Your plan may be paid for by a group you belong to, through a seat link, or it may be one we have given you. You are not charged for either kind.
A plan paid by a group
A group, such as a co-operative, a school or a library, can buy seats and send each family a link. When you accept one, your family gets that group's plan, Sprout or Grove, with its monthly books and the readers it covers. Seats from a group explains how to accept a seat.
Plan and books then says: "Your plan is provided by" the group's name, "until" a date, followed by "You are not charged, and nothing renews on its own." The plan card on your Home page also names the group and the date.
The group's list of seats shows only that a seat has been taken and when. It does not show who took it, your children, or what anybody reads.
A plan we have given you
Sometimes we give a family a plan ourselves. When it has an end date, Plan and books says: "Your plan has been given to you until" that date, "and you are not charged for it."
What you can and cannot do
| What | A group's plan | A plan we gave you |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly books | Yes, every month | Yes, every month |
| Buy extra books | Yes | Yes |
| Add an extra reader | No; write to us | No; write to us |
| Change plan | No | Choosing a plan of your own replaces it |
| "Manage your plan" | Not shown, as there is no card to manage | Not shown |
When you have as many readers as the plan covers, the "Add a reader" page says your plan is provided for you and asks you to write to us if you need room for more. On a group's plan, the "Plans" card is not shown on Plan and books at all.
If you choose a plan of your own while we are giving you one, your paid plan takes over from the given one straight away and is charged from that day. The free trial is only for a family's first plan, and a given plan counts as one. On the "Plans" card, the box for the plan you were given, paid monthly, says "Your plan" and cannot be pressed. You can choose the other plan, or flip the switch to "Yearly"; to pay monthly for the plan you were given, write to us.
When it ends
A group's plan ends on the date shown, or sooner if the group takes the seat back. In the last two weeks, your Home page shows "The plan from" the group "ends on" the date. A plan we gave you ends on its end date, or sooner if we end it.
When a plan like this runs out, the monthly books stop and we email you "Your gifted plan has ended". The email is the same for both kinds of plan. If a group takes its seat back before the end, you get "Your plan has ended" straight away and "Your gifted plan has ended" within a day; both are about the same change. Nothing else is taken away:
- every book your children made stays on their shelves;
- your extra books, and books from gifts, codes and friends, are still yours to use;
- your readers, their settings and their progress all stay.
To keep making books after that, choose a plan of your own on Plan and books, or buy extra books. Sprout and Grove, our two plans compares the plans.
At the moment, when a group's plan comes to the end of its term, Plan and books can go on naming the group and leave out the "Plans" card. If that happens to you, write to us and we will help you choose a plan of your own.
If something about a plan like this does not look right, write to us from Help in your dashboard and choose "A payment, a plan or a refund". For questions about a group's seats, the person who sent you the link is the best one to ask.