ABOUT OUR SERVICES
We provide outdoor and Indoor education childcare services with plenty of adventures for ages 2-14.
We run from 8am-6pm from Monday to Friday both during term time and school holidays. Our sessions have been developed to fit around busy family schedules and we can provide continuity of care and loads of fun throughout early childhood and beyond.
We pick up children for after school club from 4 different primary schools and when these children go on to high school they are reunited with many Highland Fling friends.
We are situated in Portobello and our headquarters are Highland Fling House, 11 East Brighton Crescent.
We have invested in an excellent team of very qualified and committed staff and are a Living Wage provider and Eco School Award holder.
OUR SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
NURSERY CARE
Early Birds
8am-9am Monday to Friday. Highland Fling House
Where parents have an early start children can attend our Early Birds session for some morning activities and play for an hour before the core nursery session. School-aged children can be taken to school in the Portobello/Duddingston Catchment area. Families with both nursery and school children can drop them off together at Highland Fling House.
Core Nursery Session
9am-3pm Monday to Friday @ Highland Fling House
Happy Haggis Club.
3pm-6pm Monday - Friday @ Highland Fling House
The Happy Haggis Club allows the children to take part in lots more fun activities and to mix with their friends. The Key workers are still on hand of course to help in choosing what to do next.
By combining our sessions you can have full day attendance with variety and fun throughout.
AFTER SCHOOL/ HOLIDAY CARE
After school Club.
Monday-Thursday 3-6pm @ Duddingston Hillside. (Friday 12-6pm.)
We pick up children directly from Portobello/Duddingston catchment schools either on foot or by minibus. The Primary 1 children come back to Highland Fling House to relax in familiar surroundings whist the Primary 2-7’s go to our designated after school club venues which are at Duddingston Hillside. On Fridays, P1 Neeps will also go to Duddingston Hillside.
Holiday Clubs.
February, Easter, Summer and October holidays
8am-6pm (half days available). Duddingston Hillside.
Whilst priority is given in the form of earlier booking to the children already attending the after school club, children out with our normal catchment area may also attend. We have had several families from other parts of town who chose to attend every year and are happy to see old friends every time.
The club runs from 8am-6pm to allow parents/carers still to work as normal during school holidays and is adventure packed every day with loads of outdoor activities included to keep everyone healthy and happy.
CLOSURE
Highland Fling is closed on:
Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Early May Spring Bank Holiday
Christmas and New Year holiday period in conjunction with local school dates
FEES
Out of School Care:
Monday - Thursday £15.50 per session (3pm - 6pm)
Friday £31.00 per session (12pm - 6pm)
Friday Adventure Club £20.00 (1pm -4pm)
Holiday Club £45.00 full day, £27.00 half day (8am - 1pm or 1pm - 6pm)
(Please Note: Holiday Club carries a 100% cancellation fee once booked.)
Fees are reviewed on a biannual basis.
Nappies are not included in the hourly rate and should be supplied by parents/carers. Wipes are supplied by Highland Fling.
PAYMENT OF FEES
You shall pay the charges as agreed.
Charges are due even if the child is absent.
We will not charge for bank holidays that we are closed.
VAT is not charged on nursery fees (nursery provision is an exempt supply for VAT purposes).
The quoted charges are per child, per hour and include snack.
Extra hours (or parts of an hour) will be charged for (at the ruling rate) and must be booked and paid for at least 24 hours in advance.
All payments must normally be made by direct debit or childcare vouchers. In some circumstances, we agree to payment by cash, cheque or major credit/debit card, but it is your responsibility to obtain a receipt from the nursery manager as proof of payment. No payment shall be deemed to have been made until it is cleared into our bank account.
The charges must be paid monthly in advance, by the 10th day of the month.
Childcare vouchers must be paid monthly in advance, by the 6th day of the month.
We may increase our charges once every two years. We will give you written notice of any such increase at least one month before the proposed date of increase.
