Valley Farm Daycare Centre

Transcription

1 Welcome to Valley Farm Daycare Centre Valley Farm Rd. Pickering, Ontario L1V 1X6 (905) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

2 Open Door Policy As a daycare that is proud of what we are and what we do, we welcome parents and visitors to drop in anytime to observe our programs and our staff. Program Developments Our children s programs are re-evaluated regularly to reflect changes within the Day Nurseries Act and ideologies on Early Childhood Education. The changes are also dependent on the children s developmental needs and the needs of the families. Parents are encouraged to discuss any aspects of the programs and/or their child s progress through informal or formal interviews at any time during the day. Parents input into the program is appreciated and welcomed. At regular intervals throughout the year, a newsletter will be sent home informing you of any daycare news or special events that will be taking place. Classrooms Valley Farm Daycare has the facilities to accommodate the following children: Infants Toddlers Preschoolers Kindergarten Schoolagers (6-12yrs) Hours of Operation The daycare provides care all year round, Monday to Friday from 6:45 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. We provide both full-time and part-time care. We require a minimum of 2 days a week for part-time care. Valley Farm Daycare will be closed on all Statutory and Civic holidays however, there will be no deduction in fees for these holidays. Statutory holidays include: New Year s Day Canada Day Thanksgiving Day Good Friday Civic Holiday Christmas Day Victoria Day Labour Day Boxing Day Family Day

3 Late Fees The centre closes at 6:00 p.m. Therefore, we have a late fee of one dollar per minute that is to be paid to the staff member who stays past their shift. If parents are consistently late, they may be asked to make other daycare arrangements. Fee Schedule Infants: $ per week Toddlers: $42.00 per day; $ per week Preschool: $39.00 per day: $ per week Junior and Senior Kindergarten: $37.50 per day (2 day min); $ per week Before And/or After school in kindergarten: $25.00 per day School age: $ before and after school ($15.00 extra for P.A day) $80.00 After School Only $ for March break, Christmas and Summer Payment Policies Fees are due at the beginning of each month. You may pay the total sum at once, or use post-dated cheques as long as the week prior is paid for. There is a $5.00 late charge for fees that are past due each Monday. There is a $35.00 fee for all cheques returned N.S.F. If fees are more than two weeks overdue, your daycare spot may be suspended until payment is made. Written and personal contact will be made with the parents whose accounts are in arrears Valley Farm Daycare reserves the right to terminate services if payment policies are not followed. In extreme cases we would require payment in cash prior to the child being accepted into our care. Fees are to be paid for every day, including all absent and statutory holidays. Tax receipts are given during the income tax period. Deposit A deposit of one week s fees upon registration is required, this deposit will be returned to you when your child is withdrawn, or can be applied to your last week s fees, providing we are given the required two weeks notice of your intention to withdraw your child, in writing. If for some reason your child does not attend our centre the deposit is nonrefundable.

4 All enrolment forms for the child must be completed by the parents/guardians prior to the child s first day in the program. This fee ensures your child with a space until he/she starts the program. Withdrawal Notice We require that you give us two weeks written notice before you withdraw your child from our program. Otherwise, a full fee will be required. If fees are not paid before your child s last day, your account will go directly to a collection agency. Vacation Time A one-week vacation may be taken per year after your child has been in attendance for 6 months, with written notice 2 weeks in advance. Illness Please keep your child home if: 1. He/she has a fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. He/she has had a heavy nasal discharge and a cough. 3. He/she has vomited or has had diarrhea. 4. Has any contagious diseases or viruses. If your child becomes ill during the day, he/she will be isolated from other children, and we will notify you to come and pick him/her up. In order to prevent or stop the spread or outbreak of the disease or virus, your child must stay home for 24 hours after the last symptom. We ask that you please call the centre before 10:00 a.m. if your child will not be coming in for the day, so that we can plan our staff accordingly. Medication Staff at Valley Farm Daycare Centre will administer prescribed medication to a child. The medication must be in the original container as supplied by the pharmacist with the child s name, the name of the medication, the dosage, the date of purchase, and instructions for storage and administration clearly labelled. We require you to fill out authorization forms, allowing us permission to administer the medication at the scheduled times with given dosages. Any reactions the child may have to the medication that would result in the discontinuation of the medication must be listed by the parents/guardians on the authorization form.

5 The staff at Valley Farm Daycare are not authorized to administer children s Tylenol or other such non-prescription drugs without a note from a physician and a medication form signed by the parent/guardian. Any contagious diseases that have been detected at the centre will be posted on the front door of the centre immediately. If there are more than two cases of children in a room who display the same symptoms, the health board will be contacted to help us eradicate the illness. Payments for Sick Days In case of an illness lasting three consecutive days or more, as supported by a doctor s certificate, there will be a deduction of 50% from your normal fees after the first three consecutive days of the illness. Otherwise, payment in full is required for sick days. Accidents If your child has a physical accident during the day, you will be given an accident report to read and to sign, which will describe the incident and the first-aid applied. If a serious injury occurs and we are unable to reach you, an ambulance will be called, for which you will be responsible for the ambulance fee. Emergency Information Please make sure we have correct home, work, and other emergency phone numbers and addresses for you or other key people on file at all times. We must have the name and phone number of a contact person other than the parent/guardian in case of an emergency and you cannot be reached. It is imperative that we maintain updated emergency files at all times. Fire Drills Fire drills are practised monthly. Fire procedures are posted in each room. To ensure optimum safety, fire inspections are held yearly, and fire equipment is tested annually as well. Behaviour Management Corporal punishment of any kind on a child by a staff member is strictly prohibited. Any deliberately harsh or degrading measures used that would humiliate or undermine a child s self respect are strictly prohibited.

