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Parent and Caregiver Terms
From all of us at aPlus, welcome.
We want every child and whānau to feel safe, supported, included and heard.
These Terms and Conditions explain what families can expect from aPlus and what aPlus requires from parents and guardians.
Together with the enrolment information, booking confirmation, current Fee Schedule and policies referred to below, they form the agreement between aPlus Out of School Care Limited (aPlus) and the account holder.
Our promise is simple: if you are concerned or dissatisfied, please tell us. We will listen, respond fairly and do what we reasonably can to resolve the matter.
By enrolling a child or booking care, the account holder confirms that:
A booking is confirmed and a child's place is reserved when aPlus has accepted the booking and the required payment has been received.
Unless otherwise agreed by aPlus, full payment for the booking is required at the time the booking is made.
Payment reserves the child's place for the specific days and sessions booked.
Once confirmed, bookings are subject to the cancellation and change provisions contained in these Terms and Conditions.
Families receiving a Work and Income childcare subsidy must pay a $50 booking deposit at the time of their first booking and at the beginning of each subsequent school term to secure their child's place.
The account holder remains responsible for all fees not covered by Work and Income.
Further provisions relating to Work and Income subsidies are contained below.
aPlus may update these Terms and Conditions where its services, fees, legal obligations or operational requirements change.
Families will receive reasonable notice of material changes.
Changes will not be applied retrospectively unless required by law.
The current version is available on the aPlus website or from Customer Service.
Information about aPlus Before School Care, After School Care and School Holiday Programmes is available at:
Email: admin@aplus.kiwi.nz
Telephone: 0800 423 400
Parents and guardians must provide accurate and current information needed for aPlus to care for their child safely.
This includes:
Information must be updated promptly through My aPlus or Customer Service.
If information necessary for the safe care of a child has not been provided, aPlus may be unable to confirm or continue care.
Account, booking and communication arrangements for separated or shared-care families may be established individually.
aPlus will only disclose account, booking or child information to a person authorised to receive it, or where otherwise permitted or required by law.
Relevant Parenting Orders, Protection Orders and other legal documents must be supplied to aPlus.
aPlus cannot restrict a person's lawful access to or collection of a child solely on the basis of a verbal request.
Being recorded as a parent, guardian or other person connected with a child's record does not automatically entitle that person to another person's private account, payment or personal information.
Parents and guardians must tell aPlus directly about any medical condition, medication, allergy, dietary requirement, disability or additional need relevant to their child's care.
Information held by the child's school is not automatically transferred to aPlus.
With appropriate parental permission, aPlus may consult the child's school, health professional or another relevant professional where this may assist aPlus to provide safe and consistent care.
Before attendance, families must provide any information and documentation reasonably required to support safe care.
This may include:
Where safe inclusion may require additional staffing, specialist support or external funding, aPlus will discuss this with the family.
Applications for additional external funding generally require at least four weeks' notice, and approval cannot be guaranteed.
aPlus will consider reasonable supports and adjustments. However, attendance is dependent upon aPlus being reasonably able to meet the child's assessed needs safely with the staff, resources and support available.
Families are responsible for providing specific food required to meet an agreed individual dietary need.
Children may participate in activities forming part of the programme for which they have been booked, subject to any specific consent, medical, health, safety or individual support requirements.
Activities may include:
aPlus may adapt an activity or provide a reasonable alternative where necessary to support safe and meaningful participation.
Children may participate in excursions and activities away from the usual programme venue where these form part of the programme for which they are booked.
aPlus will provide relevant information about planned excursions and will obtain any specific consent required under the aPlus Transport and Excursion Policy or applicable requirements.
Participation may be subject to appropriate medical, behavioural, safety or individual support arrangements.
Where circumstances such as weather, availability or safety require an advertised excursion or activity to be altered, aPlus may provide a suitable alternative programme.
