Harlequin Holiday Clubs
Summer 2025 activities
For Summer 2025 we are open every day form July 21st to September 2nd at both our Ofsted registered “Outstanding” settings.
Every day will include themed activities and games to appeal to the children’s interests.
Our adventures include trips to Gravity, Bowling, the Cinema, the Forest, the Beach, Knockhatch Adventure Park, and Port Lympne. Also, by popular demand, we’re planning a special day out to an adventure park (maybe Thorpe Park) for our Year 5+ kids.
Thursday 24th July – Gravity for Coxheath children
Friday 25th July – Gravity for TW children
Tuesday 29th July – Bowling for Coxheath children
Thursday 31st July – Bowling for TW children
Monday 4th August – Forest session for all Coxheath and optional for TW children
Wednesday 6th August – Beach trip for all children
Monday 11th August – Theme park trip for year 5 and older
Thursday 14th August – Cinema to see ‘Bad Guys 2’ for all children
Tuesday 19th August – Knockhatch Adventure Park trip for all children
Thursday 21st August – Forest session for all Coxheath and optional for TW children
Thursday 28th August – Port Lympne Zoo trip for all children
Please see below for general information about holiday club. .
Pre-school aged children:
Sessions for 3-4year olds are for Harlequin pre-school and new customers, but all children this age do need to be potty trained and reliable in the bathroom. Only pre-school children whom we already know may attend some of our trips, but if we feel it best they do not attend, we will inform you. Two year olds who attend Harlequin pre-school may attend sessions in the club (and some trips). Alternative care is available most days but not every day.
Gravity and Bowling: Week 1 and week 2. Price is day rate + £14 or £10
These days are open to all ages. Typically we book a session at Gravity/Bowling in the morning. After the activity we visit a park for lunch and play there until mid afternoon before returning to the settings for afternoon snack about 4pm-ish. In the park we play group games on the grass and use the amenities locally. For Gravity we are going to try to add the indoor golf experience for those who are interested.
Spaces are limited due to transport. We are not offering alternative clubs in the setting these days. Usually we will require children to arrive a the setting by 9am, or earlier if they want breakfast with us. See below for trip kit list.
Cinema: Thursday August 14th. Price is day rate +£10
We are going to see ‘Bad Guys 2’ Certificate U (don’t confuse this with Bad Boys 2, that is a very different genre). Open to all, but please confirm your child will sit for the duration of a film (occasional toilet visits allowed) and that they have been to the cinema before. This is to ensure we do not disturb the feature for other children.
Like the bowling and Gravity trips, we usually have lunch in a part and stay out for the rest of the day if weather permits. See below for trip kit list.
Forest days: Monday 4th and Thursday 21st August. Price is day rate + £13
Available to all children, but pre-schoolers must have attended forest with us in term time to attend. Optional for TW children but no alternative these days for Coxheath children. We transport TW children to and from the forest, Maidstone children need to be dropped to and collected from the forest in Boughton Monchelsea. These are exciting days out for children to explore and push themselves in a private and secure environment. In the forest we have built lots of exciting and testing climbing apparatus, including a new tree house for 2025. We offer wide games and team activities, as well as bush craft activities and skills such as tool use and (safe) fire starting. We prepare afternoon snack in the forest and this is usually prepared on the fire. these sessions take place in all weathers. When it is hot outside, it is surprisingly cool under the canopy, so please provide additional layers, even if the forecast is good. Shorts and T-shirts are not advised due to the number of stinging nettles and brambles.
Beach trip: Wednesday 6th August. Price is day rate + £10
(Our favourite trip of the year!). All children attend so numbers are limited to the 30 we can transport. We will decide on the beach we go to after reviewing the forecast, so its too early to be precise. Typically we go where there is sand, this enable sand play to e a feature of the day. Harlequin has an inflatable boat that the children love in the surf. Our adults always go in the sea with any children who want to paddle and have parental consent. The boat activity is adult led and risk assessed based on weather and sea conditions, and the boat remains in the waves up to a depth of about 4ft, so an adult can always stand up – the children often describe this as their favourite part of the day.
