Breakfast & After School Care

The Pegasus Children’s Club

In most of our schools our childcare services are run ‘in house’ and this service is called The Pegasus Children’s Club.

We value our relationship with parents and carers and are committed to working in partnership with you to provide high quality play and care for your children. We work within a framework which ensures equality of opportunity, providing a safe, secure and stimulating environment for all children and families. When dealing with parents and carers we;

• Welcome you at all times to discuss our work, have a chat or take part in our activities;
• Listen to your feedback and views to ensure we continue to meet your needs;
• Keep you informed of opening times, fees and charges, programmes of activities, menus and procedures;
• Aim to be consistent and reliable to enable you to plan with confidence and peace of mind;
• Share and discuss your child’s achievements, experiences, progress and friendships;
• Uphold the club’s Equality of Opportunity policy;
• Respect the customs, values and spiritual beliefs of your child and your family.

A healthy breakfast with a hot option (for example poached egg on toast) is provided either by ‘in house’ staff trained in food preparation and safety or by our catering partner, Harrison Catering.

After school clubs run from 3:15pm to 6:00pm.  Because of economies of scale The Pegasus Academy Trust are able to provide this service, which includes a light tea which may be hot or cold, for £12 per day, which is the most competitive rate in the area.  Clubs are run by Deputy Managers who will introduce themselves upon registration.  Children take part in art activities, cooking, games and outdoor sports whenever possible.  As all our schools have full wireless capability children may also take part in ICT sessions or research for their homework.

Parents should should call in plenty of time if there is the possibility that they might be delayed. A fine of £1 per minute will be charged if your child is collected after 6:00pm no matter what the reason.

For payment enquiries or any issue with an account or an enquiry about a childcare voucher, please contact:

Victoria Sandiford or by email vsandiford@pegasusacademytrust.org

For student finance forms enquiries and help with tax credits please contact: Sharene Marshall by email smarshall@pegasusacademytrust.org

You can hand your form into your school office and your forms will be sent by internal post to Sharene Marshall to complete. She will then return the forms to your school office to collect. Unfortunately this process takes between 2-5 days to complete, so please bear this in mind when you need a form completed.

All Pegasus children’s clubs adhere to the statutory framework for the Early Years and Foundation Stage with regard to the youngest children.

Please note: If your child is attending any of the extended schools’ activities and then going on to Pegasus Children’s Club you must still pay £12 to cover the childcare costs. This is because the after school club staff that are needed to provide a good standard of care must still be employed from 3:15pm.

Tax-Free Childcare: 10 things parents should know

https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-tax-free-childcare

1. You’ll be able to open an online account

You’ll be able to open an online account, which you can pay into to cover the cost of childcare with a registered provider. This will be done through the government website, GOV.UK. The scheme will be rolled out gradually to families, with parents of the youngest children able to apply first.

2. For every £8 you or someone else pays in, the government will top up an extra £2

This is equivalent of the tax most people pay – 20% – which gives the scheme its name, ‘tax-free’. The government will top up the account with 20% of childcare costs up to a total of £10,000 – the equivalent of up to £2,000 support per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children).

3. The scheme will be available for children up to the age of 12

It will also be available for children with disabilities up to the age of 17, as their childcare costs can stay high throughout their teenage years.

4. To qualify, parents will have to be in work, and each earning around £167 a week and not more than £100,000 each per year

The scheme is designed to be flexible for parents if, for example, they want to get back to work after the birth of a child or work part-time.

5. Any eligible working family can use the Tax-Free Childcare scheme – it doesn’t rely on employers offering it

Tax-Free Childcare doesn’t rely on employers offering the scheme, unlike the current scheme Employer-Supported Childcare. Any working family can use Tax-Free Childcare, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

6. The scheme will also be available for parents who are self-employed

Self-employed parents will be able to get support with childcare costs in Tax-Free Childcare, unlike the current scheme (Employer-Supported Childcare) which is not available to self-employed parents. To support newly self-employed parents, the government is introducing a ‘start-up’ period. During this, self-employed parents won’t have to earn the minimum income level.

The scheme will also be available to parents on paid sick leave and paid and unpaid statutory maternity, paternity and adoption leave.

7. If you currently receive Employer-Supported Childcare then you can continue to do so

You do not have to switch to Tax-Free Childcare if you do not wish to. Employer-Supported Childcare will continue to run. The current scheme will remain open to new entrants until April 2018, and parents already registered by this date will be able to continue using it for as long as their employer offers it.

However, Tax-Free Childcare will be open to more than twice as many parents as Employer-Supported Childcare.

Employers’ workplace nurseries won’t be affected by the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

8. Parents and others can pay money into their childcare account as and when they like

This gives you the flexibility to pay in more in some months, and less at other times. This means you can build up a balance in your account to use at times when you need more childcare than usual, for example, over the summer holidays.

It’s also not just the parents who can pay into the account – if grandparents, other family members or employers want to pay in, then they can.

9. The process will be as simple as possible for parents

The process will be light-touch and as easy as possible for you. For example, you’ll re-confirm your circumstances every three months via a simple online process; and there will be a simple log-in service where parents can view accounts for all of their children at once.

10. You’ll be able to withdraw money from the account if you want to

If your circumstances change or you no longer want to pay into the account, then you’ll be able to withdraw the money you have built up. If you do, the government will withdraw its corresponding contribution.

More information will become available ahead of the scheme being introduced so parents making childcare decisions are able to consider all their options.

Parents under 20 in England, who are at school or sixth form college, can also receive weekly payments under the Care to Learn scheme, worth £160 per child per week outside London, or £175 inside the capital.