Where transport forms part of a booked programme or agreed care arrangement, parents and guardians authorise their child to be transported by or on behalf of aPlus in accordance with the aPlus Transport and Excursion Policy.
aPlus will use appropriate vehicles, authorised drivers and seat-belt or child-restraint arrangements as required by law and aPlus policy.
Families must advise aPlus of any medical, behavioural, mobility or other information that may affect the safe transportation of their child.
Specific transport or excursion consent will be obtained where required.
A parent, guardian or authorised person must sign the child in.
aPlus assumes responsibility for the child when the child has arrived, has been signed in and has been received by aPlus staff.
aPlus assumes responsibility when the child arrives at the programme and is received or marked present by aPlus staff, subject to any approved Independent Travel Agreement.
If a child who is booked to attend does not arrive as expected, aPlus will follow its absence and missing-child procedures.
Parents and guardians must notify aPlus before the booked session if the child will be absent.
A child must be signed out by a parent, guardian or authorised person aged 14 years or older, unless an approved Independent Travel Agreement applies.
aPlus must be notified in advance if somebody who is not already authorised will collect the child.
Staff may request identification and may delay the child's release while authority is verified.
aPlus's responsibility for the child ends when the child:
Unadvised absence, failure to follow required sign-in or sign-out procedures, late collection or after-hours collection may incur charges disclosed in the current Fee Schedule.
Repeated late or after-hours collection may result in a review or discontinuation of care after reasonable notice.
Immediate action may be taken where necessary for safety.
Where a school closes early or does not open because of:
aPlus may offer additional or extended care subject to programme availability and staffing.
Additional care will be charged at the applicable rate shown in the current Fee Schedule.
Care is not confirmed until accepted by aPlus and any required payment has been received.
Children must not attend an aPlus programme when:
If a child becomes unwell while attending, aPlus will:
Parents, guardians and emergency contacts must remain contactable and arrange prompt collection when requested.
Return to care will be guided by:
aPlus may reasonably request medical confirmation before a child returns to care.
Staff with current first-aid certification will provide first aid within the scope of their training.
Parents and guardians authorise aPlus to obtain urgent medical assistance for their child where reasonably necessary, including ambulance transportation.
External medical or ambulance expenses remain the family's responsibility unless otherwise required by law.
For a significant accident, incident or illness, aPlus will:
Families will be notified promptly of any known head injury.
Emergency services will be contacted where the child's symptoms or circumstances indicate urgent medical assessment is required.
aPlus maintains emergency procedures and conducts drills in accordance with its policies and applicable requirements.
aPlus uses positive guidance, active supervision, de-escalation and developmentally appropriate expectations.
We aim to understand what a child's behaviour may be communicating and to work constructively with the child and family.
aPlus has zero tolerance for:
Where concerns arise, aPlus may:
Before suspending or ending care, aPlus will consider:
Immediate action may be taken where there is a serious or immediate safety risk.
Suspected abuse, neglect or another child-protection concern will be managed under the aPlus Child Protection Policy and reported where required or permitted by law.
Behavioural difficulty by itself does not automatically constitute a child-protection report.
Parents, guardians, authorised collectors and visitors are expected to communicate and behave respectfully toward:
Threatening, abusive, discriminatory, intimidating, harassing, aggressive or unsafe conduct will not be accepted.
Where serious or repeated inappropriate conduct occurs, aPlus may take reasonable steps to protect children and staff.
These steps may include:
Where practicable, aPlus will communicate the concern and provide a reasonable opportunity for it to be resolved before care is ended.
Immediate action may be taken where reasonably necessary to protect children, staff or other people from harm or serious disruption.
Unless a parent or guardian has opted out or supplied an agreed alternative, aPlus may provide sunscreen and supervise children in applying it in accordance with the aPlus Sun Safety and Personal Care procedures.
Staff assistance will be:
aPlus will seek and record appropriate consent for photographs, video or audio recordings involving children.
Consent will be managed separately for:
Public use requires specific opt-in consent.
