At Gingerbread Preschool Kindergarten we aim to provide quality child care in a safe, stable, happy and nurturing environment, promoting the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of the children in our care while responding to the needs of their families. 

This information guide has been prepared as an introduction to assist parents to become familiar with our procedures, policies and philosophy.

Further information is available at all times for parents in Gingerbread’s Policy Folders. 

These documents are subject to review, and you are welcome to read them at any time, and make suggestions, additions, or changes, if appropriate.

CONTENTS
 

Welcome	1
The Gingerbread Philosophy	1
Staff	1

Broad Long-term Objectives for Children in Our Care	2
Fees	2
Enrolment	3

The Preschool Program	3
Daily Routine	4
What Your Child Needs to Bring to Gingerbread	5

Guidelines	6
Immunisation	7
Medication	7

Getting to Know Gingerbread	7
Settling in each day	7
Group time	8

Rest time	8
Birthdays/Excursions	8
Further Information – Policy Statements	9

WELCOME TO GINGERBREAD
We look forward to welcoming you to Gingerbread Preschool Kindergarten. The Director and staff aim to provide a quality preschool program, which promotes in children the desire to learn, engages their curiosity and develops skills to explore and learn from their environment. 

Gingerbread is a privately owned preschool which has been operating for 33 years, and cares for and educates 26 children between 4 and 5 years of age.
 

THE GINGERBREAD PHILOSOPHY 
We consistently strive to provide a stimulating environment and a wide range of experiences to promote development in all areas, based on the individual interests of each child.  As we know that “play is a child’s work”, we provide a happy, harmonious, relaxed and accepting atmosphere for them to develop through play, and facilitate the transition from preschool to school.

Because all children are different, we celebrate this individuality and use it to make observations, keep detailed developmental records and evaluations, and program meaningful learning experiences. We encourage the children to communicate in a socially appropriate way, to listen to others, to share, resolve conflict and co-operate with their peers in a positive way.

We aim to keep each child happy and well cared for in a natural home-like atmosphere, teaching them to appreciate simple pleasures, reinforcing respect for their parents, friends, other cultures and their teachers.  We provide events, activities and materials to help children and their families understand, tolerate, celebrate and accept the differences in our communities.

We believe families are a child’s most valued teachers, so communication and involvement are encouraged between staff and family so that the program can complement and extend the home environment.

STAFF
We employ trained, qualified and experienced staff who are committed to child care.  They are chosen for their empathy with children, and qualities of common sense and practicality.  Gingerbread’s reputation for quality child care depends in no small measure on the calibre of our staff.

We employ sensitive, nurturing and dedicated professional staff, and encourage continuing staff development in early childhood.  We provide excellent working conditions and create an environment that supports the motivation and commitment which fosters the teachers’ professional development.

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BROAD LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES FOR THE CHILDREN IN OUR CARE
To give each child a feeling of self-worth and personal identity.
To teach by our example, consideration and respect for the feelings, rights, customs and property of others.
To allow each child time to develop at his or her own pace.
To treat each child’s natural curiosity with respect and dignity.
To provide new experiences for the children in a stimulating and accepting environment.
To guide the children towards achieving self-control and autonomy by explaining safety rules in a friendly and understanding manner.
To make children and their families feel welcome at Gingerbread by personally greeting them and spending individual time with each child every visit.
To realise our responsibility for all of the children in our care and to act in a caring but firm manner as adults who will stop children from hurting themselves or others, even if the children concerned become angry, upset or display antisocial behaviour.
 

FEES
Fees for 2007 will be: 
$60     9.00am to 3.00pm
$70     8.30am to 5.30pm

Fees are paid four weeks in advance, on the first day your child begins in that week.  Statements will be issued in the week prior to due payment.  These will be attached to the monthly newsletter and placed in your child’s bag.  Please ensure that fees are paid in this week.

Payment can be made by cash,  cheque, or credit card.  Please make cheques payable to Gingerbread Preschool Kindergarten. 

Fees are not payable for public holidays or for the four weeks that the centre is closed during Summer School holidays.  Fees are payable if your child is absent due to illness or other reasons.

Gingerbread is an approved child care service, which means that all Australian resident families are able to claim the Child Care Benefit.  The discount you receive depends on your income, hours used per week and the number of children you have in child care.  Please ring the Family Assistance Office on 13 61 50 to register.

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ENROLMENT
An enrolment fee of $100 is paid as confirmation of enrolment.  This fee will be refunded at the end of your child’s enrolment, provided four weeks’ written notice is given.

Enrolment Process 
Parents will be required to fill in our enrolment form.  The information requested is necessary, and is held in strict confidence between the family and the staff.

An immunisation certificate or copy of your blue book must accompany the enrolment form.
 

