Families
Please feel free to spend as much time with your child as you like. We welcome your ideas and suggestions and are happy to answer any questions that may arise. Go Kindy educators believe our centre functions best when educators and parents work together complimenting each other.
Parents are always welcome to attend our information nights and often invited along to our themed celebrations or parent involvement days. All families are encouraged to provide feedback to the service.
Download HandbookCommunication
Class Dojo is a parent communication app used to communicate with our Go Kindy families. Families have access to their child’s journey where they can view the daily room slideshows, the weekly menu, information on their child’s eating and sleeping patterns.
Class Dojo allows Go Kindy to keep parents informed on current and upcoming centre events, medical alerts and community noticeboard. Class Dojo is easily translated in over 40 languages.
Highlights of each day will be provided in the Room Diary and as a PowerPoint presentation giving parents a snapshot of each child’s day. Information is available in each room on a daily basis on children’s eating and sleeping and appropriate patterns. The weekly Menu will be posted in the foyer for all to view.
Parents will be requested to provide feedback throughout the year on our performance, activities and their child.
Arrivals / Departures
Arrivals and departures are an important part of the daily routine and they influence not only the quality of the child’s day but also the quality of the parent’s day. Parents are encouraged to use arrival/departure times as an opportunity to communicate with carers about their child.
To assist smooth drop offs and pickups, parents are required to:
- Leave their child in a Educator’s care when they arrive and ensure that staff are aware when their child is leaving Go Kindy
- Sign in on the QKIDS kiosk on arrival and sign out on departure. The Centre Manager will assist you creating a pin on your first day at the service. This is first and foremost a safety requirement as this documentation is used in the case of an emergency evacuation and maintaining educator to child ratio as per the Education and Care Regulations. It is also a legal government requirement. The government Child Care Subsidy requires accurate records of attendance, as the basis for parent child care payments.
- Advise educators of relevant information concerning your child. These include but are not restricted to:
- An unsettled night;
- Administration of medication prior to arrival at the service
- Request for medication (please complete the administration of medication form)
- Alternate pick up arrangements e.g. a grandparent (these emergency contacts will need to be on our QKIDS software data enabling them to create a pin to sign the child in and out of the service)
- Observe the open and close times of the service
If someone other than the parent is collecting children, the parent must:
- Provide timely advice to management of alternate, one-off pick up and drop off arrangements
- Advise emergency/alternate contacts that they will be required to provide identification
- Advise centre managers and provide copies of relevant court orders
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Go Kindy Management reserve the right to charge a late fee to those families who consistently pick up their children after closing time.
Absences
Parents are asked to report all absences to the Centre Manager or Lead Educator by 9.30am. If your child is sick, please advise us of the nature of the illness, this allows us to assess infectious illness.
Some absences are allowable without affecting payment of the Child Care Subsidy. If a child does not attend the session of care or part of the session of care, the service is still taken to have provided the session and Child Care Subsidy can still be paid, as long as the absence is allowable. An absence is allowable if the care was booked and an individual was liable to pay for that care. A child can have up to 42 allowable absences including public holidays in a financial year, more may be allowable in particular circumstances (due to illness) known as additional absences and requires a medical practitioner certificate.
Withdrawal or decreasing days
When withdrawing your child from the service, or decreasing days of attendance, two weeks notice in writing is required. Full fees will apply if notice procedure is not undertaken.
Fees
- Fees will be charged on a daily rate
- Please see the Centre Manager for your individual daily rate
- All fees for the week are to be paid in full prior to commencement
- Normal daily fee's apply on Public Holidays and school holidays.
- Fees will be charged as usual if your child is absent through illness or on holidays
- Fee payments may be made through Debit Success. Debit success is the services preferred method of payment
- A child enrolment fee is to be paid on enrolment. Your child is not guaranteed a position until this amount is paid. One week of fees are payable prior to the child’s first day. Fee's are to be one week in advance at all times.
- When withdrawing your child or decreasing days two weeks written notice is required.
If your fees become overdue, the following actions will happen:
- A courtesy phone call.
- If no payment has been made, a reminder letter will be sent out asking for payment by that Friday.
- If no payment has been made, a second letter will be issued and care will be cancelled.
- Debt collectors will be engaged if the above steps are unsuccessful.
Family Links
- goodforkids.nsw.gov.au
- healthykids.nsw.gov.au/campaigns-programs/about-munch-move.aspx
- kidshelp.com.au
- kidspot.com.au
- raisingchildren.net.au
- https://rednose.org.au/
- bubhub.com.au
- mychild.gov.au
- parentline.org.au
- humanservices.gov.au/customer/service/centrelink/child-care-benefit
- acecqa.gov.au
- parentspartner.com
- https://www.startingblocks.gov.au/
Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
Child Care Subsidy is the regular payment that assists most families with the costs of childcare. Child Care Subsidy will be paid directly to providers in most cases, to be passed on to families as a fee reduction.
How are CCS rebates calculated?
Three main factors will determine a family’s level of Child Care Subsidy:
- Family income: the combined adjusted taxable income of parents/guardians
- Activity Test: the participation activity level of the parents/guardians
- Hourly rate caps: that apply to the type of child care service and age of the child
A family’s annual adjusted taxable income will determine the percentage of subsidy families are eligible for.
The number of hours of subsidised care families can access, will be determined by an activity test. The higher the level of activity, the more hours of subsidised care families can access, up to a maximum of 100 hours per fortnight.
Parents whose hours of paid work vary from one fortnight to the next (such as casual workers) can estimate their fortnightly hours of work based on a three-month period.
Once this enrolment process is successfully completed, entitlements can be calculated and payments made.
Where can I find more information on CCS?
Families can create or access their Centrelink online account and lodge a claim for Child Care Subsidy at www.my.gov.au
Information for families about Child Care Subsidy and Additional
Child Care Subsidy is available at www.education.gov.au/childcarepackage.
Families can call Centrelink about Child Care Subsidy and other family payments on 136 150, from Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm, including for staff assistance in completing the claim form.
How do I apply for CCS?
Where can I find more information on CCS?
Families can create or access their Centrelink online account and lodge a claim for Child Care Subsidy at www.my.gov.au
Information for families about Child Care Subsidy and Additional Child Care Subsidy is available at www.education.gov.au/childcarepackage.
Families can call Centrelink about Child Care Subsidy and other family payments on 136 150, from Monday to Friday, 8am-8pm, including for staff assistance in completing the claim form.
Can I estimate my CCS online?
The Childcare Subsidy Calculator allows your family to receive an estimate of what CCS percentage and hours your entitled to per week. These components are means tested on a families combined income. Please use the link below to receive your estimate.
Nutrition
Go Kindy provides morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and late snacks for all children attending care. The meals are prepared by a qualified cook.
The menus are devised in accordance with the National Health Guidelines (Go Kindy will provide each child with 50% of their total nutritional requirements). The Go Kindy Team also consult the Good for Life – Good for Kids government initiative to ensure our dietary requirements for the children attending our services, are based on the latest research on healthy eating.
Drinking water can be accessed by children at any time throughout the day. Meal times create an important opportunity for children to further develop their social and language skills with other children and staff, and to be exposed to the food and eating arrangements of different cultures.
Menu alterations are made for children with allergies and special dietary requirements. Go Kindy is a Nut Free service.
In addition, any food or drink brought into Go Kindy from home must be given directly to a carer for safe storage. Parents are encouraged to raise any specific concerns regarding their child’s dietary requirements with the Centre Manager and to record this information on the child’s routine section on the Enrolment form.
