Childcare @ South Kingsville Community Centre
Registration Details Statement of Purpose Access Fees Daily Programs & Routines Areas of Development Sun Smart Policy
Registration Details
The Centre is registered as a Restricted Children’s Service by The Department of Human Services Office of Pre-school and Childcare, and operates in accordance with Children’s Service Centres Regulation 1998 with strict adherence to numbers of children, staff/child ratios and employment of qualified staff.
(A copy of the regulations is hanging on the notice board in Childcare Room)
Ratios - 1:5 children under 3, 1:15 children over 3.
Room size restriction is 15 children maximum.
This service is Co-ordinated by a Level 3 DIPLOMA OF CHILDRENS SERVICES trained Children’s Services Officer.
A Level 3 Childcare Worker is employed to work with the children every session (in accordance with Regulation 25).
A Qualified First Aider is in attendance at every session. Staff members have been trained and have a registered Bronchodilator Accreditation Number – BAN, for asthma emergencies. Staff have also been 
trained in the use of a Epi-Pen.
Statement of Purpose
We aim to provide a safe, secure and comfortable environment where all children will be accepted equally with no discrimination of race, sex, religion or disability.
We will provide care that enhances and meets the individual developmental needs (social, emotional, physical, cognitive and language) of all children in our care.
By providing a well-balanced, developmentally appropriate program for the children attending, we will meet their needs as individuals and foster independence, confidence, responsibility, co-operative behaviour and creativity.
We also aim:
- To make children and families feel happy, relaxed and secure in the Centre’s environment.
- To provide an environment that is safe, as well as open, for exploration and discovery.
- To provide a program that gives all children equal opportunities.
- To foster a sense of importance and respect of themselves and others.
- For each child to develop and progress at their individual pace, bearing in mind the general milestone range within their age group.
- For children to foster an interest in books, music and the world around them, with emphasis on language and self-expression.
- For children to seek out and explore all avenues of creativity for children to gain an appreciation of social expectations in a positive, sensitive and caring manner and to learn socially acceptable ways to behave.
- For children, families and staff to develop strong trusting bonds with open communication.
Access
Childcare is available to all community members, Community Centre class participants and office volunteers. We limit access to a maximum of two sessions per family to be fair to all. Also due to extensive waiting lists, priority will be given to children who are not already attending 4-y-o kindergarten services.
*On some occasions, priority needs to be given to referrals from specialists & other agencies.
It is also necessary, for quality assurance reasons and to comply with Child Care regulations, to limit the number of children under (3) three in each group. (5 maximum) Occasionally we will have toddler groups of no more than ten children.
NOTE: This may affect people on the waiting list.
HOURS OF OPERATION
South Kingsville Community Centre has 10 sessions of Childcare per week. Sessions are only available during school terms. Session times are:
Monday – Friday 9am – 12pm
Monday – Friday 1pm – 4pm
Fees
FEES (at January 2008)
FULL FEE:
1 child: $20/session 2 children: $35/session 3 children: $50/session
CONCESSION:
1 child: $15/session 2 children: $26/session 3 children: $37/session
CLASS PARTICIPANTS & HOLDING FEE: $8/session/child
(All fees are subject to change, please check with office staff regarding current fees.)
FEE POLICY:
This is an extract of the SKCC Childcare Fee Policy, the full policy is available for viewing in the main office.
DETERMINING FEES:
The SKCC Committee of Management has a financial responsibility to ensure that this centre is viable and cost efficient and determines fees, after having carefully considered any Government funding/grants available. Fees are determined on a per session basis and are non-refundable.
Should a family be absent for extended periods, eg holidays, they may retain their child’s position by paying the holding fee. This must be organised and paid for prior to the period of absence. An extended period is defined as more than three sessions. If a child is unable to attend the childcare service due to an exclusion illness, as defined by the Department of Human Services, they shall be charged at the holding fee rate.
Any family accessing the childcare service on a casual basis must pay for the session at the time of use. Should a child fill a vacant place part way through a term fees will be charged on a pro rata basis for the balance of the term. No refund will be due to families leaving before the end of term.
The Committee of Management has discretion in considering any “unusual” requests.
ISSUING OF FEES:
Fees are payable on a term basis. Invoices for fees will be issued in the first week of term. Invoices will be available in the Childcare Room for collection. Invoices not collected by the Friday of the first week will be posted to the families address as per their enrolment form.
FEE RELIEF:
Concession will be available to families with current Health Care Cards. To be entitled to the concession rate the current Health Care Card must be presented. The Committee of Management has discretion in considering any issues of “hardship”. Parents should notify the SKCC Centre Manager if they are having difficulty paying fees to organise a fee payment plan, otherwise the procedure for collection of unpaid fees will be followed.
Daily Programs & Routines
INSIDE
Sessions begin with quiet settling activities.
