To think my childcare provider has no idea what they’re doing

[Confusedbefuz]

My child has used an after school club for a year or so. There aren’t very many options for her school, so despite not being 100% happy she had to go there so i could work.

The school has recently opened their own after school club which is £5 per day cheaper than the one I’m using however does not have holiday club. Anyway

In February I received an invoice with a random surcharge on, this was added with a note to say it for the holiday club, if you don’t use holiday club ( which I don’t) it will be used to hold her space in September. I did query it and decided I may use it towards a day in holiday. This is not in the contract

However the invoice I just got for may. The price has gone up with no prior warning. With a very long winded way of saying they have changed the amount we pay each month. We now pay equal amounts throughout the year.
Before we would pay for the days we use, now we are paying for the whole year, even when not using in holidays.

I spoke to the person who owns the club. I was given 5 different reasons on the phone call

1. Parents like to know what they’re paying and they don’t like different amounts monthly. ( This is extremely easy to work out)
2. Holiday club is operating at a loss because people aren’t using it
3. He pays his staff throughout the half terms and holidays
4. We are banking hours by paying throughout the year and can use the holiday club whenever we want
5. By paying monthly the same amount we are holiday our hours for September. Nowhere in the contract does it say our place for the new school year needs to be held.

The way they’ve explained it is confusing and I feel as if the owner was making it up as he went along. We’ve had no prior warning of this whatsoever. Is this normal? I’m stuck between moving her but wary in case I do need holiday club at some point. But I don’t want to be paying £100+ per month extra for something I MIGHT use

That sounds badly run IMO. Surely to do something like that, they would need to inform the parents who use the service.

Is it possible to use schools after school club and then just holiday club there when needed? I would have a look around in your local area, there must be other holiday clubs you could try instead as that sounds very poorly organised.

it does seem poorly run. I’ve never used an after school club before so I wasn’t sure what was the norm. I can use the school run club, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t moving her for something that wasn’t a big deal.

Do you have a contract? Or is there a payment policy? When I was a childminder parents paid all year round as they pay for the space not the child. Say they did ten hours in TT they could then use ten hours a week in Hols. I did take two weeks off at Christmas and summer that I didn’t charge for though.

Fee increases should have a notice period so say a month written notice. They can’t just put the price up and not tell you until it’s due.

I do have a contract, however this policy of paying the same amount all year round is new. The invoice is due by 1st May and they changed these rules 25th April.

I also had to call them to clarify the changes made and the increase in price. I understand in most childcare settings you pay even if you don’t use them. However the sudden change and lack of explanation makes me question it

Yeah seems an arse about face way of doing it!
surely you book what you need and pay for it regardless, but shouldn’t be paying for hours that you don’t book?

Banking hours for September or holiday club? So if you’re not returning in September or using holiday club what happens to the hours?
the afterschool and holiday club are two separate bookings and the afterschool club shouldn’t be used to tide over the holiday provision.

If parents want it split over 12 months that’s easy enough to do, by taking each parents booking pattern and dividing that. Even if your child is not attending a day that’s booked it still needs to be paid for, but paying for all the days is crazy!

if holiday club is running at a loss, they need to work this out! If it’s not financially viable, don’t run it!

Oh and yes there should be a notice period for increases!

So I did query what happens the to hours if I don’t use them. He said then it just is the cost of running the club?

The afterschool club and holiday club are two completely separate things. They collect from two schools for afterschool. However holiday club is for anyone, anyone can book this so I’m just not convinced in their reasoning

The reasons for the change make sense, but I think you should have had more warning. If you don’t think it’s well run and expensive move her to the school after school club.

I think they are struggling to meet their costs and trying out different payment models to make something work. It’s not a great way of doing things but it may be that or fold. Unless childcare is readily available in your area it might be a good idea to be patient for a while and see if they can sort it.

From a business point of view it just seems a bonkers model for invoicing! They may be on the cusp of closing and are clutching at straws.

Several things occur to me. You are essentially on a pay as you go contract. There is a contract because you use the service they provide and pay for it - so a contract exists. Now the contract terms have changed.

I suspect the reason is that he’s not calculated the pay as you go charge to cover his costs. He says he’s making a loss in the holidays. He seems to have staff on full year contracts. As he’s running a holiday club with variable numbers, this seems an odd decision in some ways, but it keeps a steady workforce. So dc should get continuity of care. However, it’s expensive. He could renegotiate with his staff. Many school staff are on part year term time only contracts, plus a holiday allowance, but are paid pro rata every month. This means you pay for their holidays when he calculates fees but you would not be paying for a holiday club or time you don’t want. However that doesn’t seem to be his model. He could charge extra for the holiday club and staff it with zero hours contract staff to match need.

His model seems to include the holiday club because he’s paying the staff. Although you don’t know if it’s all of them on full salary. He is also wanting you to pay monthly as he’s got staff expenses monthly and is doing a simple calculation to work out monthly fees. Lots of nurseries work this way.

I think this payment system is a bit awry in his circumstances and is probably too expensive. As the childminder says, you are now paying for an annual space. This is because the holiday club loses money because he’s paying staff. They obviously want to be decent employers but you feel out of pocket due to that.

Various options: He could recruit more dc into the holiday club to make it pay . He could cancel holiday clubs. He could negotiate term time only contracts with his staff. He could ask you to pay to reserve your places all year regardless of holiday club use. He’s chosen the latter. I think if this doesn’t suit you, try your school club. Or use the holiday club. You are in effect paying a retainer.

However I would expect a scale of fees to be given to you and a contract explaining when the club is open, snacks, club organisation etc (ie what is he providing), what you pay, when you pay etc. What you agree to should be clear. He’s obviously got a looming money issue over the summer holiday club. I think you cannot change how he calculates fees as it’s his business but you can leave and can see if anywhere else represents better value for your needs and is reliable.

OK. If holiday club is for just anyone else, can you pull out of the after school there, and book her into the cheaper one. Then book the ad hoc holiday camp at the place she used to go to?

I have thought of that however it’s a very small place and I don’t think they’d be happy if I used them for just holidays

Presumably some people just them for holidays though? I’d be worried that this isn’t financially viable and it could close. I’d use the cheaper school club and use the money you save for more expensive holiday clubs if you do need them. I wouldn’t be paying in this way. Our asc, you paid for the days you wanted-whether or not they attended every week. It meant they could fill thu/fri if you just need mon-wed. We paid monthly but this sounds bonkers.

I do worry it may close soon. Which means I’m paying for a service I may not even get… I will check my contract in regards to leaving and I think we’ll be moving her to a school club