Without restricting any other legal right that we may have, if you fail to pay us on time, we may:
Make an interest charge of up to 1.5% per cent per month or part month on late payment. Unless otherwise notified to you in writing, interest shall accrue on a daily basis from the due date until the date of actual payment of the overdue amount, whether before or after judgment. You must pay us the interest together with the overdue amount. In addition we will be entitled to recover from you the full amount of our administrative and other costs incurred in recovering any unpaid sum including legal costs and disbursements on an indemnity basis.
Charge you a reasonable administration fee of £25; and
Suspend all Services until payment has been made in full, which will include the suspension of the child, or even terminate the contract permanently.
If you are late for picking up your child, Highland Fling reserves the right to charge you an extra £10 per every 15 minutes.
If you owe us any money, and make a claim against us, we may set off what you owe us against what you are claiming from us.
If you wish to terminate your child's attendance or request to amend their current attendance we require 4 weeks notice in writing.
Should Highland Fling be forced to close under national guidance due to events out with our control, a 20% retainer fee will be invoiced each month that we are closed. A retainer fee will be an invoice requesting 20% of the fees required for that month. This is both non-refundable and non-transferable.
Should we be unable to operate or staff our after school club and have no option but to close due to staff isolating or being asked to stay at home after being identified as a contact of COVID-19 there will be a 50% charge of fees applied for the days we are closed.
CHILD PROTECTION
Our staff have all received child protection training, and we have two designated child protection officers. All our staff are aware of their responsibilities under the child protection guidelines. Our staff have a duty to report any concerns to our child protection officers.
We will do all that is reasonable to safeguard and promote the Child’s welfare and to provide care to at least the standard required by law and often to a much higher standard.
We will respect the Child’s human rights and freedoms which must however, be balanced with the lawful needs and rules of our nursery and rights and freedoms of others.
Your consent to such physical contact as may be lawful accord with good practice, and be appropriate and proper for teaching and instruction and for providing comfort to a Child in distress, or to maintain safety and good order, or in connection with the Child’s health and welfare.
As regards behaviour management techniques and sanctions, please refer to the nursery’s Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy.
The nursery uses emergency procedures for accidents, evacuations, incidents and allergic reactions, please refer to the individual policies and procedures and ask for a copy where required.
HEALTH & MEDICAL MATTERS
If the child becomes ill during the nursery session the nursery manager will contact you or the emergency contact indicated on the registration form. You must inform us immediately of any changes to these contact details. If your child requires urgent medical attention while under our care, we will if practicable attempt to contact you and obtain your prior consent. However, should we be unable to contact you we shall be authorised to make the decision on your behalf should consent be required for urgent treatment recommended by a doctor (including anaesthetic or operation, or blood transfusion (unless you have previously notified us you object to blood transfusions).
If the child is suffering from a communicable illness, he/she should not be brought to the nursery until such time as the infection has cleared. A full copy of our infection control policy is available from the nursery manager. Please refer to the illness/communicable disease list supplied in your information on minimum periods of exclusion from the nursery.
You must notify the nursery manager if the child is absent from the nursery through sickness.
If the child has been sent home from the nursery because of ill health, he/she will not be re-admitted for at least 24 hours. If the child is prescribed antibiotics, he/she will not be allowed to return to the nursery for 48 hours.
As regards medication, and the administration of it to a child, please refer to the nursery’s Medication Policy. Please ask for a copy of it if necessary.
FOOD/ DIETARY REQUIREMENTS
We will work with you to provide suitable food for your child, if they have a special dietary requirement or any allergies as diagnosed by a doctor or dietician. All reasonable care will be taken to ensure that a child does not come into contact with certain foods with support from parents and external professionals should the need arise.
Menus will be displayed for inspection, and parents and children will be able to feed into the review of these.
