This help centre article has been written for Koru Kids' Home Nursery service
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Typical opening hours
Each of our home nurseries set its own opening hours, but most are open for a 10 hour day.
Each home nursery’s opening hours are displayed on their profile on our website
Most open 8 am-6 pm, but some open earlier at 7.30 am and some close later at 6.30 pm.
If your local home nursery doesn’t open the hours you require it is always worth having a conversation with them to see if they can accommodate your request
Some may be willing to flex by 30 mins if it's essential for you
If you need a drop off prior to 7.30 am or after 6.30 pm it is unlikely any of our Early Educators will be able to accommodate that as it will make their day extremely long. Most traditional nurseries are unlikely to do this, either.
If you are in this situation a nanny or nanny share is usually the best option as then the care is bespoke to your families needs. Koru Kids can find you a great nanny and help you find a nanny share to reduce the cost, so speak to us about this.
Days of operation
Each of our home nurseries set its own days of operation but all are open a minimum of 4 days a week.
If a home nursery does not operate 5 days a week, Friday is usually the day they are closed as this suits most parents
Check their individual profiles to check their opening times suit you.
Some of our home nurseries operate term time only (although most are all year round)
Double-check their profile to ensure your local setting suits what you need.
All our home nurseries close for 20 days (4 weeks) of the year so that our Early Educators can take a well earned holiday. Home nurseries are also closed on UK bank holidays.
Your Early Educator will give you at least 3 months written notice of a closure of more than 4 days.
Most families arrange their own holiday to coincide with these dates so as to avoid paying for additional childcare.
Your Early Educator will give you at least 1 months written notice of a closure of 3 days or less.
Koru Kids can provide you with a short term nanny to cover any closures if needed.
In the case of an emergency (e.g. a funeral), your Early Educator may ask you to waive the notice period for a short closure.
Drop-off and pick-up times
You need to drop your child off by 8.50 am every morning and collect them anytime from lunchtime.
We ask for drop off by 8.50 am so as not to disrupt the Early Educator taking the children out on their morning’s adventure
If you have a one-off problem with this (e.g. a medical appointment) you can make an arrangement with your Early Educator to wait for you as a one-off, or you can arrange to drop your child directly to whatever green space the tribe are in that day.
Most parents collect around 5 or 6 pm, but technically you can collect your child anytime from when they are back at base - e.g. around 12 noon.
Discuss with your Early Educator about nap time and early pick-up though so they can ensure your child isn’t sleeping when you need to collect.
Late collection
If you collect late - after the closure time - your Early Educator may charge you for the extra time your child is in their care.
If you are running late please call your Early Educator to let them know when to expect you.
If it is a one-off, due to an issue with your train, for example, most of our Early Educators will waive the charge for the extra time but will retain the right to charge if late collection becomes a pattern.
If you are late and have not called, your Early Educator will try to contact you and the other named contacts.
In an extreme situation that they cannot contact you or any of the emergency contacts listed, and it is a long time from collection time, they will contact social services.
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