Background

  • Tops Day Nursery Limited and Tops Day Nurseries Limited (“Tops”) is a provider of childcare services and Early Years Education (Services).
  • You (parent, guardian or carers) have asked Tops to provide childcare services and Early Years Education for your child or children.
  • The details you have provided in the Enrolment Form and the Terms and Conditions set out below will make up the legal and binding agreements between us (“Agreement”).

You and Tops agree that:

Definitions and Interpretation

Child means the child (or children if more than one) named and detailed in the Enrolment Form and whom you have parental responsibility for or are the legal guardian or carer of;
Enrolment Form means the form completed by you to provide information about your Child and information about you (parents, guardians and carers);
Fees the prices payable by you in respect of booked childcare hours and any booked additional extras, as described in the Price List. The prices are not charged VAT;
Force Majeure means an event or a sequence of events which Tops cannot influence or control and which prevent or delay Tops from providing the Service under this Agreement. These events can include acts of God, war, riot, civil commotion, terrorist attack, compliance with any law or government order (local and national), fire, a pandemic of any disease;
Nursery means that particular nursery setting, building and address where your Child is enrolled;
Nursery Manager means the named person in charge of the Nursery on any given day;
Price List means the attached and in-force price list for the Nursery. The price of any of the Services detailed in the Price List and as updated and notified by Tops from time to time.

Some of the technical and legal words used in this Agreement mean:

In this Agreement:

  • a reference to this Agreement includes the Enrolment Form, Tops Policies, Price List and all relevant schedules;
  • a reference to ‘you’ or ‘parent’ includes both the mother, father and legal guardian or carers of a Child;
  • a reference to ‘Tops’ includes Tops’ employees, agents and contractors;
  • a reference to a gender includes each of the genders;
  • a reference to legislation is a reference to the current version of that legislation as at the date of this Agreement

 

Enrolment and Services

Tops offer a variety of booking options (Permanent Booking, Flexible Shift Booking, Term Time Only Booking, Emergency Bookings and Holiday Clubs) which are outlined in the Booking Policy. You must specify which booking options you intend to use for your Child on enrolment.

  • Copies of all Tops policies are available at the Nursery on request.
  • Nurseries on UKHO Amey Community, NHS Trusts and on college sites are required to offer childcare places to staff or student parents as a priority. On these, sites bookings will be accepted and processed in order of priority.

Price and Funding

  • Prices currently payable are contained in the Price List.
  • You are required to pay an upfront, non-refundable administration charge for each Child you enrol. Please refer to the Price List for more details on the current administration charges.
  • You are required to pay a deposit in addition to the first payment. Please refer to the Price List for details of the current deposit payment levels. The deposit is refundable at the end of this Agreement, except where;
  • there are Fees still outstanding; or
  • Tops has not received the correct 4 weeks’ notice to terminate this Agreement, in which case Tops will have the right to offset the deposit against Fees Tops would have received in the notice period.
  • You do not have to pay an enrolment deposit or admin fee if your child only accesses government-funded hours and does not attend at meal times.
  • All children who are having mandatory lunch are required to pay 4 weeks of lunch charges in advance in a form of a lunch deposit.
  • Tops may increase or decrease the prices in the Price List at any time by giving you four weeks’ written notice.
  • Tops may increase prices in the Price List with immediate effect by written notice if there is a government policy change or there is an increase in the direct cost to Tops of supplying the relevant Services which exceeds 8% and which is caused by factors which Tops cannot control.
  • If you do not agree with an increase in the prices, then you have an option of terminating this Agreement by giving Tops 4 weeks’ notice. If the notice to terminate covers the period the price increase is due to take effect, you are required to pay the increased price for all Services received in that period and after that.
  • Local Authority 2-Year-Old Funding is available for those children who are eligible under the scheme. Eligibility is means-tested, please speak to the Nursery Manager for more details on how to apply.
  • Local Authority 15 and 30 Hours Childcare Funding for 3 and 4-year-olds is available for those children who are eligible under the scheme. The funding is subject to the current and applicable rules and regulations as set by each Local Authority.
  • The following charges apply to those parents accessing Local Authority funding:
  • hours booked over and above the entitlement under a funding scheme will be charged at the current prices in the Price List; and
  • Tops charges for additional extras provided and not covered by a funding scheme. The prices and additional extras are contained in the Price List.
  • Tops provide lunch to all children in attendance at mid-day this charge is mandatory.

