What do you do?

[scallywags11]

Hi,

 

We're a large and busy private nursery that is open 52 weeks of the year (apart from weekends and bank holidays).

We have most of our practitioners on a set rota due to their family or other commitments. Therefore we can not accommodate parents swapping their sessions. The only time parents would be able to swap their session is when the nursery is closed e.g. bank holidays etc...

 

At the moment we have a parent who is arguing with us because we couldn't accommodate her to swap the Eid Friday for another day, but we have always specified to parents when they come to look around that we are not able to offer this service (staff who celebrate Eid have booked it off as holiday because it doesn't fit in with the government bank holidays).

 

The parent isn't happy that we have to accommodate the staff and the rota and isn't happy that we follow the government guidelines in terms of bank holidays.

 

What do you do?

 

P.S We celebrate a lot of festivals as we have lots of families from different backgrounds so we are not ignoring that she celebrates Eid.

 

[JJA]

This is how it is phrased in our policy:

 

Holidays and session swaps

We do not give refunds for family holidays or days absent. However, we endeavour to be flexible and, therefore, if we are able to offer swaps for an occasional change of day then we will attempt to help with this if staffing levels allow. This will only happen for holidays notified in advance, not retrospectively.

 

Families claiming 2, 3 & 4 year old government funding are not be able to have ‘swap’ days for holidays. However, if parents notify the office a minimum of 2 weeks before they are due to go on holiday the government funded hours will be ‘returned’ to their account for use over other attendance. Payment for enhanced provision and any additional sessions/hours is not returned. Funded hours cannot be returned for any absences not notified in advance;

 

I would strongly recommend that all parents are given a 'Fee Payment Agreement' to sign when they start with you so that everyone has understood the what can and cannot be accommodated in advance.

Hope that's helped!

[lynned55]

We swap nothing, all our sessions are virtually full anyway- so hard to accommodate even an additional session. If someone wants to keep their child off for the session (for whatever reason) then that is up to them. They get no refund or alternative session.

Sometimes I think some people just do not live in the real world. I wouldn't worry about them, they know what they are getting into before they start-presumably they like the way you operate or they wouldn't have started their child with you- so why try to change things. I would also say to them- if we start to let people swap sessions around (with or without notice) then this can also work in reverse- imagine turning up here or being told You cant come today/ next Tuesday as I dont have enough staff- they've swapped their sessions.

[Mouseketeer]

Like Lynned we don't do swaps either, if parents take children out for whatever reason that's their choice and not our problem, parents know that bank holidays fall on Mondays when they book sessions (usually only the early may one as others fall in holidays) so no swapping there either, the only exception we make is when we close for our end of year leavers trip, any fee paying child will have it deducted from their invoice and any funded are given a credit note for the missed hours to use this term (subject to staffing).

 

JJA I think you're right about a 'parent agreement', We've never done this before but it seems with a few the more they get the more they want.