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Dove Cottage Children's Centre
Cnr Sir Joseph Banks & Milton Sts BANKSTOWN NSW 2200
Welcome to UnitingCare Dove Cottage Child Care Centre.
Uniting Care Dove Cottage operates 49 weeks of the year between the hours of 7:00am-5:30pm Monday to Friday. We care for children aged from 0 to 6 years of age.
The centre shuts down for 3 weeks over December/January. Fees are not payable during this closure. Fees are payable for all public holidays outside this shut down period and any leave you decide to take throughout the year whilst the service is in operation.
In our care the children experience different group situations throughout the day. Prior to 8:30am and after 4:30 pm children are family grouped which allows for interactions between the age groups. The older children learn how to be patient and supportive of the younger children and the younger children see the skill set of the older children and learn via peer tutoring.
Between the hours of 8:30-4:30 they are grouped according to age with the 0-3 year olds participating in the Gumnut program and the 3-5 year olds participating in the sunflower program, thus affording all children the opportunity for individualised and appropriately challenging, supportive, stimulating and interesting play.
We welcome all enquiries and look forward to showing you our centre.
At UnitingCare Dove Cottage Children’s Centre, we as early childhood professionals believe:
In respect to children
All children are unique individuals who bring to the centre their own natural ability to learn, along with accumulated experiences, both social and cultural.
Through play, children are researchers and scientists who explore, experiment, investigate, create and problem solve.
All children have scope for learning, given the right play environment and learning conditions and this learning should be facilitated by adults.
Children need to be allowed to develop at their own pace, with the help support and encouragement of the team.
Children’s voice and opinions needs to be heard and respected.
We need to provide an appropriate educational program which encourages the total development of the child.
Arm, approachable attitude makes children feel safe, secure and comfortable, with in a homelike and natural environment.
We need to treat children fairly and promote social justice, equality and democracy.
In respect to families
Each family brings to our service their unique skills, beliefs, values, lifestyles, cultural, religious and language backgrounds and child rearing practices which need to be accepted, respected and accommodated.
It is important that we have an ongoing approach in communicating, and collaborating information together, which is critical in providing each child with the best care and education.
We value the importance of extended families.
We believe families should be confident with and encouraged to become welcomed and involved in centre participation, respecting that all families will do this in a way that is appropriate to themselves
We believe families need to feel they can trust that the teaching team are capable, knowledgeable, warm, approachable, professional and understanding.
We believe families need to know that staff will respect confidentiality.
In respect to staff
We recognise that each team member brings with them training, skills and experience, beliefs and knowledge which need to be praised, nurtured and respected in order for each staff member to feel they are part of a team.
We belief that effective teamwork and communication are critical in creating an environment where children, families and staff feel secure and happy.
We need to remain professional and confidential and all times.
We need to keep abreast of current regulations, legalities and research through ongoing training.
We recognise that conflicts will arise, and these conflicts need to be dealt with in a professional manner.
We believe that peer and self evaluation and assessment are an important part of our ongoing professional development.
We believe that by networking with external early childhood professionals such as management, other children’s services and support workers, information can be gained which will benefit the centre.
In respect to community
We believe that children and staff should be actively involved in the community. This involvement should not be sporadic, but be a continual process in which children learn and become part of a larger community.
We believe that by developing links, sharing information and working collaboratively with others in the community, we have an opportunity to better meet the needs of the children and their families.
We believe we can use our links with the local community to promote our service.
We believe, that high quality early childhood care and education have lifelong implications for the children’s well being, holistic development and learning, therefore, as early childhood professionals, we should advocate the importance of early childhood education in the centre, in their local community and nationally.
We believe that by networking with external early childhood professionals such as management, other children’s services and support workers information can be gained which will benefit the centre.
There are 13 members of the Dove Cottage teaching team with varying positions and qualification.
The teaching team work on shifts of 8 hours on a weekly rotating roster. This ensures consistency of care in that a gumnut and sunflower teacher will be there to welcome you in the morning and get necessary information form you and a gumnut and sunflower teacher will be their in the evening to provide you with information about their day. As it will be a different teacher in the evening form the morning please also write necessary information in the available diary’s.
