EARLY BIRDS & BREAKFAST CLUB
(collectively known as “WBC”)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Who is the WBC for?
The school offers the Early Birds and the Breakfast Club service to any pupil at the school. We cannot offer the service to any child or sibling who attends any other school.
- Who will be looking after my child?
The school employs a Breakfast Club Coordinator to manage the day to day activities of both the Early Birds and Breakfast club and our school office manages the admission process. We have an Extended Services Manager who oversees all of the wraparound care the school provides. We have a number of play workers who are employed to ensure that we have the correct staff to children ratio, in line with all of our statutory requirements.
Staff receive on-going training in various aspects of child supervision and care, including behaviour management, child protection and activity delivery. All staff are cleared by the Disclosure & Barring Service.
- What are the opening times?
Early Birds is open from 7.40am to 8am.
Breakfast Club opens at 8am.
Please do not bring your child in before the session opening time.
Your child should be brought to the main reception door when you arrive at the school. You will find the buzzer on the left hand side of the wall by the entrance to notify the staff that you are waiting to be let in.
End of the Breakfast Club - if your child is in Infants (Reception, Year 1 or Year 2), our staff will take them to their class directly ready for the start of the school day (9am). If your child is in Juniors (Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6) they will have the option to join their friends on the playground at 8.40am (at which time they will then be supervised by the school playground staff) or to stay at the Breakfast Club. If they stay at Breakfast Club they make their own way from the school hall to their classroom ready for registration at the start of the school day.
- What do I need to do on arrival?
We have a separate Arrivals & Departures policy. Please take the time to read this. A key requirement is that parents/carers must accompany their child to the front door located by the school office and not leave their child unattended until their child has been formally signed in by the WBC team. Please speak to the School Officeif your child is in Year 6 and walks to school unaccompanied by an adult. We also ask that you do not visit any other parts of the school on arrival.
- What food is available?
Our Breakfast Club menu is below, Appendix 1.
- What activities are offered at the club?
We offer a huge variety of activities at WBC. Please see below, Appendix 2.
- How do I book regular sessions?
You need to complete an Application Form for each child you intend to attend Early Birds and/or the Breakfast Club and sign our Terms & Conditions document. Documents are available on the school website or from the school office. There is a section at the back of the Application Form for you to select the days you would like your child to attend. Please also indicate the date from which you would like the sessions to start.
Due to the size of our school and popularity of our Extended Services provision, we do have a limit to the number of children that we are able to admit therefore the school office may from time to time operate a waiting list.
- My child is going to be absent, what should I do?
Please inform the team by phone on 01273 294901 as soon as you can.
Our fees remain due if your child is absent from Early Birds and/or Breakfast Club for any reason including (but not limited to) absences due to your child attending a school trip (including our residential trips), if they have had a holiday authorised by the school (other than a school holiday) or if they are ill.
- How do I cancel sessions?
Individual sessions cannot be cancelled on a temporary basis. If you are cancelling a regular session on a permanent basis, the school requires at least 2 weeks written notice (letter or email). This is providing that you retain at least one regular session per week. If you are cancelling ALL sessions and leaving the club, werequire 1 month’s written notice. All cancellation notices should be by email or letter to the school office or to .
- How can I change my regular sessions?
Individual sessions cannot be swapped to another day on a temporary basis. If you are changing or swapping a session on a permanent basis, the school requires at least 2 weeks written notice. All change requests should be by email or letter to the school office or to .
- How can I book ad hoc sessions?
Firstly, you must ensure that the school has a completed Application Form and signed Terms & Conditions document in advance of any requested session. Ad hoc places will not be given to any pupil without these important forms.
Secondly, you must give the school office at least 2 days (48 hours) notice before the session is required. This enables us to ensure that the team have the correct medical details (as per the Application Form) and that there are spaces available (we cannot guarantee spaces and we do have a limit to the number of children we can admit).
Please do not arrange any ad hoc session directly with the Early Birds or Breakfast Club staff – all registers are managed by the school office.
Ad hoc sessions may not be granted if there is an outstanding and overdue fee due. Any additional session should be paid for in advance of the session being attended.
No more than 5 Ad Hoc sessions will be agreed in any one month.
Please note that we do not offer refunds for any ad hoc booking that is subsequently cancelled.
- Can I just send my child in without notice?
No. Our team need to check that they have full documentation relating to each child that they accept – they do not necessarily have access to the records held at the school office. They also need to ensure that they have enough staff to support the staff to child ratio and this is not possible without 2 days notice.
- What are the fees?
Early Birds costs £1.50 per session.
Breakfast Club costs £3.50 per session.
The school does not offer discounts or any other reduction in the fee if you are late to drop off your child at WBC. The fee is a fixed fee regardless of drop off time. We do not offer any discounts or reductions for siblings or any other pupil.
Our fees remain due if your child is absent from Early Birds and/or Breakfast Club for any reason including (but not limited to) absences due to your child attending a school trip (including our residential trips), if they have had a holiday authorised by the school (other than a school holiday) or if they are ill.
- Who and When do I pay?
Our School Bursar will normally send an email out to all parents in the last week of the current month. This email will how much is due. The email will also state the date by which payments are due. We do ask for prompt payment – our Extended Services provision clubs are very well attended and therefore we have a high volume of parents to contact. By paying promptly you are saving the school valuable time and resources, and allowing us to efficiently manage the club’s finances.
