Cronulla Preschool

An adult (person over the age of 18 years) must escort each child into the Preschool and sign the attendance register located at the entrance of each room.

Each child’s lunch, morning tea and drink bottle must be placed in the refrigerator in the relevant room and all bags placed in the locker provided outside the child’s room.

Your child’s bag should hold:

• Packed lunch
• Bottle of water
• Nutritious morning tea snack (fruit preferred)
• Sunhat (all year round, can be worn over beanies if necessary in Winter)
• Change of clothes (full set, including underwear)
• Sun Screen (optional, if you don’t wish to use ours)

Please consider all of the above when you choose your child’s bag. It will also need to fit any art or craftwork we may send home, plus a jumper or raincoat in cooler months .

If your child wishes to sleep s/he will need two sheets to fit the Preschool bed (dimensions: 132cm long x 15cm wide). One sheet needs to have elastic diagonally across each corner, or alternatively, fitted cot sheets will also fit. Your child will need a drawstring bag for their sheets. Sheets are taken home at the end of each week for laundering. Both should be clearly marked with your child’s name.

The Preschool is well equipped with toys and other activities to keep your child entertained throughout the day. Please leave your child’s toys at home. Comfort toys/blankets for rest time are acceptable.

You are welcome to bring a cake to celebrate. Please be mindful of our Anaphylaxis Policy and food allergies and that there are 20 children in each class. Cupcakes, ice-blocks, jelly cups and fruit kebabs are a few suggestions.

Please be discreet when giving out party invitations as young children are sensitive and get hurt when they are left out. You can place them in lockers, post them or give them to staff to hand out.

Sometimes parents wish to bring small gifts for other celebrations such as Easter, for example. It is best to give them to the class teacher, so that they can be put in the child’s bag to take home. This way each child’s parent is aware of what they are being given.

All children attending for a standard day must be collected and signed out on the attendance register by 3.45pm as we close at 4pm.

Your child’s educator must be notified if someone other than the child’s parent is going to collect your child by writing on the sign in sheet in each room. Only authorised persons ( 18 years or older), written by parents on the child’s enrolment form will be permitted to collect children from the Preschool. If you wish to add a new person to the authorised list this must be done in writing or through your Hubworks login, in accordance with our policy we cannot accept these changes over the phone/email or verbally.  In the event of a custody dispute, evidence of custody(formal Court Orders) must be provided, stating if there is restriction of access to a child or children.

The Preschool is a not for profit community organisation that is operated for the benefit of the families that use the Preschool. As a community group, the Preschool is managed by the parents of the Preschool on a voluntary basis.

• The Preschool is a legal entity constituted under the Associations Act as the Cronulla Preschool Kindergarten Incorporated.
• The Preschool is managed by the Committee of Management (Committee) in accordance with the Rules of Incorporation, which outlines the management requirements of the Association.
• The Preschool is licenced to provide Children’s Services by the NSW Dept. of Community Services (DOCS), and the Committee and staff manage the Preschool in accordance with the Children’s’ Services Regulations.

We value any suggestions or questions that you have and welcome any new parents who would like to participate in the Management Committee, or the Social or Gardening Committees. Please talk to your teachers or the Director if you are interested.

The Maintenance Levy is a nominal amount and is levied once per term. The funds raised are then used to maintain the building and equipment  for the Preschool. The Levy is based on the daily rate at the commencement of each term, and will be invoiced with the Attendance Fees. The  Levy is non-refundable and is payable irrespective of whether the child attends for the whole term.

Daily attendance fees are set annually by the Management Committee based on a rate per day. All fees are subject to change by the Committee at any time during the year to ensure the ongoing viability of the Preschool. Fees are invoiced on a term basis whereby the entire terms fees are charged. Invoices are issued in week 1 of term 1, and in the last week of the previous term for terms 2, 3 and 4. Fees may be paid in full or progressively throughout the term if using our direct debit payment system. Fees remain payable for all days, including any days that your child is absent.

Upon enrollment, a fee bond of $300 is payable for each enrolled child, which is held by the Preschool for the duration of the child’s Preschool career and is only refundable when the child leaves the preschool or the appropriate termination notice  of 4weeks (in term time) has been given.