Our team speak many languages including English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vitenamese, Arabic, Korian, Urdu and Greek.
Our service also accesses regular casual staff when permanent members of the teaching team are on leave or training courses also to ensure consistency of care.
The service has above average standards in terms of qualifications, experience and ratio’s. Our Gumnut room operates on a staff to child ratio of 1-3.75. (The government standard is 1:4 for 0-2 year olds and 1:8 for 2-3 years olds) and our sunflower room operates on a ratio of 1:8 (the government standard is 1:10)
All meals are cooked on site daily. All meals are halal and are in line with nutritional guidelines. We provide breakfast, morning tea, lunch, dessert and afternoon tea daily. If children are at the service beyond 5:00pm we also provide a late snack.
We ask that families please bring in a piece of fruit daily to share amongst the children. Parents of babies need to also bring in formula or breast milk ready made.
“In the early childhood setting curriculum means’ all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events planned and unplanned, that occur in an environment designed to foster children’s learning and development.” (Belonging, Being and Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework, 2009)
The Curriculum will provide a rich learning environment which engages each child, embracing their interests and strengths leading to their holistic development, care and education. Meaningful interests based activities that enhance holistic growth and development will be provisioned for children on a daily basis.
These provisioned activities will be born of our daily record keeping system. A focused daily diary/portfolio/parent feedback form/week end wheel and weekly program will inform our curriculum. This record keeping system will detail rotational observations of individuals and groups, in recording children’s learning it becomes a planning tool for staff to prepare and provide valuable learning experiences for the next day/week. The activities provided in the room will reflect the children’s current interests and serve to enhance their learning and skill development in a meaningful and respectful way.
In valuing and respecting parents as partners in providing for the care and education of their children they are encouraged to comment on or add to the child’s portfolio, which is a record of their learning and experiences at UnitingCare Dove Cottage. Parents are encouraged to become collaborators with staff in the provisions made for children thus assuring consistent outcomes for the child and add to the development of common goals, ongoing communication, mutual trust, support and shared decision making.
At UnitingCare Dove Cottage our curriculum is developed with the following aims:
To respect the rights of children as active contributors of their own learning as well as participants of a community of learners.
To provide experiences and an environment that acknowledges that care and education are interwoven.
To develop within the child a sense of self as an effective learner and develop positive dispositions about learning.
To provide educational and caring experiences in response to children’s interests, ideas and abilities.
To follow up and extend on children’s interests, ideas, and abilities individually and in small groups.
To acknowledge and support relationships and socially constructed knowledge (learning through interactions, friendships, collaboration and partnerships).
To provide children with meaningful and relevant choices where ever possible.
To organise and set up an environment that promotes and supports hands on exploration and experimentation and investigates possibilities.
To organise and set up an environment that promotes and supports discovery, creative thinking, problem solving, making meaning and connections.
To respect and celebrate diversity of culture, language, religion, gender, family groups and abilities.
To develop programs and individual goals for children in partnership with families.
To develop programs which are informed by observation, documentation, evaluation, and critical reflection.
To set up holistic programs founded in play and are process focussed.
The program will be founded in an anti-bias inclusive approach to care and education and supported by best practice.
We recognise the importance of preparing children for school in a positive way that meets all their needs.
We also recognise the need for parents to have useful and current information about the enrolment and orientation processes of local schools and information to assist them in choosing a school.
We provide a range of experiences, including an information evening for parents, brochures from local schools and planned experiences for older children which assists them to acquire formal skills at school. During Term 4 children also engage in lunchbox days, school uniform days, transitional activities and visits to our local primary school which are all designed to encourage positive dialogue about the transition to school.
Gumnuts Daily Routine 0-3 years
7:00
Centre Opens
7:00-8:30
Family Grouping Sunflower room Children engaging in indoor play. (Progressive Breakfast is served between 7:00-8:00)
8:30
Children transition to gumnut room
8:30-9:30
Children engage playfully indoors. (Nappy change and toileting)
9:30-10:00
Children wash hands and morning tea served in lunch room.
