 . |
Nursery Possums Room Information Welcome to the Possums! In the Possums we cater for 10 children aged between 6 weeks to 2.5 years. The room is staffed by April (Diploma Children’s Services) (M, T, W, Th ), Lauren (Certificate III Children’s Services) (M, W, Th, F ) Carley (Certificate III Children’s Services) (F) and Nicola (Trainee currently studying Certificate III Children’s Services) (W) The girls are extremely caring and motivated and have a deep interest in children and their development, especially the vital stages between birth to 3 years. Our aim of the room is to provide a warm and loving environment for our babies, toddlers and families, whilst providing appropriate learning experiences for the individual child. Some of our major goals for our group include the following: The need for love and security · The need for appropriate food and rest · The need for a clean and healthy environment · The need for new experiences · The need for praise and recognition · The need to be cared for as an individual OUR PROGRAM April, assisted by Lauren and Carley throughout the year, will individually observe and program for each child. As a part of caring for the whole child the staff focus on fostering and extending the following skills at age/stage appropriate levels: Social/Emotional Gross and Fine motor Language Cognitive Self help Creative arts Music and movement Please see Centre Handbook – programming for further details of how our programs are designed and implemented. WHAT TO BRING EACH DAY We suggest that each child has a labeled child sized bag to bring each day, with the following labeled items included in it: · At least 2 full changes of labeled clothes · Any sleep time items, i.e., wrap, special blanket, dummy etc, all labeled · Labeled formula and bottles (we provide cows milk, soy etc)
MEALS AND SLEEP/REST Meals and Drinks The centre provides breakfast (if required before 7.45am), morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack (after 5.15pm). The Nursery menu is adapted to whatever level of solids that each child is consuming. If parents advise their child is only consuming ie, pureed food, mashed etc., then this will be provided. A copy of the menu planner is attached. For children under 12 months of age we provide cooled boiled water for drinking at lunch time and throughout the day. Please do not bring any food into the centre as we have a few children with life threatening Anaphylaxis allergies. Please read our policy Prevention of Food Allergy Exposure for more information on this important procedure. Bottle Feeding Formula and/or Breast milk We ask that you bring the amount of labeled bottles that your child will consume during the day and place them in the nursery fridge on arrival. For formula we suggest that the formula remain unmade and stored in a measured formula container. This way, we can make up bottles are required and ensure that they are freshly made. To warm bottles we utilise bottle warmers. We rinse the bottles well after use and then return them to your child’s bag. We do not sterilize the bottles after use, as we cannot guarantee that they will remain sterile whilst in transit to home. We do have a microwave sterilizer to utilise if we need to make dummies or teats, etc., sterile due to contact with non-sterile surfaces. Breast Feeding We encourage parents, if possible, to continue to breast feed even on returning to work. We can organize a system of phoning in when feeds are due to ensure that children are awake and ready to feed. We can also provide an area for parents to feed their child before leaving the centre or when they return at the end of the day. Please communicate with us any way in which we can assist this. Sleep and Rest We are lucky enough to have many lovely quiet cot rooms to offer to children aged 0 to 3 years if necessary. Each child has their own cot for the days they attend the centre and when they are ready to transition to a bed we can then offer a mattress to sleep on which they do so by joining the toddler group during sleep time. We provide all linen for the cots and simply ask that on arrival, parents leave any sleep items such as dummies, teddies etc in the cot so it is ready for your child come bed time. For children under 12 months we suggest that the cot remain soft toy, pillow and doona free. We follow the suggested guidelines of SIDS Australia and make sure that children are put to bed on their back and placed at the bottom end of the cot, with linen and blankets that are thin and tight fitting. If your child is under 12 months of age and has other bed time routines, please let staff know. Learning to use the toilet – when this time arrives (not usually before 2 years) staff and parents need to discuss a plan for your child. Please feel free to make a time to talk to one of the staff about your child learning to use the toilet and make the big move from nappies to undies. Likewise, staff will also advise you if they think that your child is showing signs of readiness and make a time to form a plan of action. INFORMATION EXCHANGE As we are in partnership with parents in caring for your child, it is very important that we maintain a thorough exchange of communication. Apart from speaking with parents on arrival and departure each day, we also have some written forms of communication. For all information on eating, drinking and sleeping, parents should read the Meal and Rest Record that is located in the Change Room. On arrival parents are encouraged to jot down any special information for the day ahead, ie, “had a rough night, may need early sleep” etc. Throughout the day staff will record food and fluid intake and sleep times, parents should check this sheet each day. The white board in the change room will also record the number of wet and soiled nappies for the day for each child. OTHER INFORMATION Once enrolled at the centre, we provide a comprehensive Parent Handbook. This handbook covers all other areas of information that you will need to be aware of. It also contains some of the major centre Policies that are important to understand. We have a full Policy Manual available to borrow from our Parent Library. Please see staff to organize loan of this document. We truly appreciate all suggestions and feedback on our programs. Looking forward to great times and sharing lots of information about your child Possum Staff April, Lauren, Carley & Nicola |
. |
Index Program and Early Years Learning Framework
|
|
| . | ||||
Elder Street
EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTRE