If you have a question that we haven’t covered for you in the below, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via phone or email.
1. What are your centre hours?
6.30am – 6.30pm Mon – Fri. We will be closed on Weekends & Public Holidays
2. Do you offer occasional care?
No – we are a Long Day Care approved provider.
3. Do you offer casual bookings?
Yes – if your child is enrolled for a minimum of one permanent booked day, you can request to add casual days, subject to availability.
4. What does your daily fee include?
- Nappies
- Wipes
- Sunscreeen
- 5 Meals daily (Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Late Snack)
- Specialist Programs – including – Playground to Plate®, Art Studio & dedicated Arts Program, Yoga & Mindfulness, Sport & Music
5. How many Children’s rooms are there at South St ELC?
There will be 7 children’s rooms in total that all open out to our playground and outdoor spaces.
6. What is the ratio of children to educators?
- Children under three – 4 children to 1 educator
- Children over three – 11 children to 1 educator
7. Is there off street parking available?
Yes – you can enter our dedicated car park on South Street. There will be keypad access from our car park into the centre.
8. How do I access the centre?
Access to South St ELC from South Street / our car park is by keying a code into a keypad – families will be provided this code following orientation. These doors don’t open automatically to passers by.
9. Do you have an integrated kinder program at South St ELC?
Yes, we will. Our funded kinder program will be delivered in our age appropriate rooms by a qualified Early Childhood Teacher.
10. Do educators & teachers need to be qualified to work in the rooms?
Yes – they will be qualified with one or more of the following:
- Certificate III in children’s services
- Diploma in children’s services
- Degree qualified as an Early Childhood Teacher
11. Have the educators had background checks?
Yes – all educators must hold a current working with children check & also undergo child protection training.
12. Can I reduce/increase my days after care has started?
We ask for four weeks notice in writing for any changes to your child’s booked days. Your request will be placed on an internal waitlist and offered to you as soon as we have availability to accommodate your request.
13. I registered via the website but I haven’t received an offer for care – why is that?
Offers will only been made to families that required care either when we open the service, or soon after. It’s not possible for us to offer enrolments to families and their children needing care in excess of a month in advance as we are unable to forecast availability/hold bookings.
14. What happens if my child’s booked day falls on a Public Holiday?
We will be closed on public holidays. You will still be charged for that booked day if it falls on a PH. The reason for this is that our educators are employed on a permanent/full time basis in order to ensure consistency of educators in each of our rooms to support the development of bonds and relationships – these educators are still paid for this day (public holiday) that they would have otherwise been working. If your child was due to attend on a day that falls on a public holiday, it will be counted as an absence and you will still be subject to receiving the Childcare Subsidy so that you only need to pay the gap – see here for more information if your child is absent from care.
15. What is the Child care Subsidy & how do I get the childcare subsidy?
You can apply for the childcare subsidy by making a claim for Childcare Subsidy in your Centrelink/Services Australia account. Please see below for a list of links that relate to the Childcare Subsidy (you will be redirected to the Services Australia website):
- Residence Rules
- Immunisation Requirements
- Primary school levels for childcare fee assistance
- Childcare providers
How much Childcare Subsidy you can get
- Your income can affect it
- Your number of children in care can affect it
- Examples to help you understand your Childcare Subsidy
- The type of Childcare you use affects it
- Your activity level (hours of work, study or volunteering) affects it
How to make a claim for Childcare Subsidy
How to confirm your enrolment into CCS if your claim is approved
How to manage your Childcare Subsidy / Payments
- Report a change in circumstances
- If you get both Childcare Subsidy & Family Tax Benefit
- If your child is ABSENT from care
- Details you need to give your Childcare Service
- Travel outside Australia during an enrolment
- If your child attends more than one childcare service
- Changes if you get family payments
- Owing money – Centrelink debt and how this affects your CCS
- Changing your enrolment details
How to balance your Childcare Subsidy Payments
16. How is the curriculum developed at South St ELC?
The development of our program/curriculum is based on the National Quality Standards & Framework – and the Early Years Framework which guides our practice for programming.
17. How do find out about my child’s while they’re in care – like what they’ve eaten, or what time they slept, etc.?
With each family’s permission, we use a program called Kinder M8 – this is an application that can be logged into via your desktop or mobile device and will be a way to communicate with families about information like food consumption, sleep/rest & toileting. Information about what your child is working on and their progress regarding their learning will be available in our project/inquiry workbooks inside each of our children’s rooms.
18. Who can drop off/pick up my child from South St ELC?
Only those people that are nominated in your child’s enrolment form. These authorised people will need to sign your child in and out using a digital Kiosk that can be accessed from an iPad inside your child’s room.
19. Do you cater for children that observe a vegetarian diet/have dietary requirements/religious/cultural requirements?
Yes – our menu is adapted each and everyday to accommodate children with a preference for vegetarian food or specific religious/cultural needs or if the child has allergies or preferences in relation to food consumption. We are a nut-free, egg friendly centre. A sample of our seasonal menu will be available here for you to see shortly.
20. Can I bring my child’s favourite food into the centre?
No – we have a strict policy that prohibits bringing food into the centre, so that we can avoid cross-contamination and compromising children with allergies.
21. Do you have a holiday fee if my family goes on holidays?
No.
22. How does orientation work?
We ask parents to bring children in for a minimum of 2, 2-hour sessions prior to the commencement of care at South St ELC. Parents are required to remain on the premises during the orientation sessions. If more sessions are required to help your child settle, this is definitely an option that is available to you.
23. What if I need to cease my child’s care at South St ELC?
We understand that changes in circumstances happen all the time for families. We ask that you provide written notice via email to our centre manager, four weeks prior to the day you intend to be your child’s last booked day with us. If you are receiving the childcare subsidy, you must also remember that it’s imperative for your child to attend their last booked day at South St ELC to avoid being charged cessation of care by the Australian government – this is part of the conditions of receiving the childcare subsidy.
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