Fees & Payment Policy
Statement of Intent
West Wycombe Pre-School is a registered charity and one of our financial aims is to ensure we do not make a loss at the end of the year. Each year the budget is carefully planned according to the number of children we have and the fee’s that we will charge for the year to cover building rent, insurances, staff wages along with all the other expenditure. The aim of our Pre-School is to provide a service to local children and families, not to make a profit. However, this aim can only be fulfilled if we have enough income to cover our outgoings. We will never take any action against a child, including, but not limited to discriminatory treatment, due to parent/guardian’s genuine inability to pay fees. We will however pursue parents for full payment of fees if genuine financial hardship is not demonstrated. We aim to collect due fees as efficiently as possible.
Aim
To outline and ensure parents understand the terms and conditions when their child attends West Wycombe Pre-school in regards to the invoices they will receive and the payments they are required to make.
Terms & Conditions
Payment Procedure
● Invoices will be created by the Treasurer or Management team and provided via email or in your child’s tray at the beginning of each half term.
● The payment each half term (as detailed on your invoice) is required within two weeks of receiving the invoice.
● Fees are preferred in full at the beginning of each term
● Payment can be made by BACS Transfer, Childcare Vouchers or through the government tax-free childcare scheme.
● There is an administration fee of £50 to secure a child’s placement with us. With the exception of those who are 2 year funded who are exempt.
● Those eligible for Flexible Free Entitlement will have no invoice, unless exceeding their entitlement of free hours. Extra hours will be invoiced for.
● Flexible Free Entitlement is applicable from the term after the child’s third birthday or should the child be eligible for funding at 2 years old if there is a space at the pre-school. An eligibility code will need to be seen, along with the entitlement letter
● Unfunded hours will be charged at a rate of £21 per session.
● A parent/provider agreement form must be signed to claim Flexible Free Entitlement. If funding is split between other providers, details must be completed on the parent/provider agreement form.
● Minimum session time is 3 hours, maximum 6 hours. Within the operating hours of 9-3 Monday to Friday, term time only
- A 20% discount is available for any siblings attending the Preschool. The discount will be applied to the elder sibling and only applied to fees over and above those covered by any government funding where this is relevant. Should one sibling remain at the Preschool after the other has left the discount will be discontinued.
- A 20% discount is available for any staff children that attend the Preschool up until the age they receive their government funding, at which point the discount will cease. Any fees payable above the government allocated funding will be required in full.
- When Breakfast Club is in operation, those that wish to attend between 8:30-9 must prebook. Those that wish to can book for a full half term in advance and will be invoiced at the beginning of the term. Alternatively it is possible to book each week for the week ahead, which will be invoiced in arrears at the end of the half term. This needs to be confirmed via email by management as spaces are limited. Each Breakfast Club space is charged at £7 which includes breakfast.
Difficulty Making Payment
- The pre-school will be sympathetic to parents/carers who are having or who anticipate having difficulty in paying and it may be possible to arrange an individual payment plan. However, this must be negotiated between the Pre-School Chair/Treasurer, Manager and Parent/Carer in advance. Any family in this situation should contact the Manager or Chair/Treasurer at the earliest opportunity to arrange a confidential meeting. Any information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Unpaid Fee’s
● If payment of fees is not received within 14 days from the invoices being provided, a first reminder e-mail will be sent to the designated parent/carer and a letter will be placed in your child’s drawer which will detail when the fee payment was due and the total fee amount overdue.
- If fees remain outstanding after this time and no payment schedule has been agreed with the manager, the Pre-school will reserve the right to add a £20.00 charge per month, for late payments.
● Under the terms and conditions pre-school reserves the right to charge a £20 admin fee on top of late fees.
● If payment is still not received within a further 7 days from the 1st reminder and the parent / carer has not discussed payment of the outstanding amount, the child whose fees remain outstanding may be refused entry to pre-school until such fees are settled in full. This may result in you forfeiting your child’s place at pre-school and the opening will go to another child on our waiting list.
● If the fees due remains outstanding for a further 14 days, a recorded delivery letter will be sent to the designated parent/carer advising that legal action will be taken and collection of the fees will be pursued through the small claims court procedure or by other litigation.
- Application to the small claims court is a last resort which will only be undertaken when all other approaches have been tried, when the Management Committee is confident such action does not contravene other stated aims and policies of the Pre-School, and when they have carefully considered the effect of such action on the child.
Absence / Illness
● Fees are not refunded for any days missed due to holidays or absence during term time.
Closures
● In the event that pre-school must close due to things beyond our control such as snow, no heating etc, fees will not be refunded unless it is for more than 2 consecutive days. Please see adverse weather policy.
- Preschool will close for five ‘inset days’ each academic year for staff training and Preschool maintenance. Where possible these will be spread over different days of the week to avoid impacting the same children, however this is at the discretion of the manager and availability of the training taking place. If an inset day falls on your child’s normal day of attendance then it is chargeable as standard.
- Should a Bank Holiday fall inside the term dates when Preschool is usually open, then the Preschool will be closed and the day charged in full to any children on the register for that day.
Cancellation of reserved place
● In the event that you wish to cancel your child’s place at pre-school, please give us a minimum of half a terms notice in advance. You will not be refunded if the term has already commenced.
This policy was adopted by West Wycombe Pre-school Playgroup in October 2013. Policies are updated when necessary and reviewed on a yearly basis.
Reviewed and amended August 2023.