FAQ´s

Families and carers need to sign their children in and out of the service at the time of arrival and departure through the iPad kiosk.

Any additional caregivers picking up children need to be documented on the Enrolment Form.

Any changes to general routine of this process must be discussed with the coordinator prior to access.

At our centre, our fees are based on a daily rate. However, this does not need to govern when you drop off your child at our centre. You can drop off your child at a time that suits your family routine, so long as it’s within our operating hours.

No. We believe that routines should be as individual as your child.

For infants, we work to maintain your child’s routine as directed by you so that their routine becomes a harmonious extension of your routine at home.

For toddlers and preschoolers, routines are guided by your child’ individual needs, interests and learning requirements. Whilst we have planned activities, incursions and excursion at our centre and also meal-time rituals too, our approach is agile and adaptable to every child’s personal requirements. We take pride in creating an inclusive experience at our centre – and that means adapting to every child’s unique needs. Ensuring that children and their families are given the opportunity to influence their routine is an important part of our learning approach at our centre.

We aim to make rest time a relaxed, pleasant time for all children. We provide stretcher beds for children and play soft music in the background. Your child may wish to bring a security item to have at rest time. Please feel free to discuss your child’s rest or sleep needs with our Educators.

For independence, we work towards all children being able to recognise and open their own bag. Let them be involved in selecting their bag and taking ownership of it. Please ensure it is large enough to hold all their belongings and is clearly labelled with their name.

Please include the following items in your child’s bag:

• 3 sets of spare clothes and underwear. Ideal clothing that is okay to get dirty / practical for nappy changing and toileting.
• Water bottle (clearly labelled with your child’s name.)
• Milk bottles (clearly labelled with your child’s name.)
• A wet bag
• Nappies (x 6 per day). If supplying cloth nappies please bring a bag or nappy bucket so we can send them home.
• Underwear (x 4 sets)
• Formula in the original tin
• A bucket sun hat that protects their face, neck and ears
• A comforter for bedtime (if needed) for children over 7 months only.

• Sunscreen (Coles brand)
• Linen
• Nutritious, Cooked Meals

We provide nutritious meals, prepared by our chef. All our menus have been developed in consultation with a nutritionist and are based on seasonality, offering children many fresh and healthy options that cater to children’s growing needs at every stage of their developments. Importantly, we also work closely with you to ensure that our menus are appropriate for your child’s personal needs.

We have a strong food philosophy at the YMCA that is based on developing positive food rituals that expose children to our diverse multi-cultural landscape. Our approach to food helps to instill healthy associations with food and hygienic food habits at an early age.

YMCA NT aims to facilitate effective management of children who are required to take medications for health reasons, prevention and management of acute episodes of illness or medical emergencies by providing the safe administration of medication.

Medication will only be administered to your child if:

• Parent/guardian authority has been given to do so.
• Medication is in its original packaging.
• Medication has been prescribed by a medical practitioner
• Medication has the dispensing label (that is clearly readable) detailing the child’s name, required dosage and expiration date.
• Medication must be stored appropriately, in a secure place inaccessible to children.
• The parent/guardian must provide written permission for all medication to be administered, by completing the Medication Form.
• Non-prescription medication can only be administered if a parent/guardian has completed and signed the medication form and provided specific instructions for its dispensation.
• All naturopath medication needs to have a label from the naturopath with the child’s name, date, dosage, name of medication, ingredients, date of issue and date of expiry.
• Medication required on an on-going basis must have an action plan or detailed information that is reviewed regularly at a period of time set by the prescribing doctor.
• If educators have any concerns about a request to administer medication, they must consult with the parent/ guardian and/or the Coordinator.
• The Coordinator reserves the right to contact a health care professional if there are any concerns about administering medication to a child even when written authorisation is given by the parent or guardian.
• Medication is administered to a child by educators or in some cases, with parental or guardian consent (completion of a medication form), medication can be self-administered by a school age child. When medication is being self- administered, children are supervised by the educators and a medication form is signed off by both Educators and parent/guardian.
• Administration of invasive, complex or injected medications must be organised in conjunction with the Coordinator and will only occur if Educators are agreeable to do so and is fully informed of the requirements.

Children should not attend any of our programs if they are unwell. If a child becomes unwell while attending our services, caregivers will be notified and asked to collect the child. When any child or staff member is found to be showing signs of any infectious disease:

• Children’s caregivers will be contacted immediately to collect their child and seek medical advice. Caregivers are expected to arrive in a timely manner. If this is not possible alternate arrangements must be made by the families and carers.
• For disease published as requiring a doctor’s certificate to clear the child or staff member from the illness, this will be required before that person will be admitted to the program.
• Clear medical information such as signs or symptoms will be posted in the parent area.

Children must wear sun safe hats for outside play. It is recommended that each child brings from home a wide brimmed, legionnaire or bucket hat. Those children who bring caps will have sunscreen applied to the back of their neck and ears (all exposed areas) before going out into the sun. Children who do not bring hats will be provided with a spare hat or will need to stay in a shaded area.

