Parent Participation

You are encouraged to become involved with the learning experiences of the Centre and any ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated. We are always happy to have parents come into the Centre to contribute experiences – read books, sing, dance, cook, activities to do with your work (e.g. a Doctor, Nurse, Fireman), or of a multicultural experience.

Enrolment

Application forms are available on the website www.chccc.org.au by emailing, or phoning. When your application has been accepted, you are required to contact the Centre every 3 months to keep your application active. It is a requirement at CHCCC that all children be fully immunised for their age.

When offered a position, arrangements will be made for your child to begin settling visits. A series of short visits will be arranged for you and your child to familiarise yourselves with our educators and with the new environment.

Preparing your Child for child care

Starting child care can be an emotional time for both the parents and the child. Our aim is for your child to have a positive experience at this Centre. The best outcomes for children occur when educators understand each child, your family values and expectations. Your input is invaluable to us, by sharing information regarding your child’s temperament, stages of development and personal preferences.

Other things that may help are;

  • Prior to commencing, encourage your child to self- settle to sleep.

  • Provide a familiar comfort toy and a family photo.

  • It is important for you to show your child that you feel secure about leaving them at the centre and that you trust the staff.

  • Never leave without warning -it is important to always say goodbye confidently, even if they become upset, as it can be very distressing for your child to realise that you have left without saying goodbye. This also establishes the trust that you will not just ‘disappear’.

  • You are welcome to stay for a short time each day to settle your child; however it may be confusing if you stay too long. It helps if you always alert an educator of your intention to leave, say your goodbyes and then quickly leave. Repeated goodbyes are unsettling.

  • You are welcome to telephone the Centre during the day to check on how your child has settled, you will be given sensitive, honest feedback. If your child is very distressed and unable to be comforted, we will call you. We are well trained in separation issues, so it is important to have faith in the Centre staff.

  • Be aware that some children settle more slowly than others and may be distressed by being in group care. It may take anything from 2 - 6 weeks to settle. Our educator’s will assess your child’s emotional needs and discuss this with you. Regular attendance also helps a child to settle into the new routine.

  • Try to avoid bribes as this lays down an expectation which may be hard to change later in life.

  • During this settling period, it’s not a good time to introduce any other changes for example toilet training, moving your child into a bed, moving house etc. Aim to minimise any other stressful situations.

  • Children with special needs that cannot be catered for within the usual child care routine will be integrated into the whole group with additional support from an Inclusion Support Educator.

  • Parents are to be aware if they have another non enrolled child with them at the Centre, they must be adequately supervised by the parent at all times, and not by the Centre staff.

  • Our aim is that by the time your child is coming for the day, you and your child are settled and feeling safe and comfortable.

  • We appreciate a few minutes every morning as you bring in your child to provide relevant information to update the educators on your child - changes in sleeping patterns, recent immunisations, any recent changes at home e.g. moving house, relatives staying etc. - these changes may impact on your child and how they react during the day.

Primary Educators

  • To assist children to settle, develop attachments and to meet their emotional needs, 2 ‘primary educator’s’ are allocated at the time of enrolment and again when children transition to the next age group. Our goal is first to establish a secure attachment with one educator, assisting the child to settle. The primary educators will whenever possible carry out your child’s personal care needs (e.g. feeding, nappy change, toileting, settling to sleep, comforting and individual learning experiences).

  • The primary care educators will be the ones who work closely with you and your child during the settling period. Children do best when the family and educators work together.

  • The outcome of primary caring is that children tend to stay close to their primary educators and therefore able to have their individual needs anticipated.

  • When there is an issue or concern in respect to a child, the Team Leader or the Director will speak to you after first discussing the concerns with the primary educator. All primary care groups are reviewed periodically, to ensure the groups are compatible and balanced.

Documents required

To help us take the best possible care of your child, we require you to complete an enrolment form and provide the following information;

  • your child’s birth certificate
  • immunisation history
  • health, medical and developmental history
  • contact details, custody arrangements and emergency contacts, who can collect your child from the centre
  • all information you provide is strictly confidential.

Arrivals and Departures

The Centre is required to keep accurate attendance records. We request that you comply with the following Government licensing requirements by

  • Signing your child ‘in and out’ every day
  • If you do not complete these records you will not be eligible to claim your Child Care subsidy
  • Casual bookings (i.e. children who do not have a permanent booking) are required to sign in/out into the Occasional Care file.
  • Signing IN and OUT is used to check numbers of children in attendance at any time. This is important in the event of an emergency evacuation so it is essential that you complete this every day.
  • In the event of your child being absent, please sign the absence when next attending.
  • Please keep to the arrival and departure times as agreed upon at enrolment as the staff rosters are planned according to the number of children booked in to meet the required staff: child ratio.
  • If your needs change please discuss with the Director in advance so the necessary adjustments to staff numbers can be made.

Authorised Persons to Collect Children

  • Your child will only be released into the care of the custodial parent or authorised persons as identified on your child’s enrolment form.
  • We request that you confirm on your arrival in the morning who will collect your child.
  • Any changes to these details must be advised to the Centre as soon as possible.
  • Identification will be requested for any persons unknown to Centre staff.
  • If an unauthorised person arrives to collect a child, the child will not be released without parental authorisation being obtained. You must ensure your child’s collection from the Centre is reliably organised, as uncertainties and irregularities can cause anxiety for your child and the Centre.

Late Collection

  • If you are unavoidably detained and unable to collect your child at the agreed time, you are requested to telephone the Centre prior to the arranged collection time and indicate your expected time of arrival.
  • If you need to arrange for another person to collect your child, you are required to provide details about this person to the Centre staff by telephone or email. Identification will be required of them before allowing your child to be collected.
  • If your child has not been collected by 5.45 pm, staff will telephone you (or the nominated emergency contact person) to arrange immediate collection. If no one can be contacted by 6:15pm - Crisis Care, the Department for Communities or the Central Police Station will be contacted to take responsibility for your child.
  • A notice to this effect will be left on the inside of the Centre front door, giving the details for the parent.
  • A late fee is charged to cover the cost of staff overtime.