We have lunch on the beach. Before we leave we usually have an ice cream together. Its amazing how long it can take 30 children to change from wet swimming gear to dry clothes. Please name all items of clothing!
Please be at the setting by 8:30am so we can make an early start. We are often late getting back because no-one wants to leave, we aim to be be back at setting about 5pm.
Sun protection is a requirement. See below for trip kit list.
Theme Park trip: Monday 11th August. Price is day rate +£40, Yr5+ only.
This trip is for current (July 2025) Year 5 and older only. We would also like to include some of our past leavers to come back for this day. We will make an early start to get to one of the local theme parks (Chessington and Thorpe are current contenders). Attendees will get the most from the day if they are able to demonstrate independence and trustworthiness. We have been asked for this trip for a few years. Should be an exciting day, and special memories for our older children. See below for kit list.
We are trying to get a reduction in the entry price, if we can we will refund any saving (or save it for snacks and ice creams).
Knockhatch Adventure park: Tuesday August 19th. Price is day rate +£22
Knockhatch is an adventure park for all the family. Weather permitting this includes water-based activities so a bathing costume and towel are needed if your child wants to get wet. We’d like to leave early so children must be in the setting by 9am, or earlier if they want breakfast with us. We aim to get back about 5pm.
Port Lympne Zoo: Thursday 28th August. Price is day rate +£35
Port Lympne Zoo is a wild animal park and breeding sanctuary for rare and endangered species, particularly known for its authentic safari experience and large herd of black rhinos. It offers visitors the opportunity to see a variety of animals, including giraffes, zebras, lions, gorillas, and more. The park also includes a dinosaur forest with life-sized prehistoric creatures.
Please be at the setting by 8:30am so we can make an early start. We aim to be be back at setting about 5pm.
If you have a valid pass for your child that we can use, we will discount the fee accordingly.
Trip kit list: For each trip, every child must have with them the following items
- All items in the list below for all holiday club days, plus
- At least 600ml of drink, preferably water, in a refillable bottle. Please bear in mind we may not have access to fresh water to top up bottles.
- Sun protection: names bottle of sun cream, sun hat
- Clothing for the weather, if rain is forecast, a light coat.
- A change of clothing if toilet accidents are a risk
- All in a BACK PACK they can carry themselves
- Trip specific items for beach – Bathing costume and towel, named bucket and spade etc (optional)
- Trip specific items for Knockhatch – Bathing costume and towel (optional)
Holiday Club essentials
Early start and late finish: For school-aged children, 7:30am early start and 6:30pm late finishes are available as an option with full day or half day sessions (except for forest and some trip day sessions).
Pre-school aged children: Sessions for 3-4year olds are for Harlequin pre-school and new customers, but all children this age do need to be potty trained and reliable in the bathroom. Children whom we already know may attend some of our trips, but if we feel it best they remain at the club, we will inform you. Two year olds who attend Harlequin pre-school may attend sessions in the club (not trips). Alternative care is available every day.
New children: If your child is not already registered with Harlequin, please register using the link button below.
First time on a trip: Children in years R to 2 (in July 2025) must attend at least one session in our setting before they can join one of our trips. It is not safe to take a child on a public trip when we do not know them and they do not know us.
Kit list for holiday club Please ensure your child brings the following items to each session
- Packed lunch. Ideally provide your child with what you want them to eat, we will encourage them to eat what hey have been provided. If you like to offer them a options each day, please let us know so we can support their choices. Lunches should include a carbohydrate such as sandwich, roll, bagel, pizza slice, pasta which children eat first, some fruit (chopped small for under 4s) and any treats. No nut products and no chocolate bars please. A separate drink for lunch can be provided, fruit shoot or orange juice for example. No fizzy drinks please.
- A drinks bottle that we can refill if empty. For trips each child needs to carry about 600ml of drink for themselves.
- Sun cream and a sun hat – this is essential for summer holiday every day (even when it is cloudy). If sun cream has been applied before your child arrives, please let us know. We do not accept “all-day” sun creams as these are ineffective after a few hours. Children without adequate sun protection will need to stay in doors between 10am and 3pm (at least).
