Busy Bees Nursery closing due to heat

[jumphopskip999]

My nursery in the red zone have closed two days this week and have now said they won’t be issuing refunds. I pay over £100 a day for this and am now having to work with a toddler or take unpaid parental leave but still having to fork out for nursery. I’m a sole parent so all on me.

Does anyone else have experience of this and their nursery issuing refunds or credit?

as an FYI they did a big refurb and did not put air con in which was queried by the parents and we were assured it was fine and they had a plan.

I’m just concerned that I’ll be paying for lots of lost days over the summer if this trend continues which will obviously have an impact on my working day.

It's not legal for them to close ans charge. See the competition commissions report re. The same scenarios during covid

My DC have been / are still going to a Busy Bees nurseries. In this instance we would get credited back next month. If the fault is theirs we get credited back, only one we don't is the closing half day on Christmas Eve as it is a polite ask not a enforced thing.

That’s very interesting, thank you. I will raise the inconsistency with them.

The CMA has essentially ruled that childcare provider contracts must be fair and reasonable.
• If a childcare provider can't provide services, through no fault of the parent, then it isn't reasonable to charge.
• If a parent pays in advance for childcare services due to commence in the future and a subsequent event happens that means the childcare provider can't provide the services, then the parent should be refunded.
• If a childcare provider contract states that parents should pay even if services can't be provided then such a clause is likely to deemed unfair and unenforceable even if the parent has signed the contract.

For what its worth, we rarely have days closed now. Post covid and staff shortages we did with my eldest (I was credited all those days back he couldn't attend). Our Busy Bees also doesn't have air con but is still open this week. We are a red area and been hitting 34 degrees the last two days. They did send an email out warning their might be closures but more for staff shortages as schools as closing so staff need to go home.....not because they need to close because of the heat.

Our nursery have asked parents to keep their children off today, or this afternoon at least, due to the children creating heat via running around and play. Nursery promise they will keep them cool as best they can, however it’ll be much more comfortable with fewer children (honesty). They have offered full refund for those who take children home.

This is what people are missing when they say it's equally hot at home. It's not. More bodies = more heat. More movement = more heat.

Plus, I can open all my windows and doors all evening and early morning to let the cooler air in but I don't think nurseries can as they're not occupied then.

I think this is sensible and I would have appreciated this option.

I am a childminder and have done the same, asked non-working parents to keep children home and working parents to pick up at lunch time if they are not working in the afternoon.
Most of them get funding so are not paying anything anyway but the ones who have paid for an afternoon but picked up early, I have taken those hours off the next invoice.

My children went to the same chain. Last year in the hot weather I found out that a centre a mile down the road had portable aircon units in each room. I emailed the area manager asking why they could have them there and not in the one that my children were in - they were boiling there. By the time I picked them up that evening, they'd had one unit delivered for each room. The area manager replied to me email saying that all nurseries in the chain had access to portable aircon units - all they needed to do was ask! I know that was a lie as the girls working there had asked multiple times, but me emailing managed to get it to keep the kids and staff cool. It could be worth emailing your area manager? Now you know that same chain do provide portable aircon - ask why some centres can have it and yours doesnt?

there was a huge refurb earlier this year and some parents queried why air con was not included. We were assured it was fine and they did have air con but clearly there is none and it’s not fine. I had offered to contribute to the air con too but this was refused. Other than this issue with head office BB the nursery is brilliant and I can’t fault the staff.

Is this the preschool in Thame?

No, Reading. Have you got the same issue?