• Children must wear sun safe clothing which includes shirts and dresses that have shoulder covering sleeves (no midriff, singlet or crop tops). When on water excursions children are asked to wear sun safe swim tops that cover their back and shoulders from the sun.
• Parents/guardians are asked to apply SPF 30+ sunscreen prior to bring their child to the service or upon arrival at the service. Sunscreen is provided at the service. Staff will reapply sunscreen to children 20 minutes prior to outdoor play in the afternoon.
• Children are encouraged to apply their own sunscreen, under the supervision of educators, young children may need to be assisted to ensure that it is applied efficiently. Sunscreen must be applied to all areas of exposed skin.

Hand held electronic games i.e. PS2 etc. are not permitted at our services. If a child brings an electronic toy or mobile phone, staff will keep this in a safe place until families and carers arrive. Staff may also ask children to hand in certain toys should it be at risk of being damaged etc.

The YMCA takes no responsibility for belongings which are lost or stolen during our programs.

YMCA NT programs close strictly at the end of their operating hours. Time has been set at $15 per 15 minute increments per child/ per additional time worked. To avoid a late fee, please organise for your child to be collected before closing time. If for some reason, you are unable to do so, then please contact the staff at your child’s service by phone and organise for your child to be collected before closing time by an Authorised Emergency Contact.

Fees are payable on a child’s booked days despite whether they are absent. Fees are charged by the session not the hours attending.

Under the Federal Governments Child Care Subsidy package, each child is eligible to receive Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for any reason, without proof of circumstances (this includes public holidays).

Once the initial 42 absences have been exhausted, CCS will not be paid for any absences, unless they fall within the additional absences category. Additional absences are:

• An outbreak of an infectious disease at the Centre, for which the child has not been immunised.
• Any other absences due to illness of the child, parent or a parent being on a rotating shift or rostered day off (with supporting documentation).
• Temporary closure of the Centre, or pupil free day.
• Shared custody arrangements due to a court order or parenting order (with supporting documentation).
• Attendance at pre-school.
• Exceptional circumstances (as approved by the Department of Human Services).

The initial 42 absence days must be exhausted before additional absences can be claimed.

Parents/guardians are asked to advise the coordinator of the service of any planned absences from care as soon as possible before the start of the session if their child is not attending on that day.

Yes we can, by supplying our accounts administration with a few simple details we can certainly give you an estimate before you enrol.

For simple and safe payments of your account YMCA NT accounts are payable by Direct Debit from Credit Card or Bank Accounts. YMCA NT has partnered with debitsuccess to provide you with this service. A debitsuccess form is available from your service. Please note our fees are charged in advance.

Payments are by Direct Debit only and are always processed for 2 weeks fees in advance.

Unsuccessful debits will incur a rejection fee added to the parent/guardian account.

If an account becomes in arrears, families will be notified and a reminder email will be sent informing the family that another payment will be debited within 2 business days. If the payment rejects once again another reminder email will be sent informing the family that another debit will occur in two business days. If the payment rejects for a third time, a phone call will be made by the coordinator of the service, followed by an email informing the family that their child’s enrolment is at risk of being cancelled.

The demand for child care sometimes exceeds supply. The Australian Government has determined guidelines for allocating places in such circumstances. They set out the following three levels of priority:

• Priority 1 – a child at risk of serious abuse or neglect
• Priority 2 – a child of a single parent who satisfies, or of families and carers who both satisfy, the work/training/ study test under section 14 of the Family Assistance Act
• Priority 3 – any other child

Within these main categories priority should also be given to the following children:

• Children in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
• Children in families which include a disabled person
• Children in families on lower incomes
• Children in families with a non-English speaking background
• Children in socially isolated families
• Children of single families and carers

Any service that has no vacant places and is providing care for a Priority 3 child may require that child to leave the service in order for the service to provide a place for a higher priority child.

Full details can be found in the “Child Care Services Handbook”
www.education.gov.au/child-care-service-handbook

Our programs may be eligible to receive an Inclusion Support Subsidy (ISS) which can assist with the inclusion of children with additional needs. For further information concerning ISS please contact your coordinator. This process can take considerable time to complete. We suggest children with additional needs have a trial period at our services to ensure the safety and suitability of the service and correct support is put in place.

Yes. All children enrolling in our services who have a medical condition must have an action plan provided by a medical practitioner. Families are also required to complete in conjunction with the service coordinator, a Management of Medical Conditions Action and Minimisation Plan prior to their child starting at the service.

This plan will include: the child’s details, parents details and emergency contact information, details of the child’s medical condition, signs and symptoms and triggers, risk minimisation information and steps taken to minimise risks, where the medication will be stored and communication plan – how staff and parents will communicate information about the child’s condition on a continual basis.

After you have enrolled your child online, you will be contacted by an OSHC administrator who will assist you in completing the relevant medical documentation.

If a parent is experiencing problems associated with custody and access then please discuss this with the coordinator of your service. A copy of a current Family Court Order is required on enrolment and we will do our utmost to abide by this. If there is any likelihood of problems associated with the collection of your child, it is the parent’s responsibility to advise the staff and to provide information about any change to court orders.

YMCA NT ensures that personal information collected is accurate and stored securely and will only be used or disclosed to achieve the outcomes for which it was initially collected. Personal information will be managed openly and transparently in a way that protects an individual’s privacy and respects the rights under Australian Privacy laws.

We maintain private and confidential files for all staff, children, families, students and volunteers, maintaining records according to the Australian Privacy Principles (APP).