Do You Need a Cancellation Policy for Your Kids Club?
What UK consumer law says about cancellations, and how to set fair refund rules for your kids club when parents or you cancel.
Running a kids club means juggling lots of bookings, and parents often change their plans at the last minute. A clear cancellation policy protects your income and saves you awkward conversations with parents.
This guide covers what the law actually says, what to do when you cancel a session yourself, how to set fair rules when a parent cancels and where your policy should appear.
Do you need a cancellation policy for your kids club?
No law says you must have a cancellation policy. However, if parents book online or by phone, consumer law requires you to tell them before they book whether they have a right to cancel and how it works. A written policy is the simplest way to do that.
A clear policy also gives you something to point to when a parent asks for a refund. Without one, every cancellation becomes a negotiation.
What is the 14-day cancellation rule?
When someone books a service online or by phone, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually give them 14 days to change their mind and get a full refund, without giving a reason. The 14 days start on the day they book.
Think of it as a cooling-off period. It exists because the parent booked without meeting you in person.
When does the 14-day rule not apply?
The rule does not apply to leisure activities booked for a specific date or period. A holiday camp running from 27 to 31 July, or a football session on Saturday 5 September, would usually fall into this exception.
A rolling arrangement with no fixed dates, such as an ongoing monthly membership, may be covered. If you are unsure which applies to your club, say so clearly in your policy and check the regulations.
What if the activity starts within the 14 days?
If a parent asks for the activity to start within the 14 days and then cancels, they may have to pay for the sessions their child has already attended. Once the service has been fully delivered, they usually lose the right to cancel.
This only works if the parent actually asked for an early start, so keep a record of when each booking was made and what was agreed.
What should you offer when you cancel a session?
If you cancel, give parents a full refund. Government guidance says a term letting a business keep prepayments when the service does not go ahead is unlikely to be fair.
Clubs cancel for all sorts of reasons, including bad weather, low numbers, staff illness and venue closures. A forest school is more likely to cancel because of storms, while a football club may lose its pitch. Whatever the reason, the parent has paid for something they did not receive.
⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: Don't be tempted to cancel verbally and keep the money for a future session. If anything changes with that future session, your records become muddled. Keep it simple: cancel the session that is not going ahead, refund it, and ask parents to rebook the new date.
⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: When you cancel a session on Eequ, every parent booked on it automatically receives a cancellation message. You can customise that message and add a link to the replacement session, so parents can rebook in a couple of clicks and nobody is missed.
Why call it a refund policy rather than a cancellation policy?
Call the parent side of your policy a refund policy. You always want parents to cancel when their child won't attend, whether or not they get their money back.
Cancelling is a basic courtesy. It tells you who to expect on the day and frees up a place you may be able to fill. Your refund policy then decides what money, if any, goes back to the parent.
⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: Eequ's automatic waiting list emails everyone waiting as soon as a place becomes free, and the first parent to book gets it. If you can refill cancelled places quickly, you can afford to be more generous with refunds, which keeps parents coming back.
How much notice should parents give to get a refund?
Set your notice period at the point where a cancellation would leave you with an empty place and costs you can't recover. For a weekly session that might be a day or two. For a holiday camp it might be seven days or more.
Ask yourself three questions:
- How likely are you to fill the place? If you have a waiting list or sessions sell out, a shorter notice period works.
- What have you already paid for? Venue hire, staff wages, food and transport are often committed in advance.
- When would you be out of pocket? If staffing and catering are confirmed five days before a holiday camp, a seven-day notice period protects you.
Any money you keep should reflect what your business actually loses. Government guidance says cancellation charges must not be excessive, so a parent who cancels a month ahead should not lose the full fee.
Should you offer a refund or a credit?
A full refund is the simplest and builds the most goodwill, especially if you can refill the place. A credit towards a future session is a fair middle ground for late cancellations, because the parent keeps the value and you keep the booking.
Explain clearly which option applies at each notice period, so parents know what to expect before they cancel.
⭐ Eequ Pro Tip: On Eequ you can give a full refund or a credit note straight from the booking, with no bank transfers to arrange. Eequ also shows your cancellation policy when parents book and again when they cancel, so there are no surprises.
Where should your cancellation policy appear?
Show your policy wherever parents make decisions, so they see it before they pay:
- on your booking or listing page
- in your terms and conditions
- at the moment a parent cancels
Government guidance says terms that could significantly affect a customer should be prominent. Burying your refund rules at the bottom of a long document makes them harder to rely on if a parent disputes them.
Frequently asked questions
Can a parent cancel a holiday camp booking within 14 days and get a refund?
Usually not by law, because holiday camps run on specific dates and are excluded from the 14-day rule. The parent's refund depends on your own policy. Make sure that policy is clear before they book.
Can you keep a parent's money if you cancel a session?
No. If you cancel and the child receives nothing, you should give a full refund. Keeping the money is likely to be treated as unfair under consumer law.
What should you do if a child is ill and the parent cancels late?
Follow your published policy, but use your judgement. Offering a credit for a future session is a kind gesture that costs you little and keeps the family booking with you.
Can you charge a cancellation fee?
Yes, as long as it reflects what you actually lose and is clearly explained before the parent books. A fee that is much higher than your real loss is unlikely to be fair.
Take the admin out of cancellations
Cancellations and refunds can quickly turn into a pile of bank transfers and chasing messages. Eequ, the booking system for children's activity providers, holiday clubs, wraparound care and sports clubs, handles refunds and credit notes for you, with every cancellation message kept alongside the booking. Set up your listing on Eequ and spend less time on admin.
Accurate as of October 2026. Always check GOV.UK for the latest guidance.