Families may withdraw consent for future use without affecting their child's care.
Material that has already been lawfully printed, published or distributed may not always be capable of complete removal.
aPlus will not use children's images for biometric identification and will not ordinarily publicly identify a child by their full name.
aPlus collects personal information where reasonably necessary to:
Personal information will be:
aPlus may disclose relevant information:
When personal information is received indirectly, including from a school or another professional, aPlus will comply with applicable notification requirements unless a lawful exception applies.
People may request access to and correction of personal information held about them.
Another person's private information will only be provided where authorised or permitted by law.
Suspected privacy breaches will be assessed and contained, and affected people and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner will be notified where required.
Privacy enquiries can be directed to Customer Service and marked for the attention of the aPlus Privacy Officer.
Further information is contained in the aPlus Privacy Policy.
aPlus welcomes feedback from children, parents, guardians and members of the programme community.
Everyone has the right to be safe, supported, included and heard.
A concern may be raised verbally or in writing with the Centre Coordinator.
Where:
the concern may be directed to aPlus Customer Service.
A complainant may have a support person or advocate.
aPlus will normally:
The outcome will be determined by aPlus after considering the available information and any steps necessary to:
If the matter remains unresolved, the complainant may request review by the Chief Executive Officer and may contact MSD, Te Kāhui Kāhu or another appropriate agency.
Children may speak with any trusted member of staff.
A child may raise a concern:
A written complaint is not required before a child's concern will be heard.
Staff will:
Allegations involving abuse, neglect or harm will be addressed immediately under the Child Protection Policy.
No person will be disadvantaged or retaliated against for raising a genuine concern.
Once a booking has been confirmed, a place has been reserved for the child for the particular days and sessions booked.
The applicable booked fees are payable whether or not the child attends, except where a credit, refund or other remedy expressly applies under these Terms and Conditions or New Zealand law.
Families must notify Customer Service as soon as booked care is no longer required.
Where notice is received by midday Thursday of the week before the booked care, the value of the cancelled care will normally be credited to the family's aPlus account.
Changes or cancellations received after that time are subject to the current-week provisions below.
Account credits are subject to the Accounts in Credit and Refunds provisions of these Terms and Conditions.
Once the booking week has commenced, confirmed bookings cannot be transferred, exchanged or moved to another day or session.
If a child does not attend their originally booked session, that session will be treated as an absence and the full booked fee remains payable.
If care is requested for a different day or session during that week, it will be treated as a new casual booking, subject to availability, and the applicable Casual Care Rate will be charged.
Payment for the original booked session cannot be transferred or credited toward the additional casual booking.
If a child cannot attend because of illness, the family must:
Where these requirements are met, aPlus may waive the charge or apply an appropriate sickness or medical cancellation credit.
A retrospective refund or credit will not normally be provided where aPlus was not notified before the booked session or reasonably requested medical information was not supplied.
Sickness and medical cancellation credits are non-cash credits and are not refundable for cash.
Programme activities may change because of:
Where practicable, a suitable alternative activity or programme will be provided without additional charge.
If aPlus cancels a care session and cannot provide a reasonable alternative, the family will receive an appropriate account credit or refund for care not provided.
Bookings made after the normal booking cut-off are subject to:
A late booking is not guaranteed until accepted by aPlus and any required payment has been received.
A booking made after the published booking cut-off may be charged at the applicable Late Booking Rate shown in the Fee Schedule.
Where a child attends an aPlus programme without a confirmed booking and aPlus is reasonably able to provide care, the attendance will be treated as Casual Care and the applicable Casual Care Rate will be charged.
Where an additional session is requested during the current week in place of, or in addition to, an existing confirmed booking, the original booking remains payable and the additional session is treated as Casual Care.
Additional conditions applying to late bookings and casual care are contained in the current Fee Schedule.
Families receiving a Work and Income childcare subsidy must comply with applicable Work and Income requirements.