If you have not received an email notification by the beginning of the following month, please contact our School Bursar as there may be an issue with the email communication. Please also keep an eye out in the Friday Update and Breakfast Club noticeboard for any important announcements.
- I don’t understand how my charge has been calculated?
If you have a query with the amount owing, please check your online account in the first instance. If you are still unsure please contact our School Bursar either by email or by phone. We are able to print out a statement of your account showing sessions booked to date and amounts that have been paid. This statement should be checked against your own records and, if there are any errors or omissions, we encourage you to discuss this with the school at your earliest opportunity.
- Which methods of payment do you accept?
We would prefer to only accept online payments or childcare vouchers via Each child has an online account for Extended Services, the details of which can be obtained from the school office. Once logged in to the account parents/carers will be able to see the sessions that have been booked for their child/ren using the easy to view calendar, make an online payment and also look at the payment history (whether paid online, by cheque or by childcare vouchers).
This new system is in addition to the account that has already have set up with ParentPay for trips, swimming and dinner money payments.
Payments over the phone are accepted. Cheques and cash will be accepted only in exceptional circumstances. Please ensure you retain your receipt for all cash payments as this is your proof of payment to the school. Unfortunately a payment will not be deemed as received without a valid receipt from our school system.
- How do childcare vouchers work?
Childcare Vouchers allow employers to help their employees with the cost of childcare. Childcare Vouchers are exempt from National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and Income Tax for employees up to a certain value. All employers are able to run a childcare voucher scheme and employers do make considerable savings too.
The school can accept all types of childcare voucher as full or part payment towards your session fees. Speak to your employer to find out which childcare voucher company they are registered with.
Most childcare voucher companies provide access through their websites to an online account for parents, and we recommend this as the easiest way to make your voucher payments to us.
The school is unable to return any childcare voucher payments therefore please do keep an eye on your account to ensure that you do not overpay. Any overpayments will be kept by the school – they are not refundable.
- I am struggling to pay – what should I do?
If you are experiencing any issues with payment, please do contact our School Bursar or the Headteacher as soon as possible who will endeavour to help. If you are late in paying an invoice you will receive both email and letter reminders. It therefore helps the school enormously to know in advance if there are any issues.
- What should I do if I am not happy about something?
If you are not happy about something, or have any comments at all about the club, please speak to the Extended Services Manager or Breakfast Club Co-ordinator in the first instance. They will endeavour to help you. If you feel that they have not dealt with you to your satisfaction, please feel free to get in touch with our School Bursaror our Headteacher.
APPENDIX 1 - Breakfast Club Menu
Week 1MONDAY / TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY / THURSDAY / FRIDAY
Wholemeal Toast & Jam / Wholemeal Bagel / Toasted English Muffins / Fruit Bagel / Wholemeal Toast & Marmite
Weetabix / Rice Crispies / Shredded Wheat / Porridge & Fruit / Rice Crispies
Low fat Yogurt & Fresh Fruit / Raisins & Fromage Frais / Low Fat Yogurt & Fresh Fruit / Beans on toast / Malt loaf
Week 2
MONDAY / TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY / THURSDAY / FRIDAY
Wholemeal bagel / Toasted English Muffins / Fruit Bagel / Wholemeal Toast & Jam / Wholemeal bagel
Shredded Wheat / Weetabix / Porridge & Fruit / Shredded Wheat / Rice Crispies
Raisins & Fromage Frais / Beans on toast / Beans on toast / Low Fat Yogurt & Fresh Fruit / Raisins & Fromage Frais
Week 3
MONDAY / TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY / THURSDAY / FRIDAY
Toasted English Muffin / Wholemeal Toast & Marmite / Wholemeal Toast & Jam / Wholemeal bagel / Fruit Bagel
Rice Crispies / Shredded Wheat / Weetabix / Rice Crispies / Porridge & Fruit
Beans on Toast / Low Fat Yogurt & Fresh Fruit / Low Fat Yogurt & Fresh Fruit / Raisins & Fromage Frais / Low Fat Yogurt & Fresh Fruit
A selection of fruit will be served daily
Water and milk will be offered daily
APPENDIX 2 – LIST OF ACTIVITIES
We try to rotate our activities as much as possible and are always looking for new ideas and pursuits. Below are examples of recent activities available at Breakfast Club:
Junk modelling
Mask making
Rockets
Barbies/dolls/action men/dinosaurs - make them homes/caves/castles
Arts and Crafts
Painting/colouring/drawing
Making bracelets
Making windmills
Making masks
Making bookmarks/tags/labels
Firework arts & crafts
Making play dough
Marshmallow & spaghetti structures
Seasonal cards/ideas such as Remembrance Day poppy making/birthday cards/Christmas cards
Computing/Technology
Cool Maths
Sumdog
Simple City
Nessy
Indoor Active Games
Badminton
Bowling
Table Tennis
Giant snakes & ladders
Darts
Hoopla
Outside
Skipping
Football
Hula hoop challenges
Cheer leading
Tennis
Bats & Balls
Bubbles
Fun
Construction games – poles & wheels
Board games – wide selection available
Marble run
Stickle bricks
Wooden bricks
Noahs Ark & wooden animals
Train and track – Happy Street
Small World toys
Garage & cars
Jigsaws
Lots of imaginative and/or role play - shops, teachers, post office, kitchen, cops and robbers
We also have a library of books available exclusively for After School, Early Birds & Breakfast Club which the children enjoy reading.
Themed weeks
Games & activities based around the following themes including Friendship week, Spooky Week, International Week.