Parent Information

Enrolment into Jack & Jill Early Learning and Child Care Centre
On contacting us, we will arrange a meeting time that suits you and your child, to introduce you both to our centre and our educators.
Our opening hours are 6am to 6pm. We usually like to be able to show you all aspects of our centre, so sleep and lunch time (between 11am and 2pm) are usually the time of the day when we can show you the least, so we prefer to meet outside of these times, but we are flexible.
At this time we will, very informally, outline the following:

• Our Philosophy, explaining our links to the Early Years learning framework.
• Our curriculum and program, and how our centre is unique in our style of education and care.
• Discuss your child's eating habits, any allergies and our menu and food preparation.
• Discuss your child’s sleeping pattern, special routines or settling techniques used at home, so we can help your child feel comfortable and secure.
• We will explain the sign in/out process and discuss requirements for Child Care Subsidy and our regulations.
• We will explain our enrolment process and what you will need to do next,
• Make you aware of some of our policies and procedures and where to find more policy information.

We recommend you and your child attend for at least two "play dates", where you stay and play for an hour or so to help familiarise them to the new surroundings. This a time when you can discuss your child's routine and needs, plus any expectations you have, with our educators.
This is the start of our collaborative partnership for your child's education and care.
Below we have included some information that you may find helpful for settling into child care.

Settling Children into Centre
We aim for all children to have an enjoyable experience at Jack & Jill ELC. We understand there will be times when children will become distressed or upset, especially when they first begin attending or if there are any changes happening in their lives.
 
We encourage sharing of information about children’s personal details, routine for eating, toileting, sleeping, favourite foods and dislikes to assist us to provide appropriately for each child’s individual needs.
 
We will request details about requirements for:

1.  Sleeping – bottle, nappy, comforter. 
2. Toilet training – fit into home routine as closely as possible. 
3. Additional needs - e.g. medication, allergies, cultural eating requirements and key words from home. 

We assure parents that at any time they are welcome to telephone to check how their child is settling. Parents are also welcome to return to the centre, at any time, but they should be aware that this could unsettle the child in the early stage of their care.
 
We encourage parents to bring their child on the initial interview/orientation and when they return the enrolment form allowing time for the parent and child to discuss their requirements and view the centre again. The child may wish to join in an activity and parents are welcome to stay as long as they feel is necessary during these visits. We encourage a minimum of two “play dates” prior to the child starting for both the child and parent to get to know our Educators, the routine and other children.
We encourage parents to talk positively at home about going to Jack and Jill to play with the children and how Mum/Dad/other will come back to get them after work/other.
Parents are encouraged to learn the names of the educators to talk about them with their child.
 
Saying goodbye is very important. This will be stressed to parents. It should be done with confidence, quickly and with a minimum of fuss.
 
We encourage parents to develop a routine when dropping off children ie; hang up bag, put shoes in box, hugs and kisses, wave goodbye (on the chair at the window if this helps them to feel comfortable). Other routines could include and educator taking the child for a walk in the garden and look for birds in the trees. Parents are encouraged to bring any comforters with their child ie; dummy, soft toy or blanket.
 
We use the information on the enrolment form given to us by parents to provide experiences that interest the child and assist with settling.
The child may seem upset at first but most settle down quite happily as soon as the parent is out of sight. We will send through pictures on Kinderloop of the child playing to help ease the parents mind and concern.
 
We are honest with all parents. If a child is upset for a prolonged period, we will contact the parents, and strategies to over-come the problem will be discussed, including shorter days to begin with. Parents are encouraged to phone at any time to check on their child and ease their worry/concern.

Benefits of Family Involvement
 At Jack & Jill Child Care every endeavour is made to encourage a close working relationship between families, educators and management. Children need this support network for holistic development.
Involvement will include;

1. Families communicating their expectations for their child’s education (see Family Education and Support Plan attached).
2. Discussing any concerns that may arise, particularly with regard to early intervention for development.
3. Asking for advice and support with family matters.
4. Sharing cultures.
5. Sharing knowledge and experience.
6. Extending Curriculum and Program with ideas and interests of individual families.
7. Sharing experiences and events both from home and at Jack and Jill ELC through the Kinderloop app.
8. Extending Menu by sharing favourite family recipes to assist with a culturally diverse menu.
9. Providing Comments and suggestions during the Policy and Procedure review process.
10. Joining in events and special days through our yearly curriculum.
11. Sharing family photos.

 Any contribution, idea or suggestion is valued by our educators and by the children.

Sharing Information
Even though your life is very busy, it is important to take a few minutes each morning and evening as you bring and collect your child to tell us the little things we need to know to care for your child e.g. the mood they are in or the restless night they had, how any particular activity was enjoyed etc.

Please keep us up to date with new phone numbers, changes in sleeping patterns and any developments you observe.

Children's Clothing
A spare set of clothes (more if toilet training) in a clearly named bag should be provided on a daily basis.
Appropriate clothes for the weather (e.g. Tank tops or shoestring straps don't meet our Sun Smart requirements) should be provided with an appropriate change of clothes available in the child's bag between seasons, when the weather changes.
Should clothes become wet or soiled, the child's spare clothes will be used and soiled ones placed in a plastic bag and sent home for washing.
In the event that a child does not have a change of clothes, we have some limited spare clothing available. Please launder spare clothes and return to the centre as soon as possible.
Every endeavour will be made to ensure children´s clothes are returned to their bag or box when not being worn. If any items are misplaced, they can be found in the lost & found box at the front of the main building.

Operating Hours
Monday - Friday 6am to 6pm, 50 weeks a year. Closed public holidays & for two weeks over Christmas and New Year.

Delivery & Collection of Children
Children can only be collected from the centre by authorised person/s (ie: those on the enrolment form). If educators have not met the person before, photo ID will be requested. Please inform an educator if someone besides yourself will be collecting your child.

Rest/Sleep
Babies - we will endeavour to follow the routine you have them in at home with regards to their sleeps.
2-3 years - as it is a long day we recommend that all children in this age group have a sleep after lunch, but if a child is tired we will provide a bed when needed.
3+ years - please discuss your child's rest requirements with our educators