Puddleducks and POSH LTD Terms & Conditions

 Definitions

In these terms and conditions “we” and “our” means Puddleducks and POSH Ltd; “parents” or “you” means the parents/guardians/person responsible for any child registered at Puddleducks and POSH Ltd.

Registration

 1. To register your child with Puddleducks and POSH Ltd, or to go on our waiting list, you must complete and sign our registration form, these Terms and Conditions and pay the non-refundable registration fee of £30 per child. There is no registration fee for children attending funded sessions only.

2. At the point of registration you must specify the days and times for which childcare is required and the agreed start date.

3. Any changes to the days and care required must be in writing by email.

4. There is no deferral on start dates and places must be taken up on the date specified on the registration form. If your child is under 12 months old, we may be able to defer their start date for a maximum of one calendar month.

5. If you wish to cancel a reserved place, one month’s notice must be given in writing that you will not be taking up the place. One month’s fees will be payable if less that a month’s notice is given, whatever the reason for the cancellation of the child’s place.

 Cancellation of Places and Notice Period

6. If you wish to reduce the level of attendance of your child or if your child is going to leave Puddleducks and POSH Ltd you must give one months’ notice in writing. Fees will be payable if less than one months’ notice is given, whatever the reason for the cancellation of the child’s place.

7. Term time only contracts will be required to give one half terms notice of reduction in hours or cancellation.

8. Fees apply for 50 weeks per year to account for our bank holiday and Christmas closures.

9. We are closed on all bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year. We close at 1pm on Christmas Eve. Three times a year the nursery closes at 3pm for staff training. These dates will be communicated to you in September for the academic year. Fees are payable irrespective of this.

10. Our monthly fees are calculated by multiplying the weekly figure by 50 and dividing by 12. This way all monthly invoices are the same, irrespective of how many weeks occur in a particular month or whether or not a child is absent because of family holiday or illness.

11. Our fees are calculated using the current rates. Our fees are reviewed annually and you will be informed of any increases at least 4 weeks in advance.

12. Fees are payable by 5th of every month in advance. This includes childcare vouchers.

13. If fees remain unpaid after the due date your child will not be able to attend nursery until the matter is resolved.

14. Any additional sessions booked will be charged at the current daily or hourly rate and will be added to the next invoice to be issued after making the booking. No extra sessions can be booked if your account is in arrears.

15. Fees will still be payable for Nursery closure due to unpredictable circumstances such as severe weather including flooding, snow, pandemic or similar event.

16. Any settling in sessions your child does prior to starting nursery are offered free of charge.

17. Fees are still payable if your child is absent for any reason including holidays or sickness.

18. If you have more than one child attending nursery, a discount of 10% is applied to the younger sibling.

19. Late payments are subject to the following charges; any payment received after the due date of the 5th of each month, and up to one working week from this date, will incur a 5% charge on the outstanding monies. Any fees paid after this will then incur a further 10% charge on the outstanding monies, along with an administration charge of £25.00.

20. We reserve the right to refer the debt to our debt collection agency at any point.

 Early Education Funding

21. You will be entitled to claim Early Education Funding for your child from the term following their 3rd birthday. Alternatively, if you are eligible for the 2 year funding you can claim funding from the age of two.

22. Any additional hours outside of the Early Education Funding will be charged for at the appropriate rate using our current pricing rate.

23. Warwickshire County Council set a headcount day each term. The Nursery education hours claimed on this date cannot be changed.

General

24. Parents should notify us by 9.30 am if their child is unable to attend nursery by email or phone call.

25. While we endeavour to keep it to an absolute minimum, we reserve the right to send home any child if such an action is deemed to be necessary or in the best interests of that child or other children such as illness or injury.

26. While we appreciate that delays are sometimes unavoidable to cover our costs, we charge £15 per quarter of an hour (or part of a quarter of an hour) for late picking up of your child.

27. In the case of any illness, accident or emergency we will take such actions as are deemed necessary, including arranging emergency medical treatment.

28. In the case of any concerns in relation to the safety and welfare of a child we will report to the authorities without prior notice. We will contact the appropriate professionals if it is deemed to be in the best interests of the child.

29. Any information about a child in relation to Child Protection, will be passed directly onto any future Nursery or School. We do not require parental permission to do this.

30. Parents must inform us in writing of any changes to address, telephone numbers or email addresses, as well as any additional information relating to their child’s health or individual requirements.

31. Parents will be asked to sign a parental consent form upon registering their child, seeking permission for children to be take on local trips, have their photograph taken etc.

32. Parents are not permitted to put any photos on social media that contain other children at nursery. Parents must use our communication channel and not our social media for raising queries, concerns or complaints. Parents must not post anything on social media, malicious or otherwise, naming the nursery, staff members or other children.

 33. Puddleducks and POSH Ltd take no responsibility for any eventuality if you employ a member of our staff privately for weekend or evening babysitting.