- Change of clothes (especially where a wee accident is possible), but also in case we have water play!
- Out door clothes suited to the weather – we spend a lot of time outside, even in the rain.
- Please name any items you want returned if lost!
What do we do in the sessions through holidays and inset days
Our aim is that our holiday clubs are more than just a place where children go while parents are at work in the holidays — we want the children to truly have a good time and enjoy their time in the club. We understand that using childcare can invoke mixed emotions for parents, especially with younger school children, so want happy children so the parents can be happy too.
A typical day:
Children can arrive at any time that suits you, so long as its after your booked session start time. If it’s before 9am, they can choose from a selection of breakfast cereals and toast with spreads. We also have brilliant breakfast occasionally that might include pain-au-chocolate, croissants, pancakes, bacon roles and so on as a treat.
Once they have ben shown around the children can self-select from our vast range of toys and games, or do craft, drawing or reading. We have a vast library of toys and games, if a child has a favourite and cannot see it, they just need to ask – we may well have it.
As well as our well-equipped play rooms, we have secure out door spaces and a place where children can run around and be loud.
Play is interrupted mid morning for a drink and biscuit or piece of fruit.
After snack there is an adult-led activity based around our theme for the week, or adapted to capture the interests of the current group. These craft, game or action-based activities are optional, but we find most children want to get involved. If they create something they can usually take it home.
All children sit together for lunch and are encouraged to eat and chat with their friends.
After lunch will be a new adult-led activity, or continuation from the morning if desired.
Adults are there to facilitate the child’s play experiences, not to dictate what they can or cannot do. So long as children are being safe and fair to others, they will be enabled to explore play in whatever direction they like.
We Have a snack at about 4pm, this is not a main meal though, just a little something to tide them over until dinner at home later.
Children can then continue with activities from the day or self select until their parents collect them any time before the end of their booed session.
We share picture and special moments with parents through our Famly app and encourage parents to use the app to pass messages to us out of hours or through the day.
Parent information
- Fees
- Tax free childcare
- Childcare vouchers
- Registration and booking
- Ofsted Reports
- KCC school calendar
- Online safety
- Making a complaint
- Terms and conditions
- Policies and Procedures
- Harlequin bank details
Fees
Please refer to the fees document for full details for each setting (prices vary depending on school and session times).
Breakfast club from £5.70 - £14.30
After school from £16.60 - £27.20
Holiday club from £31 for a half day
Holiday club from £48.00 for a full day
A full fees list is available on request. Please use the Contact us to request a copy.
You probably qualify for Tax-Free Childcare and can save 20% on our fees.
Tax-Free Childcare helps with the cost of childcare, almost all parents who work and pay tax qualify and it will save at least 20% of the childcare cost.
Harlequin is an "approved childcare" provider under the scheme.
You can use the scheme whether you are applying for funded hours for your two-year old to attend one of our pre-schools, universal funding for three and four year olds, or if you use wrap around care for your primary school aged child.
Search "Help paying for childcare" on gov.uk. Help paying for childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You’ll be able to open an online account, which you can pay into to cover the cost of childcare with Harlequin. This will be done through the government website, GOV.UK.
For every 80p you pay in, the government will top up an extra 20p. Harlequin receive the same fee whether you use this scheme or not.
To qualify, parents will have to be in work, and each earning at least £115 a week and not more than £100,000 each per year.
The scheme is designed to be flexible for parents if, for example, they want to get back to work after the birth of a child or work part-time.
Any eligible working family can use the Tax-Free Childcare scheme. It is also available for self employed parents.
Parents and others can pay money into their childcare account as and when they like. This gives you the flexibility to pay in more in some months, and less at other times. This means you can build up a balance in your account to use at times when you need more childcare than usual, for example, over the summer holidays.
It’s also not just the parents who can pay into the account - if grandparents, other family members or employers want to pay in, then they can.
Paying with vouchers
You save money too
Harlequin accept a number of voucher companies to deal with. We are also prepared to consider new ones if it benefits our customers.
We can not accept paper vouchers, but all companies now offer electronic alternatives.
