Terms and conditions for a day nursery

A day nursery contract has to survive the awkward moments: the family who stops paying but keeps bringing the child, the parent who collects long after closing, the funded hours that do not cover what a place actually costs, and the notice that arrives by text message. I draft parent terms around how your nursery runs, for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Private day nurseries, pre-schools and small nursery groups in England and Wales, whether you run one setting or several. Your contract is almost always with a parent acting as a consumer, which sets the rules you have to work within. Some places are invoiced to an employer instead, and the terms need to say plainly who owes the fees.

What matters in a day nursery's parent terms

Fees, notice and what happens when a family leaves

Fees buy a place, not attendance, and the terms should say so plainly: the place is held, staffing is booked, and a child who is off sick or away on holiday is still occupying it. Set out when invoices go out, when payment falls due, and what notice a parent must give to end the place. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a term that lets you keep a prepayment on cancellation without any matching obligation on you is treated as suspect, so a registration fee or an advance month has to be explained by reference to what the parent actually receives.

Funded hours, extras and how you present the price

Most settings take funded early education hours and then charge for consumables, meals, nappies or extended sessions. Two problems recur. The first is the parent who believes funded hours are free of everything, which is answered by describing exactly what the funding covers and what it does not. The second is presentation: under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 a headline price shown to consumers must include all mandatory charges, so a session rate advertised without a compulsory meals charge is a risk. The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 also stops you adding a card fee.

Enrolment, cancellation rights and getting terms in front of parents

Where a parent signs at the nursery during a show round, the contract is made face to face on your premises and falls outside the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 altogether. Where enrolment is completed online, by email or over the telephone, it is a distance contract: the parent has fourteen days to cancel, and if the cancellation information is not given the period can extend by up to twelve months. Either way, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats terms the parent had no real chance to read as suspect, so the pack goes out before the signature.

Late collection, illness and suspending a place

A late collection charge is a default charge, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats disproportionate default charges as unfair, so it has to reflect the real cost of keeping staff past closing rather than punish the parent. The same discipline applies to charges on unpaid fees. The terms should also set out your exclusion periods for infectious illness, your right to refuse a child who is clearly unwell, and when you may suspend or end a place for non-payment or for conduct by a parent that your staff should not have to absorb.

Who may collect, separated parents and parental responsibility

Collection is where nursery terms are tested at the worst possible moment. The contract should record who holds parental responsibility, who is authorised to collect, how you verify an adult you do not recognise, and what happens when someone arrives whose name is not on the list. Where parents separate, the practical question is who owes the fees. Naming both parents and making them jointly and individually liable is the answer most nurseries want, and it has to be agreed at enrolment, because it cannot be imposed later once one of them has stopped paying.

Consents, allergies and limits on liability

Consent for photographs, outings, sun cream, medication and emergency medical treatment belongs in the enrolment paperwork, recorded separately so a parent can decline one without declining all. Allergy and dietary information should be the parent's responsibility to give and to update in writing. On liability, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not allow you to exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or to limit liability for your service to less than the price paid, so the terms deal instead with lost property and damaged clothing, which is where the arguments really happen.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I charge a family that leaves without giving notice?

Charging in lieu of notice is workable, but the term must be transparent, given before the parent signs, and fair overall under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Prominence does not rescue a charge that is out of proportion to what you actually lose, so keep the notice period modest and reduce the charge where the place is refilled.

Can I stop parents recruiting my staff as nannies?

Your parent terms can require a fee where a family employs a member of your team within a defined period after they leave, and it is worth having, because it happens more than nursery owners expect. Keep the period and the fee proportionate to your genuine recruitment cost. The staff side of this belongs in the employment contract.

How do I put fees up without a fight?

Build the mechanism in from the start: a stated review point each year, written notice before any increase takes effect, and a right for the parent to end the place without penalty if they do not accept it. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats one-sided variation rights as suspect, and an increase imposed without notice will struggle to bind.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for a yoga or pilates studio
• Terms and conditions for a personal trainer

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.