Information & FAQ’s

Please find below some valuable information about who we are, what we do and our setting policies.

who we are:

Munchkins After School Club is registered through Ofsted to provide after school and holiday childcare for children in classes Reception to Year 6. All settings are registered and regulated by Ofsted.

Opening times:

After school clubs

Mon to Fri | After school until 6pm | Term time only

We shut promptly at 6pm so please arrive at 5.55pm at the latest to collect your child’s belongings and sign out in time.

Holiday Clubs

Mon - Fri (on certain weeks) | 8.30am - 5.30pm | Dates detailed on our booking website

Fees:

After School Club £11.95 per session for children aged reception age and above from January 2024
Holiday Club £33 per day for children aged reception age and above from September 2022
HAF play scheme is free to children in receipt of income based free school meals
We also charge a £16 annual admin fee once a year. Please note there are no annual admin fees for children attending the HAF scheme.

How do I book?

We use an easy-to-use online system where parents and carers can register themselves and their child/ren, book and pay for sessions. Please read this page and the information page on this website. If you have any further questions please contact fay@munchkinschildcare.co.uk. If you want to go straight to booking, please follow the steps below:-

Firstly click on the link below and register yourself as a parent and fill in ALL sections (no need for NI number if you are not claiming funding).
Register your child/ren and fill out ALL sections and tick the permissions.
Next go to ‘book now’ and chose the club, choose your child’s name, the venue, the club and then choose your set days (i.e. for After School Clubs click on ALL Mondays and Tuesdays for the rest of the school year) and these will be your set days until you give one month’s written notice to change or cancel them. We allow bookings of two terms at a time. We reserve the right to cancel your space if you do not book on correctly or skip booking a set day. If you are booking a holiday club please select the days you require.
Then click the down arrow to select all dates and ‘create booking.’ Then ‘proceed to payment.’ Make a full (for holiday club or adhoc after school club bookings) or partial (partial means monthly, this is used for ongoing set bookings at our after school clubs) payment through the system and select how you have made that payment. If you are paying with childcare vouchers or tax free childcare please select this and then make the payment from your provider. Voucher payments can take 3-5 working days to enter our accounts so please remember to factor this in to avoid late payments. We will then check and verify them once they are in our accounts. All payments must be paid in advance. Once paid, your child/ren will be booked on and appear on our registers.

Note: For parents who work shift patterns or need ad-hoc care of less than two weeks, please get in touch to see if we can help.

Please visit our bookings page to register and book.

Childcare Vouchers & TAX FREE CHILDCARE:

We accept online/electronic childcare vouchers; just let us know which scheme you are with. We please ask that payments by voucher are made as soon as you make your booking and always at least 5-7 working days before the end of the month for your regular bookings. They need to be sent from your provider and added to the iPAL system so they can be verified.

Our registration numbers are:-

Munchkins After School Club @ St Anne’s - EY2536613

Munchkins After School Club @ Wicklea - EY2536612

If you need any further information regarding vouchers please email Fay

Snacks:

We provide children with a few healthy snack options during the after school club session and these are included in the price. At Holiday Club the children will need to bring their own packed lunches.

Admissions:

Our settings have been set up to provide after school and holiday care to schools in Bristol. Registrations are made by parents and carers online.

Management and staff:

The clubs are managed by Fay Simcox and we have a Play Leader and Play Workers on each site. Our staff have experience in play work, childcare or with children. All staff go through rigorous recruitment checks and an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Staff are supported and supervised by the management.

Policies and Procedures:

The club operates under a number of policies and procedures, copies of which are available at any time on the iPAL booking system.

Sickness:

In order to safeguard other children we cannot accept children who are unwell or contagious. If a child has had sickness or diarrhoea we -like a school- cannot accept children in the club for 48 hours since the last episode of sickness and/or diarrhoea. If a child becomes unwell in our care we will call you to pick up and try to make them as comfortable as possible until you arrive, we ask that this is within a 30 minute period to minimise the risk of infection to others. If you are not available, we will contact those listed under Emergency Contact Numbers on your child’s Registration Form. For other illnesses or infections please refer to the Infectious Disease Manual. Please inform us straight away if your child is ill or cannot attend the club for any other reason.

Accidents and Emergencies:

Every effort is focused on creating a safe environment for your child to play in but accidents can happen from time to time. All our staff are paediatric first aid trained to deliver any necessary first aid. Any first aid provided will be logged and the parents/carers notified by email.

Absences:

If your child is absent for any reason, we regret that we are unable to refund any fees for the session(s) missed. Please inform us directly by text or email if your child is going to be off or picked up by someone else straight from school. This minimises disruption for staff and children at the start of the club/at pick-up and we don’t have to look for a ‘missing child.’

