Joining information
Making the decision to send your child to nursery can create many questions in the minds of parents and carers.
Our full Terms and Conditions are with our Registration Form. However, here are answers to a few of the questions that might pop into your head!
Settling in:
We encourage you to bring your child for at least one taster session before they start attending TCG. this allows them to become familiar with their room, staff and some of their peer group. Just speak to our Manager Jo or our Admin Assistant Laura to book this in.
Minimum attendance:
All children must attend at least twice a week. This is to ensure that they settle well and gain the most from their time at TCG. We believe it to be in the best interests of the child, parent/carer and staff. Please note that once children move up to our Montessori Room then the minimum attendance becomes one full day and one half day. This is because our Forest School programme is an integral part of our pre-school experience and this requires a full day.
How much is the deposit?
When you register your child, a deposit/administration fee of £200 is paid to guarantee your child's place. This includes us providing your child with a Forest-School-approved weatherproof suit for their entire time at TCG. £100 of this fee is returned when your child leaves, provided you have given no less than one calendar month's notice in writing and your account is paid in full.
Meals - are they included in the price?
All meals, snacks and drinks are included in our normal fees. For funded session information please go to our Fees & Funding page
Nappies:
Parents provide their own choice of nappies, wipes and sun cream for their child. TCG recycles all of the nappies used by our children. These are collected and then used to create energy rather than ending up in landfill. For more information on Green Bottoms click here.
Permission for pictures and video:
Pictures and video of children are an integral part of our sharing process with parents and carers, as well as us being able to support and document your child's learning journey. Children do not develop in isolation; one of the fascinating things about seeing children develop at TCG is the social interaction between them. Therefore we ask all parents to give permission for their child to be photographed/videoed with others so we can effectively show and share this vital part off their development. The Children's Garden is registered with the Information Commissioner's Office. We follow the correct protocols of never identifying individual children on any images which may appear in the public domain.
FAMLY App:
Great communication between TCG and parents is vitally important. To move this on to the next level we began using the FAMLY App in August 2017. This app covers every aspect of nursery life - your child's learning journey, a general news feed, calendar, messaging, signing in/out, updates for you on your child's day (meals, toileting etc) and invoicing. Once you have registered your child we will set you up and then you will receive an invitation from FAMLY to download the app and sign up. After extensive use, we believe FAMLY is the best Parent/Nursery app on the market. It its worth using the Help Centre for Parents to really get the most out of it. Please click here for the FAMLY Help Centre
How often do you invoice?
All nursery fees are invoiced monthly at the beginning of that month. Invoices are emailed directly to the Primary Carer unless we are specifically told otherwise. Invoices can be split between parents/carers. Payment is requested by the 15th of each month. Late payment of fees will incur an additional charge.
Do you accept Childcare Vouchers and Tax-Free Childcare?
Yes we do. TCG is already registered with the vast majority of voucher providers as well as the Govt's Tax-Free Childcare scheme. Please inform us which voucher provider you will be using and opt for electronic vouchers (not paper). Please be aware that voucher payments can take some time to come through to the nursery. Please see our Funding page for more information about how we administer 2, 3 & 4 Year Old Funding.
Opening hours and closures?
TCG operates Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays, every week of the year with the following exceptions:
The week between Christmas and New Year. We close at 3pm on Christmas Eve and reopen the first working day after New Year's Day.
Three Staff Training Inset Days per year: vital for in-depth staff training and on-going development of our ethos. One day in April, August & November. The days of the week rotate to make it fair to parents/carers. Days for 2021/22: Thursday November 4th, Tuesday April 4th, Friday August 26th
Our opening hours are 8am to 6pm. We offer a PJ Club early drop-off at 7.30am for a small charge.
Morning session is 8am to 12.30pm and the Afternoon session is from 1.30pm to 6pm.
Are holidays and closures charged?
The fees are a regular monthly commitment for parents/carers. TCG's fees are worked out annually and then divided into equal monthly payments (irrespective of 4 or 5 week months, Bank Holidays, any and all closures etc). This means that parents/carers are billed the same amount every month (unless any extra sessions have been taken). Unfortunately we cannot offer discounts for time taken for holidays. The day and session rates are there to show parents/carers the cost of ad hoc sessions.
Terms and Conditions:
For our full terms and conditions please see our registration page. Registering for a place at TCG indicates acceptance of these conditions. click here to go to our Registration Form