Little Saplings Childcare Centres

· Allocation of Space In order to secure yours child’s place a £25 non-refundable deposit may be required when submitting this application form. This amount will then be deducted from your first week’s fees. This may not be required for fully funded places and in certain circumstances may be waived by the Centre Manager.

· Fees are charged normally in advance and must be paid no later than the Thursday of the week before the fees cover by internet banking or standing order. We no longer accept Cash at the Centre. Other arrangements can be agreed by mutual agreement and other methods of payment can be made available. We also accept childcare vouchers either Government or Company vouchers. When a parent signs they agree that any other parent with parental responsibility will be liable also for any unpaid fees due.

· Late payment of fees will result in an automatic charge of £50.00. A polite warning letter/email will be issued and the Centres placement may be suspended if fees are not paid immediately. If no payment is received the Centres place will be suspended with immediate effect and will not be reinstated until the arrears are paid in full; places will then be subject to availability. Further action will be taken to recover any outstanding fees if required. Any parent that is experiencing difficulties with fees, should speak to our Centre manager as soon a possible.

· Fees are payable during periods of absence from the Centre, including during sickness and holidays. We do not offer alternatives for sessions that are not attended.

In the event of Nursery closure due to unforeseen circumstances, fees will NOT be refunded to your account.

·Termination of Contact. Notification must be submitted 4 weeks before the date in which you intend your child to stop attending the Centre. This must be done in writing by letter or email to the Centre Manger or our Head Office. Fees during any notice period will still be payable in full even if the notice period is greater than one calendar month or the child does not attend.

· Booked Sessions. All children have booked hours each week. If you need to amend what you have booked we week a 4 week notice period. Staff rotas are sorted in advance and we need to be able to meet our statutory regulations. Naturally in emergencies we will try and help but it depends if we have staff available.

· Late Collection. It is imperative that children are collected promptly at the end of each their sessions. Staffing is arranged to meet statutory regulations and if children are collected late we normally have to pay staff overtime to cover these times. Parents/Carers who know they are going to be late MUST inform the Centre at the earliest opportunity. Parents/Carers who are late will receive a late charge of £1.00 per minute.

· If you directly or indirectly employ a member of the Centres staff within six months of the end of their employment with us or permit such person to provide any childcare services to your child except those provided by us. You agree to pay us 20% of that staff member’s gross annual salary at the time they left our employment. This figure represents the cost to us of recruiting a suitable replacement. Staff members should not be approached to provide Babysitting duties without prior permission of Little Saplings Childcare Centres.

• Over payment of fees. Any fees paid by the Government or a voucher provider that are not used. Cannot and will not be refunded directly to the child’s parents.

Little Saplings Childcare Centres

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