10:00-11:30
Outdoor play (activities provisioned based on program and responsive to children’s interests) opportunity for group time experience.
11:30-12:00
Children wash hands and lunch is served in lunch room. (Nappy change and toileting take place)
12:00-2:00
Children sleep and rest. As they wake children engage in quiet activities. (nappy change and toileting take place)
2:30-3:00
Afternoon tea is served
3:00-4:30
Children transition outdoors to engage in holistic outdoor activities. (nappy change and toileting to take place
4:30-5:30
Sunflowers join Gumnuts for family grouping. Outdoor play in summer. Indoor play in winter and cooler or rainy weather. Children support pack up of area not in use.
5:30
Centre closes
Please note: In keeping with the natural flow of the day and been responsive to children’s interest times are flexilbe and may differ. During each of these routine times the teaching team will engage playfully with children been responsive to their interests and strengths. Nappy change will take place every 2 hours, before sleep and after sleep and as necessary throughout the day. The teaching team will ensure that the supervision plan is followed throughout the day. Children under 12 month’s individual routines will be followed in relation to sleep and bottles.
Sunflower Daily Routine 3-5 years
7:00
Centre Opens
7:00-8:30
Family Grouping Sunflower room. Children engaging in indoor play. (Progressive Breakfast is served between 7:00-8:00)
8:30
Gumnuts transition to gumnut room.
8:30-9:30
Children continue to engage playfully indoors in line with programmed activities for individualised curriculum.
9:30-10:00
Children wash hands and morning tea served.
10:00-11:30
Children tidy play space. Indoor group experience takes place before transitioning to outdoor play (activities provisioned based on program and responsive to children’s interests)
11:30-12:00
Children wash hands and lunch is served in lunch room.
12:00-2:00
Children have the opportunity to sleep, rest or engage in restful activities. Sleepers join non sleepers in restful activities as they wake.
2:30-3:00
Children wash hands and afternoon tea is served
3:00-4:30
Children engage in a small group experience before transition outdoors to engage in holistic outdoor activities. Children care for their space by packing away activities at end of day.
4:30-5:30
Sunflowers join Gumnuts for family grouping. Outdoor play in summer. Indoor play in winter and cooler or rainy weather.
5:30
Centre closes
Please note: In keeping with the natural flow of the day and been responsive to children’s interest times are flexilbe and may differ. During each of these routine times the teaching team will engage playfully with children been responsive to their interests and strengths. The teaching team will ensure that the supervision plan is followed throughout the day. Group times will involve interactive play that allow children to learn, experiment, dramatise, author and invent while supporting their skill development and knowledge base. Project work will occur in the sunflower room. This will afford children the opportunity to research a topic of interest and use this as a vehicle to ensure holistic development. Children engage in activities year round that support their transition to school. This routine is in line with sun safe practices.
What to Bring
Spare clothing (At least 2 changes for babies and toddler and additional sets for toilet training children. Children will need clothing for a change in weather a jumper or t-shirt/ long pants or shorts depending on the weather. All clothing and shoes needs to be clearly labelled with your child’s name.
A piece of fruit each day. Fruit is served for morning and afternoon tea and most lunch times. Fruit can be placed in the fruit basket on the sign in table
A bag large enough to fit spare clothes, paintings
A water bottle that children can access throughout the day
Several bottles of formula for babies as needed
A sheet set clearly labelled inside a pillow case
Any medication the child needs should be given to a staff member immediately on arrival and a medication form complete.
If children have been given medication prior to arrival staff will need to be informed, so we can best cater to the needs of your child.
You may also decide to bring any materials we can recycle for craft i.e. buttons, cotton reels, paper, material, old cloths which can be used for dress up etc.
Fees
0-3 years
Full fee is $78.00 per day inclusive of meals and nappies
with 100%CCB fee is $35.50 per day
3-5 years
Full Fee is $74.00 per day inclusive of meals
with 100% CCB fee is $31.50 per day
Cnr Sir Joseph Banks & Milton Sts
BANKSTOWN NSW 2200
Ph: (02) 9707 4041
Please feel free to contact us on the number or fill in your details below and we will contact you as soon as possible.