Sudden Closures:

If the school has to close suddenly due to an emergency such as bad weather or an evacuation fees will still apply.

Closure:

If the club has to shut for a planned school event or election then there will be no fees for that session. A refund will be placed in on the iPAL system if you have already paid which you can use for future bookings.

Cancellations and changes to days:

Please give us one month’s written notice if you’d like to change or cancel your regular set days at After School Club. I’m afraid we cannot cancel the odd session (or swap it) if your child is off or away, this would be regarded as an absence and payment would not be refunded.

Adhoc sessions:

You can book extra adhoc sessions on yourself once you are signed up to our system. These will need paying at the time of booking to ensure you are correctly booked on.

Collection:

You may collect your child any time before the session ends. Only people authorised by the parents/ carers are allowed to collect children, unless we are otherwise informed. Please tell us of any changes in person and where possible in writing. Passing on information through a child will not be accepted. The setting will not allow people under the age of 18 to collect children unless parents / carers give written permission. When a child is collected, our team will sign the attendance register on your behalf. If it is someone we don’t know, we will ask you/them to sign out instead of us and use your child’s pick-up password (case-sensitive). All children must be collected before 6pm for After School Clubs. The same applies for Holiday Clubs.

Late pick-up:

If the person collecting the child/ren is unavoidably delayed, they must inform the play leader by telephone. We feel it is appropriate to enforce a late pick-up charge of £10 per child due to delaying lock-up, extra rent costs and having to pay staff for overtime. This is an automatic late fee charged when you sign out. If the child/ren has / have not been collected within an hour and the parents / carers have not informed the staff of their delay, we will be required to inform the Duty Social Worker and/or police and will follow their advice.

Toileting:

I’m afraid we cannot take children who are still in nappies due to staff ratios when changing children. Children also need to be independent at toileting and toilet trained. If a child does have a toileting accident then we will provide them with clean/dry clothes.

Safeguarding:

We share an objective to help keep children safe from harm and abuse. We strongly comply with local and national safeguarding procedures and ensure that all staff are appropriately vetted and trained to undertake their safeguarding responsibilities effectively. If you have any concerns please contact your Play Leader who is the Designated Safeguarding Lead on stannes@munchkinschildcare.co.uk or wicklea@munchkinschildcare.co.uk or you can speak with Chief Protection Officer Fay Simcox on fay@munchkinschildcare.co.uk.

Equal Opportunities:

Munchkins Childcare is committed to equal opportunities and aims to demonstrate, through our activities, that children of all ethnic origins, racial groups, religions, cultures, linguistic backgrounds and abilities are valued and respected. We aim to equip our children with an awareness of our diverse society and to appreciate the value of difference. Discrimination on the basis of colour, culture, religion, origin, sex or ability is not acceptable. The premises we use for our sessions is accessible to all and we will make every effort to accommodate and welcome any child with individual requirements although we cannot offer 1-2-1 care without additional funding. We frequently work and liaise with parents/carers and relevant professionals to meet a child’s specific needs within the club. Each case is assessed individually and risk assessed.

Behaviour:

We focus on creating a safe environment in which the children can experiment and develop, it is important to work within behavioural guidelines so that the children know what is expected of them. The rules are discussed and drawn up by the children and staff. Children are reminded of these rules frequently and appropriate behaviour encouraged through praise. We place an emphasis on respect, care and consideration between children, staff and visitors.

All anti-social behaviour will be challenged and discussed. In the case of violence or behaviour that poses an immediate danger a child is required to be collected directly; as an ultimate sanction, the child may be excluded from the club. Munchkins Childcare recognises that poor behaviour can occur from time to time for reasons that are not always evident, or as a result of special needs. We will strive to be flexible in order to accommodate such cases. Parents will be liable for any costs if children damage/break any equipment due to poor behaviour.

Medication:

A form will need to be completed for any child who requires medication during club hours. We cannot accept children without their medicine and paperwork. Also, without written consent we are unable to administer any medication. All medication must be clearly labelled with your child’s name and dose requirements, and all be in its original packaging with the filled in paperwork.

Complaints Procedure:

We always strive to provide the best service possible, it you feel we have not achieved this please contact your Play Leader or the Manager (Fay Simcox) who will look into the matter and find a resolution. If you still feel that it has not been dealt with appropriately then contact the Manager and we will log it as a complaint, keep a written record of the complaint and the action taken. Telephone number: 07384 362 086 or email fay@munchkinschildcare.co.uk For further details on our complaints procedure please request to see a copy.

Main policies available on iPAL or requested from fay@munchkinschildcare.co.uk. Full terms and conditions are sent out during sign up.

Child Protection Policy - click here