Welcome

Thank you for choosing Partou.

We know how important it is for families to know their children are being cared for in a safe, positive environment. We’ve prepared these terms and conditions to let you know what you and we need to do to make sure that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

Please read these terms carefully and give us a call if you have any questions. We look forward to welcoming you into our family!

About us 

If you need to get in touch with us about these terms and conditions, you can write to us at Just Childcare, Ridgway House, Progress Way, Denton, Manchester M34 2GP or alternatively phone 0161 320 2750 or email enquiries@partou.co.uk For all other matters please speak to the Manager of your nursery.

Just Childcare provides nursery care through a number of different nurseries around the country. Where we refer to ‘the nursery’, we are referring to the specific nursery that your child attends.

Your role

You will be asked to provide your name and contact details in the registration form. It’s essential that you make sure that your contact details are correct so that we can contact you quickly in the event of any issues.

By completing and submitting the registration form, you confirm that you are the person or person with full legal responsibility for your child, and that therefore you are the person or people we should communicate with regarding any matters concerning your child and you are in a position to make any relevant decisions about your child.

The person or people named in the registration form will be legally responsible for complying with these terms, including paying all amounts due.

Registering your child

To apply for a place for your child at the nursery you must complete a registration form and return it to the nursery. A minimum booking of two sessions per week is required.

Before completing and returning the registration form, please carefully read these terms and conditions in conjunction with your nursery’s key information and fee guide which gives more specific detail about your nursery. By submitting your signed registration form, you are confirming your agreement to the terms set out in these documents.

We will check our availability and let you know in writing if we can accommodate your requirements.

We have a non-refundable registration fee of £75.00, which is payable per family unit. This means that you can register siblings (either at the same time or subsequently, whilst the first child is still attending) without paying a further registration fee, provided that all of those children are registered at the same nursery. This registration fee is payable by all families, unless taking up a funded only place under the ‘Early Years Free Entitlement’. Under these circumstances, a registration deposit is required and refunded 12 weeks after your child has started at the nursery. If you wish to re-join the nursery and have no siblings currently registered the registration fee will be payable once more.

If it is the first time that you have registered a child with us then you must pay the registration fee/registration deposit once you have received confirmation that the nursery has a place available for your child. Your place is not guaranteed until the registration fee/registration deposit is paid.

When you register, you will be asked to provide us with the best guess start date. If you need to change that date, just let us know in writing at least six week’s before the start date you originally gave us. If you do not give us at least six week’s notice, six week’s fees will be payable. We will also charge six’s fees for any subsequent change you make to the start date.

At the time of admission, you’ll need to show us the original birth certificate to verify the name and date of birth provided. We will return the original birth certificate to you, but will need to make a copy for our records (or you can give us a copy to keep). You will also need to confirm who has legal responsibility for your child.

What we will do 

We will provide early years’ care and education to your child at the nursery during the sessions that you have selected.

We will deliver this early years’ provision in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework as well as all associated legislation including the requirements for child learning & development, tracking and assessment as well as safeguarding and welfare.

We will employ suitable staff (as defined in the EYFS) to care for your child and we will provide those staff with ongoing development and training.

We will work in partnership with you, providing regular updates on your child’s well-being, progress and happiness.

What you need to do 

You must notify us in writing of all relevant medical, SEND, dietary and care requirements your child has, and let us know immediately in writing if there are any changes in your child’s condition, medication and needs.

You must make sure that we always have up-to-date contact details for you and for any emergency contacts, and you must make all emergency contacts aware of the password required should they be contacted or need to be admitted to the nursery.

You must also provide us with details of any court orders, custodial arrangements or care arrangements affecting your child, including any changes to the person or people who have legal responsibility for your child. It will be necessary for us to see a copy of any documents relating to these arrangements.

You must carefully read and complete the Needs and Permissions sections in the registration form to let us know your wishes regarding the care we provide to your child, such as in respect of outings, application of sun cream, unexpected medications and first aid.

Keeping children safe 

To minimise the risk of cross-infection and to ensure we can care for children appropriately, you must not bring your child to nursery if they are unwell. We reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to refuse to admit any child to the nursery premises unless and until we are satisfied that there is no risk of cross- infection and that the child is well enough to be in nursery.

