Bookings
A signed fully competed registration form must be received by the nursery in line with a £50.00 non refundable booking fee before a place is secured. Full and part time places must fit in to the sessions indicated on the registration form; however, the nursery will attempt to meet parent’s individual needs where necessary.

Fees and Payment
The first months payment is payable immediately by cheque. Thereafter, payment is by direct debit only on the first of each month, one calendar month in advance. For security reasons the nursery is not able to accept cash payments. £1.50 is charged to cover the administrative costs.

Fees are calculated at a fixed monthly rate based on the child’s booked and requested weekly sessions, i.e. price of weekly sessions x 51(weeks) / 12(months) = monthly invoice. All Bank Holidays are subject to payment. Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be charged as an additional amount for children attending on those days or Bank Holidays associated with those days, i.e. if Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Years Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the relevant Bank Holiday will be carried to Monday / Tuesday. This amount will be added to Decembers fees.
You will not be charged for the three days that the Nursery is closed between Christmas and New Year.
Temporary additional sessions/days must be paid for in advance and will not be refunded if cancelled.

All sessions booked must be paid for, regardless of whether the child attends. No refunds will be given for sessions missed for any reasons.
Late payment of fees regardless of method of payments i.e. S/O, Vouchers, Subsidised payments (received beyond the 7th of each month) will incur a £5.00 charge per calendar day. Failure to meet payments by the 17th of the month will result in the termination of the Nursery place. We are not liable for collections from third parties, e.g. colleges, grant funding, voucher providers etc. The parents remain responsible for all outstanding fees. If you default on payment we reserve the right to refer the debt to William Graham Law LTD who will instigate the necessary legal action.
Please also be aware that if you have received payments for assistance with nursery fees through the tax credits for periods which remain outstanding to us as a provider your details may be forwarded to a specialist unit and you may be asked to repay these and face a meeting under caution.
It is the parent’s responsibility to cancel /amend standing orders. We reserve the right to charge a £10.00 fee to cover bank charges incurred by us for any overpayments made and thus refunds required. Alternatively credit may be issued as part payment for additional sessions booked.

Children must be collected on time, particularly during the overlap of morning and afternoon sessions. Parents who are late collecting a child on a third occasion will be charged £10.00 for every 15 minutes.

One months notice will be given before any fee increase, closure of business or change in operation or services offered.

Discounts
A sibling discount is applied to the eldest child’s fees where two or more children are registered at the Nursery. Discounts are only applicable to the requested and booked permanent weekly sessions and do not apply to any extra sessions booked

Termination of Nursery Place
We require one months notice, in writing, should you wish to terminate your child’s place for any reason. Parents remain liable for fees throughout the notice period. If a parent withdraws their child during the notice period, the fees remain payable in lieu of notice. We reserve the right to terminate a Nursery place with immediate effect if a parent, carer or child displays abusive, threatening or inappropriate behaviour of any kind, no refund will be given on this occasion.

Change of Booked Days / Sessions
If a parent wishes to amend their child’s days / sessions they must request this in writing providing one months written notice and complete the necessary form - ‘Change of Days / Sessions’.

Personal Belongings
The nursery cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage to any items of children’s property. We will make every reasonable effort to avoid any loss or damage to personal belongings. We strongly advise all parents to dress their children in practical inexpensive items of clothing, clearly labelled with their name and to leave toys, books etc at home unless they are of a strong comfort to the child when settling in.

Medication
Prescribed medication will be administered by a Senior nursery nurse providing that a parent has completed and signed the ‘Medication’ form, indicating times and dosage of each course. All medication must be kept within their original bottles with the child’s full name clearly marked on the label. No medication will be administered without prior authorisation from the parents and a fully completed medication form. Additionally; no un-prescribed medication may be administered by the staff. Written consent must also be given for the application of creams and lotions. The Nursery will not be held responsible for any adverse reactions to any medication given. Please refer to our Medication Administration Policy for full details.

Activities / Routines
Within their daily activities children follow a balance between a structured routine and an element of free choice, based around their areas of development. The nursery uses a themed approach to plan activities and parents are regularly provided with evidence of their work. Activities are carefully planned to match the age range and ability of each group. The layout of each room is also based around their areas of development.