6 No child shall be confined in a lockable or locked room or be deprived of any basic needs, such as food, shelter, or clothing. Disciplinary Actions used by Staff Physical or harsh verbal discipline is strictly forbidden Acceptable practices include: 1. Discuss inappropriate behaviour. 2. Ignore inappropriate behaviour, such as temper tantrums 3. Redirection. 4. Time out from activity 5. Limit setting Aggressive Behaviour Policy If your child is aggressive or violent towards other children or staff (hitting, biting, scratching, spitting, kicking, etc ), a meeting will be scheduled with the supervisor in order to discuss various strategies that may help in dealing with the child s behaviour. We will try various different ways to deal with and rectify inappropriate behaviour however, if there are no changes in your child s aggressive behaviour after a specified amount of time, you will be given two weeks notice to withdraw your child. If help is offered and you refuse it, you will automatically be given two weeks notice to withdraw your child. Rest Period We have a two-hour rest period at which all the children are required to lie down and rest. For this time, a blanket and sleep toy (stuffed animal) may be brought in. Quiet activities are provided for early risers. Clothing We require that each child have two pairs of footwear at the daycare centre-- One pair for indoor use, and the other for outdoor use. Sandals are not permitted for outdoor play We ask that each child have a complete change of clothing available at the centre in case of any accidents or spills. In the case that your child requires a change of clothing but they do not have any at the centre, you may be called to bring in a change of clothes, for we have a limited supply of extra clothing. Please make sure that your child has weather-appropriate clothing, for we do spend time outdoors everyday. Nutrition All food is prepared on site by a qualified cook. We serve a morning and afternoon snack, as well as a nutritious hot lunch everyday.

7 Weekly menus are posted outside the kitchen. If there are any changes in regards to the menu for the day, the changes will be posted on the menu board. Food exceptions are not made for individual children except in the cases of food allergies or religious convictions. Please notify the Supervisor at the time of enrolment if your child has a food allergy. This will then be posted in the kitchen as well as in the child s classroom where it can be assured that it will be adhered to. Should you have any questions or concerns about the meals or menu, please direct them to the Supervisor. Nutritious snacks may be brought in from home in the morning. We ask that donuts, timbits, cookies, and dunkaroos not be brought in. Due to allergies, we are a nut-free centre, so there must be absolutely NO traces of nuts or nut products in food brought into the centre. Some of our children have life threatening allergies and require epipens therefore all food brought in should be discussed with a staff before entering the classroom. Toys from Home Please leave all toys at home. Your child may bring in a stuffed animal for the daily rest period. If your child does bring in a toy, Valley Farm Daycare is not responsible for its loss. Your child s teacher will notify you of any special sharing days when it is okay for your child to bring in a toy. Authorization to Pick Up Your Child Unless otherwise arranged, children will not be released to any person other than those specified on the Registration and Permission forms. If you know someone will be picking up your child who is not on our file, please call the centre prior to pick-up, or send a note with your child in the morning. We will be asking for picture identification, so please inform the person you have designated to pick up your child to be prepared. If information changes, please notify us immediately. Specialized Services Our centre attempts to answer the needs of the exceptional child, when resources permit. Experts of community professionals will be drawn upon to respond to these special needs. Custody Issues If there are custody papers assigned please be sure to discuss with the supervisor upon registration. A copy will be made for your child s file.

8 Inspections Valley Farm Daycare being a licensed facility has several inspections throughout the year by various departments including: The ministry of community and social services, the health department, the fire department, playground inspector and Durham children s services. Students/Volunteers Valley Farm welcomes students for placements from local high schools and colleges. Volunteers are also with us from time to time to assist staff with various tasks. Students/volunteers are never permitted unsupervised access to children in our care and do not count in our required staffing ratios. Students/volunteers are required to review all center policies and expectations before commencing their placement. Legal Requirements for reporting child abuse The Child and Family Services Act states that every person in Ontario must call a Children s Aid Society immediately to report his/her belief that a child may have been abused or is at risk of abuse. The governing act also clarifies that a person who works with children has an added legal responsibility to report immediately any suspicion of abuse. A professional who works with children and does not report a suspicion of abuse can be charged and fined Serious Occurrence Notification Although the safety and well-being of the children in our care are top priority, occasionally there could be a reason to file a serious occurrence to the ministry. Effective November 1, 2011 there will be a parent notification form posted outside the office should this occur. A serious occurrence could include: serious injury to a child, fire or other disaster on site or a complaint about service standard. This form will be posted for 10 days.

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