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Terms & Conditions
Revised July 2024
Nursery Opening Times
The nursery operates from 8 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday, and is closed during the Christmas period, all Bank Holidays, and three Inset Days. Early morning sessions are available at Brighton, Hove, and Steyning starting at 7.30 am. Parents should be aware that a fee of £5.00 per 15 minutes or part thereof will be charged for children collected after the end of their session. For children collected after 6 pm, a fee of £10 per 15 minutes or part thereof will apply.
Admission procedure
Nursery admission is organised depending on the sessions available. However, siblings of children already attending will be given priority.
The minimum booking per child is two full days for babies and two short or full days per week for children two years and above. This is to ensure that your child has the opportunity to settle in, enjoy their time at nursery, and maintain a routine. If your child is accessing a free funded-only space, no minimum booking is required.
Spaces are allocated when the specific days and times requested become available. Once you have decided to place your child at Pumpkin Patch, you will be sent a link to our Nursery Management System called Famly. We would ask you to add your child's information and your parent contacts. You must also accept our Terms and Conditions before we can secure your place. You can also set up your banking details to pay fees. A £100.00 deposit is due when your sessions are confirmed (approximately one month before the date your child will start.) The deposit will be offset against your last month's fees. However, failure to give the required notice (1 month) will result in loss of deposit. You will also be invoiced for a one-off registration fee (non-refundable.) of £20.00. You will receive an invoice from Famly for £120.00 before starting to confirm your place. If your child is accessing a free funded-only space; there is no deposit or registration fee required..
Before your child starts, you will need to fill out their health and allergy information on our online Famly system. It is important that we have as much information as possible to support your child when they start with us. Failure to let us know about any health condition, including any special educational needs, may delay your child's start date.
Payment of Fees
Fees are payable one month in advance and due the last day of each calendar month. We operate a direct debit system that will take payment on the last day of the month, which you can set up through the Famly app.
Fees are calculated as weekly fees x 50 weeks divided by 12 months. This allows for 2 weeks towards Bank holidays, Inset Days, Christmas closure, your family holiday and sickness.
Term-time-only fees are calculated as a weekly fee x 38 weeks divided by 11 months (there is no charge for August). Term dates will be shared in advance and align with local school terms as much as possible, although Early Years funding is only 38 weeks, not the 39 weeks that schools attend. Please note that as of September 2025, we will no longer be offering term-time-only sessions.
Fee increases
Fee increases are applied in April and calculated based on the previous year's running costs and predicted increases from rising wages, etc. Any additional fee increases will be notified two calendar months in advance.
Late Payment of Fees
Fees are payable one month in advance on the 1st of each month. A late payment fee of 5% of your outstanding balance will automatically be added to your account on the 15th of the month. We encourage parents to communicate with us if they are having difficulty paying their fees as it may be possible to set up a payment plan to support you. Unfortunately, if an outstanding balance runs into the second month without communication from parents as to why the fees remain unpaid, then the nursery will be forced to refuse the child/children entry. This remains the case until there is communication from the parents, and an agreement can be put in place.
The nursery uses a debt recovery agency that takes over the responsibility of any unpaid fees which may incur further charges.
Funding
Pumpkin Patch accepts all government funding. We assign funded to hours to existing booking plans. We offer a limited number of standalone funded spaces. Please speak to your manager to find out more information.
9-23 months
Eligible families can now apply to claim 15 hours of funding from September 2024, and this will rise to 30 hours of funding in September 2025.
2-3 years
Since April 2024, eligible families have been able to claim 15 hours of funding. This is due to increase to 30 hours of funding for all eligible families in September 2025.
3+ years
All children over 3 in England are eligible for 15 hours of funding for 38 weeks of term time, following their third birthday.
Depending on your personal circumstances your child may also be eligible for an additional 15 hours of funding per week, making a total of 30 hours of funding for 38 weeks of term time. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.
How do I apply?
