Longtown Creche & Montessori

Parent Handbook

 Admissions & Enrollment Procedures

 

 

 Longtown Creche Ltd serves children ages 1 year to 12 years. All children are encouraged to feel part of the crèche. Parental liaison is encouraged at every level in the crèche. All children are encouraged to respect each other: everyone in the crèche is entitled to the highest quality provision and service. Longtown Creche Ltd FORBIDS DISCRIMINATION because of race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, or handicap.

 ENROLLMENT FORMS

Before a child is admitted for care into Longtown Creche Ltd, the provider must receive all required paperwork, signed by parent/s and/or Guardians.

·        Child Registration Form

·        Administration of Medication Policy Form

·        Emergency Release Form

We will not assume care of your child(ren) if necessary paperwork, fees, and supplies are not received. All information will be kept confidential and is for our records only.

SUPPLIES

ü      Complete change of clothes (weather appropriate). Two sets of clothing is required for children not yet potty trained.

ü      Nappies & Wipes.  When using pull ups please bring velcro variety.

ü      Favorite blanket or toy for quiet time                                    

Trial Period

 Your child’s adjustment is important to us at Longtown Creche Ltd, therefore enrollment acceptance is based on a 30-day trial period. The first 30 days from the child’s enrollment date is a trial/adjustment period for the child, parents, and provider. During this period either the parents or provider may terminate care without notice. After the 30 days has passed, a two-week notice is required from either party.

 

Termination Policy

 A two-week written notice minimum is required to withdraw your child from care. If less than two weeks notice is given, payment in full for two weeks is still expected.

 In the event Longtown Creche Ltd should ever find it necessary to end our agreement, the parent will be given a one week written notice. Except for reasons such as, but not limited to:

 Destructive uncontrollable or violent behaviors

• Habitual tardiness in pick up of child
• Excessive late arrivals
• Excessive absences without notice
• Lateness of payment or nonpayment
• Lack of Parental Cooperation
• Any Parental disregard for our policies
• Failure to maintain required supplies for child(ren)

 These situations will be grounds for immediate termination. If it becomes necessary for Longtown Creche Ltd to resort to legal action to collect fees, the parent(s) will be responsible for any legal fees incurred by Longtown Creche Ltd.

 

Tuition Payments & Fees

 

 

 REGULAR PAYMENT

Childcare fees are due in advance and payable no later than Thursday  each week prior to your child's attendance. Clients should keep in mind that they are contracting for days and times to reserve for their child and this time must be paid for whether or not it is used. No deductions or refunds will be made for days your child is sick or absent.

 *A €10.00 per day late fee will be assessed if your regular childcare fee is not paid on time. Your child will not be accepted for care until your regular childcare fee plus any late fees are paid in full. Continued late payments will result in the termination of the childcare services.

Payments may be made in cash, direct debit or by cheque.

Make cheques payable to:

 

Longtown Creche Ltd

LATE FEES

Hours in excess of your booked session or the 6:30 p.m. closing time will be billed at €10.50 per hour or any part thereof. The Late Fee balance is due in cash upon arrival. This policy will be strictly enforced.

 RATE INCREASES     

Longtown Creche Ltd reserves the right to review childcare rates twice annually and to raise them to accommodate increasing business costs. We will provide one month's notice to parents in the event of rate increases.

 RESERVATIONS

Parents who are searching for childcare weeks and months prior to the care start date may choose to reserve a childcare slot. To reserve an available slot parents must complete the contract and pay a non refundable deposit.

 General

 The Toddler Room

The Toddler room is for children from one year upwards. The environment conforms to the physical needs of the children in the size of the furnishings and age appropriate toys. We operate a playschool programme. There is maximum natural light and defined spaces to challenge co-ordination of movement.

The PlayschoolPre-school Programme

The playschool programme is one which will develop the child's social graces. It provides a warm and caring environment where the child can express themselves through play, songs, crafts, art and imaginary play. The child will also develop their hand eye coordination and their motor skills.

The Montessori Programme

The Montessori classroom is a 'living room' for children. Children choose their work from among the self-correcting materials displayed on open shelves, and they work in specific work areas. Over a period of time the children develop into a 'Normalized community' working with high concentration and few interruptions. Normalization is the process whereby a child moves from being undisciplined to self-disciplined, from disorder to order, from distracted to focused, through work in the environment. The process occurs through repeated work with materials that captivate the child's attention.

 General

Maximum number of children catered for is 43 with playrooms for each age group. Staff child ratios are in accordance with HSE regulations; age 1-2 yrs  1:5, age 2-3  1:6, age 3-6 1:8, Sessional 1:10

There is a wide variety of toys and materials available specific to each age group. Outdoor play facilities all year round. Fully insured.

 Hours of Operation

 Monday through Friday 7:30 am to 6:30 pm

 Attendance

 Please be courteous and notify Longtown Creche Ltd if your child will be absent for the day.

 Longtown Crèche is open 51 weeks of the year.

 Longtown Creche Ltd will close in observance of the following holidays:

 All bank holidays including Good Friday

Christmas Eve, Christmas week

There is no reduction for these closures

 PARENT/CHILD HOLIDAYS

Please notify Longtown Creche Ltd at least two weeks in advance if your child will be absent due to family holiday. Full payment is required for any days your child is absent and must be made prior to the scheduled leave. Remember, you are paying to reserve your child’s childcare slot.

