All that you are required to bring is a bag for your child with:
All items brought into the centre need to be clearly labelled.
Children need to come along dressed in loose fitting, comfortable clothing (weather appropriate). The children participate in various "messy "activities therefore "good" clothes are not recommended. We request that children wear clothing that minimises exposure to the sun (refer SUN-SMART POLICY). We also require that children wear well fitting shoes. i.e. thongs and slip- on shoes are not safe for outdoor play. Staff take no responsibility for unnamed lost clothing.
The centre has a fully equipped kitchen and cook to provide all snacks and lunch for the children. Meals are prepared fresh everyday, taking in to account childrenÂs nutritional needs. We ask that you do not bring in food for your child, as stated in our CentreÂs Food Plan, they will be provided with all the food and drinks they need throughout the day. We are aware that some children have certain allergies to foods, could you please make room staff aware of ANY allergies your child has.
The cook will ensure that your child's allergies are catered to and a modified meal will be provided if necessary. Only in the case of allergy will modified meals be arranged, childrenÂs food preferences are recognised but we offer all children the same meals. Birthday cakes cannot be supplied by parents, if required the cook will bake a cake for your child to have at the centre for the cost of $5.00.
The centre runs three age rooms: Babies 6-18 months, Toddler 18 months -3 years and Pre School 3-5 years.
Children are placed into the appropriate room according to their age and stage of development. Children under three are not permitted to be booked into the Pre School room due to child: staff ratios. Children will only be transitioned to the next room level after consultation with parents and subject to availability of spaces in that room.
The term child: staff ratios refers to the minimum number of staff members, including qualified staff members, who must care for the children at any time.
We recommend that before you leave your child at the centre for their sessional times alone, you come with your child for a visit in their room. This allows the child to familiarise themselves with the new surroundings and people while they have the security of you by their side. If your child can see you interacting with the staff and having you participate in activities with them it can help the process of being left for the first time. It is not uncommon for a child to take approximately 6 weeks to settle into their new surroundings when starting out.
We advise that when leaving your child always say 'good-bye' to them and re-assure them you (or someone else) will be back to collect them later. We understand that it is hard to leave an upset child and that sometimes you feel that it is easier to 'sneak' out but this actually makes it harder for you to leave next time as the child will not leave your side in case you sneak away. We welcome your call during the day to see how your child has settled if when you left they were upset, this helps to ease your mind that they are coping.
We ask that children do not bring toys and games from home. We provide many and varied experiences for the children, which are all planned for based on observations taken on each individual child. We find that if children are bringing in toys from home then the program planning that the staff provide is not being carried out to its full potential.
We do encourage you to bring along your child's "comfort" toy if they have one, to help settle into the new surroundings and routines. We ask for your co-operation with this but if your child does insist on bringing in something to show to their friends, we ask that you explain to your child that they can show it but then it must stay in their bag for the day.
We do have strict guidelines on violent toys we totally discourage children bringing guns or other weapons into the centre and we discourage the role playing of violent characters within the centre. We encourage the children to participate in passive role play and experiences.
Only people authorised by you on your childÂs enrolment form can collect or drop off your child. You must also state on the sign-in sheet daily who will be collecting your child at what time. If there is a change to this after you leave the centre, you are required to telephone and advise staff who will be collecting the child. Unless we have a copy of a custody order both parents have a legal right to collect their child from the centre.
In every room you will find a detailed list of what your child has eaten throughout the day, if they have slept and for how long etc. These information sheets are filled in daily by room staff to let you know what has happened in your childÂs life that day. Although we endeavour to speak to all parents when they arrive to collect children we do not always get to exchange a lot of information, these daily sheets aid communication between staff and parents.
You will also find that your child has a named pocket at the entrance to their room, these pockets contain monthly newsletters, account receipts and other pieces of information you might need to know about the centre. Please ensure you check these weekly  you do not want to miss out on anything exciting!
If an emergency occurs we will follow the guidelines set out by the University, these guidelines are displayed in all rooms. If we need to evacuate the building we will go to the safest nearest exit and assemble on the seats outside the Union Building, a head count will be conducted against the sign-in books and we will contact parents as soon as is possible.