ELECTRONIC SIGN IN/OUT STARTS FROM THE 4TH MARCH 2019.
No more paper sign in/out.
Parents/guardians and authorised people will need to have their phone number in our software HUBWORKS .
For the week of the 4th of March either Simon or Monique will be available from 7am-6pm to assist families with becoming familiar to the electronic kiosk. We will appreciate your patience as we set it up with each family – please allow extra time.
From the 11th March the office hours will resume back to 8am-4pm.
For the very first time:
Upon drop off – You will enter your phone number, then set up a 4 digit code (this 4 digit code will be required for each sign in/out)
It will show your child’s name and you select Sign in and Save.
When picking up – you will enter your phone number and then the 4 digit code you created.
It will show your child’s name and you select Sign out and Save.
• Each person/parent will use their own phone number and have their own 4 digit code.
You must remember the 4 digit code.
New authorised people will still need to show their ID to the responsible person on duty.
All authorised people need to be over 18 years of age.
We recommend if you have family members who speak English as a second language who are authorised to pick up your child – it would be recommended for you to come in with them to translate the process.
CHANGE OF WEATHER
Please be aware, with the change of season will come extra colds etc, cooler mornings and warm afternoons.
Please dress your child accordingly for the morning and we will change them, if necessary, throughout the day.
Please pack spare clothes for all seasons.
BELONGINGS
Please ensure you label EVERYTHING. This helps us to place appropriate items into the correct child’s bag. Please be aware, that in Tigger’s Place and Pooh’s Corner we encourage the children to look after their own belongings (a school readiness skill). Having items labeled helps us, when things are left behind, to be able to return them to you. If you have any items in your child’s bag that don’t belong to them – please return as they may have been placed in the incorrect bag.
GROUP CARE RATIOS
Our Early Learning Centre is a Long day Care Centre. This means we are open for a longer day and follow the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011.
Long Day Care Services are a group care environment. This means we follow ratios of:
0-2 year olds – one teacher for every four children
2-3 year olds – one teacher for every five children
3-5 year olds – one teacher for every ten children
These ratios are for the teachers who are actively supervising the children.
Group care means that whilst we plan individually and have small group interactions, our care isn’t one to one.
To cover the day, we have our educators starting and finishing at different times. We have staggered starting times and then again staggered finishing times.
During the late afternoon, as our educators are leaving for the day we have less teachers (still maintaining effective supervision and ratios) It can be difficult to get into lengthy conversations as our supervision is our first priority. If you would like more information and time to speak to an educator, please send through an email and we can organize a suitable time.
If you have any questions about group care – please speak to Monique.
FRUIT FOR TIGGER’S AND POOH’S CORNER
We are having a great variety of fruit coming in. Please remember to bring in a piece of fruit each day your child attends and place in the baskets in the foyer (otherwise bring in a bigger piece of fruit eg: watermelon, pineapple, rockmelon for the week)
ILLNESS
We would like to take this opportunity to thank families for supporting us with reducing the spread of infection.
We have noticed many families keeping their children home to rest and recover. This is very much appreciated.
Please remember, if your child has Panadol or Nurofen in their system, they are not to come to Hunny Pots. You are only masking the symptoms and the illness will spread to other children and our educators.
We are able to administer prescribed antibiotics (after your child has been taking it for 24hours); you will need to complete a medication form (near the sign in/out sheets in foyer).
We are unable to administer any over the counter medication at Hunny Pots e.g.: cough mixtures etc.
We are only able to administer Panadol at Hunny Pots if a child has a temperature of 38 degrees or above and with parent consent.
If your child presents any illness symptoms, we will call you to arrange an immediate pick up.
We will also give you a courtesy call if your child is feeling “off” – no immediate pick up is needed.
WITHDRAWAL OF YOUR CHILD/REDUCING DAYS
Parents must give at least three weeks written notice to the Director before withdrawing their child from Hunny Pots. If the child does not attend the centre during this period, fees are still payable (please see the below section: A child who has not yet received care or who has ceased receiving care) If the child is withdrawn without notice, three weeks full fees must be paid regardless.
