Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the staff qualifications and are they police checked for working with children?
All staff educating and caring for children need to have a nationally accredited qualification – a Cert. III or Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care for educators or a Bachelor of Teaching for Early Years for early childhood teachers. They also need to have a valid Working with Children Check from the state authority for assessing their suitability to work with children as well as a police background check.
2. What types of food do you provide? Do you cater for dietary, cultural, and medical needs?
We provide a fully balanced menu following Australian nutrition standards. This includes breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack. Yes, we cater for all needs and can modify the centre meals to suit your child's needs.
3. What are the room routines?
Each room has a flexible room routine that is followed throughout the day from when the centre opens until it closes. The routine also follows elements from our HEI curriculum, which includes a HEI Time, where the educators and children gather at the start of each day. In the case of our infants and to some extent our toddlers, we try to as closely as possible follow the routines which are implemented at home. Please ask your Centre Director for more information about centre specific routines.
4. How do I pay my fees to the centre?
To allow payments to be processed efficiently our Service prefers Direct Debit. A weekly statement will be sent to parents to indicate the days and hours of care, the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) received, and the gap (out-of-pocket) fees required of the parents. The payment will then be processed according to the banking details nominated by the parents.
5. Does the centre follow a curriculum?
All our centres are guided by the Australian Early Years Learning Framework. Additionally, we use our own HEI curriculum, which is created in collaboration with the University of Helsinki in Finland. This ensures that all the activities we do are based on the latest research into early childhood learning and development. Additionally, we have a variety of extra-curricular programs which we provide on a centre-by-centre basis. These include a Sports Program, Kide Science, Micro-Farming, and a Nature Program. Please ask your Centre Director for more details on which programs your centre offers.
6. How are behavioral issues dealt with?
Our professional educators are well-equipped to positively defuse any minor issues which can happen during daily life at our centres. We always touch base with parents at the end of each day and we can update the parents at this point about any issues which may have arisen during the day. Our aim is to work together with our parents and children to find positive strategies for behavioral challenges. If needed, we invite the parents in for a chat so that together we can discuss the best course of action and implement, if needed, a behavioral management plan. In more challenging circumstances, we can access inclusion support services to come on board to help support the child.
7. How will I know what my child has done during their day at the centre?
We use an app called Storypark. This documents all your child’s learning, and we provide daily updates with photos. We also document how your child has eaten and how long they have slept (if appropriate). Nappy changes are also recorded throughout the day. In addition to Storypark, we also display notices and children’s artwork at the centre, write a monthly newsletter and of course provide opportunities for face-to-face discussions with the Room Leader and Centre Director.
8. Does the centre follow any sun safety guidelines?
Yes, all our centres are a member of the SunSmart Australia program. We provide sunscreen for all the children and require everyone to wear a hat when outdoors. We also use natural and artificial shade outdoors and conduct daily UV level checks.
9. What is the age group of children in each room?
This depends on the centre as well as the child’s development. In general, the age groups are as follows: 0-2 years, 2-3 years, 3-4 years, and 4-5 years (or Kindergarten / Preschool). We always consider the development of the child when moving them to the next group to ensure they are ready for the transition.
10. What do I need to bring in for my child?
Lots of changes of clothes - we support any weather outdoor play. We also ask that you bring a water bottle and hat, comforter/dummy and in the case of infants, we ask you to provide us with breastmilk or formula. We ask that everything is clearly labeled with your child’s name. Your centre will also provide you with details of what to bring upon enrolment and with any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your centre directly.
11. What is your accident policy and procedure?
Our centres have policies related to managing accidents and emergencies and these provide guidance for our staff to manage every situation appropriately. We document all incidents that happen and even in minor cases always inform parents at pickup time at the end of the day. Parents will always be immediately notified in case of serious incidents or in incidents related to anything above the shoulders.
12. What is your complaints policy and procedure?
We aim to resolve all matters promptly and professionally and always confidentially. We take complaints very seriously and see them as a source for improvement. All complaints are documented and recorded in the complaints register. Hopefully, we can resolve everything in house. However, if parents are unsatisfied with our procedures, they can approach our Compliance Unit and the State Regulatory Authority.
