Childcare contract template
A childcare contract is the agreement between a nursery, pre-school or childminder and a child's parents or carers, setting out the sessions, the fees and how the place works. This version covers sessions, fees, deposit, absence and holidays, optional funded early education, care and collection, ending the contract, the 14-day cancellation right for contracts made online or away from your premises, and personal information. It is signed for each new child, and the child, the sessions, the fees and any funded hours change each time.
Made by DocuWeave. Use at your own discretion.
What changes each time
33 values. Everything else is your wording, kept exactly.
The setting and Ofsted registration
- Setting name
- Setting address
- Setting email
- Ofsted URN
- Registers held
The family and child
- Parents' or carers' names
- Family address
- Child's name
- Child's date of birth
- Start date
Sessions and opening
- Days, session types and times
- Funded hours and paid hours per session
- Opening days and hours
- Open all year or term time only
- Notice to change sessions
Fees and payment
- Rate for paid hours
- Monthly amount
- Payment method
- Payment day of the month
- Deposit
- Late collection charge
- Notice of fee increases
Funded hours
- Type of entitlement
- Funded hours a week and weeks a year
- Eligibility code
- Local authority
- Optional extras and their cost
Ending the contract and signing
- Notice to end, by you
- Notice to end, by us
- Weeks overdue before we may end it early
- Collection password
- Where policies can be read
- Signatory for the provider
The rules it usually needs
Written in plain English when the template is set up.
- Only when…
“Include the funded early education section only when a funded-hours code or entitlement has been given.”
When a family has a funded place, the section sets out the funded hours, the optional extras and how the code is reconfirmed. For a fully paid place it is left out.
- One of several wordings
“Opening pattern: either open all year except bank holidays and a set number of days at Christmas, or term time only.”
For a term-time-only nursery open 38 weeks a year, the contract states the number of weeks instead of the Christmas closure.
- One of several wordings
“Deposit: either a refundable deposit, used towards the final month's fees, or no deposit.”
When the place is made up only of funded hours, the contract says no deposit or registration fee is taken.
- Once for each item
“One row in the sessions table for each session the child attends in the week.”
A child attending Monday, Tuesday and Thursday gets three rows, each with its own times, funded hours and paid hours.
- Only when…
“Include the 14-day cancellation right only when the contract is signed online, by email or away from your premises.”
When the contract is signed at the nursery in person, the cancellation section and its model form are left out.
Questions people ask
Do nurseries and childminders have to be registered with Ofsted?
In England, childcare for children under eight is generally registered with Ofsted, or with a childminder agency, though some arrangements are exempt, such as a nanny working in the family's own home. The contract records the provider's registration number and the registers it is on. Check the current rules with Ofsted if you are unsure about your own set-up.
Can a provider charge for extras alongside funded hours?
Government guidance on funded early education says funded hours must be free and that extras such as meals, nappies or trips must be voluntary and not a condition of the place, with reasonable alternatives offered. The template reflects this, and invoices show funded hours, paid hours and extras separately. Your local authority's own terms may add to this.
Do parents have a right to cancel within 14 days?
Often, yes. Where a contract is made online, by phone or email, or away from the provider's premises, consumers generally have 14 days to cancel. The template includes the wording and the model cancellation form for those cases, and leaves them out when the contract is signed in person at the setting.
Can fees be charged when a child is absent or on holiday?
Many providers do, because the place is held and staffing is planned around it, but the contract must say so clearly. This version states that booked sessions are payable during absence and can include a set number of weeks' holiday at no charge or half fees if you offer it.
Can I use my own childcare contract instead of this one?
Yes. Upload your own Word or PDF version and DocuWeave turns it into a template in your wording, then fills each new copy from the emails and details you already have.
Use this template
It opens in DocuWeave as a template you can check, change and publish. Nothing is used until you do.