Tips for parents looking for care for their child for the first time
You’re having a baby! Congratulations! It’s such a thrilling time! But it can also be intimidating, stressful and overwhelming thinking of all things you need to think about and prepare for, before your child even arrives.
Or perhaps you have that sweet child, and while many take a leave of absence from work after baby is born, at some point families have to make the decision if and when they will return to work. That’s when you have to look at early learning and care for your children. Overwhelmed? We’re here to guide you and make life just a little bit easier.
With some many childcare options, how does one choose?
There are several options. Consider what early learning services are nearby and how far you’re willing to travel to drop-off and pick-up. You could even do it during peak hour traffic to get a better idea of how long it might take to get to these locations.
Check out the websites dedicated to listing early learning services such as Starting Blocks, Australia’s free government website dedicated to early childhood, the National Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) national register or sites like Careforkids.com.au – which share services by location, including pertinent information such as assessment and rating outcomes, what each service offers, contact information and more.
Then, visit websites and start making some calls and book tours. That will be the best way for you to get ideas on philosophies, curriculums, learning and play environments, and they can answer any questions you may have.
Waitlists - what they are and when to join them
Early learning and care providers in Australia have strict educator-to-child ratios, which is for the safety and benefit of both children and their educators, but that can mean spots fill quite quickly in each age and development learning environment, and in high-demand areas, waitlists can fill up quickly. However, don’t let us scare you, many high quality services have spaces available when you need them.
While this sector is thrilled to be able to allow more parents to continue or join the workforce, that does mean demand will be higher for quality early learning and care.
Start early. Contact the campus you’re interested in to see if there is indeed a wait list. Ideally, get names on wait lists at least six months to 12 months before you need care. Often, services will be considering what spots are available for the next year toward the end of the year – October to December. That doesn’t mean if you need care in May that you’re out of luck, but for busy services, thinking of the first of the year as a start time might be realistic. Sometimes, families get their unborn babies on wait lists just to be sure. At Little Scholars, if this is the case for your family, we’ll contact you about one month after your due date to see where your family is with thinking about care for your new addition.
Visit the service before joining the waitlist. Most early learning locations offer tours, you just need to book them in advance to avoid disruption and guaranteeing someone will be able to provide you the time you need to get a feel for the service.
Keep in contact with the service to see how your child is progressing on the wait list.
Some services offer places to families who have been on the waitlist the longest. Some may place internal families first, meaning families who already have a child in their care and are adding additional children. Some services may have a strict “first-in, best-dressed” approach. It’s worth asking what the policy is.
Ratios in early learning
In early learning, a “ratio” refers to the comparison between the number of educators and the number of children they are responsible for supervising, essentially showing how many children each adult is looking after at a given time; it’s a crucial aspect of ensuring children’s safety and wellbeing in an early childhood setting, with different age groups often having different required ratios depending on their developmental needs.
The ratio for our children is as follows:
- 0-24 months – one educator for every four children or 1:4
- 24 months and less than 36 months – one educator for every five children or 1:5
- 36 months up to and including preschool age – one educator for every 11 children 1:11
- Over preschool age – one educator for every 15 children or 1:15
These ratios adhere to the requirements of the National Quality Framework.
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a government initiative designed to help families manage the cost of early learning. Your child’s time in care is charged as a daily fee by the service, and the government may cover a portion of this cost based on your individual circumstances. This is known as the subsidy.
You can apply for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) even before enrolling your child in early learning, in fact as long as your child has a birth certificate, you can apply. You then have 13 weeks to activate your CCS with an early learning service. If that time lapses, you can go online to reactivate it.
We have a helpful webpage dedicated to everything you may need to know about CCS!
The benefits of care for our youngest learners
The benefits of placing small children in early childhood education are numerous. Early learning can help babies develop social skills, motor skills, and cognitive abilities. Because of course, learning doesn’t start when a child begins school, it begins at birth!
Social development
Babies can begin forming connections, learning to share, and developing early communication skills in a supportive environment.
Motor development
Early learning settings provide safe opportunities for babies to explore movement, such as reaching and grasping. These experiences help strengthen motor skills, with research suggesting that babies who engage in active exploration may reach developmental milestones earlier.
Cognitive growth
Exposure to a variety of learning experiences supports cognitive development. Studies indicate that children who participate in early learning programs may develop stronger cognitive abilities compared to those who do not.
School readiness
Early learning helps children prepare for kindergarten by teaching them to follow instructions, interact with peers, and adjust to time away from their parents.
Academic success
Research shows that early education programs can contribute to improved academic achievement in children.
Little Scholars and most early learning services will suggest to parents that they enrol their children at least two days every week in care. Why? Nearly a quarter of Australian children start school without the foundational skills they need in areas like communication, social skills, emotional wellbeing, and physical health.
Attending for at least two years, with a minimum of 15 hours per week, is linked to better literacy and numeracy outcomes that persist into adolescence. High-quality early learning also supports secure attachments with educators, helping children settle and understand routines, and engage more actively with peers.
In our learn and play studios, At Little Scholars, we provide tailored, age-specific early learning and childcare across four key stages: nursery, toddlers, pre-kindy, and kindy. Our expertly designed programs cater to the unique needs and developmental milestones of each age group. Our children learn through play, reflected through our dedicated early learning curriculum.
Separating from your child for the first time
We understand the bonds young children have with their parents or caregivers. There is no denying that it may not be a smooth process, but we encourage parents to remember all the benefits children gain from attending early learning. Research also proves that having a child in care doesn’t negatively affect the bond with his or her main caregivers.
If you have a little ones who you think may struggle with separating from parents, check out our blog post: Tips and tricks for dealing with separation anxiety
If you as a parent are struggling with feelings of being away from your baby, we have a blog post for you in which we spoke with a clinical psychotherapist for her suggestions: Children aren’t the only ones who deal with separation anxiety
We very much welcome you to chat with us if you or your little one are or may deal with these feelings. You’re not alone and we can support you both through this transition.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child, we have an open door policy and we invite you to talk to your educator, educational leader or campus manager any time.
Little Scholars offers you and your child the very best facilities, resources and early educational, play-based programs available, which are underpinned by the early years learning framework. Our belief is that through quality education and care for children we can also encourage, assist and support the entire family.
Our dedicated team of educators are committed to the individual needs and interests of children and their families, and thus we encourage and welcome family input and involvement.
We aim to be like an extension of your family and are very relationship-driven. We support nurturing relationships between our educators and your child, the relationships your child has with the other children who attend, and we value our relationship with you as the parent and other family members. So book a tour today to get started!