If your child becomes unwell during the nursery day, you must arrange for your child to be collected from the nursery as soon as possible.

In the event of a medical emergency, our staff will (as appropriate) administer emergency first aid and alert emergency services, allowing them to administer emergency care as they see fit. Every attempt will be made to contact you in these circumstances, but priority will be given to ensuring the well-being of your child.

If you require our staff to administer any prescribed medication to your child, you will need to complete the required documentation. In addition, our staff may give your child certain types of non-medically prescribed medication, for example to reduce your child’s temperature, respond to an allergic reaction or as they otherwise consider appropriate. Your child’s attendance at nursery whilst on any kind of medication will be at our absolute discretion.

Unless you have requested otherwise, our staff may apply sun cream to your child before going outside. You may request in writing that our staff do not to apply sun cream but if you do, your child will be unable to go outside in sunny weather without some other form of sun protection such as long sleeve clothing, sun hat etc.

As the number of children with nut allergies is increasing, with the support of parents we aim to keep the nursery NUT FREE. You must not send your child to the nursery with any food containing nuts or empty food packaging that may have contained nuts. Please see a copy of our packed lunch policy for full guidelines. Please also ensure that any creams, sun creams, oils etc. you use or provide for use on your child does not contain nut oil (such as arachis) or other allergens, as this may have severe consequences for another child or member of staff.

We have an obligation to report any instances where we consider that a child may have been neglected or abused to the relevant authorities. We may do so without your consent and/or without informing you.

What you need to pay 

The amount you pay depends on your child’s booking pattern and age and is set out in the nursery fee sheet.

We’ll send you an invoice at least three working days before the start of each calendar month, letting you know how much is due for that month.

The fees for each month must be paid by no later than the first day of the relevant month.

The first month’s fees may be paid by bank transfer, but all other fees must be paid by direct debit unless we have agreed you can pay by a different method.

We may also accept Childcare Vouchers/Tax Free Childcare Payments. These payments must clear into your account by the first day of the relevant month, otherwise we will automatically apply the payment to the next month’s fees and will collect the current month’s fees by direct debit (or request that you pay by another means if we cannot collect by direct debit).

Education funding hours will be taken off the relevant invoice for the period to which they relate.

The fees we charge you take into account the days that the nursery is closed, so no refund is payable in respect of these days. We also do not provide refunds if your child is absent for any reason, for example due to illness, holiday or as required under the nursery’s policies and procedures, or if the nursery is closed for reasons which are outside of our control.

In addition to our standard fees, there are certain circumstances in which additional fees may apply. The additional fees which currently apply are as follows:

• Late pick up – £1 per minute with a minimum £15 charge

• Administration fee – £25 for a failed payment

Additional fees as set out above, or fees for extra sessions, will be invoiced either at the time incurred or on the next billing cycle and are payable on receipt of bill.

All fees are subject to review and we may amend them by providing you with at least four weeks’ advance notice. Where fees change because of your child’s age, the new fee will apply from the first of the month following that change.

If any part of the fees is not paid by the required date then we reserve the right to either suspend or withdraw your child’s place at the nursery, to charge interest on the outstanding amount at 4% above the Bank of England base rate and to refer the outstanding payment to our debt collection agency, in which case a 15% collection charge will be applied.

Payments should be made using the bank details contained within your nursery key information and fee guide.

Changing or cancelling your child’s place at the nursery 

If you would like to make any changes to the sessions that your child attends, or if you would like to cancel your child’s place completely, please let us know in writing.

You must give us at least six week’s notice of any reduction in requirements or cancellation. If you don’t, you will still have to pay the fees for the six weeks following the date on which you gave us notice. Any reductions must be on a permanent basis, they cannot be for a period of less than one month. Please note that if you should wish to increase your sessions again, this will be subject to the nursery’s availability and waiting list and cannot be guaranteed.

For any additional session requirements, we will do our best to accommodate your child, but this is subject to availability.

We reserve the right to withdraw your child’s place at the nursery at any time. We will usually give you at least six weeks’ notice of this, but we may withdraw your child’s place on shorter notice (or even immediately) if you breach these terms and conditions, including failing to pay any fees when they are due, or if we (at our absolute discretion) consider termination of your child’s place to be in the best interests of the nursery or the welfare of your child, other children at the nursery or staff.

