspension of Childcare Services

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

The Team

1. The Team 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.

2. The Team 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.

3. 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 better the Ofsted guidelines.

4. Where a member of the team, 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.

5. If a member of the team 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 written confirmation from the parent/carer of the child being taken home by a member of the team.

6. Parents/carers may ask the team to baby-sit outside Nursery hours. This is a contract between parent/carer and the member of the team, and the Nursery takes no responsibility. See Babysitting Policy for more information.

Health, Safety and Absence

1. 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.

2. Intimate care can be provided by any member of our team 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 the team 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.

3. 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.

4. In fairness to all our team 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.

5. 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 within the Nursery website Please ensure you keep us notified about your child’s dietary needs and preferences.

6. 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 medication if parents complete a ‘Medicine Consent’ form. For more detailed information, please see the Medication Policy.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. All personal toys, books or other equipment are to be left at home, however, comforters can be brought into the nursery.

11. 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.

12. Children should come in normal day clothes. Please try to avoid expensive and sentimental clothes as accidents can happen. 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.

13. The Nursery does maintain those insurances required by law. Details are posted in the main office area.

14. 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

1. 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.

1.1. Photographs in the Nursery are only taken with Nursery authorised devices such as iPad, tablet or the Nursery mobile phone.

1.2. Staff mobile phones (with or without cameras) are not allowed in the main part of the nursery or any of the playrooms / outdoor areas.

1.3. Photographs taken of the children are not stored on the Nursery computers.

1.4. Photographs are vetted for suitability before being printed or published.

1.5. All children are dressed appropriately before pictures are taken.

1.6. No photographs are taken in sensitive areas such as toilets or nappy changing rooms.

1.7. Parents are not permitted to use their mobile phones within the Nursery building.

1.8. Social Media platforms are 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.

1.9. If you do not wish your child to be photographed or recorded, please discuss with the Nursery before your child starts.

2. When starting at Hollins Wood Childcare each child will have an online account set up with Connect which will become their Learning Journal and record of time at Hollins Wood. See separate information and policy.

3. Entrance to the Nursery building will be permitted by a member of the team 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.

4. 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.

5. Under no circumstances will the child be allowed to leave Nursery with anyone unknown to the Nursery team 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.

6. We ask parents / carers not to allow access to other parents unless the office staff have authorised their entrance.

7. We observe 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.

8. Please see the Privacy and Data Retention Policies for more information.

Other

1. If you have any complaints about the service that we are offering, can you please in the first instance contact your child’s Room Leader, then the Nursery Manager or Director, and in the final instance, Ofsted.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.