Would your nursery do this?

[pacinofan]

Ok. We are going on a holiday for 1 week in June, so 'phoned the nursery today to let them know dd1 is away, and can we take the days she will miss another time? We have done this on more than one occasion without a problem, the manager has always been happy to help if she had the spaces available.

Was told VERY bluntly no, we can't do this, tough luck.

My previous nursery always accommodated us in this way also, but is this the norm? I am more than a bit upset because we do have a good relationship with the nursery - or so I thought. Am more than a bit cheesed off with the attitude I encountered today - particularly as in the past they have asked me to swap sessions to accommodate somebody, and I have always helped out wherever I could.

Thoughts anyone?

I'm guessing that officially you are not supposed to swap agreed nursery days - but then, neither are they, surely? If there has been a casual agreement at their discretion, which has now come to an end for some reason, that's a shame but there's probably not much you can do about it. However, if THEY ask YOU to swap sessions in future I would say a very blunt 'NO'.

Have swapped days for DS more than once - just by asking about a week in advance "can DS come in on Thurs instead of Fri next week?" and they've always been obliging about it., ditto extra sessions when necessary But then quite a lot of the kids there are going for one or two days rather than all week so it usually seems to be possible to juggle.

My dd went to a nursery which was a popular full nursery and if we gave 1 months notice of holiday they would offer you make up places if there were any available. Probably takes a little more organisation but it can be done. If you are taking dd out for a holiday other people do the same and they could offer you that childs places. We were only given what was available and sometimes not all of the sessions that we missed, I think they tried to share the spare places around, so all the families benefited.

I have never heard of any nurseries where you can do this.
Good nurseries would more than likely not have any free sessions available anyway.

If you go on holiday,you loose your fees.

At my nursery we charge £28 per day or a weekly reduced fee. This fee is paid all year regardless of any holidays sickness etc, as obviously you still have to pay for staff (ever increasing wages) rent, rates, insurance, food, etc.
You are paying for a service, not a product.
If you have car insurance and you dont use your car for a week you dont ask for the money back.
If a parent asks to change a day in a week because their child is ill or to generally swap I am happy to oblige if we have a space, as long as we get the fees that we have agreed for that week in order to pay the overheads that is fine.
It is quite annoying when parents who dont understand when they come to look around are aghast that they still have to pay if their child is off sick. We try to explain that the rates have been set for a reason, you cant have differing rates. If the parent doesn't pay then the staff don't get paid so then they look for employent elswhere, where they will get paid. This then means there are not enoughh staff for the nursery and places will then have to be cancelled, or worst case scenario the Nursery closes.
Most parents can understand this, it's just a few that don't.

Message withdrawn

pacinofan, our nursery will not do this. You pay for the days your child is meant to be there, and if you miss for a holiday, that's tough. You can go on extra days at a cost of £38 a day.

Nuerseryvoice - very well put. Our nursery do not give reduced fees for sickness or holiday and to be honest I wouldn't expect them to. They cannot send a member of staff home because my child is off sick for example - nurserys have fixed overheads with I expect a defined breakeven point which will include staff wages etc.. Those of you that do benefit from such arrangements - lucky you! It does not bother me, it is a commercial operation.

Not normal to do this ime. When we are away or kids are ill, you still have to pay for the sessions that they were booked to take. The only exception is when children are off sick for longer than a week or something-then its at the managers discretion.

The girls at my dd2's nursery work really hard to make us both feel happy about the time we spend apart. I really like and trust them. I would not like to think that if my dd2 was ill they would not get paid.

Imagine if your employer said numbers are down, we can't pay you this week?

I would rather the people looking after my children to feel respected and valued in their roles whether dd2 was there or not

I am lucky in a way, at dd's nursery we are allowed two holiday weeks a year in which you pay half fees as long as a month's notice is given. I know that this is unusual. I would never expect to be able to swap sessions to allow for holiday, although tbh no one has asked to at our nursery afaik. DD has a full time place anyway so it doesn't really apply to us. If I am not at work, I keep her off, regardless of having paid for her place. I would not expect any money back.

Our nursery is like Tiger's - we can take ds out for up to 4 weeks a year during which time we pay a half-rate retainer which I think is reasonable...

We get one weeks holiday where we don't have to pay, also if ill will drop fees by half, other than that we pay whether she is there or not.

No ours doesn't

We have to pay all year around also.

Not at our nursery and impossible to swap days in general because it is oversubscribed.

No to taking 'our' days at a different time to compensate for our holiday, no t asking us to swap days to help another person out. Most nurseries round here that so allow a swap charge lots extra.

I don't think DD's nursery would do this. They do 50% off for the first week of holiday, which I think is fantastic. DS's nursery did not offer any price reduction.

I don't begrudge DD's current nursery being paid twice for extra sessions when a child misses his session and another one fills it up. They charge a fair, not excessive amount (£38 per day) so I don't think them money grabbing. There's another nursery in the area charging £80 a day! I think I'd feel differently then.

When DS went to nursery (7 years ago now) that particular nursery was shut for 3 weeks a year. One week over Christmas and two weeks in the summer.
We paid for 49 weeks a year. Their staff had to take their hols in the weeks they were shut. If we wanted to take our children out over and above those 3 weeks we had to pay.

Haven't read the whole thread but in answer to the op I think it quite normal not to be able to change sessions around to accomodate your holiday. I think you just have to accept that you will pay to keep her place in her absence.
At the moment DS goes to a nursery where if you give them notice they will charge half price while you are away which I feel is very generous.

However I also think it is not normal for them to ask you to swap your sessions around to help accomodate others. I'm afraid if I were in your position I would now be inflexible with my own sessions. Petty maybe but IMO a matter of principle.

Ds's nursery allowed 4 weeks worth of holidays (ie if you went 1 day a week you got 4 days per year holiday).

That covered sick leave and also if Christmas day fell on your day you had to take it as holiday.

2 years running they couldn't understand why they couldn't get people on a monday. I pointed out because of Xmas and New Year, there were actually 5 public holidays per year on a Monday, and you only got 4 days holiday.

our nursery lets us swap days if they have space.
so monday was bank holiday, i asked could i swap monday for friday this week
you have to work the system! but no discount for holidays even though they like you to tell them (for catering) i guess in reality so they can manage staff/offer space to someone else wanting an extra session.

for over 2s, they do let you take the whole month of July and/or August off and pay 50% fees to hold your space.

Try looking at it this way. If it was your employer that told you that because you are going on holiday we will not pay you because you wont be here to do any work!! would you not kick up a fuss?

You have entered into a contract with the nursery.

I think you are very lucky that you have in the past been able to swap around and considering that, then yes they should have refused your request in a polite way, but they are completely within their rights.

It seems my original post has been misunderstood - in no way was I suggesting NOT paying for the time we are away.

What I was suggesting was, space permitting, is it possible to take the sessions another time, as has previously been permitted?

In fact, have spoken with the Nursery Manager since and yes, they do allow swaps, but only if there is space and it is within the same week.

Reading some of the posts, I realise we are lucky to be able to do this, but then it works both ways as I would always try to help the nursery out too if required.