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!

All of their advertising and even their sign outside says they are open until 6.30pm. It's really confusing!

It’s not confusing. She just doesn’t want to pay an additional 15 minutes for her managers to clear up / close up.

That’s like a shop closing at 6pm. You don’t expect the shopkeepers to leave at 6pm with the customers.

This kind of thing winds me up. When dd uses as club we 're usually last to collect. We arrive between 10 and 5 minutes before closing. Staff are out the door before I have left car park .
Yet one day I had a genuine reason for lateness I was charged a fiver for being 3 minutes late.
They are BU op.

At my daughter's pre-school, if my daughter is the last one there, they often have her sit in the staffroom and do some coloring so they can get the classrooms tidied up and shut down for the night. They advertise until 6.30pm but the last staff leaves at 7pm.

It's very odd you don't have a contract. Every form of childcare I've used they've made the rules very clear from the outset, even going through the contract and highlighting important points. It does sound that others have experienced this though so maybe their actual pick-up time is 6.15pm but they never made that clear?

If you have paid until 6.30 no fines should be charged.

Send them am email asking what time they close and what time is last pickup

If you have to pick up at 6.15pm then they should tell you the closing time is 6.15pm. Sounds like they are not very clear..

My kids after school club goes until 5:30pm, at 5:30 pm if I am not there they start calling me. I guess they look forward to go home.

If be writing a formal letter of complaint and informing her that I will be picking my daughter up any time up to and including 6:30...as stated in the contract.

You paid for childcare until a certain time. You collected the children at that time. I can't see a problem there.

Not read all comments but if they advertise hat they will be there until for the kids until 6.30 and that is what you have paid for then that is what you should get.

If you pick up earlier that is fine. If you are late, by all means you should pay a late fee. But 6.25 is not later than 6.30.

I am in an EYFS setting 1 day a week. If on the rare occasion I / we’ve got to leave promptly. (Meetings/ med appts, will probably do this next week when I’ve got a root canal at 5?!) we make sure everyone has all there things good to go, and pop the children into the “cosy corner” (carpet and a few bean bags) and whack cebeebies on the projector screen so we can get as much tidied as poss. Then we go in early to finish up in the morning. Just weird that they want to change the hours?!

Actually trading standards could advise on this issue and be very interested in it.

You pay until 6.30. You’re entitled to pick up at 6.30. What her staff then have to do before they leave has absolutely nothing to do with you.
I am a childminder and I work up to 7pm on Mondays when I drop the children home. I’m paid until 7pm and contracted to drop them home at 7pm. I still have to then get home in what is effectively my own unpaid time. That’s just the way it is.
Surely one member of staff can do the last minute jobs whilst the other one remains with your daughter and if that isn’t the case then the manager needs to pay them for the few extra minutes.
You’re paying until 6.30 and it’s not unreasonable to expect care until 6.30.
I think the manager was being unfair to address this with you when you hadn’t been later than the contracted time. They shouldn’t be advertising a 6.30 service is that isn’t actually available. What were the terms and conditions about this when you signed contracts? There must have been some. I’d be asking for a copy of the original terms that you agreed to when she started there.

email her to clarify so it is in writing - say you understood that you were contracted and paying for childcare until 6.30pm, but following your conversation childcare is now not available to 6.30pm. Ask what time childcare is available until and if there is a fee reduction due to the new opening hours.

Totally agree with this.

If they mean they're open for childcare until 6.15pm or whatever, they should say that and you should only pay for that.

I'd watch... if you're dd isn usually the only one there till 6 nevermind 630 you might find the shift the goalposts and change their official hours. It can't be worth there while

You need a copy of the terms and conditions and the contract between you. Once you have that you can discuss the issue with them, if they refuse I'd be taking photographs of the advertisements and reporting them to trading standards, they can't advertise a service and then fail to deliver.

Poopants of course they're ringing you at 5.30, you're supposed to collect before they close?

But Carakanjac they’d have to give everyone a reduction in fees if they changed the times.

You should have a contract. I don’t know any setting that works without one and I suspect there would be no public liability insurance cover if there aren’t legally binding contracts and terms and conditions. Please check this because if there’s an accident and your child is hurt this could be a huge problem.

If they got her shoes and coat on a few minutes before 6:30 while clearing up around her then they could switch power off and be on their way within a few minutes of you picking up anyway- they’re being a bit unreasonable in this instance imho

Hi, having worked at a day nursery which had opening and closing hours of 7:30-6:30pm I can categorically confirm that if a setting offers childcare between the hours stated, then that is exactly what they should be providing. It’s downright cheeky and inappropriate to approach parents to pick up their child sooner to make it easier on the staff. They need to manage their time better, not the paying customer! In my setting, we did charge late fees if parents went over the 6:30pm mark as the staff were only paid till 6:30pm. We charged £1 for every late minute which was given straight to the staff members who stayed behind to wait for the late parent. I would personally write an email to the nursery director and the manager to clarify on childcare hours. I suspect the nursery manager approached you without the director’s knowledge. Let us know what they say.

You are 100% in the right, if they advertise that they will look after children until 6.30pm then as long as you are there by 6.30pm at the latest then they should not be charging anyone late fees

It’s not just this instance, happens in so many other walks of life. Go into a fish & chip shop 15 minutes before they close and they tell you, sorry no chips and we aren’t putting any more on as we close in 15 minutes. Not my problem, you are a fish& chip shop open till say11pm, it’s 10.45pm so I want fish & chips

If they want all staff gone by 6.30pm then they say they close at 6pm and reduce their fees .... simple

It's worse than the chip shop example, it's like them telling you that it is too late after you have already paid and not giving you the money back.

It should be clearer. All children picked up by 6.20 as nursery will close at 6.30. But I see your point that it is cheeky to charge you up until 6.30 when they want children picked up before that. I don't think 6.25 is late in your case. Management should be paying the staff for the extra time and not saying they provide a service when they don't.

Introducing a late fee may backfire on them. There's studies showing that when late fees are brought in, parents take it that it's acceptable to be late once they pay the fee. And so instead of reducing the number of late pick ups, it actually increases them.

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

This is right and it also made me think ... if your daughter is usually one of the last to go, it means that most people are collecting their children before or perhaps significantly before, 6.30.

Are they refunding all these people? Nope. So why do they think they can charge late fees for someone leaving at 6.29.

It's outrageous OP!