Equal Opportunities
All children will be equally provided with an experience and opportunity, irrespective of race, gender, creed, religion or belief.
Children develop an understanding that all people are equal, and any differences are to be enjoyed.
All staff will be appointed on the grounds of qualifications, experience and suitability for the position.

Dietary / Medical Requirements
Parents must inform the nursery prior to their child attending of any special dietary or medical requirements. The nursery must also be informed in line with all allergies and any known cause of adverse reactions from; food, medication, activities etc. Parents must keep staff updated in line with any changes through written notification when they become aware.

Accidents and Illness
Parents will be informed of all accidents and asked to sign an ‘Accident / Incident Form’. In the event of a more serious accidents involving hospital treatment, the nursery will make every attempt to contact the parents. If unsuccessful the Nursery will contact the person listed as emergency contact. The Nursery reserves the right to allow medical experts to act on behalf of the parents and authorise any necessary treatment should no successful contact be made. The nursery will ensure that a member of staff always accompanies the child to the hospital and awaits the arrival of the parents or carers.

We may require parents to collect their child from Nursery, in the event that the child appears unwell, or is, or has recently been suffering from any contagious disease / infection and there remains a danger of other children being at risk of contracting such diseases / infections. Children are not permitted back to Nursery following an illness until they have passed the exclusion periods highlighted within our ‘Period of absence form’.

We accept no responsibility for any child contracting contagious diseases / infections during Nursery hours.

Parents are informed of all head injuries as a matter of course.
If a child does not attend for two weeks without any contact from parents we are obliged to inform Social Services with respect to the welfare of the child.

Behaviour and Sanctions
The Nursery aims to create a positive atmosphere where children learn what behaviour is acceptable. The nursery policy is to try and encourage acceptable behaviour by rewarding it with praise and attention. Children will also be encouraged to understand why they are being praised, thus encouraging them to repeat this behaviour.
When managing unwanted behaviour the Nursery will aim to use positive preventative strategies. All staff are aware that it is an offence to use any from of physical punishment. Equally no child will face humiliation, be shouted at or demeaned in any way. For full details on managing behaviour please refer to the ‘Behavioural Management Policy’.

The nursery reserves the right to terminate the contract of a child when the Nursery Manager considers the child to be disruptive or displaying inappropriate behaviour.
We will not tolerate children, carers or parents speaking to any member of Nursery staff using inappropriate language or in a threatening or abusive manner. This will result in the termination of a Nursery place.

Security
Children will only be released to adults authorised to do so by the parents on the correct form.
A password will be required if that person is not known to the staff.
We only release children into the care of an adult.
In an emergency situation, where the authorised adult cannot collect the child, the person who does collect the child will need to provide evidence that he/she has the authorisation of the parent/carer. The child’s safety will be the primary concern at all times.
The Nursery will contact the parents by phone if an unexpected person comes to collect the child.

We reserve the right to refuse to release a child until the parent arrives.

Liability
We accept no responsibility for any child whilst in the care of a parent or guardian on Nursery premises.
We will not be liable for any loss suffered by parents, arising, directly or indirectly, from Nursery closure or the non-attendance of a child for any reason; i.e. sickness, holidays, Bank Holidays etc

We accept no responsibility for any damage or loss to the child’s or parents property; however every effort will be made by Nursery staff to prevent this.

Complaints
The Nursery accepts that every parent/ guardian has the right to express their views if they are unsatisfied with issues involving their child care or the nursery as a whole. Should such a situation arise we ask that parents raise the issue with the Senior Nursery Nurse or Nursery Manager. If parents feel unable to raise the matter in this way, they may approach Delyth or Lee Cowmeadow, the proprietors at the nursery.
A copy of all complaints will be kept at the Nursery and parents will be kept informed throughout. However in the event of parents wanting to speak to someone unconnected with the nursery they can contact the CSSIW at:

CSSIW
Cardiff Regional Office
1 Alexandra Gate
Tremorfa
CF24 2SB
Tel: 029 2047 8600