Fees and Payments

  • Fees are payable on or before the 1st day of each month on issued invoices:
  • Tops charge an administration charge for any late payments which have not been previously agreed. A charge will be added to the Fees.
  • Tops charge an administration charge for any returned payments or dishonoured direct debits.
  • Fees are payable in full for:
  • booked hours and additional extras, whether your Child attends or not;
  • Booked hours and additional extras, where you do not send your Child to the Nursery during any boliday period, except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day when ordinarily the Nursery will be closed.
  • missed days cannot be transferred or reclaimed at a later date.
  • Additional extras are not payable if they are cancelled a week in advance.
  • All unpaid fees will be subject to our credit control procedure. The cost of recovery will be added to the Fees owed and will include an administration charge, court fees, enforcement fees and statutory contractual interest.
  • Please refer to the current price information for all current charges.

Child Drop off and Collection

  • You must collect your Child in person. If you arrange for someone else to collect your Child, then you must contact the Nursery Manager prior to collection and obtain a password to be used by the person authorised to collect your Child.
  • You must ensure that your Child is collected at the scheduled time of collection. If you are not able to collect your Child at the scheduled time, you should make every effort to inform the Nursery Manager as soon as possible:
  • you will be charged the normal hourly rate (proportionally in 15-minute bands) for a late collection on condition that the Nursery Manager has been given at least 60 minutes prior notice and the Nursery is able to accommodate your Child;
  • where you fail to give at least 60 minutes’ notice for a late collection, Tops will be entitled to charge a late collection fee on top of the normal hourly rate (proportionally in 15-minute bands).
  • Tops will contact any other authorised person recorded on the child’s profile to request collection.

 

Tops have absolutely no obligation to accommodate a Child that will be collected late if they are not able to do so.

  • An additional charge is payable when a Child is collected after the Nursery has closed.
  • The Local Authority Children’s Services and a registered childminder will be contacted 30 minutes after the closing of the Nursery if your Child has not been collected and Tops has not received notice.
  • Tops will not release a Child for collection if it is reasonably believed or has reason to suspect that the collecting person is under the influence of alcohol and/or is intoxicated by drugs. Tops will contact the other persons named on the Enrolment Form to come and collect your Child.
  • Tops permit minors between the ages of 14 and 18 to collect a Child from the Nursery on behalf of parents, provided that Tops has been notified that the minor has been given authority to do so. Nursery Managers will give the final and absolute permission for a Child to be collected by the minor.
  • Please refer to the current price information for all charges.

Parent’s Commitments and Responsibilities

You commit to the following responsibilities:

  • to advise the Nursery in writing of any changes to the details provided in the Enrolment Form before the change(s) take place or as soon as possible;
  • to notify the Nursery of any allergies your Child may have or develops whilst they attend the Nursery, and to complete an allergy information sheet that will be displayed in the room to ensure the Nursery has up-to-date information;
  • to inform the Nursery if your Child is taking or has been prescribed medication. Any medicine brought into the Nursery must be in its original container, as dispensed by the pharmacist and must include the pharmacist’s instructions, your Child’s name, dosage and times to be administered.
  • to give all medication to the Nursery Manager or room manager and sign the appropriate forms. You should not leave any medication in your Child’s bag or on your Child’s peg;
  • to ensure that you or another chosen responsible person is contactable by telephone at all times whilst your Child is attending the Nursery, and to provide the correct telephone numbers on the Enrolment Form;
  • Label all of your Child’s clothes and possessions that are taken into the Nursery. To provide spare clothes for your Child;
  • Dress your child in play-appropriate clothes, shoes with backs and covered toes, (heeled shoes are not permitted). Any jewellery worn as a cultural attire is done so at the Parent’s risk;
  • to inform the Nursery if your Child is attending, or planning to attend another nursery setting;
  • to Provide nappies, wipes, cream and cotton wool for your Child if they are in nappies; this does not apply if the nursery your child attends supplies reusable nappies, please refer to the price list for more information.
  • to shut the front door of the Nursery after entering and exiting and to ensure:
  • nobody else’s Child enters or exits the Nursery unless they are in their parent’s care;
  • to prevent an unidentified person to enter the Nursery.
  • to regularly monitor and diligently acknowledge all accident and incident reports of your Child published via the electronic learning journey, EyLog or any other electronic learning journey in use at the Nursery;
  • to provide in writing any information that is relevant to your Child’s safety and security, including details of any copies of Court Orders, injunctions, parental responsibility orders and any intervention by the Local Authority. Tops cannot refuse access to any Parent that is known to it unless a Court Order is provided.

