Premises For New Nursery

[Guest]

Hello any early birds able to respond this morning please ?

 

I'm viewing potential premises for a new pre school today (been looking for premises for nearly a year). This would be a pack away setting as the premises are used as an after school club from 3pm. We are only shortlisted.

We will be asked to sign a licence (rather than a lease) in effect this gives us no security under the landlord Act, but would be a specified 5 year licence.

 

We are being offered full use of the interior and exterior areas, except for an office which is for the sole use of the after school club. My concern is that the draft licence, says that the "Licencee has no right to exclude the Licensor from the Premises" and that we must "permit the licensors, their servants or agents to have access to the premises subject to them not having any 'negative impact on the quality or safety of provision"- of course I will ask them to clarify this, but surely 'negative impact and quality are open to interpretation?

Also, in my mind are settings not supposed to have "sole use of premises" during our times of operation?

I have visions of them turning up to use the office, walking around with cups of coffee and using the toilet whilst we are in operation.

 

Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

Sam

Edited November 23, 2010 by Guest

[Guest]

This must be a first...I'm responding to my own question It's in the Statutory Framework for EYFS: welfare requirements - 9 Suitable premises....

 

Still like to hear your thoughts as to what you think ?

[Scarlettangel]

I don't have any knowledge to help on this one Sam..... just make sure you get details like those sorted when you go and visit.

 

Well may be not sorted but so you can make an educated decision!!

 

Good luck

[finleysmaid]

i think this is a standard clause in a license ( due to access for maintenance etc. ) many people on here share premises because they are in community halls etc...i'm sure they will be able to tell you more about the 'sharing'aspect' . I will look forward to hearing any info as i may be in the same position shortly. You can of course impressupon the license holder the importance of security for your setting during operating times perhaps they could add 'at an agreed time' to the clause?

[Guest]

thanks for your thoughts so far - wish me luck !

[Lyanne]

This is too late I'm sure but I thought I'd give you me thoughts anyway- I'm on the committee of my sons' scout group and have been there when we were discussing having long term hall hires come in for educational purposes. Since I typed up the lease, I know it has a clause in it like you asked aobut, but in practice we have said to the hirer, 'We won't come in without notice unless for emergency repairs, we are all CRB checked (this is important!) we will follow whatever signing in procedures you have so you know we're on the premises, we will keep it to a minimum but sometimes we'll need access eg for gettiing the tents out for camp.'

 

I think thosea re reasonable accomodatiosn on either side, but if wherever you go hasn't had an educational hall hire in the day before, you may need to discuss them?

[Guest]

Having met with the trustees today, although we would have the premises (under licence only for which they are intending to charge a hefty fee) from 6.30am to 3pm - when I asked about frequency of them needing to access their office, I was told that a member of their staff was employed from 12noon to 7pm, so he would often be in the office planning, on his own and at times with other trustees ! I mentioned the legal requirement of sole use, but they said Ofsted had approved this for the previous operators of a nursery from the premises !

 

Apart from this, the meeting went well, however, even though I soooo much want to start my own provision, I'm beginning to feel that the licence is very one sided.

 

Lots of thinking to do now.....

[Guest]

The plan was abandoned quite early on but last year when our local children's centre wanted to take back the lease on our building to use it for the CC and then allow us to rent it back they wanted a similar set up. They also didn't think it would be an issue under the welfare requirements and EYFS and I felt they should know. I doubt my confidence in their expertise now but they might have been right. I'd check it with Ofsted directly firstly by mail or email so you have the reply in writing too.

[HappyMaz]

Just to add my own experiences here which may or may not help.

 

I have 'sole use' of the communal parts of our village hall - main hall, kitchen, bathrooms, small entrance lobby. However there is an office upstairs (with no toilet, so the occupant and occasional visitor will come and use the loos sometimes during session time). We have a satellite doctor's surgery on the premises, so the side door is opened for an hour or so twice a week to allow patients into the waiting room. The garden is an access point from the car park to the church/pub, so at certain points of the day we have to have the gate unlocked to allow access. The Parish clerk has some space for files upstairs and will very occasionally come to retrieve paperwork she needs urgently.

 

At the beginning I actively discouraged visitors of the "I have a hundred cups and saucers that I need to put back in the kitchen cupboard right now whilst you're baking" variety, and they soon began to appreciate that our children's safety was our only concern when deciding whether to let people in.

 

With hindsight, I should have clarified who would be expecting to come in and when, and the situations when I could rightfully refuse people access. I'd recommend that you get clarification of who the 'agents and servants" are and what their purpose for coming into the hall during your session time might be.

 

In my experience, Mrs Ofsted hasn't ever questioned that we don't have sole access, and has been interested to know how we deal with these situations and ensure children's safety when these 'visitors' come into the setting, and that we maintain a good record of who is in the setting and when. I found that making people sign our visitors book every time they came into return a tea towel or whatever made them think twice about coming in when we were there!

 

Good luck with your exciting new venture!