Services

General Service Information

COVID SAFE:

All employees at Granny Glasgow Education and Care have completed the Governement required COVID vacciantion schedule. The Service has implemented a COVID safe plan and will follow instruction from the Western Australian Health Department and Education and Care Regulatory Unit in regard to managing any COVID outbreaks at the Service.

Care Options:

Education and Care Enrolments are confirmed through an application process via the link below .

Enrolment application: https://www.smartcentral.net/v2/service_profile/show/261

We offer the following options:

Permanent Care -

Full-time - Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.30pm.

Part-time - Part Time care can be any attached days. Booking patterns for example may be Monday Tuesday, Tuesday Wednesday, Wednesday Thursday, or Thursday Friday.

Casual Care -

Casual daily or weekly bookings are avaialble if you require urgent or irregular childcare options.

* Please note: We are closed all Public Holidays and do not operate on weekends.

Fees:

Current fees (January 2022) are $116.00 per day per child before Child Care Subsidy.

Child Care Subsidy can reduce the cost of childcare for families.

Families must complete a Child Care Subsidy Activty Test and be assessed as eligible before a claim for Child care subsidy can be made. More information can be found at www.humanservices.gov.au/childcaresubsidy.

Holiday Holding:

It is essential to let us know if you would like to hold your childs place held whilst you are away on holidays, and have your fees reduced during this time. This will require you to fill in a Holiday Holding form and submit to reception at least 2 weeks prior to you taking your child out of care. Holiday Holding forms are available onsite at reception, or you can email the required information through to the office.

Customer Reference Numbers:

Please advise Centrelink of your intention to commence using Childcare and complete your Activity Test on the mygov website. Once you have completed your Activity Test on the myvo site please complete the Customer Reference Number (CRN) details on the Enrolment Form so we can register attendance and confirm that your Child Care Subsidy Payment is linked to Granny Glasgows. Once these details are provided we can work out your exact fee.

Please advise Centrelink and the Centre of any change to Activity Test answers as this may affect your priority of care and Childcare Subsidy entitlement.

Orientation Period: COVID safety requirements may change daily access.

If your child is new to Granny Glasgow's, we recommend at least three periods of orientation, where your child can explore the Education and Care environment while you are close by to offer support if required. We welcome families in the Centre any time, and our Carers will do everything they can to provide our children and their families a comfortable and safe environment.

If you have not provided them before you will need to bring your child's Birth Certificate, and Immunisation Record when you come for orientation. Any medical needs can be discussed during this time with the Team Leader for your child's group. You will also need to complete the Direct Debit for your child care fees.

Come and discuss the daily routines with us:

Take the opportunity while you are completing your orientation to discuss with the educators the daily routines, including snacks and rest and indoor and outdoor play opportunities.

During the orientation period you can witness first hand the daily routines and play experiences provided for the children. Orientation will give you chance to see how your child copes in a group situation and to be able to offer support as they learn the rules for the different play areas.

Exploring our Rooms and Play Areas

In our Service, the children are not separated by age, but are grouped as babies or confidently mobile. All confidently mobile children have access to most play areas, inside and out throughout the majority of the day.

The rooms are defined by purpose: Art Studio, Café, Explorers and Babies. Each child has a home room where belongings are stored and babies have their own seperate area which the younger children can return to at leisure.

Cafeteria

The Café area is generous, where we have set up the area with small tables to facilitate meal times, encourage conversation and friendships. We have a commercial refrigerator in this room, for children to store their lunch boxes bought from home, as well as a separate drinks fridge for water bottles that children can access at any time.

The Café opens into the Art Studio and from the Art Studio into the main outdoor play area. The enclosed veranda that can quickly double as an alfresco dining area.

The Café is a busy meal time area where children are gradually learning how to regulate their own dietary needs. As the year progresses each group of children become more independent in determining their own self care rhythms and understanding their hunger signals and how to resolve them. We support the younger children in this area as they also learn to understand what their bodies are telling them when they are hungry. We are continuing to work towards providing opportunity to develop self-regulation for meals and sleep needs, where the individual rhythms of the child take precedence over the timetables of the adults.

The Explorers area doubles as our arrival and departure zone for all children. During the morning, the tables are set with books and puzzles, and an area in the adjoining room for the non-mobile babies to play. The opening of the doors to the outdoor play area is determined once the yard safety checks are completed, play equipment prepared, and the children are ready with sunscreen and hats. The number and the needs of the children, the complexity of the group, combined with the staff present on the day, may change the time the doors are opened.

The playground area out from the Cafe has been ear marked for re-developmemt in 2022. This play area will have an emphasis on upper body strength and development and is planned for completion by the end of 2022.

Art Studio

The aim is to have the Art Studio available to the children throughout the day.This area is usually open from 8.00am-4.30pm each day and doubles as an indoor excercise area after lunch some days where children take part in YOGA sessions with one of the Educators.

The Art Studio facilitates deep engagement and wonder, and cooperation and collaboration between peers. One of the Team Leader prepares the room each day and is present throughout the morning to provide extension to whatever the children are particularly interested in.

Explorers Room

The name Explorers was chosen to reflect the opportunities for the children to go exploring, and to acknowledge that we are all exploring every day of our lives, language, relationships, dispositions, experiences and more. The Explorers group are confidently mobile children ranging in age from 16 months- 4.5 years.

This room has three main areas: where the children’s lockers are and the home corner area, the main play area, and the enclosed verandah area. Each area has been reassigned its purpose several times, as we have also ‘explored’ the use of the space with the children and what has and has not worked. The veranda area opens onto the outdoor playground.

Moving through the space has become as important as spending time in the area. We see independent children exploring through open doors and in particular, the older children confident in looking after the younger children.

Outdoor Play Areas

Once the new nature playground was completed it opened the way for adventurous exploration by all confidently mobile children. Removing yet another barrier to learning (internal fencing) has again raised questions and produced challenges.

How do we adequately supervise this larger area?

Do we need to be over the child’s shoulder all the time if we see them as capable and confident learners or can we trust them to be within sight or sound to engage and support them in their play?

We have developed a Transition Safety Plan to ensure the Educators know the whereabouts of all children during periods of transition, when the children all move inside or outside as a whole group. One of the Educators is assigned the role of 'key supervisor'' and wears a pink hi vis vest to be easliy identified.

Babies Room

This room is allocated to Babies who are not confidently mobile. It is fitted with baby toys, rocking chairs, baby change tables, cot rooms, a kitchenette and everything required to cater for babies. Experienced Team Leaders (holding a Diploma Qualification in Early Education and Care ) prepare the program to effectively provide a suitable level of challenge and enjoyment for the babies and toddlers.