REPORTING OF NEGLECT OR ABUSE
We have an obligation to report to the relevant authorities any suspicions we have that your Child has suffered neglect or abuse, and we may do so without your consent and/or without informing you.
DATA PROTECTION
You agree that details of your name, address and payment record may be submitted to a credit reference agency, and personal data will be processed by and on behalf of us in connection with the Services.
We may take photographs and/or videos of your Child for promotional or training purposes only. If you do not wish for your Child to be included in such photographs or videos, please inform us by completing the ‘permission form’ given to you on enrolment, or by writing to the nursery manager.
Any personal data related to You or your Child will be dealt with in accordance with our privacy notice, which can be found on our website.
SECURITY
Parents are welcome to visit the nursery, but we will not admit anyone without prior notification. It is your responsibility to ensure that we are aware of who will be collecting your Child. No Child will be allowed to leave the building with any person who has not been notified as an authorised person to collect the Child on your behalf.
COMPLAINTS & CONCERNS
Please address any complaint or concern to the supervisor in charge, in the first instance, and if the matter is not resolved within a reasonable period, please refer it to the nursery manager. Please also refer to our complaints and compliments policy which shall apply to any complaints received by us.
YOUR OBLIGATION TO US
You agree to co-operate with us and provide to us such information as we may reasonably require about your child including:
Any known medical condition, health problem, allergy, or diagnosed dietary requirement;
Any prescribed medication;
Any lack of any vaccination which the Child would ordinarily have by their age;
Any family circumstances or court orders affecting the Child;
Any concerns about the Child’s safety); and
Your contact details, and those of your authorised persons who may collect the Child.
You must (a) ensure that these details are accurate and (b) keep these details up-to-date, by promptly informing us in writing whenever they change.
As regards arrivals and departure of a child, please refer to the nursery’s Arrivals and Departures Policy. Please ask for a copy of it if necessary.
If our performance of our obligations under the contract is prevented or delayed by anything you do (or fail to do), we shall not be liable.
PERMISSIONS
Emergency consent
You agree to the registered person in the provision (or deputy in charge or nominated person) taking the necessary steps to ensure that your child receives the best and most appropriate care, attention and treatment should there be an emergency or accident in the setting or while my child is on an authorised outing.
You understand that the registered person or deputy in charge or nominated person will make every effort to inform you of any emergency or accidents a soon as possible after the event but they may have to accompany your child to hospital in the case of a serious accident in my absence.
You give your permission for the registered person in charge of Highland Fling or deputy in charge or nominated person to authorise hospital staff to administer essential treatment until your arrival.
If you do not agree the above, then Highland Fling is happy to discuss further.
OBSERVATIONS & PHOTOGRAPHS
As part of our commitment to provide for the individual needs of your child we will observe all areas of development, and in partnership with you, record progress in those areas in order to plan appropriate activities within the nursery.
These observations and records will be available for inspection by the Care Inspectorate otherwise they will be confidential and available only to you and those nursery staff involved in planning the early learning for your child.
The nursery offers training placements for childcare students who, in order to complete college assignments will be asked to observe play.
Any photographs taken of your child by nursery staff or childcare students may be used in nursery displays but will not be taken off the premises.
Any photographs of your child may also be used on our website and Facebook account, and for other promotional purposes.
If you do not agree the above, then Highland Fling is happy to discuss further.
PERMISSIONS TO TAKE CHILDREN OFF THE PREMISES
As part of early learning planning, the nursery will arrange local visits and walks in the neighbourhood to support children’s knowledge, understanding and experiences.
For your child to take part in such activities we require permission from their parent(s).
All outings away from the nursery will be assessed to identify risks and measures will be put in place to ensure children, staff and assistants are safe during their time away from the nursery (please refer to our visits and outings policy).
Adult to child ratios will be higher than normal on these occasions and we would welcome and appreciate any parents who would feel able to accompany us on short walks and trips.
Please note that separate letters and permission slips will be sent out for visits and trips further afield.