Please bear in mind these voucher providers can take 10 days from your instruction to cleared funds to us the first time, after which is is usually quicker. Late voucher payments cannot be our fault, so late fees will be incurred if cleared funds are not received before stated deadlines.
What are Childcare Vouchers?
An employee benefit available to all eligible working parents
Once an employer is registered with a voucher provider, eligible working parents can exchange up to £243 per month (£55 per week) of their gross salary for Childcare Vouchers. The exchanged part of the salary is exempt from tax and National Insurance contributions. This allows parents to make savings of up to £1,196* per parent, per year on their childcare costs.
Childcare Vouchers can be used to pay for all types of childcare
Save money on all types of registered childcare (like Harlequin) for children up to 16** years old, including day nurseries, nannies, au pairs, crèches, childminders, out of school clubs, holiday schemes, activity clubs and qualifying childcare offered by schools.
A scheme offering a potential saving of £2,392* per year
Both working parents can claim Childcare Vouchers whether they work for the same or different employers. Provided the employer offers a Childcare Vouchers scheme, you could save up to £2,392* per family, per year.
A tax initiative
New voucher schemes cannot be opened now and have been replaced by tax free childcare allowances (see Tax free childcare tab).
These are the voucher providers we currently accept
The number or code after the company names are how the they identify harlequin.
Edenred - P20122077
Their website: www.childcarevouchers.co.uk
email: via the provider website
telephone: 0845 33 0 44 33
Allsave - Harlequin reference "Harlequin OSC Ltd (Maidstone)"
Their website www.allsaveuk.com
email: info@allsaveuk.com
telephone: 01256 339100
Busy Bees - Harlequin Out Of School Club Limited or Ofsted number EY333465
Care-4 - 81746894
Their website www.care-4.co.uk
email: info@care-4.co.uk
telephone: 0870 870 4114
ComputerShare - 7900669
Their website: www.computersharevoucherservices.com
email: from their website
telephone: 0845 002 1122
Early Years Vouchers - Harlequin
Their website: www.childcare-vouchers.net
email: enquiries@childcare-vouchers.net
telephone : 0845 0945 804
FareCare - Harlequin
Their website: www.faircare.co.uk
email: info@faircare.co.uk
telephone: 0800 652 4745
Fideliti - HAR054C
Their website: www.fideliti.co.uk
email: enquiries@fideliti.co.uk
telephone: 0800 288 8727
Fideliti - HAR054C
Their website: www.fideliti.co.uk
email: enquiries@fideliti.co.uk
telephone: 0800 288 8727
Gemelli Employee Benefits - HA3807
email. Deana@Gemellieb.co.uk
telephone: 01280 851113
Gentix - "Harlequin Out of School Clubs Ltd"
Their website: www.gentix.com
email: info@gentix.com
telephone: 0845 458 1621
KiddiVoucher - Harlequin Out of School Clubs Ltd"
Their Website: www.kiddivouchers.com
telephone: 0800 612 7075
Kidsunlimited - 00314650
Their website: www.kidsunlimited.co.uk
email: enquiries@kidsunlimied.co.uk
telephone: 0845 365 2900
Co-operative Flexible - 85010860
Their website: https://www.flexiblebenefits.coop/
email: info@flexiblebenefits.coop
telephone: 0800 458 7929
Perk Up - N1083
Please note - we are registered with Perk Up at our Coxheath address, please search for post code ME17 4PS or Ofsted registration EY333465, irrespective of which setting you attend.
RG Childcare - 07260102067
RG Childcare know we have three Ofsted registered settings, but they have the Tunbridge Wells one as the primary setting. This is still the correct code to use for Coxheath.
SodexHo Pass - 154125
Their website www.sodexhopass.co.uk
email: customercare.motivation.uk@sodexo.com
telephone: 0800 328 7411 or 01276 687000
Please note, Sodexho use post code referrences for settings, and Harlequin is recorded at ME159XG with them.
Also known as Saycare
TEDs - ME15 9XG
Their website: www.tedsgroup.co.uk
telephone: 01565 650 396
TEDs only make payments once per month on or after the 1st, so it maybe necessary to pay an extra month in advance.
