Choosing the right childcare for your family
Childcare centres come in different class sizes, and types such as family day care, long day care, before or after school care; open different hours, some offer sessions now due to the childcare subsidy rebate, others may not; theres different philosphies and of course different managements and teams.
So what are the key elements to look for in childcare..?
The ACECQA website should be the first point of information when looking for childcare.
They provide detailed information on each registered childcare in Australia including their operating hours, which type of centre they are, their contact details, vacancies, fees and the centre rating against the National Quality Standard.
Call up a shortlist of the centres you want to see and are interested in enrolling in. Yes, call up to book a tour. It will give you an impression of what their management or educators are like immediately from the phone conversation and if the information they provide matches what is displayed on the ACECQA website.
When booking a tour, you want to book just after everyone has settled in or in the afternoon after rest time, that way your child can actually engage and interact with the other children and you can observe how the educators interact with the families and children already enrolled.
Please book in a tour- walk ins are welcome but there’s centre events and excursions that a centre may be having and you therefore miss that opportunity to tour the centre.
Ask questions! Even if you’ve asked on the phone, ask again during the tour, this assures you that the educators or manager showing you around knows what they’re talking about.
What questions? Here’s some suggestions:
What is your centre philosophy based on?
What ratios are there throughout the centre?
Do you do excursions or incursions?
What fees are there such as enrolment or bonds?
What’s your procedure if my child doesn’t settle?
What information do you document about my child?
What to look for?
Some things to look for, Apart from a clean and well presented environment…
-Educators engaging in play & interactions with the children and your child
-a developmental program being displayed, this is to show what’s happening and what the educators are planning intentionally to support children’s learning
-staff profile photos and their qualification listed
-ACECQA rating certificate & service approval certificate
-Centre philosophy displayed
-children’s input such as recent artworks displayed
When enrolling into a centre, it’s important that the centre truly fits well for your needs and wants as well as your child’s. Childcare centres a second home for many children and therefore want to ensure everyone is comfortable within our centre.
Upon enrolment you should be provided with an information pack. We provide families with our Parent & Family Handbook, along with associated Centre policies and procedures.
At Little Wonders ELC, we encourage families to bring their child in for a few orientation sessions prior to their first day. This way the family can have time to discuss their family needs with the educators and the child can start forming relationships with the educators and other children.
Choosing childcare can take a while if there’s limited vacancies, so it’s a good idea to start early and be on different waitlists if you can. It’s important to keep contacting the centre to let them know your still interested for a better chance at enrolment too.
Written by Cassandra, Co-owner and Director of Little Wonders Early Learning Centre
Little Wonders Early Learning Centre is family owned and operated.
To read more about Little Wonders Early Learning Centre visit www.littlewonderscentre.com.au