H2 Here is a collection of useful websites for parents on child development.

Starting Blocks

Startingblocks.gov.au is a new, family friendly resource available to help new parents answer child care questions and better understand the benefits of early childhood education and care. It offers helpful tips for parents on early childhood development and what to look for to ensure their child gets a quality care and learning experience. Starting Blocks is brought to you by ACECQA.


Raisingchildren.net.au

Raising Children Network is the complete resource for Australian parents, taking you from pregnancy to newborns to teenagers. We offer evidence-based content you can trust on hundreds of topics about raising children and looking after yourself as a parent.


Early Years Count

You can find information and activities specific to your child and family, based on age, relationship, location and activity preferences. Tips and information on supporting your child’s early learning and development through play, care, encouragement, numeracy (read & count) and literacy (talk & listen) or sort by age to find content relevant to your child.


Australian Institute of Family Studies

The Australian Institute of Family Studies is a national research and information agency on children and families in Australia. Includes research, publications, online library, and further links and resources for professionals.

Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth

The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) is a national collaboration of eminent experts disseminating knowledge about problems and solutions to issues affecting children and young people.


Cancer Council Australia

As Australia’s peak national non-government cancer control organisation, Cancer Council Australia advises the Australian Government and other bodies on practices and policies to help prevent, detect and treat cancer. Cancer Council Australia launched the national SunSmart Schools program in 1998. The program has grown rapidly and there are now more than 2500 SunSmart schools and 3500 SunSmart childcare centres across the country.


Centre for Community Child Health

The Centre for Community Child Health is an internationally recognised centre of excellence supporting and empowering communities to continually improve the health, wellbeing and quality of life of children and their families, now and for the future.


Department of Social Services

The Department of Social Services is responsible for helping to support Australian families and children. The Families and Children section of this website provides detailed information on the various forms of assistance available including programs, services, benefits and payments.


Department of Human Services

The Department of Human Services is responsible for the development of Australian Government service delivery policy and offers a range of social, health and other payments and services. Support is available through Medicare, Centrelink, the Child Support program, CRS Australia and Australian Hearing.  You can go directly to the Medicare program or the Centrelink program.


Department of Health

The Department of Health is responsible for supporting better health and active ageing for all Australians. Information is available on a wide range of conditions and diseases, education and prevention, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues and topics relevant to ageing and aged care.


Early Childhood Intervention Australia

Early Childhood Intervention Australia (ECIA) is a national forum for promotion of early intervention for infants and young children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families, including workshops, seminars and conferences to facilitate quality service provision.


Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA)

Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA) is a not-for-profit, peak membership organisation representing the voice of parents and early learning providers. ELAA represents over 1200 early childhood services, including stand-alone kindergartens, cluster managers, integrated services, long day care centres, local government, government and independent schools, and before and after-school care providers, and provides a range of resources, advisory, training, and advocacy services.


Family Assistance Office

Family Assistance Offices have been set up in Medicare offices and Centrelink Customer Service Centres across the country, offering a range of payments to support families with their work and family responsibilities. It gives Australian families better access to government services. Instead of going to different agencies to get family assistance, families are able to get all their payments from just one place – the Family Assistance Office. Financial assistance includes the Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and Baby Bonus. The Family Assistance Program is the responsibility of the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.


Good Beginnings Australia

Good Beginnings builds better outcomes for children in vulnerable communities through effective early intervention programs. Good Beginnings provides free early childhood and practical parenting programs for children and families across Australia, based at their Early Years Centres or home visits.


Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association of Australia

The Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association provides support, advice and advocacy for parents in isolated communities. It is a voluntary national parent body dedicated to ensuring that all geographically isolated students have equality with their non-isolated peers, of access to an appropriate education.


Kidsafe

Kidsafe is dedicated to the prevention of injuries in children under 15 years.


Mychild.gov.au

Mychild is Australia’s online childcare portal containing information for families, carers and providers. The website provides information about children’s early learning, care and wellbeing. It includes information on different types of childcare, how to access help with the cost of childcare, a searchable database of local child care services, other relevant links and support.


Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute is dedicated to finding ways to prevent and treat conditions affecting babies, children and adolescents, helping them lead happy, healthy lives. The Institute has close partnerships with the Royal Children’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne.


National Out of School Hours Services Association

The National Out of School Hours Services Association (NOSHSA) is a network of all Australian State and Territory Out of School Hours Services Associations. These organisations promote provision of Out of School Hours Services and act as a united voice to advocate both to Government and the community for excellence in service provision.


Parenting Research Centre

An independent, non-profit research and development organisation focused on supporting parents through the development of resources, programs and policies based on scientific evidence.