YouAtWork - 5668
Their website: www.youatwork.co.uk
email: member.services@youatwork.co.uk
telephone: 020 7699 5400
Please use the links to register your child.
We do not charge a fee to register.
Please help us to support you and your child by being as accurate as possible when filling the form. If there is further information you would like to offer, or you have questions, please use the contact us page or email enquiries@hosc.co.uk directly.
Bookings for breakfast, after school, holiday clubs and pre-school become a formal agreement once accepted by us. A retainer is needed to secure a place or full payment of fees for holiday clubs. Once we have received booking and payment we will guarantee the service as booked.
Please refer to the terms and conditions tab for further information.
To view the reports click on the links below
Coxheath
In August 2019 and February 2013 we were inspected and awarded "outstanding" in every category.
Click the link to read the report: registration number EY333465
Tunbridge Wells
In March 2020 we were inspected, and judged and awarded 'outstanding' in every category.
Click the link to read the report: registration number EY486142
Forest Pre-School
The Tunbridge Wells Forest Pre-School was registered in July 2016 as a new setting. In July 2023 we were rated as 'Outstanding' in all areas.
Click the link to read the report : 50223986 (ofsted.gov.uk)
Harlequin terms for pre-school and wrap around care are linked to the KCC term calendar.
We provide holiday club in through all KCC school holidays and offer them when our schools have inset days too (subject to demand).
term dates 2024 to 2025 (PDF, 108.8 KB)
term dates 2025 to 2026 (PDF, 376.1 KB)
Expert help on keeping children happy and safe online
Parent Info is a collaboration between CEOP and Parent Zone which looks to support schools in providing high quality information to parents and carers about their children's wellbeing and resilience.
In line with CEOP’s Thinkuknow programme, some of the content covers common internet safety issues, but all of the content starts from the assumption that young people make little distinction between their online and offline lives and the issues for parents are often the same. The aim of Parents Info is to help parents help their children be discriminating, web-literate and resilient and is suitable for parents/carers with children of different and ages and abilities.
Making a complaint
Our club is committed to providing a safe, stimulating, consistent and accessible service to children and their parents/carers. We always aim to provide high quality services for everyone, but accept that sometimes things do not always go to plan. In such circumstances, we want to know so that we can put them right and learn from our mistakes.
The procedure to make a complaint is detailed in the document below.
Briefly,
- Speak to the a member of staff who will take necessary action to record and deal with the complaint or concern.
- If you are not satisfied, please formally write to the setting manager who will investigate, record, take necessary action and formally report back.
- If necessary, the registered person (Alison Payne) will intervene at this stage.
Complaining to Ofsted
Any parent/carer can, at any time, submit a complaint to Ofsted about any aspect of registered childcare provision. Ofsted will consider and investigate all complaints received.
Links to Ofsted reports and web site are on the Ofsted Reports tab.
This exert is from "Fees" and is effective from April 2024.
These terms apply to pre-school, breakfast, after school and holiday clubs offered by Harlequin for all age groups.
1. General
Our preferred payment type is bank transfer to Harlequin Out of School Clubs Ltd. Sort code 090150, account number 05659671. Please use the child’s name as reference.
Cleared funds for payments must be received no later than the 6am on 1st of each calendar month, by cash or standing order, BACS transfer, Taxfree childcare account or childcare vouchers. See 5.
Invoices are emailed to the email account Harlequin hold for each parent, it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure the email address we hold for you is one you access regularly, including during holidays and that we are informed of change of email address. Invoices are sent on around the 15th of each month. See 5.
Please ensure you get a receipt every time you make a payment by cash.
Four week’s written notice (email) of any adhoc changes or cancellations is required. See 2 and 4 below.
Booked sessions shall be charged as if taken even if not attended, irrespective of the reason for non-attendance. See 2 below.
Absence due to injury, illness or isolation will be charged as if taken even if not attended. See 2 below.
Holiday club fees are due when submitting a Holiday Club booking form. See 9.
Trip fees are in addition to normal session fees. See 9.
Half day bookings are not available on days when a day trip is arranged. See 9.
Non-payment of the fees will lead to the child's access to the club being refused. See 5 and 13.