Hiring our staff

We put a lot of work into finding and recruiting a strong team of staff to care for your child and the cost of replacing a member of staff who leaves our team can be significant.

If you hire any member of our staff who has had contact with your child during the six-month period before you hire them (even if you do this after your child has finished attending the nursery), we will charge you a recruitment fee of 20% of the relevant member of staff’s gross annual salary at the time they left our employment. This contributes towards the cost of us recruiting a suitable replacement member of staff.

This applies if you employ or otherwise engage the services of the member of staff or allow or permit that member of staff to provide any childcare services to any of your children outside of their attendance at the nursery.

Privacy 

We handle the personal data of you and your child, including personal data which is of a sensitive nature.

We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and comply with all applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Please be aware that, for everyone’s protection, we operate a CCTV system at the nursery, with cameras covering relevant areas.

From time-to-time we may have photographs taken of the children who attend our nurseries. These photographs may be used for promotional purposes. If you do not wish your child to be included in these photographs, please indicate this on your registration form and inform your Nursery Manager.

For full details as to how we use personal data, please see our Data Protection and Privacy Policy, a copy of which is available on request.

Concerns and issues 

If you have any concerns regarding the services we provide or wish to make a complaint, please discuss these with your child’s keyworker. If these concerns or complaints have not been resolved to your satisfaction, please contact the Nursery Manager.

Your satisfaction is of paramount importance to us and any concerns/complaints will be reported to the appropriate Area Manager for review.

Our responsibility to you 

We are responsible for your child from the moment that your child is signed in until the moment they are signed out. You, or the person who is collecting or dropping off your child, is responsible for your child at all other times, including whilst they are on nursery premises when arriving or leaving.

We will provide a wide range of toys, equipment and learning resources at the nursery. Unless we specifically request otherwise, your child should not bring any of their own toys to the nursery. Any toys or other personal property brought onto nursery premises is brought at your sole risk. We may offer parking facilities at the nursery, but all vehicles parked in these facilities are parked at the owner’s risk.

Whilst we do all we can to keep your child completely safe, accidents may happen from time-to-time. Our staff are trained to deal with accidents and will take the steps described in the “Keeping children safe” section if an accident happens.

However, we will not have legal liability to you for any incidents or accidents unless they are shown to be our fault.

If we agree to administer any medicines or similar treatments to your child, our staff will do so in accordance with your instructions. On rare occasions children can have adverse reactions to medication, even if they have not had a similar reaction before. In addition, administering medication may not always fully

address your child’s symptoms or avoid medical issues arising. If a medical incident occurs, our staff will take the steps described in the “Keeping children safe” section. We cannot accept legal liability for any medical incidents unless shown to be our fault.

We aim to open the nursery on every weekday other than on the designated closure dates described on your nursery’s key information and fee guide, but on occasion we may need to close the nursery (or part of it) on additional days, including at short notice, for example where there are events outside our control such as outbreaks of disease or infection, flood, fire, acts of terrorism, extreme weather or industrial action. We cannot accept any legal liability to you for closures of the nursery or an inability to admit your child on a particular day.

Nothing in these terms and conditions in any way restricts or removes the rights that you and your child have as a matter of law.

Insurance 

We have a comprehensive insurance policy in place, a copy of which is available for inspection on request.

Changes to these terms and conditions 

These terms and conditions reflect how we currently work, but from time-to-time things might change. If we need to make any changes to these terms, we’ll let you know at least four weeks before the changes take effect.

If you’re happy with the changes, you don’t need to do anything, and the changes will automatically take effect. If you don’t agree with the changes for any reason, you can cancel your child’s place at the nursery as described above.

Getting in touch 

For any day-to-day queries or messages, please contact your child’s keyworker.

For anything more significant, such as if you want to change the sessions that your child attends or cancel your child’s place, or if there is any other issue where these terms and conditions say that you must let us know in writing, please email or write to the nursery and mark the correspondence for the attention of the Nursery Manager.

If we need to get in touch with you, we will do so either by post or by email, using the details you provided at registration (or any updated contact details that you have provided to us subsequently).