Starting at Little Scholars
Welcome to Little Scholars School of Early Learning! We’re thrilled to welcome your family!
Our experienced and caring educators create a safe and nurturing environment where children can learn and grow
through play.
At Little Scholars, we offer an environment where your children can flourish, learn, and develop, all within a
nurturing and non-judgmental space. Our educators uphold the highest standards of courtesy and respect in all interactions with both parents and children.
We never lose sight of the immense trust you place in us by allowing us to be a part of your child’s early years. It is
this trust that fuels our dedication to creating a secure and welcoming environment where your children can thrive,
learn, and grow at their own pace.
Getting prepared for your child’s first day? Let us help.
Arrival and departure
Time to arrive: while it of course depends on your schedule, if possible on your child’s first day, arriving after 9am is a good time to come because it’s not as busy as the morning rush has usually subsided and all of your child’s educators will be there. If possible, set aside enough time that morning to ensure drop-off is calm. Taking time with this process is better than rushing and being stressed on the first day. This will also give you time to talk to the educators in your child’s studio, as well as help your child with any first day jitters or attachment woes they may be having.
Who to ask for: when you arrive at the front door, if you don’t already have the door code, just ring the doorbell and tell the person who answers that it’s your first day and you’d like to see the campus manager or assistant campus manager, who will assist you.
Each day, you’ll present your child to the educator in charge. Before your child leaves the campus for the day, you are asked to do the following:
- Come into the studio and greet your child and collect child’s belongings
- With your child, say goodbye to the educator in charge of the group
- Sign out on the iPad kiosk using your registered phone number and unique passcode.
Please note, no child will be released into the care of any persons not known to team members. If educators do not know the person by appearance, the person must be able to produce some form of photo identification to prove that they are the person authorised to collect the child on the enrolment form.
In the event that a child has not been collected 15 minutes after closing time then the parents/guardians will be contacted on the emergency telephone numbers provided. If the child has still not been collected 30 minutes after closing time, then staff will follow the Department of
Communities Abandoned Child Procedures including contacting the Child Protection and Crisis Centre 24 hour service.
Additional fees will be charged for a child who remains in the campus after the campus closing time.
In the case that your child is absent we request that you mark him or her absent in the Childcare Now app, or phone the campus if your child is unable to attend their session for any reason. Notice is also required in the incidence of infectious or contagious diseases in the family.
Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
Medications and allergies
If your child has an ongoing medical condition, allergy, dietary requirement or special consideration, this information is given during completion of our enrolment form. Your Little Scholars campus then completes the relevant risk minimisation plan with information from the parent. We contact parents when this plan has been completed to review, it is then signed by parents, the campus manager, educators and then the child is added to the list that is distributed campus wide.
If your child requires medication whilst in care, a medication record must be filled in and signed by a parent. The medication must be in original packaging and accompanied by a prescription label/doctor’s letter (for non-prescription medication) which states who the medication is for and the dosage. Medication must be handed to a staff member and will be stored in a locked cupboard. Under no circumstances is any type of medication to be left in children’s bags. Please refer to the Medication Policy for further information.
Our strict supervision and attention to detail provides parents with confidence that their children’s food requirements will be properly met while in our care. If your child has food allergies or intolerances, please highlight this in your enrolment form so we can notify all staff. You will be required to complete a management plan with details on your child’s needs.
What to bring
At Little Scholars School of Early Learning, we are committed to providing you and your
little scholar the very best service, so we try to provide everything we can. However, there are a few things that we suggest you bring along to ensure your child is comfortable.
We suggest you consider packing:
- Sun-safe hat which protects your child’s face, neck and ears. A Little Scholars sun-safe hat will be given to your child when they enrol – you can include this or an alternative sun-safe hat in your child’s bag each day
- Sunscreen is supplied at our campus however you are welcome to bring alternative sunscreen if your child has allergies or sensitive skin. We do advise parents to ensure their child is dropped off having had a first application of sunscreen on
- Change of clothes and underwear (play-based learning can sometimes get messy)
- We offer Little Scholars t-shirts to be purchased to save your clothes from messy play.
- Comfort item if needed, such as a toy or blanket
- Dummy in a sealed, named container (if required) please note we do not allow dummy attachments such as clips or stuffed animal attachments for the safety of babies in our care
- Labelled bottles of milk. If using formula, please provide measured water and measured formula in a separate container. Please note we do not have facilities to sterilise water or bottles.
- Sleeping sheet set or blanket, and a pillow, for nap time. We do not allow pillows in cots as per safe sleeping requirements.
- Please dress your child in play labelled clothing and footwear that wash easily, so that your child may enjoy all the activities. In choosing what your child should wear to the campus, please consider the following: Your child will be working with messy materials such as paint, glue, water and sand so must be able to stand a little wear and tear. Clothing must provide some protection and be comfortable for both indoor and outdoor experiences. Children will be climbing, running, jumping and swinging so they will need clothes that neither restrict their activity nor reduce their safety (e.g. Slippery shoes, long skirts). Children will need clothes which allow them for growing independence i.e. pants that can come off easily for toileting.
In the nursery studio
Our nursery studios are shoe free nursery to create a conducive, clean, and safe environment for young children to learn and grow. It promotes hygiene and cleanliness, eliminating our infants and young children exposed to germs outdoor shoes can carry, this is particularly important as our young children will play on the floor.
Promoting a shoe-free nursery can also be beneficial to children who may have allergies, this minimises the risk to the introduction of outdoor allergens being carried into the indoor space. It also supports a respectful space, where the practice fosters a sense of respect for the indoor learning environment for our infants, helping children understand that it is a space dedicated to play, learning and exploration.
Our campuses are breastfeeding friendly environments and mothers are welcome to come to breastfeed their child at any time.
Our nurseries are equipped with fridges to allow for bottles. For bottle-fed babies, our educators
will mix and prepare the bottles at the required time. All bottles must be labelled with your child’s full name. The date the milk was expressed (or thawed) must also be on the label for those containing breast milk. For formula, please pre-mix or include measured water and measured formula in a separate container. We are not responsible for ensuring correct ratios of formula to water are measured.
On arrival, please store all labelled bottles towards the back of the main body of the fridge.
Bottles will be heated at your request by standing them in a container of tepid water or by using a bottle warmer. We will test the temperature of all heated fluids before
offering it to your child.
Nutrition
- We provide a specially designed, seasonal menu prepared by our in-house chef, designed to provide a variety of healthy meals and snacks that are nutritious for children, safe, developmentally appropriate, and properly portioned for your child, that give your child at least 50% of their daily nutritional requirements whilst they are in care. We also have take-home meals on offer as part of our Family Time program, just give us a heads-up in the morning with what you'd like to order and how many and we can
- Dietary preferences - we cater to vegetarian/vegan and Halal diets. For babies beginning their eating journeys, discuss with us how you want us to support this, we have purees prepared each day, but we can also adjust if your baby is using the baby-led weaning approach as well.
Finally, you can get all the information you need about your child in our dedicated app, found both in the Apple Store and Google Play! There you’ll receive updates on your child’s week, regular photos, communication from your campus and access to the above mentioned ChildCare Now -where you can mark absences and add casual bookings.
We’re honoured you chose Little Scholars to play a small part in your little one’s childhood. We thank you and we’re excited to get to know your little scholar and your family!