To find out if you're eligible, head to https://www.gov.uk/get-childcare.
Tax-Free Childcare
Tax-free childcare is a method of paying childcare costs (including your nursery invoice) that provides significant monthly savings. More information is available here.
Childcare Vouchers
If your employer is part of a Salary Sacrifice Childcare Voucher scheme, you are able to use these for childcare funding. Pumpkin Patch accepts all of the main Childcare Vouchers.
Notice of leaving and deposits
Four weeks' notice is required if leaving, and it must be submitted in writing before the 1st of the month. If notice is received after the 1st of the month, it will be calculated from the 1st of the following month. Deposits will be retained if you plan to leave the nursery within the first five months. The nursery is linked to an agency that takes over the responsibility of any unpaid fees. Parents of children in their last year are required to give their leaving date for the end of the academic year before the end of April, which is effectively one terms notice. Deposits are refunded and shown in your final invoice.
Changing sessions
Parents wishing to change their children's sessions must put their requests in writing a minimum of four weeks notice in advance and are subject to availability. We are not able to swap sessions or provide alternative sessions for holidays
Extra sessions
From time to time you may wish to book your child in for an extra session at nursery. Extra sessions will only be allocated if there are no account arrears; offered on a first-come first-served basis with the proviso that there is space for us to take on additional children under the EYFE and Ofsted staff to child ratios. All extra sessions booked after your invoice has been sent will be added on to the next month's invoice. This includes all 'ad hoc' sessions, changes of sessions and outdoor adventure sessions booked.
All ad hoc sessions are chargeable at the hourly rate and will not have any discounts applied. Once booked, an extra session can not be cancelled or amended without one month's notice.
Mobile Phones
Please note that mobile phones or other smart devices such as smart watches are not allowed within the nursery.
Unacceptable Behaviour
The nursery reserves the right to withdraw a child's place from nursery without notice if a parent's behaviour is unacceptable and does not support the nursery's policies and procedures. This includes through email, telephone or over the Family App.
Unforeseen closures
Temporary nursery closures due to force majeure or 'acts of God' (such as, but not limited to, infectious diseases, floods, snow) beyond our control or other unforeseen closures will still be charged at full fees.
Nutrition
The nursery offers a nutritious, low sugar, low salt balanced diet from recipes that have been voted for by past generations of children. Parents have contributed to menus and ideas. The fees include all the cooked meals provided within the session booked. All dietary requirements can be catered for. Children are given the opportunity to drink water when they wish from the sports bottle provided for them. We do not allow parents to bring in food or drinks of any kind from home. This is to prevent contamination from food that we have not been able to prepare ourselves and to protect those children that have allergies to specific foods. We are also a completely nut-free nursery.
Sleeping
The nursery has facilities for the younger children to sleep and the routine for this can be discussed at your child's first visit.
Nappies, Baby Milk and Wipes
The fees include nappies, baby milk, and wipes. We provide Aptamil, Hipp Organic, and SMA in powder form. If you would prefer to use a different brand or reusable nappies, you will need to provide these
Bags and clothing
Your child should bring in a change of clothing provided by yourselves. All clothes should be clearly labelled with your child's full name. Unnamed clothes will be in the lost property box for 2 weeks and after this will be donated to charity if not collected. The nursery is not responsible for any unnamed clothing. If your child uses a sleeping bag, we ask that you provide this for your child.
Illnesses
If your child has vomiting or diarrhoea, they will need to stay away from the nursery for 48 hours after the last symptom. We follow UKHSA guidance on infection control and exclusion periods. However, if a child is in an 'active phase' of a contagious viral infection, that has no official exclusion period, we will ask parents to withhold their child from nursery until symptoms subside.
Outdoor Adventure Program
Our outdoor adventure program is for children aged 2 and a half and older. The sessions are subject to weather and availability. No discounts are applied to Forest School, and parents can only book sessions if there are no account arrears. Any cancelled sessions will be offered on another date.