If i pay childcare until 6.30pm, surely that means i can collect my child any time up until 6.30pm?

[KettleAlwaysBoiling]

Just had a bit of a ticking off from the manager of my daughter's after school care! Feeling a bit confused and embarrassed.

I've recently switched before/after school childcare companies as I needed somewhere open until 6.30pm. I live quite rurally and this place advertises itself as being the only childcare in X open past 6pm.

I usually collect DD around 6pm but a few times over the past few weeks it has been 6.25pm.

She's a big girl near the end of primary school so there is no need for any 'catch up' such as you might expect with babies or young children. So i don't need to allow any time for this. There's no signing out or anything like that. It's simply - open the door, take coat/bag from the hook, shout cheerio. Pick up time takes no longer than two minutes maximum.

Tonight I collected DD at 6pm and the manager took me aside to discuss my collection times. She said she wanted to remind me that her staff finish at 6.30pm as that is all they are paid until. She said she has never had to consider introducing a 'late' fee before but might have to unless I'm more punctual. I double checked that their clock is the same time as my watch/phone clock. I told her that me and DD were always out the door by 6.30pm. She said that her staff report i didn't actually leave until 6.29pm the other night, and they ended up having to stay until 6.45pm to do all the last minute jobs they couldn't do while DD was there.

I said that I can't guarantee what time I'll get there each evening but can promise it will always be before 6.30pm. I reminded her that this is the reason i've put DD specifically into this childcare place - because i need care past 6pm.

The conversation ended rather awkwardly and she just said that all parents will be getting a letter next week about lateness/late fees.

Surely this is more of a managerial issue than a parent one? I pay for childcare up until 6.30pm. But staff are sometimes having to stay until 6.45pm to do the jobs needing done after all children have left. She needs to extend their hours i would think.

Any ideas what I can do, going forwards? I'm obviously going to be contesting any late fees added on to my bill since i'm always out of there by 6.30pm. I might also suggest they do introduce a sign out book so it's documented what time i've collected DD.

I really need this place to work out as i absolutely do need childcare past 6pm some nights. Also, DD seems to really love it!

I suspect because some days you're there by 6:10 that have got used to the early finish, like it and don't see why you can't get there for ten past every day.

Thing is if they changed their opening times to 6.15 how long would it be before they were moaning that your turned up at 6.14?

And for people saying they would expect your to be offsite before 6.30 I disagree. OP can rock up at 6.30 as she is paying them to look after her child until then.

I think the staff have had a jammy number getting away early before now. You are the only spanner in the works, by sometimes adding extra time on their day up to 6-25pm. I be they just don’t like that - tough for them. They shouldn’t advertise they are open until 6.30pm if the don’t mean it. They can have all clearing up done by the time of your arrival and spend last 5 mins chatting to your child. All they would need to do is lock up and switch the lights off.

It's ridiculous, if the staff have jobs to do Then at 18:20 they do the jobs, tidy the toys, clean up etc and they can put your DDs coat on and sit her on a chair "to wait for mummy". You can still roll in at 18:29, take her hand and walk her from the room. The staff could also be wearing their coats ready to leave. The manager needs to manage her people and their time better.

does she REFUND you .. whenever you are slightly early OP .. thought not... get a copy of what you signed

We pay til 6, and I would expect to be able to leave the child there until 6. Most of the kids have gone well before then, and they let the last few play on the iPad so there is no messy play going on. Then the staff get on with the tidying up / closing down around them. I guess once the last child is gone it only takes them a few minutes to grab their coats and turn the lights off. Email the manager and say childcare til 6.30 means childcare til 6.30 and how the staff rotas and working hours are arranged to accommodate this is not your problem. You pay for a service they offered and that's what you expect to get. Is it more expensive than the other settings that close at 6?

The manager is bonkers. How would she feel if she went to the open-till-8 Tesco and was told she can't shop after 7 because the staff have to clear up?

OP is offsite before 6.30! She went out the door at 6.29 the other day and that seems to be the latest.

f they have been used to all children being out earlier and shutting up shop by 6:30 I can understand the staff thinking this is the normal. Also if their contract says they are done at 6:30 on the dot then they can also not be expected to stay later to clear up, its not like they will be earning lots of money.

They shouldn't have to stay to clean up, but they provide a service until 6:30pm, so that's what they have to provide. In any job, you aren't out the door by your finishing time, that is the time you stop work. If you work in a shop that closes at 5:30, you serve customers until then, whilst some staff do the cleaning up, and then at 5:30 you lock up, collect your belongings and say goodnight, usually getting out the door between 5:35 and 5:40 all going well.

