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Payment of Childcare Fees PolicyPLEASE NOTE, IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS PAYING YOUR FEES, CONTACT VAL ON THE BELOW NUMBERS STRAIGHT AWAY. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU
Forest - 07818 50 54 69 Beach - 07866 20 19 96 Nature - 07949 86 89 45 Booking Deposit Once you have been offered a place at the nursery, you will need to pay a deposit of £100 to secure the place at our Forest nursery. No deposit required at our Nature or Beach settings. The deposit is £100, set at the time your child starts at the nursery. The payment should be made by bank transfer. This deposit is held on your account, and will be refunded to you, in full, when you decide to leave the setting, (provided that your child’s final fees have been paid in full, any outstanding charges have been settled and subject to you giving four weeks’ written notice). In the case of the non payment of fees for two weeks, the deposit will be used to cover the nursery fees and a Notice of Withdrawal of the place will be immediately issued by the Manager. Method of Payment ALL fees for childcare will be due in advance unless special arrangements are made. Charges for nursery are shown in the Childcare Contract. Our preferred method of payment is a standing order from your bank or official means. Cash and cheque payments are NOT accepted. Any extra (one off) days requested, i.e. emergency cover, special circumstances, etc. will be given subject to availability and paid for in advance or on the day, when your child arrives. A minimum of 4 weeks notice, in writing, will be given for any proposed fee increase. It would be most helpful to staff if all parents/carers, where possible, could pay by standing order. Charges for Holiday Periods All fees are still payable if your child is on holiday. We shut for bank holidays and for approximately one week at Christmas and Bank Holidays. Our Nature and Beach settings are also closed for ESCC school holidays. You will not be charged for this time as we are shut. What if my Child is Absent? If your child is absent, charges will apply as normal. However, in special or exceptional circumstances, you may request a meeting with the Manager to discuss your child’s absence. The Manager will review the fee position relative to the period of absence. What if I Can’t Pay my Fees on Time? Fees for childcare are due in advance on the first working day of the week/month. If you are unable to make payment of your fees on time it is important that you contact us on 07818 50 54 69 immediately, to let us know. Where possible, we will work with you to organise and agree a short-term payment plan to enable you to keep your child’s place at the nursery. How Will I Know How Much I Owe? You will be provided with an invoice approximately a week before the new month starts through our Famly app. What Happens if I Don’t Contact You? If fees for childcare are not paid on the first working day of the week/month due, and no contact has been made by you regarding your fees, we will contact you to discuss this matter. If we are unable to contact you and the fees remain unpaid, the following procedure will apply: FEES ONE WEEK OVERDUE: We will write and advise you of the outstanding balance, remind you of the terms and conditions of our Childcare Contract and request that you settle your account immediately. You will additionally incur a £2.00 daily charge for late payment, from this date. At this point we are unable to offer any extra hours for your child until the outstanding balance is cleared. FEES TWO WEEKS OVERDUE: We will again write to you advising of the outstanding balance on your account and that the nursery will end the service and the child will not be accepted back to nursery unless the balance and late fees are paid with immediate effect. Any deposit we hold on your account will now be used towards your final balance and an amended invoice will be sent to you. Please note you will still be liable for the 4 weeks notice period as per your Childcare Contract. Wild Monkeys Childcare thanks all parents and carers for their understanding and will do all that it can to avoid this from happening. ARREARS DEBT: At this stage you should note that consideration will be given to forwarding your debt to a Debt Recovery Services Agency and we will also notify Inland Revenue if you are claiming universal credits. If I am Having Financial Difficulties and Can’t Clear my Account by the Due Date, Will Childcare Stop? We review each case individually and do understand that without childcare, parents/carers would often not be able to work. However, we do need to ensure that parents/carers continue to pay their ongoing fees in order that any arrears due by them do not increase. It is important to note that, whilst things go wrong occasionally, we would not be able to allow accounts to be paid late on a regular basis. We are unable to offer any extra hours for your child until the outstanding balance is cleared. Charges for Late Payment of Fees After your balance is one week overdue you will be charged £2.00 per day until the debt is cleared. This will be added to your invoice. Is There Any Other Financial Help I Can Get? Wild Monkeys Childcare is unable to give advice on any benefits from other organisations. However, you may be able to get support or advice from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau or the government’s Childcare Choices website.
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