Adhoc sessions may be booked. See 3.
Fees may be paid in regular, fixed monthly instalments by standing order or childcare vouchers. See 16.
A late payment charge is levied if fees are not settled in full by the due date. See 13.
An additional charge is made when a child is collected after their booked end time. See 12.
Retainers will be forfeit if sessions are cancelled before a child starts or in their first three months attendance. See 8.
Pre-booked means arranged as part of a regular schedule or arranged before noon on the day of attendance. For example 6.30pm finishes. See 11.
A fee is charged for each attended session while a child is in nappies or pull-ups. See 21.
Children should NOT attend pre-school if in the last 48 hours they have: had Calpol (or similar) within 4 hours of the start of their session, feel unwell, had any diarrhoea, lose stool or vomiting have a rash, spots or high temperature.
2. Notice of termination
A minimum of 4 weeks written notice is required when you wish to terminate your child’s place at Harlequin. For funded places, if notice is given and it is less than 4 weeks, parents/carers are responsible for paying Harlequin the equivalent amount that Harlequin would have received from the funding route until the end of the 4 week notice period, as well as any additional sessions not covered by funding, eg breakfast or midday session. During the notice period, the child can attend the sessions but all sessions must be paid for before they are attended.
Harlequin reserves the right to terminate a child’s place with immediate effect if a serious breach of these terms and conditions occurs, or if termination of a place is considered by Harlequin to be in the best interests of the club and/or the continuing welfare of the other children at the club. Examples of this are a parent using foul language or being abusive to staff, or where Harlequin feels the relationship with parents has broken down. Serious breaches of the agreement would include a parent frequently arriving late at the club without prior notification, or regularly failing to pay fees.
3. Adhoc Sessions
Adhoc sessions are any session outside a regular weekly schedule.
Parents are welcome to request additional and adhoc sessions. These are granted provided there is sufficient space and staff in the setting. Payment is made with the request, in advance of the session date. If an adhoc request is made that cannot be fulfilled due to space, then no fee will be charged.
The minimum retainer of £100 per child is payable for users of adhoc sessions.
4. Changes and swaps
All sessions shall be charged as if taken unless four weeks’ written notice is provided. Swaps of booked sessions within a four week period are not permitted. Adhoc changes beyond four weeks will be made with no fee for the cancelled session. A maximum of 10 sessions can be cancelled in any 6-week term. Any further cancelations are charged as if attended.
All additional bookings are subject to space availability at the session. See 3.
Where more than 10 sessions are requested to be changed in any 6-week term, a review of the schedule may be made and where necessary may result in the change being deemed permanent. In this event parents will have the choice whether to pay for sessions (even if not used) in order to hold the space for
HOSC Fees_v20.docx Page 3 of 4
the future terms, or for the regular schedule to be changed and adjustment made to the held retainer. Subsequent changes to schedule will be subject to payment of any retainer and availability for the session(s).
This policy is to enable Harlequin to permanently resell the given up schedule to a child on the waiting list.
5. Invoices and payment
Invoices are issued on about the 15th of the preceding month. These are generated based on each child’s regular schedule and taking into account any requested changes and adhoc requests that have been agreed up to the 10th of the previous month.
Invoices will detail all sessions booked, and the fee for that booking. It is parent’s responsibility to ensure the right sessions are displayed on the invoice.
Invoices are emailed to the primary email account for each parent/guardian.
Parents must inform the Harlequin office if invoices are not received by the 20th of each month.
Cleared funds for payments must be received no later than 6am on the 1st of each calendar month (see late payment surcharge below), by cash or standing order, BACS transfer or childcare vouchers. Automated bank and voucher transfer can take up to 5 days to be received; it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure sufficient time is allowed for payments to clear.
Holiday club invoices are not mailed out, as holiday club bookings must be paid with booking. Holiday club invoices can be provided on request to enquries@hosc.co.uk. Requests must be received within 28days of the holiday, after that period an admin charge of £50 will be applied when issuing holiday club invoices.
Invoices for additional fees (see below) are normally issued by email weekly, and are due immediately.