Playgroup Australia

Playgroup Australia is the national peak and administrative body for playgroups in Australia.


Raising Children Network

The Raising Children Network Website provides centralised, Australian-focused, evidence based information for parents and carers of children from birth to fifteen years of age. It also provides information for those who work with parents.


Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care

The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) is the national non government peak body in Australia representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families

– See more at: http://www.acecqa.gov.au/families/useful-links-to-famillies#sthash.nqihRq6k.dpuf

We aim to ensure that you and your little scholar settle in and enjoy the Little Scholars experience.

Introducing your little scholar to care can be an emotional time. It is fair to expect some tearful goodbyes in the early days however; there are many ways to assist your child with this transition.

Once your child is enrolled, prepare your child by attending play dates at the campus prior to starting. This is also a great opportunity for you to spend time with the educators and campus manager.

We are here to help and support

  1. Settling in is tailored to meet the individual needs of each little scholar and their family.
  2. Our educators play an active role in gathering information from you and your family so we can then get to know your child.
  3. We do this as our aim is to make the transition between home and the campus as smooth as possible.
  4. Our educators are always available to regularly discuss your child’s day.
  5. We encourage you to spend time at the campus with your child to settle them in and you are more then welcome to phone us during the day to check on their progress.
  6. We assign a primary educator to assist in settling your child in each day and help them to overcome any anxiety they may be feeling.
  7. We aim to ensure that all educators know your needs and work together as a team to provide routine and consistency of care.
  8. We have developed a BUDDY SYSTEM in which we pair your child up with another little scholar to help settle them into the campus.

Welcome to Little Scholars! We’re thrilled to have your family apart of ours!

​​Useful Tips

Separation anxiety is normal in the early weeks, so don’t worry if your child seems upset at first. While there’s no magic formula to make separation anxiety miraculously  disappear, there are a few tips that can certainly help:

  •  Take your child to visit their new centre for orientation and to meet the educators before their first day.
  • Talk to your child about what will happen at the centre and reassure them that you’ll be coming back.
  • Work together with your child’s teachers and educators – they have plenty of good ideas and reassuring advice.
  • Try to keep goodbyes short. It’s important to be strong, leave when you need to go and don’t linger at drop-off time.
  • Be calm, respond to your child’s distress and comfort them, but remain firm about leaving.
  • Spend extra time with them to reconnect when you come back and ask them about their day. Ask your educator for some useful questions that can help encourage your child to open up about their day’s experience.

​​​​​Why you feel upset during a toddler tantrum (and what to do about it).

​For more information on parenting visit KidsInTheHouse.com

Bees are the darlings of the insect world and this weeks marks the launch of our Stingless Bee program at Little Scholars Ashmore and Little Scholars Yatala

What are Stingless Bees

Stingless native bees enable children to safely explore, engage, learn and experience close up the social behaviours of the bee, an awareness of the impact of human activity on the environment and the interdependence of living things.

As an added bonus the bees will pollinate the gardens and your school will be aiding the conservation of the native bee.  The keeping of stingless bees is easy and does not require any special expertise , equipment or licence.  The hive needs to be located in complete shade,  the bees will forage in the garden darting back and forth laden with pollen.

This is a great program to have and to teach our Little Scholars and encourage them to have respect for our environment by understanding how important our bees are for pollinating Australia’s wild flowers and their small size enables them to reach pollen in tiny flowers that bigger bees cannot reach.

These captivating and useful insects are the subject of a new wave of beekeeping. Thousands of people are new converts to keeping these bees as pets, for small-scale home honey production and for pollination.

Without native bee’s, lots of our native trees which can only be pollinated by little bee’s, could not survive and would not be here so… lets give our native bees a big cheer!

Our bee’s have settled in very nicely and we have created the most amazing environment for them.

Native Bees- The Perfect Pet

While bees won’t show you love in the same way a dog or cat would, they have the added bonus of being low maintenance, supplying you with honey, pollinating your flowers and vegie garden and helping to save the the planet. Native Bees are a small, black and stingless so great to have with children around, plus having no sting means our Little Scholars can harvest the honey themselves without getting hurt.  They produce around 1 litre of delicious honey a year that tastes a little more tangy than store brought honey with a hint of lemon or eucalyptus.

Who can have a native bee hive

Anyone can have a native bee hive. All you need, apart from the hive, is a nice place in full shade to place the hive with a flight path that is free from any obstacles including trees, branches and spider webs.

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Come and see the Little Scholars difference

Let us hold your hand and help looking for a child care centre. Leave your details with us and we’ll be in contact to arrange a time for a ‘Campus Tour’ and we will answer any questions you might have!