policy for cancelling spaces

[AnonyMouse_19920]

does anyone have a policy i can look at regarding parents cancelling session spaces with no warning?

we have had several parents saying "oh i dont want so and so session from next week because of ....." as we have no policy to cover this we cant really do anything about it.

i am sure nurseries wouldn't allow this and probably most pre-schools but have no policy to stop it.

 

thanks x

[AnonyMouse_33773]

You keep the money if they have paid or the funding if they haven't. Isn't it so?

Edited October 1, 2013 by Wildflowers

[AnonyMouse_3735]

ours was in part of the fees policy...

 

and we had an agreement made with all parents where they to sign when they started saying they agreed with the policy, they were given a copy and we had a copy in the file.. then when they said I didn't know, we had an agreement/contract with them to show they had known and agreed before starting.. we were so fed up with parents deciding to chop and change sessions all the time.. even when we had no space they still asked..

 

it had all the relevant points of our policy written in.. like when payment was due.. late payment costs, late collection costs, payment due even when not attending, along with changes in sessions needing one months written notice.. payment being due for the month. how funding worked was also included.. so if funded only still had to sign it as it included the change in sessions bit.

 

we however could not claim for the funding for if they decided to change short notice , they removed it ..

[AnonyMouse_33773]

we however could not claim for the funding for if they decided to change short notice , they removed it ..

Do we need to inform the LA that a child has left unexpectedly and pay back the funding?!

[AnonyMouse_3735]

May depend on your area..

 

ours paid us from the day a child started no matter when it was during the year.. we had a form each time a child started or left mid term between headcount days.. and they removed the funding for that child from that date...

 

none of the swings and roundabout style funding.. as we always ended up out of pocket with more starting during a term than leaving and getting no funding for them until next headcount..

[AnonyMouse_33773]

I now see that a child leaving would mean loss of funding as it is transferred to the new setting.

We haven't had children cutting down on funded time, so haven't looked into what we would need to do, but it has happened within non-funded time. Our policy stated a term's notice and that they would be charged, but of course no one has paid, so we have a non-refundable deposit instead for fee-paying children.

[AnonyMouse_22106]

We are also suffering with this too, and have put it down to

A sign of the times?

People who don't really care that you're trying to run a business, and that staff need paying

[AnonyMouse_30128]

I would urge you to get a policy in place asap and get this sorted. We had one year where this cost us nearly £3,500 (when all the changes were added up) we now VERY clearly state on the bottom of all the paperwork to do with admissions that all changes must be given in writing 6 weeks before or parents will be charged for those sessions ( we are able to charge funded children too because our rules are very clear....you would need to check this with your funder) We send out letters telling them that they will receive a further charge if they haven'y paid in a certain time, we then send a pre-solicitors letter and a letter from the chair....they normally cough up at this point! ...there are always the ones who get away with it...we give up eventually because the costs to reclaim are too high for the amounts we are talking about. The key is definitely communication.....and getting them to sign agreements, that way they have no get out clause!

 

Makes me VERY cross that we have to do this....seems to me that day nurseries have got this right from the beginning and we are still playing catch up!

[AnonyMouse_33773]

[...] all changes must be given in writing 6 weeks before or parents will be charged for those sessions ( we are able to charge funded children too because our rules are very clear....you would need to check this with your funder) We send out letters telling them that they will receive a further charge if they haven'y paid in a certain time, we then send a pre-solicitors letter [...]

Does your LA allow you to keep the funding for the 6 weeks? Do you also charge when a child who was enrolled doesn't turn up? What is a pre-solicitors letter?

[AnonyMouse_30128]

no we are not allowed to keep funding but we will charge the equivalent price per session to the parents .Yes i charge if they dont turn up we clearly state the day they must tell us by or they will be charged. Our pre-solicitors letter states that if they dont respond by X then we will pass the letter on to our solicitors to deal with.

sounds very grumpy but it is done carefully and we do have discretion if necessary (in exceptional circumstances)

[AnonyMouse_33773]

We don't have any solicitors to use as a threat, but charge a significant deposit that they don't get back if not giving a term's notice, whilst with us or before joining - we can do that as all children attend non-funded time. We're not allowed to ask for a deposit for funded time in our county, so I doubt that settings can require parents to pay the equivalent for the notice period. Good that your LA allows you to do it.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Wildflowers

[AnonyMouse_6721]

We have had a particularly bad year for this. Our September places were full back in July but now we have had about 5 children drop our, 5 children with us but are moving out of the area and EVERY child moving sessions.

 

I've had someone doing admin 2 hours a day and it has taken all this time to sort it out. Luckily we have new children starting to cover the ones that we have lost.

 

I'm not sure what the answer is.

[AnonyMouse_11396]

If they don't advise you that's exactly what you can do. Getting its another matter.

[AnonyMouse_30128]

We don't have any solicitors to use as a threat, but charge a significant deposit that they don't get back if not giving a term's notice, whilst with us or before joining - we can do that as all children attend non-funded time. We're not allowed to ask for a deposit for funded time in our county, so I doubt that settings can require parents to pay the equivalent for the notice period. Good that your LA allows you to do it.

if they choose to take their funding elsewhere then they are not funded in your setting so therefore you can charge! (IMO!!)

the solicitors letter is a bit of an empty threat....we have to add up the costs at that point and see if it's worth it (you dont need to tell them who you are using!)

[AnonyMouse_33773]

True. And getting people to pay is almost impossible, so a deposit which is deducted from the last invoice, when notice is given, is the only solution, provided that you are allowed to charge a deposit, which you're not if the child only attends during funded time...

[AnonyMouse_30128]

True. And getting people to pay is almost impossible, so a deposit which is deducted from the last invoice, when notice is given, is the only solution, provided that you are allowed to charge a deposit, which you're not if the child only attends during funded time...

which would preclude the majority of mine im afraid!

[AnonyMouse_33773]

To consider is that people who are charged can become defensive and speak badly about the setting, which may cost more than the unpaid invoice.

[AnonyMouse_30128]

indeed which is why we have a discretionary part of the policy