A $50 booking deposit is required at the first booking and at the beginning of each subsequent school term to secure the child's place.
Families receiving a Work and Income subsidy are normally required to book their regular care for the school term unless an alternative arrangement, including shift-work arrangements, has been agreed with aPlus.
The parent or guardian is responsible for:
Approval, continuation, backdating or payment of a Work and Income subsidy is determined by Work and Income and cannot be guaranteed by aPlus.
The account holder remains responsible for any fees or charges not paid by Work and Income unless otherwise agreed by aPlus.
Current:
are contained in the current aPlus Fee Schedule available through My aPlus, the aPlus website or Customer Service.
The applicable Fee Schedule forms part of these Terms and Conditions.
Unless a Work and Income subsidy arrangement or another payment arrangement has been agreed with aPlus, full payment is required at the time of booking.
A place is not secured until the booking has been accepted and the required payment has been received.
Payment methods accepted by aPlus are advised through My aPlus, the Fee Schedule or Customer Service.
aPlus does not accept cash payments at programme centres.
Any disclosed payment-processing fee may apply to particular payment methods.
Credit balances on an aPlus account are intended primarily to be applied toward future aPlus Before School Care, After School Care or School Holiday Programme bookings.
Account credits are not automatically redeemable for cash.
Credits provided by aPlus that do not represent an actual cash overpayment are not refundable for cash.
This includes credits arising from:
These credits may only be applied toward future eligible aPlus care and have no cash redemption value unless otherwise required by law.
Where an account is in genuine cash credit and the account holder requests repayment, aPlus may review the account to determine whether the balance is eligible for refund.
Refund requests are subject to account verification and reconciliation and will normally be considered and processed as part of the end-of-term account reconciliation process.
Approved discretionary refunds may be subject to an administration charge equal to 10% of the amount refunded, up to a maximum administration charge of $30.
The administration charge contributes toward the reasonable cost of:
Any refund will normally be returned to the original payer or payment source where reasonably practicable.
The administration charge does not apply where aPlus is required by law to provide a refund or where aPlus determines that the refund arose from an error for which aPlus is responsible.
Nothing in this section limits any refund, remedy or other right available under applicable New Zealand law.
If an account becomes overdue, aPlus may:
Before external referral, aPlus will normally issue a final written notice and provide a reasonable opportunity for the account holder to:
The account holder may be responsible for reasonable and actual debt-collection, legal or court costs where recovery of those costs is permitted by these Terms and Conditions and New Zealand law.
aPlus will not publicly identify a child, parent, guardian or family because an account is overdue.
Children should not bring unnecessary valuables or expensive personal property to aPlus programmes.
aPlus is not responsible for ordinary loss or damage to personal property unless the loss or damage resulted from aPlus failing to exercise reasonable care or liability otherwise arises under law.
Where a child deliberately or negligently causes significant property damage, aPlus will discuss the circumstances with the family.
Any request for contribution toward the cost of damage will be considered reasonably and individually, taking into account factors including:
aPlus may refuse, suspend or end care where:
aPlus will act reasonably and fairly and will consider relevant circumstances, including the child's needs and the impact on the family.
Where practicable, reasonable notice and reasons will be provided.
Immediate action may be taken where necessary to:
Unused prepaid amounts and account credits will be dealt with in accordance with the cancellation, account-credit and refund provisions of these Terms and Conditions and the family's legal rights.
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes, restricts or limits any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted, including applicable rights under the:
If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Where these Terms and Conditions conflict with a legal right that cannot lawfully be excluded, the legal right prevails.
These Terms and Conditions should be read together with relevant current aPlus policies and documents, including:
Copies of relevant documents are available through the aPlus website, My aPlus, Customer Service or the Centre Coordinator, as applicable.
aPlus Out of School Care Limited
Customer Service
Email: admin@aplus.kiwi.nz
Telephone: 0800 423 400
Website: