Fees

[TORO]

Hello all,

 

can you pls advise, what is your policy regarding parents waiting for tax credits to be assessed. students parents waiting for childcare grant to be paid, in the meantime bills is mounting up my fear is that money is pd directly to them and might disappear, or worse still bank gets there b/f you (overdraft), have tried asking them to pay a %, but still difficult. What do you do?

[Rea]

I havent come across that quandry.

I think though if you're tryng to pay wages, rent, bills ect, you should have a clause in your parent contract stating you will suspend a place if fee's arent paid within a certain time scale. We give 2 weeks, after that we reserve the right to give the place to someone else on the waiting list. If they cant afford to pay now, whats to say they will afford it when the tax credits come in, and what if they dont get them??? I'd write to each parent telling them the places are going to be suspended if fee's arent paid by the end of half term. Obviously you know much more about your parents so ill be able to judge who needs a stiff telling and who needs a reminder. It might seem harsh especially if your parents need the place but you also need to pay your bills.

Hope you get something sorted.

[cybertwin]

we have this with a couple of parents, we set up a weekly plan with them and it is up to them to pay it while they are waiting for confirmation, as we find that we never actually know if it is sorted out or if they are stringing us along

 

making a small weekly payment is manageable for most of them, it is an agreeed amount, then with us most of them are on eye grant the next term, so the payments can be spread a little further on making them a bit smaller

[HoneyPancakes]

Yesterday a parent told me that her college does not have money this year to pay her childcare as expected. She's paying anyway but others may not be able to.

 

Honey

[Guest]

Hi Toro

 

A hile back I worked in a setting with lots of student parents. There are two forms for student parents, (sorry can't recall their codes) - the first is the anticipated usage of nursery. The important thing to be aware of is not to sign the second form which states that the setting has received payment from the student, to safeguard yourself.

[Guest]

I would ask them to pay at least 20% of the cost of the fees, because that will be the mimimum they will have to find each week anyway as the maximum allowed tax credits is 80%. If they can't pay that then they won't pay you the fees each week.

[TORO]

Thanks for all the replies. Sheila21, that is what l do, but getting the money is like getting blood out of a stone, and the annoying thing is such parents are so quick to make complaints over minor incidents