THE PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

The most important goal of our early childhood program is to help children become enthusiastic learners.  This means encouraging children to be active and creative explorers who are not afraid to try out their ideas and to think their own thoughts.  Our goal is to help the children become independent, self-confident, inquisitive learners.  We are teaching them how to learn.

Sometimes parents ask us if their children are actually learning anything, as it seems they are simply playing.  This underestimates the importance of play in the early childhood setting.  Play provides the foundation for academic learning.  It is the preparation children need before they learn highly abstract symbols such as letters and numbers.  Play enables us to achieve the key goals of our curriculum.
Play is the work of early childhood.

At Gingerbread Preschool, we use a method of programming that is responsive to individual children’s needs, and based on a thorough understanding of young children and their stages of development.

The process begins with teachers observing children each week, recording their observations under a specific developmental area (ie Social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language).  These observations are then evaluated, and follow-up activities are planned and included in the next week’s program.

Although programmed for an individual child’s needs, it is also beneficial to the whole group, and all the children have an opportunity to participate in a variety of experiences.
 
 
 
 

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At the end of the week, the teacher will evaluate the objectives that were set, and record their findings.  This information is then used in conjunction with the following week’s planning. The program planning cycle then begins again.

Please note that these developmental records are available for discussion with parents.  Also, the weekly program will be on display in the Parents’ Area at the entry door.

The program is designed to:
Develop a feeling of self-worth and high self-esteem
Develop positive attitudes towards learning
Develop a caring attitude towards other people and the environment
Develop language and communication skills
Develop skills and knowledge in all areas of the curriculum.

The activities we plan for children, the way we organise the environment, select toys and materials, plan the daily routine, and talk with the children, are all designed to accomplish the goals of our curriculum and give your child a successful start in school.
 
 

DAILY ROUTINE

8.30 am Centre opens, and the children have indoor free play
  Children will do craft activities during the morning
10.00 am Group singing time
10.15 am Fruit time
10.30 am Sunscreen
10.45 am Outdoor activities
11.35 am Group time
12 noon Lunch
 

1.00 pm Rest time/quiet activities
2.00 pm Shoes on/reading time
2.30 pm Outdoor play
3.00 pm Short day children go home
  Long day children play outside
3.45 pm Afternoon tea
4.00 pm Group time
4.30 pm Free play (indoor or outdoor)
5.30pm Centre closes
 
 
 
 

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WHAT YOUR CHILD NEEDS TO BRING TO GINGERBREAD
A school bag
A lunch box (clearly labelled with your child’s name)*
Lunch (e.g. sandwich with nutritious filling, yoghurt, dried fruit, cheese stick, etc.)  We also have a microwave to heat up any hot food.  (e.g. left-overs, baked beans, etc.)
Please do not send any chips, lollies, etc.
A piece of fruit for the fruit bowl, to be shared at fruit time.
A drink in a labelled container* (plastic bottles are better than Poppers, as they can be refilled with water when empty).
A set of cot sheets (clearly labelled)*
A sheet bag (drawstring bag or pillow case)  (Clearly labelled)*
Small blanket (for use during cooler months)  (Clearly labelled)*
A spare set of clothing and underwear (clearly labelled)*
A Sun hat, preferably wide-brimmed or Legionnaires for best protection, labelled*
A sun hat is needed all year, as we have a ‘No hat, No outdoor play’ policy.

Please do not allow children to wear jewelry to the centre, as they could be a danger to children if swallowed, e.g. beads.  Badges and hairpins are also to be discouraged.  Health and safety regulations preclude the wearing of thongs to kindy.

Labelling clothing and belongings*
You will note the emphasis on clearly labelling all articles which could be similar to another child’s, and therefore easily misplaced.  Labelling all articles (including shoes) before your child begins Preschool will save lots of time.

As you will see in the Guidelines which follow, we do not have a Lost Property Box at Gingerbread, as items seem to stay there for weeks, and then be forgotten.  Instead, we place any unlabelled items next to the attendance book, so please check there each day to see if anything belongs to you.

SIGNING IN AND OUT

Due to the licensing regulations, each child must be signed in and out upon arrival and departure each day.  The signing in/out book is located just inside the entry door.

Short messages may also be written in this book.  For example, the name of another person who is picking up your child, or if you will be arriving early.
 

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GUIDELINES

Your child must be accompanied right into the kindergarten.  Please advise a teacher as you arrive, and always remember to sign the attendance book.

When picking up your child, please let a staff member know that your child is leaving with you, and sign the attendance book.

If someone other than yourself is picking up your child, please advise a member of staff.  If the person is not listed on the enrolment form, you will need to let the staff know in writing and the person will need to show I.D. when they come to pick up your child.   Children will not be released into the care of anyone under the age of 18.