We do not accept cash payments. The following methods of payment are available in 2017;

• Direct Debit: Weekly, Fortnightly or Monthly
• Internet transfer – Account details appear on our invoice. Please ensure you include your child’s name as reference so that the payment can be identified and allocated to your account
• Direct deposit – Cash payments can be made into any branch of the National Australia Bank. The Preschool incurs bank fees via this system and a charge of $2.70 per term will be applied to your account.
• Note: if you are not using our Direct Debit System (HubDebit) then the term’s fees are required to be pained in full by the end of Week1 of each term.

If you are having difficulty paying for any reason, please see the Director so a payment plan may be devised for you. If fees fall in arrears, the matter will be referred to the Director. Failure to pay fees in the time requested or ongoing Direct Debit payment rejection  may result in the matter being referred to Preschool Management Committee and the child’s enrollment being terminated.

Our current Fees for Term3 2017

Unfunded* Child Fee: $65 per day

Funded* Child Fee: $30 per day

Equity* Child Fee: $10 per day

*Please contact the preschool for details of fee rate eligibility for your child.

We are careful to minimise, as much as possible, the cross-infection of children whilst they are at the Preschool. If you are in doubt of your child’s health or their contagious state, please keep them at home. Similarly, if your child has been sick, you must obtain a Doctor’s professional clearance so your child may return to the Preschool.

In the event that your child displays symptoms of illness, the Director may request that the child be taken home and/or checked by a Doctor.

In the event that your child suffers an injury or has an accident, the Director may seek appropriate medical advice or treatment, if it is not possible to contact the parent. The accident will also be recorded by staff on an Accident Report Form.

• Please return all forms, notes, surveys etc. promptly.
• Discuss the curriculum of the Preschool with staff. All questions and suggestions are welcomed.
• Contribute your skills and talents to our program. It may be singing, craft, hobbies, or reading stories. All parents are invited to visit the playrooms and join the fun for as long as they are available.
• Assisting with washing some of the Preschool’s belongings (such as tablecloths), returning them on the next day your child attends
• Join a committee

To assist the Committee in the management of the Preschool and also to provide other means for parents/guardians to become involved in the Preschool, there are two sub-committees known as the Playground and Social Committees. These committees have no legal or financial authority to act on behalf of the Preschool. They are designed as specific groups that meet separately from the Committee to manage the playground and social events.

• Playground Committee – The Playground Committee manages the playground by organising repair and improvement works and working bees.
• Social Committee – The Social Committee organises social events or additional classroom activity fund raisers for the Preschool and the children (for example the Family Fun Day and Xmas Party).

The overall management of the Preschool is governed by the Committee, which comprises a group of parents from the Preschool community who give their time to ensure the Preschool is a wonderful learning environment for both children and staff.

The Committee comprises of the following positions:

• President
• Vice President (in place of Director as stated in the Rules)
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Three (3) Ordinary Members

A brief description of each position is as follows:

• President – Head of the Committee and Chairperson of the Committee meetings. The President has the same voting rights as all other Committee members, but has the casting vote in the event of a tied vote. As an executive member, has legal authority to act on behalf of the Preschool.
• Treasurer – Manages the Preschool’s finances to ensure the efficient ongoing operation of the Preschool, including budget preparation, income and expenses monitoring and co-ordination of the annual audit. The Preschool has a part time Administration Assistant on staff who manages the finances on a daily basis, such as paying bills and collecting income. As such, the Treasurer’s role is one of general oversee of the finances, not daily operation. As an executive member, the Treasurer has legal authority to act on behalf of the Preschool.
• Secretary – Manages the Preschool’s formal correspondence, Register of Committee members and also prepares Minutes of the Committee meetings.
• Ordinary Members – There are three (3) Ordinary Members that are actively involved in the Committee, but have no specific duties.

Due to licencing regulations stipulated by DCCS, all Committee members must undergo background checks including a criminal record and working with children checks. Anyone wishing to join the Committee will be required to agree to the checks and complete the necessary screening forms.

The Committee may at times be required to assess and adjudicate on sensitive and private issues involving the Preschool families. As such, confidentiality is a key requirement of Committee membership and must be strictly maintained at all times. Due to this confidentiality requirement, parents that are not committee members are generally not permitted to attend Committee meetings.