These include: play dough / puzzles / books / home corner / drawing / blocks / painting / construction set / manipulative floor toys and relaxing background music.
Children work & play inside at these activities for the first hour of each session, before accessing the deck area in addition to indoors.
OUTSIDE
Children play outside for approximately one hour (some days this time is shorter depending on the Kindergarten sessions.)
During this time nappies are changed, toilet training children reminded and assisted in toilet and morning/afternoon tea is prepared.
INDOOR/OUTDOOR
Free choice access to both areas is provided by use of the deck, which is set up with sand/water/playhouse etc. during the first hour and remains available at all times.
ROUTINE
Morning tea/afternoon tea is served towards the end of the session.
Children come inside to pack away activities, help to clean tables and then rest for a few minutes on cushions whilst listening to relaxing music.
We then sit on our cushions and listen to a story before washing our hands and moving to the tables for singing and fruit.
Each child has an individual bowl and cup for snacks.
Group time – Story / discussion / singing / music / skills based games.
These are varied depending on the planned program, the childrens interest, age and attention span.
Indoor specific planned activities- are planned activities which relate to themes / skill development / experience enhancement / creative growth and specific developmental needs of individuals within the group.
They are also interest and event-based and displayed on the notice board. The PROGRAM is reviewed and activities changed fortnightly
These are the Areas of Development the Program is based on
Social skills:
Bringing children together in a group gathering, children are encouraged to play and work with others. Working and playing with others gives opportunities for children to meet and choose friends; develop and share ideas with others; talk and act out thoughts, feelings etc. As well as developing problem solving skills, which will help them in interpersonal relationships.
Emotional skills:
In order for children to want to learn they must feel emotionally happy and secure.
Encouraging children to be independent at times gives them the chance to leave their parents and home for periods in their day.
Children learn to feel what it is like to be part of a group and learn to feel confident and good about themselves in another world, away from home.
Physical skills:
Providing children with activities inside and outside encourages the development and refinement of gross and fine motor skills such as those required for drawing, cutting, construction, painting, pasting, running, jumping, sliding, swinging, etc all of these require coordination and much practice.
Cognitive skills:
Children at Childcare are given materials activities and experiences, which encourage them to think, solve problems, and explore their environment using all of their senses listening, looking, smelling, remembering, etc. Providing these opportunities help to develop intellect.
Language skills:
By providing an environment that is rich in language and where books are valued, we hope to instil in the children a love of language and an enthusiasm to learn to read and write.
We encourage language development in age appropriate ways, and in such a manner that all children feel their opinions are valued, and that they are able to express themselves and their feelings clearly to others.
Life skills:
By involving the children in the preparation and serving of morning/afternoon tea cooking regularly, clearing the tables and tidying the room after activities, and encouraging proper hygiene practices, children are learning positive and healthy life skills.
Additional Needs:
On some occasions our individualised program assessment method may suggest a child may need some extra assistance in a particular area of development e.g. speech, motor development etc. If staff feel that your child may need additional help it is policy to always discuss this with the parents to ensure appropriate strategies within the program.
Sun Smart Policy
Our centre’s sun protection policy has been developed to ensure that all children attending this centre are protected from potential skin damage caused by the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This policy will be implemented from the start of September through to the end of April.
As part of general sunsmart strategies:
- The Centre requires children to wear hats that protect their face, neck, and ears, eg: legionnaire or broad-brimmed hats and protective clothing whenever they are outside.
- Children who do not have their hats with them will be asked to play in an area protected from the sun. ( Or given one of our spare hats to wear. )
- Children will be encouraged to use available areas of shade for outdoor play activity.
- The community centre will ensure there is a sufficient number of shelters and trees providing shade
in the centre grounds. - Staff will act as role models by:
• wearing sun protective hats and clothing outdoors
• using SPF 30+ sunscreen
• seeking shade where ever possible - SPF 30+, broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen will be provided for staff and children’s use.
- Learning about skin and ways to protect skin from the sun will be incorporated into planned experiences.
- The sun protection policy will be reinforced in a positive way.
- Management and staff will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the sun protection policy each year and revise the policy as required.
- Wherever possible, staff will schedule all outdoor activities before 11am and after 3pm daylight savings time (10am and 2pm at other times). The availability of shade will be considered when planning outdoor experiences.
- Exposure to UV radiation from the sun causes sunburn, long-term skin damage and increase the risk of skin cancer. UV radiation levels begin to rise early in September and stay high until the end of april, so skin should be protected throughout this period, not just summer. Sunburn can occur on bright sunny days as well as cool or cloudy days.
- Even when protected by shade, UV radiation can be reflected off surrounding surfaces, such as sand, concrete or walls. This means that even in the shade additional protection is needed eg hat, sunscreen.
- Parents should understand the centre’s sun protection policy and be fully aware of their responsibilities, particularly in relation to provision of appropriate clothing and hats.