If your child is going to be absent, please let us know as soon as possible. 

Please do not send your child to kindy when he or she is unwell.  This is not fair on the sick child, or on the rest of the class and teachers.  If your child becomes ill during the day, the Director may request that s/he be taken home. If your child has an infectious illness, they may not attend kindy.  Please report the illness to the Director.

Please read the ‘What We Did Today’ and ‘Sleepers’ section of the attendance book at the end of each day.

We do not have a Lost Property Box at the kindy as these seem to attract an ever increasing amount of items.  Instead, we will place any unlabelled items next to the attendance book, so please check there for any misplaced items.

Please give the Director four weeks’ notice in writing when discontinuing your child’s enrolment.

If you are going to be late picking up your child, please inform a staff member, otherwise a late fee will be charged.

Please do not let your child bring any toys to kindy, other than a labelled soft toy for rest time or security toys. This avoids any conflict with other children and distress, should the toy get broken or lost.
 

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IMMUNISATION

We strongly encourage you to ensure that your child is fully immunised.  We are required by the Department of Health to keep a record of each child’s immunisation status, and you will be asked at the time of enrolment to produce evidence of this, i.e. Blue Book.

If there is an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease, any children who are not vaccinated will be excluded from the kindy for the duration.

MEDICATION

If your child is on medication prescribed by a G.P. please hand the medicine to a staff member and make sure it is marked clearly with your child’s name and in the original packaging.

If your G..P. has instructed you to administer a non-prescription medication to your child, your G..P. must sign a letter to this effect.  Regulations will not allow us to administer such medicines without this authorisation.

You must then complete and sign the medical administration book.

GETTING TO KNOW GINGERBREAD

We have an Open Door policy, which welcomes you visiting with your child to get to know the kindy and the staff.  Your child may want to participate in centre activities for a little while.  This helps your child to become familiar with the daily routine and activities, so that when the time comes to be there without you s/he will feel more relaxed and confident.  It also reassures parents that most children do settle in quickly to a new and accepting environment. 

SETTLING IN EACH DAY
Your child is a very important person to us, and we want the settling in period to be as gentle as possible.  Please do not leave the kindy when your child is not looking.  This is not helpful or fair to your child.  It is much easier for the child to cope with the parent leaving when he or she is being held, or standing beside a care-giver.

Once you have said good bye, it is important that you leave quickly and calmly. You may like to ring if you are concerned about your child on a particular day.  We will always contact you if your child is extremely distressed and inconsolable.

If you and your child have visited two or three times for 20 –30 minutes before commencing at the kindy, separation anxiety will probably not be an issue.
 

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GROUP TIME

Before lunch, the children will come together with the teacher to enjoy a group activity.  It could be drama, music and movement, dancing, language, shared reading or storytelling.  All activities are programmed according to the process described previously.  These sessions usually last for 20 – 30 minutes, according to the concentration abilities of the group.

These group times are valuable as they encourage a more focussed learning approach, and also prepare the children for types of activities they will experience at school.

You are welcome to send along any special books, puppets, music tapes/CDs, etc, for us to share at group time. We will ensure that these are kept safe, and return them to you at the end of the day – labelled, please.
 

REST TIME

The rest time routine varies throughout the year, according to the changing needs of the children.  All the children rest on stretcher beds and quiet music is played.  If a child is particularly opposed to lying down, they will have the opportunity to sit on their bed and do a quiet activity, such as reading a book or doing a puzzle.

During the last few months of the year, rest time is replaced by ‘quiet activity’ time, in order to prepare the older children for “big school”.
 

BIRTHDAYS

Birthdays are very important events in a child’s life.  You are welcome to send a cake along on your child’s birthday so that s/he may celebrate among friends.  We recommend a simple cake that can be easily cut into 20 pieces, or alternatively 20 cupcakes.  We will also take photos if you send along a camera.
 

EXCURSIONS

Gingerbread has a ‘no excursions’ policy.  We believe that it is just as beneficial, less threatening and much safer to have special guests and entertainers come to us.  Examples of these would include storytellers, musicians and puppet shows.
 
 
 

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FURTHER INFORMATION – POLICY STATEMENTS

Written policies have been developed in accordance with our philosophy and principles, and identified needs of the children, staff and parents.  These policies are now required under the new regulations for licensing and accreditation. 

These policies include the following:
1.Gingerbread Philosophy
2.Program information
3.Parent policies and centre information
4.Discipline of Children
5.Health and safety
6.Staff Policies and Procedures
7.Centre management

This information is available to you at our Parent Information Area at the entry to the centre. 

These documents are subject to constant review.  You are welcome to read, comment on and make any additions or suggestions for change if appropriate.