Parents may reduce their child’s days of attendance by giving three weeks’ notice to the Director.
No notice period accepted in December and January for withdrawing or reducing days.
A child who has not yet received care or who has ceased receiving care
Below is from the Child Care Handbook Australian Government Department of Education and Training:
Child Care Subsidy will not be paid for absences where a provider charges a family to reserve a place for a child who has not yet physically started care.
If a child is booked in to start at a service on a particular date, and does not start on that day, no Child Care Subsidy will be paid until the child physically attends a session of care.
Similarly, a child care service is taken to have permanently ceased providing care for a child on the day the child last physically attends a session of care. This means that Child Care Subsidy will not be paid for absences submitted after a child last physically attends a session of care.
If a family has confirmed their child’s last day at a service, but that child does not attend their last booked sessions of care, no Child Care Subsidy will be paid for any days after the child’s last physical attendance at the service.
If a provider continues to charge fees for sessions on days after a child has left the service because the family did not give the agreed period of notice, Child Care Subsidy will not be payable for these sessions of care. If absences are reported in the above circumstances and Child Care Subsidy is incorrectly paid, these amounts will be recovered from the service.
IMMUNISATION = ENROLMENT
Please ensure that throughout the year if your child receives an immunisation e.g.: 12 months, 18months or 4years, you will need to provide your child’s immunisation status record to us.
Due to Government regulations we are unable to enrol unimmunised children – failure to provide immunisation records = no enrolment.
You are required to keep your child at home for 24hours to monitor any side effects after immunisation (please see policy).
We appreciate your cooperation.
DRINK BOTTLES
It is recommended that the children’s drink bottles have a lid to protect the mouth piece to avoid cross contamination. The drink bottles go into our eskies – if they fall over, the mouth pieces can touch each other. Our teachers do stand them up and encourage the children to do the same – however if they have a lid, this would be a more hygienic option.
CHILDREN’S DIETARY REQUIRMENTS
We have many dietary requirements for our cooks. We are catering to our menu, allergies, cultural requirements, anaphylaxis, intolerances and fussy eaters. Please be very specific in what your child’s requirements are so we can best assist them.
Regarding fussy eaters, our first priority is to offer them the centre’s meal. We find 98% of the time they will eat the meal with encouragement and role modeling from their educators. At first this might start with only trying the meal and working up to eating most of the meal. It is a process that we have seen work. If we go straight to offering another option, it does make it difficult for the child to continue trying a variety of nutritious meals.
We understand food preferences and hope to cater to all children being fed well.
Please understand that if we do one thing for one child in the room, we need to do it for all children. Our cooks do an amazing job providing our meals on time for 59 children each day in addition to catering to dietary and medical requirements.
Food from home MUST comply with our nutrition and food handling policies.
– No sugar cereals, No white bread sandwiches (wholemeal or multigrain)
– Any leftover heated food from home will be thrown out after meal times.
If you have any further questions, please see Monique or Janelle (cook Mon-Wed)
WEEKEND BOOKS
Please write in our weekend books! The information you put in there is so valuable. The Weekend Book’s are for each room – this really enhances our partnership with families and allows us to plan activities based on children’s interest.
It’s not just for the weekend activities. Let us know what you have been up to! From this information, we have a discussion with your child and plan activities based on this interest.
Also, you will have educators asking your child’s interest throughout the year. It’s always important to let us know current interests and what your goals are for your child.
The goals help us to work in partnership for your child – we use the interests to assist us in planning to achieve the goal.
NEW CLEANING COMPANY
We have changed cleaners and have the cleaning company AMC coming in after hours.
This allows us to utilize the rooms for the full hours of operation and we have added more duties for the AMC to complete to assist our educators.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Week commencing 4th March – Electronic sign in/out starts.
Monday 11th March – Catrina Buzzy Bee Show $8 will be added to your invoice for Tiggers and Poohs Corner children attending Mondays.
Wednesday 13th March – Crazy Hair day – come with the craziest hair!
Thursday 21st March – Harmony Day – wear orange ready to participate in friendship games/activities.
Thank you