Safeguarding

  • Tops staff have a duty of care to your child. We must therefore report any suspicion of a child being neglected or abused to the relevant authorities. We will usually inform you prior to making this referral but, will do this without prior notice if we have reason to believe your child is at significant risk of harm, or that your child has been or is currently subjected to sexual abuse. To view or request a copy of our Safeguarding Policy please contact a member of the team at the nursery.

Specific Consent

  • You consent to Tops arranging for your Child to receive emergency treatment from emergency services should this be required. If such a circumstance were to arise. You agree:
  • to make arrangements to immediately attend the hospital as soon as you are notified by Tops;
  • to be responsible for arrangements to collect your Child from the Nursery immediately if your Child is unwell or the Nursery Manager requires that you remove your Child from the Nursery at the Nursery Manager’s discretion.
  • Tops recognise that all skin tones are vulnerable to sun rays. We are committed to our Sun Safety Policy and apply sun cream to all children in our nurseries.
  • You consent to your Child’s development records being kept and stored by Tops in paper and/or digital form and in accordance with Data Protection Regulation.
  • You consent to the Nursery making the appropriate checks with the Local Authority to establish whether the Nursery is entitled to receive the Early Years Pupil Premium on behalf of your Child. You should talk to the Nursery Manager for more information on the Early Years Pupil Premium.
  • You consent to your Child going on impromptu trips and on foot if the permission box is completed on the Enrolment Form. All other trips will be planned in advance and permission sought in advance from you.

Tops’ Commitment to Parents

Tops commit under this Agreement to:

  • use its reasonable endeavours to ensure that all nursery staff are courteous and professional to you and children at all times;
  • engage suitably qualified persons to carry out the Service;
  • maintain adequate insurance levels relevant to its business; and
  • observe all applicable laws, regulations and rules relevant to its business.

Data Protection

  • In the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, Tops shall comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation to the extent it applicable.

No Solicitation of Staff

  • To protect Tops’ legitimate business interests, you may not engage Tops’ staff in such a way as to set up a business relationship or to accept business from that staff member so that they are in direct competition with any businesses or commercial activities of Tops (‘No Solicitation’). This restriction shall be in place for a period of 4 months after the termination of this Agreement.
  • For the avoidance of any doubt:
  • ‘engage’ in this clause means any commercial activities related to the Services provided by Tops, and ‘staff’ includes any person who made been employed by Tops for 3 months at the time this Agreement was entered into.
  • ‘No Solicitation’ does not include any private babysitting arrangements you may agree with a staff member of Tops. Tops encourage staff to enter into private babysitting arrangements with Parents of Tops as a means of earning extra income and are subject to the limitation of liability.

 

Limitation of Liability

Except for any legal responsibility that cannot be excluded in law (such as for death or personal injury), Tops is not legally responsible for any:

  • losses that were not foreseeable to both parties when this Agreement was formed;
  • losses that were not caused by any negligence or breach on Tops’ part; and
  • losses of savings, discounts (whether actual or anticipated), business losses, any losses of profit, earnings or income.
  • In any event, the total liability of Tops under this Agreement shall not exceed £500,000.
  • Neither Tops nor any of its holding or subsidiary companies will be held liable at all for any acts or omission, loss, injury, damage, expense or delay incurred or suffered by you when you enter into a privately arranged babysitting agreement with an affiliate or member of Tops’ staff. All privately arranged babysitting agreements are outside the purview of your child’s enrolment at Tops. Tops are not and should not be considered a party to such agreements, and the provisions of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 will apply.

Termination

  • This Agreement may be terminated by you and Tops on giving not less than four weeks’ notice in writing to the other.
  • You may terminate this Agreement immediately by giving written to Tops if Tops has breached a fundamental Term or Condition of this Agreement and the breach remains uncorrected for 20 business days after Tops has received written notification of that breach.
  • Tops may terminate this Agreement immediately on written notice to you if you have failed to pay any amount due under this Agreement on the due date and that amount remains unpaid for 7 business days after you have received a written notification from Tops that the payment is overdue.
  • Tops may terminate this Agreement immediately on written notice to you if any consent, licence or authorisation held by Tops is revoked or modified in such a way that Tops is no longer able to comply with its obligations under this Agreement or receive any benefit to which it is entitled.
  • Tops may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving four weeks’ notice in writing to You if Tops
  • stops carrying on all or a significant part of its business; and
  • becomes insolvent, has a receiver or administrative receiver appointed over all or any part of its business, has a resolution passed for its winding up or has a freezing order made against it.
  • On termination of this Agreement for any reason:
  • you will immediately pay all outstanding invoices; and
  • Tops will refund any deposits due.
  • The following clauses of this Agreement shall survive termination howsoever it comes about:
  • No Solicitation; Limitation of Liability; Termination.
  • together with any other provision of this Agreement which expressly or by implication is intended to survive termination.