All the childcare employees I know accept the fact that they are paid until closing time, so that's what they may have to work until, and see those days that parents pick up early and they get to leave early as a bonus, not an expectation. They still get paid until 6:30, even on those days that they get to escape early.

Even at 6pm, my DD always seems to be the last one there.

And there’s the problem, they’ve got used to a nice cushy quiet half hour and they resent that you sometimes take that away.

Manager needs to pay their staff longer if they want to offer 6.30 and thus get paid for it

I pay for childcare until 6. Signs have now appeared to say last pick up time is 6.50 to allow for handover! What handover I think? I run in, DS runs to cloakroom puts on his coat / changes shoes and we are out of there ... different for babies (how I remember the written daily reports)

She is being very unreasonable. Glad to hear you’ll ask for clarification in writing. The sign doesn’t say, our staff are paid till 6.30, it offers childcare till 6.30.

Our after school club runs until 5.30pm, so all children should be collected by then, but the staff are paid until 6pm which allows for final tidying followed by a staff meeting to discuss the day.
I'm confused by a childcare facility that only has a max of 10 children, how is that financially viable and how many staff do they have?

Email them (so you have it in writing) and ask what time they expect you to pick up if you pay for care until 6.30.

Another one who thinks they're being cheeky.

They've got the bookings for past 6pm so they get the parents who need after 6pm finishes, but are relying on nobody using their service until 6:30.
She's clearly paying staff until 6:30 and relying on parents collecting early so she doesn't have to pay her staff more.

Ask for clarification in writing and what the reduction in fees will be if pick up time is expected earlier to enable staff to leave at 6:30.

That's crazy ! But it also doesn't sound right that you signed a contract & didn't get a copy.

I got a copy from my self employed childminder so no reason why a proper nursery wouldn't have proper contracts

Ask for a copy & challenge the cheeky mare !

That’s cheeky. I’d also be annoyed if I turned up at 6:20 and she was sat there in her coat ready to go. Not what you’re paying for.

DDs worked in retail, shop shut at 5:30, she was paid until 5:45 for final cashing up and locking up. Same should apply at nursery.

If the opening hours are until 6.30pm you should be able to collect aned be going out of the door at 6.29pm.
Email asking for clarification of why they say they are open until 6.30 when they wnat the kids gone before that. She is misleading you!

We run an asc and the staff are paid half an hour beyond stated closing time to allow for tidying up to happen after the children have gone. I think its shitty if you pay for childcare until, say, 6 but by 5.30 the toys are all being put away.

We share premises so we have to put absolutely everything away at the end of the day but the staff are only allowed to do limited tidying up before all children are gone - so if nobody is playing with monopoly or barbies anymore then tgey could tidy that area and put them back in the box but the toys stay out and accessible until all kids go.

You should also be signing out imo. It's possible they're doing it for you though

My DCs after school club did exactly the same!! In hindsight they were so SHIT! the lazy bastards were always sat with their fat feet up on the dolls house drinking tea when I got there! 😡

I work in retail, shop shuts at 10, we are only paid until 10 but still have to close down, lock up etc. But we don't stop serving until that last customer is out of the door (although we do get a bit tight lipped if they come in at 9.59).

DDs worked in retail, shop shut at 5:30, she was paid until 5:45 for final cashing up and locking up
They've done well. Friends of mine work for a large chain and they were routinely serving customers at 5:45 because 'a sale was a sale and they were already in' and then the manager would still expect them to cash up and lock up etc and used to be awful to staff who had 6pm busses to catch because 'you have duties to do'. My friend said 'well pay me for it or I'm leaving' and would walk out as soon as possible.

I run an after school club - We finish at six. Children help to clear the equipment away at 5.45 then we get out the 'quick box'. This is a selection of toys and games that need minimal tidying, mini jenga, card games, hand held electronics etc. Staff sweep and tidy around the children. The children collect their coats and bags at 5.55 so that they are ready to go at 6.00 prompt. Staff leave as soon as the last child is collected usually 6.05/6.10. To keep costs to parents as low as possible we only pay staff until 6.00. If a parent is late we charge them as we have to pay 2 staff 1/2 hr extra pay. We would not expect all children to be gone before 6.00 p.m. but we also do not expect parents to be consistently late (if we do not keep on top of it with reminders, several parents will run late by a few minutes)

That is ridiculous! I work until 5.15pm, if a student came in at 5.10pm I wouldn’t tell them to go away as I have to turn my computer off and tidy desk etc. I work until 5.15pm! Definitely call her out on this, she is being unreasonable