6. Disputed invoices
If the amount or stated sessions on an invoice are not what you expect, please pay what you think is due, or the amount of the invoice if it is less, then contact the Harlequin office at enquiries@hosc.co.uk to resolve the discrepancy. Not paying for sessions booked because the invoice is perceived to be incorrect will incur a late payment surcharge (see below).
Harlequin staff in the clubs will not have access to the computer to query fees and invoices during club hours.
7. Retainer
A retainer payment of four weeks’ normal scheduled fees (after school and breakfast club or pre-school) is due when registering. This amount will vary as necessary when the number of booked sessions is changed. When notice is given of a child leaving, a full refund of the retainer held will be issued after all remaining fees have been deducted. This is done by bank transfer within 6 weeks of the last session. See 8 Forfeit of retainer below.
When registering a child to start sessions immediately, the retainer and fees for the current month need to be paid on booking.
Retainers must be paid in cash or by bank transfer. Childcare vouchers cannot be accepted for retainer payments for tax reasons.
Retainers are set as a minimum of £100 per child attending.
No interest is earned or paid on retainers.
8. Forfeit of retainer
Retainers are in place to demonstrate a commitment from parents to take up a session offered by Harlequin, in return we commit to ensure the requested session is available for their child. Places may be denied if there are not spaces and are only confirmed with the acceptance of the retainer.
Cancellations and changes in regular booked attendance (schedule) before the child’s first session at the club and within the first three months of first scheduled attendance shall forfeit the retainer for those sessions. Minimum forfeit in these circumstances is £100, or the retainer equivalent to four weeks fees for the sessions cancelled, whichever is the greater amount.
9. Holiday clubs
Holiday club bookings must be made on the forms provided. Trip costs indicated on the form do not include the standard day fee. On trip days, a full day must be booked.
No bookings are made during pre-school holidays for children who attend term-time pre-school and no sessions are assumed or reserved based on term time pre-school schedule.
Normal days are 8am to 6pm unless indicated on the booking form otherwise. Late finishes at 6.30pm must be pre-booked on the form to be charged at the indicated rate, otherwise collection after 6pm will be subject to the late collection charge (see 12).
7.30am starts are available at an extra charge but must be pre-booked on the booking form to enable adequate staffing.
Holiday club sessions are confirmed once full payment has cleared and the related form received, at which point all fees are non-refundable. A completed form represents your commitment to pay for the sessions booked on the form. Payment must be made at the same time the form is submitted.
If a session is full or cannot be offered by Harlequin, a full refund of session and trip fee will be issued.
As payment is required on booking, invoices are not sent for holiday clubs. Payment receipts and confirmations are sent after payment is processed.
10. Wait list and waiting list payment
Harlequin hold a waiting list for any regular sessions that are full and for funded places when all funded sessions are allocated. These are managed primarily on a first come first served basis. Please refer to Harlequin Waiting list policy for full details.
In order to be added to the waiting list, a payment equal to four weeks fee for that session is required. Once the space is allocated this payment is added to the customers’ retainer.
If a space does not become available or you choose to come off the waiting list, the payment made to enter the waiting list is refunded or credited to your account.
11. Pre-booked late finishes (6.30pm)
A finish time of 6.30pm can be booked on all afternoon and holiday club sessions. This end time must be indicated on the form at the time of booking, using the forms provided.
Adhoc late finishes can be booked in advance before noon on the day of attendance by email or telephone. In this case the extra fee shown in the table above will apply.
Notification after noon, or not at all, will count as a late collection and be subject to the late collection fee described below.
12. Late collection fee
£20 per family (siblings) for each 15 minutes or part after the pre-booked finish time is charged. Parents and children must leave the building before their booked finish time to avoid a late fee. Please plan any time necessary to talk to staff before this time.
This fee is charged whatever the reason for the delay in collection. Harlequin staff will remain with all uncollected children, and will determine when escalation is necessary in line with Harlequin policies.
If a third party collects a child late, the late collection fee is charged to the parent.
