Key Information

Fees and Billing

• All sessions must be booked and paid for within 14 days of receiving your child’s invoice.
• Monkspath Monkeys Childcare reserves the right to withdraw a child’s place if any account is more than one month in arrears.
• We are unable to offer refunds for missed sessions due to illness, family holidays, or unavoidable closures. Unfortunately, we also cannot offer swap sessions in these instances.
• A late collection will incur a charge of £10 for every 15 minutes after the agreed pick-up time.
• Additional sessions may be available to pre-book upon request. We kindly ask for as much notice as possible when booking.
• If your child will be absent for any reason, please let us know by phone or email. If we don’t hear from you, we will call to carry out a welfare check.

A minimum of four weeks’ written notice is required to cancel any session or to withdraw a child’s place. Please note that all sessions booked during this notice period will still be charged in full.

Cancellation Policy

As usual with businesses of this type, we do require a notice period of 4 weeks to permanently cancel any booked sessions in all our Childcare and Extended Day Services.

Unavoidable closure

In the event of unavoidable closure at Monkspath School, all of Monkeys Childcare provisions will also be closed.  These are very rare occurrences and by nature, impossible to predict. Obviously, it will not be possible to refund fees on these occasions as staffing requirements are made in advance.

Illness/Medicine

We ask that children do not attend any of Monkeys provision if they have been sick or had diarrhoea.  Children need to be absent from school for 48 hours after sickness and/or diarrhoea has stopped to prevent any infection to other children. We are unable to cater for children who are unwell, so will endeavour to contact parents immediately to collect children who are taken ill during the day. Please ensure that we have your up to date contact telephone numbers and any necessary medical details about your child. If your child requires any medication during the day, we require completion of a ‘medication consent form’. We will administer medicines if it is necessary in order to complete a course of treatment, such as antibiotics. We will require a ‘care plan’ to be completed for children with specific medical needs who need to have regular medication in school.

Clothing – What do I need?

Children wear school uniform in Nursery in the academic year before they start Reception. Information about our school uniform and suppliers can be found on the uniform page. There is no uniform requirement for children younger than this.

Messy play activities are always on offer so please send your child in appropriate clothing. Please clearly name all clothing. A change of clothes is also a good idea in case of accidents (please send all spare clothing in a small bag, which can be left on your child’s peg).

All items of clothing should be named.

Security, Arrival and Collection Procedures

• Upon arrival, your child will be signed in using our daily online register. They will also be signed out when they leave the session and are collected.
• For the safety and security of all children, if someone other than the usual person is collecting your child, please inform us in advance—either in person, by phone, or in writing.
• We also ask that you provide a ‘Collection Word’, which the alternative collector can use for verification if we have not met them before.
• If you need to visit the setting outside of normal drop-off or pick-up times, please use the Family Centre entrance and report to the Office.
• All entrances remain securely locked throughout the day to ensure the safety of children and staff.

Safeguarding Children

Monkspath School, including all aspects of Monkeys Early Years and other childcare provision, complies with all relevant safeguarding children procedures and conforms to all appropriate documentation and other guidance from the Solihull Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP). All staff have relevant DBS checks, undertake regular child protection training and are vigilant to signs and evidence of physical, sexual and emotional abuse or neglect.

No smoking policy

Monkspath School, including Monkeys Childcare has a policy of no smoking (including vaping) within the school environment (including the outside areas of the school site).