Notices and Communication

  • Any notice or other communication given by Tops under this Agreement will be in writing and in English, signed by an authorised person and will be sent either by post or by email.
  • Notices are deemed received:
  • 1. by post: at 9.00 am on the second business day after posting; and
  • 2. by email: on receipt of a delivery receipt email from the correct address.

Force Majeure and Change of Ownership

  • Tops will not be liable if it is delayed or prevented from performing its obligations under this Agreement due to Force Majeure, provided that it:
  • 1. promptly notifies you of the Force Majeure event and its expected duration; and
  • 2. uses reasonable endeavours to minimise the effects of that event.
  • Tops reserves the right to transfer the business to any other third party (natural or legal person) and to assign the benefit of this Agreement in connection with any such transfer.

 

Variation

  • Tops reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions and any Tops policies at their discretion but with four weeks’ notice to you. Any changes will take effect four weeks after notification.
  • On some occasions it may not be possible to give 4 weeks’ notice in which case we will give as much notice as is viable.

No set-off

You will pay all Fees that you owe under this Agreement without any set-off, counterclaim, deduction or withholding of any kind, except when it may be required by law.

Severance

  • If any clause of this Agreement (or part of any provision) is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable, the legality, validity and enforceability of any other clause of this Agreement will not be affected.
  • If any clause of this Agreement (or part of any provision) is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable but would be legal, valid and enforceable if some part of it was deleted or modified, then the clause or part-clause in question will apply with such deletions or modifications as necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable.

 

 

Entire agreement

  • This Agreement and any policies mentioned or alluded to in this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between us and replace all previous agreements, understandings and arrangements between us, whether in writing or oral.
  • You acknowledge that you have not entered into this Agreement in reliance on any representation or warranty that is not expressly set out in this You will not have any claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation on the basis of any statement in this Agreement.
  • Third-party rights
  • A person who is not a party to this Agreement will not have any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement.

Governing law and jurisdiction

This Agreement and any dispute or claim arising out of, or in connection with it, its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) will be governed and interpreted by the laws of England and Wales. You and Tops irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim coming from this Agreement.

  • No waiver
  • A failure by Tops to exercise or enforce any right granted by these Terms and Conditions will not be interpreted or considered to be a waiver of any such right nor operate so as to bar the exercise or enforcement of such right or of any other right on any occasion.

 

 

Tops Day Nursery Privacy Notice

 

We ask that you read this policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are, how and why we collect, store, use and share personal information you provide to us about you, your child and your next of kin, your rights in relation to the personal information and on how to contact us or our supervisory authorities in the event you have a complaint.

Who we are

We are Tops Day Nursery Limited and Tops Day Nurseries Limited trading as ‘Tops Day Nurseries’. In this notice, references to ‘we’ or ‘us’ means Tops Day Nurseries. We use and are responsible for certain personal information about you. When we do so, our activities are regulated under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UKGDPR) which applies across the European Union (including in the United Kingdom) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and we are responsible as ‘controller’ and sometimes as ‘processors’ of that personal information for the purposes of those laws.

The personal information we collect and use

When you enrol for our services and in the course of providing our services, we collect the following personal information when you provide it to us:

Your details, including your name, marital status, date of birth, photographs, home address, contact telephone numbers, email address, and employment details; and

Your child’s details, including name, date of birth, home address, photographs, videos, contact telephone numbers, email address, and GP details.

We also collect and process what is termed as ‘Sensitive Personal Information’. This may be information about you or your child’s gender identification, race and ethnicity, nationality, cultural or religious beliefs, genetic or biometric data, disability or medical records, sexual orientation or criminal records or cautions and court orders. We will ask you to consent to give us Sensitive Personal Information, but in some circumstances, we will not be able to proceed with your enrolment if you refuse to give this information as we are required to collect it by law.

Sometimes we may collect information from other sources such as other nursery settings, other children’s learning profiles, the police, safeguarding, Ofsted or the Local Authority. We may enhance personal information we collect from you with information we obtain from third parties that are entitled to share that information, but in each case, as permitted by applicable laws.