13. Late payment of accounts
Any late full payment of invoices will be subject to a late payment surcharge of £15 on the date the invoice is due for payment, i.e. the first of the month it refers to. Harlequin reserves the right to apply a surcharge of 4% above the Bank of England base rate for late payment from the payment due date. Any late payment fee surcharge will be added to the outstanding invoice and re-issued weekly. £15 late fee will be added each week that the fee remains unpaid.
We may pass unpaid fees to a debt collection service after a total of 30 days from the initial invoice date, and the cost for this service will be added to the amount outstanding. In addition, in the event of fees being unpaid for more than 7 days, Harlequin reserves the right to refuse care for the child or children without further notice.
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Even when the first day of the month falls during a school holiday (such as January and September) the latest date for payment of the fee shall be the first day of the month.
Where voucher and electronic payments are used, it remains the parent responsibility to ensure payment is made early enough to arrive before it is late.
14. Special care supplement
Children with special needs can be accommodated at the club by prior arrangement. Where their care requires additional or specialist staff, the charge for the session shall be the normal session fee, plus a special care supplement. Special care supplements are determined individually based on the needs of the child and the potential impact on other users of the club. Typically special care supplements are between £5.00 and £25.00 per hour in addition to the usual session fee.
15. Notification of cancellation or absence
All absences from pre-school must be reported to the setting at the start of the first missed session. Where government funded education sessions are being missed, a reason for the absence must be provided as Harlequin has an obligation to the local authority to document all absences.
16. Paying monthly
Fees may be paid in regular fixed monthly amounts. The formula for the amount is the average weekly fee x 3.5. This assumes payments are spread over 11 months from August (for September fee) to June (for July fee). Harlequin will request top up payments or offer a refund if the account is getting in arrears or is in excess credit.
This formula only provides payment for breakfast and after school club. To spread the cost of holiday clubs through the year, estimate the number of days and fee required and add 1/12th to the monthly amount.
Monthly invoices are produced to show credits and debits carried forward from the previous month. Only sessions booked are charged.
17. Bank Charges
Any bank charges due to re-presented cheques or returned payments will be charged at the cost to Harlequin or £20, whichever is greater.
18. Summer holiday club instalments
By prior agreement with the managing director, and where the total holiday club fee is in excess of £600, Harlequin may be prepared to accept payments for holiday club by instalments. Harlequin will indicate the schedule for each payment as all fees must still be paid in advance of sessions attended. Any discounts are applied to the last instalment (see promotional discounts below).
19. Promotional discounts
From time to time, Harlequin may offer promotional discounts based on early commitment, or when more than a certain level of commitment is made, for example. Any discount is normally deducted once the booking is confirmed. Any overpayment will be refunded by cash, bank transfer or a credit on the family account within 6 weeks of the final discounted session. Holiday club discounts are applied in the final week in holiday club, full fees up to this time must be paid.
Children who attend our clubs may be eligible for a discount when hiring our venues for a party.
20. Preparation of financial statements
Harlequin receives a number of requests for accounts and official statements (for example for HMRC and employers) that take a long time to prepare and in some cases require retrieval of archived hard copy documentation.
Requests for detailed accounts to be prepared for historic review of sessions and payment made / due will be charged at the rate of £50 - £100. An estimate of the charge necessary will be provided before the account is prepared, and will require payment of the fee by the parent/guardian.
Harlequin will not charge for statements of accounts where the request is received directly from HMRC or Universal Credits.
These documents are required for good management of a setting, and reviewed by Ofsted. Our policies have been upheld by KCC as best practive. We encourage our parents to read them and ask questions and provide feedback as required.
These policies are Copyrighted to Harlequin Out of School Clubs and freely available for the benefit of our parents. Whilst it is very flattering that our competitors choose to download and use our policies as their own, this is not permissible.
Use of Harlequin polices by anyone other than existing or potential parents is not permissible. All policies are available to view in the setting, please contact the office by clicking here or call 01622 749773.
Our preferred method of payment is by BACS direct to our bank account.
Account name : Harlequin Out of School Clubs Ltd
Sort code : 090150
Account number : 05659671
Please use your child's name as a reference and this simplifies matching your payment to your invoice.
Payments are processed at least twice a week, when an email receipt will be sent to your registered email address.