Sometimes you might give us information about third parties such as your next of kin allowed to collect or alternative emergency contacts. If you intend to give us personal information about someone else, you are responsible for ensuring that you comply with any permissions and consent obligations under the data protection laws. In so far as required by applicable data protection laws, you must ensure that you have their explicit consent to do so and that you explain to them how we collect, use, disclose and retain their personal information or direct them to read this Policy.

 

Systems used to collect and process data

We gather information directly from you and also via our websites and other ITC systems. These may include, for example, our:

  • paper and hard copies of forms;
  • computer networks and connections;
  • web-based software and platforms;
  • web and tablet-based applications;
  • communications systems;
  • survey platforms;
  • email and instant messaging systems;
  • telephones, voicemail, mobile phone records;
  • and other hardware and software owned, used or provided by or on behalf of us.

Some limited personal data may be collected from monitoring devices and systems such as closed-circuit TV and door entry systems.

How we use your personal information

We use your personal information for:

performance of our contractual obligations;

equal opportunities monitoring;

diversity reporting requirements;

social security laws;

statistical analysis;

contacting service users in an emergency situation;

communicating with service users;

compliance with legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations and good practice;

gathering information as part of investigations by regulatory bodies or in connection with legal proceedings or requests;

operational reasons, such as recording transactions, training and quality control;

security vetting and credit rating;

preventing unauthorised access to the nursery setting and the children;

checking references;

administration, assessments and monitoring;

marketing our business, our additional services and those of our group companies, for the purpose of our legitimate interest and so long as that interest does not infringe on your rights and freedoms;

analysing purchasing preferences of our product and services and making improvements;

improving our customer services provisions;

operational reasons, such as recording transactions, training and quality control;

insurance purposes; or

ensuring business policies are accurate and relevant;

We will share personal information with law enforcement or other authorities if required by applicable law. We will not share your personal information with any other third party without your consent.

Direct marketing for a legitimate interest pursued by Tops Day Nursery

Information relating to you will be used to notify you by post, email, telephone or other electronic means of our goods and services and those of our group companies in which we believe you may be interested. You can object to direct marketing at any time by contacting us at marketing@topsdaynurseries.co.uk.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have a number of important rights. In summary, those include rights to:

fair processing of information and transparency over how we use your personal information;

access to your personal information and to certain other supplementary information that this Privacy Notice is already designed to address;

require us to correct any mistakes in the information which we hold;

require the erasure of personal information concerning you in certain situations, this is not an absolute right as some information we cannot erase or delete by law;

receive the personal information concerning you which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to a third party in certain situations;

object at any time to processing of personal information concerning you for direct marketing;

object to decisions being taken by automated means which produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you;

object in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information; and

otherwise, restrict our processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.

For further information on each of those rights, including the circumstances in which they apply, see the Guidance from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on individual rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation.

If you would like to exercise any of those rights, please:

email, call or write to using the contact details provided below;

let us have enough information to identify you;

let us have proof of your identity and address (a copy of your driving licence or passport and a recent utility or credit card bill)

and let us know the information to which your request relates, including any reference numbers, if you have them;

Keeping your personal information secure

We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent personal information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed in an unauthorised way. We limit access to your personal information to those who have a genuine business need to know it. Those processing your information will do so only in an authorised manner and are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We also have procedures in place to deal with any suspected data security breach. We will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected data security breach where we are legally required to do so.

If you want detailed information from Get Safe Online on how to protect your information and your computers and devices against fraud, identity theft, viruses and many other online problems, please visit www.getsafeonline.org. Get Safe Online is supported by the Government and leading businesses.

How long your personal information will be kept

We will retain your personal information for the duration of our contractual relationship and afterwards for as long as is necessary and relevant for our legitimate business purposes, or in accordance with the laws which are applicable to our service industry. Where we no longer need your personal information, we will dispose of it in a secure manner (without further notice to you).

Changes to this privacy notice

This privacy notice was published on 14 May 2018. We may change this privacy notice from time to time, when we do we will inform you.

How to contact us

Please contact us at Tops Day Nurseries, 3 Wollaston Road, Southbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH6 4AR. Tel: 01202 551553; Email: admin@topsdaynurseries.co.uk, if you have any questions about this privacy notice or the information we hold about you.

How to complain

We hope that we can resolve any query or concern you raise about our use of your information. You also have a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, the supervisory authority in the UK is the Information Commissioner’s Office which may be contacted at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ or by telephone: 0303 123 1113.

Do you need extra help?

If you would like this notice in another format (for example audio, large print, braille) please contact us (see ‘How to contact us’ above).