 Arrivals & Departures

The center opens at 7:30 am. Please accompany your child to the door of their playroom. The same procedure should be followed at pick up time. Please do not enter the room if session is in progress.  Please appreciate that this is a distraction for both staff and children and a potential health and safety risk.

Occasionally you may wish to send someone other than yourself to drop off or pick up your child for the day. Be sure to notify any persons doing so of the Arrival & Departure procedure. Always notify Longtown Creche Ltd should there be someone other than you dropping off or picking up for the day.

Any persons taking your place for drop off/pick up times should be listed on the Registration Form under “Persons Authorized to pick up my child”. If they are not listed a written authorization from you is required. Longtown Creche Ltd will not release the child without your approval for both the protection of your child and the center. All persons must carry photo id.

 Communication: Though we are very open to any questions or concerns you may have about your child, drop-off and pick-up times are generally not the best times to discuss these concerns in depth. Instead, please feel free to phone us later in the day to talk and/or make an appointment to meet, whichever is appropriate.

 Separation: It is normal for some children to have difficulty separating from parents in the morning or not wanting to leave when it’s time to go home. Please be very brief (no more than 5 minutes) during these transition times. The longer you prolong the departure the harder it gets and we need to focus our attention on the other children. A smile, cheerful good-bye kiss, and a reassuring word that you will be back are all that is needed in the morning. In our experience, children are nearly always quick to get involved in the activities as soon as the parent leaves.

 Boundaries: This is also a time of testing when two different authority figures are present (the parent and the provider). All the children will test to see if the rules still apply. During arrivals and departures, we expect parents to back up our rules. If you do not, we will remind the child that their behavior is inappropriate and take action to correct if needed.

 Safety: Please be in control of your child during arrivals & departures. At departures, please do not let your child leave the building until you are leaving also. Children are not permitted to go outside unattended. Please do not leave keys in vehicles or the engine running when parked outside the creche.

 Meals & Snacks

 Longtown Creche Ltd provides breakfast consisting of weetabix, pancakes, toast, fruit and milk.

We provide all drinks throughout the day.

 Parents are asked to supply children with:

Mid-morning snack

Lunch

Afternoon snack

 We can heat food in our microwaves.

We kindly request that you label all items.

Please – no sweets or fizzy drinks.

 PARENTS MUST PROVIDE A COOL BAG 5⁰ OR LOWER FOR FOOD THAT IS TO BE REHEATED. ENSURE ICE PACKS ARE PLACED IN THE BAG EACH MORNING. (HEALTH BOARD REQUIREMENT). We will refuse to accept meals to be reheated that are not in a cool bag.

 Quiet Time/Rest Period

 Our rest period is from 12.30 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. If you must pick up your child during quiet time please notify Longtown Creche Ltd in advance so that we may wake your child and have him/her ready for your arrival.

Longtown Creche Ltd will provide a quiet place for your child to rest. We will also provide each child their own nap mat, pillow and blanket. Smaller children will be placed in cots.

If your child has a special stuffed animal/doll or blanket that they use to sleep with, they will be allowed to use them at this time. These items will be put away during the day and only brought out for quiet time. Children who do not fall asleep or who wake early will be directed to quiet activities that will not disturb other sleeping children.

 Toys from Home

 Please do not allow your child to bring toys from home. Anything brought will be put away safely until the child is picked up. Longtown Creche Ltd encourages respect for others and this includes sharing. Sharing is difficult for young children and even more so if it is a toy from home. Toys brought from home also have a risk of being lost or damaged. One or two security items (blanket or stuffed animal) may be brought for quiet time only.  We cannot accept responsibility for any items lost.

 Behavior Policy

 ·        Interaction with a child or young person should take place only in a publicly accessible place such as a designated office or room with a clear glass window.  The door should always be left open.

·        You should never plan to be alone in a building, car or a closed room with a child/young person.

·        Casual visits by children and young people to the homes of workers are to be avoided unless accompanied by parents or guardians.

·        Ensure that the building and/or facilities used for activities with children/young people are suitable, safe and secure.

·        Ensure that adequate and appropriate supervision is in place before organizing activities with children and young people.

·        Particular care should be taken to ensure that the privacy of children/young people is respected in places such as toilets and changing rooms.

·        When working with children/young people you should take care to avoid the trap of becoming a ‘parental figure’ or over-involved with one particular child.

·        Do not take photographs of the children

·        Use only age-appropriate language, media products and activities in working with children/young people.

·        Under no circumstances give alcohol, tobacco or drugs to children or young people.

 A healthy, safe environment in a pre-school can facilitate children’s needs by developing necessary skills to develop their social and behavioural milestones.  Ordinary pre-school activities offer opportunities for this e.g. taking turns, sharing, politeness and making choices.

 We shall develop self-discipline in the children by:

 ·        Praising the behaviour rather than the child

·        Encouraging and building a child’s self esteem

·        Setting limits according to the child’s age and stage of development

·        Using play and games with rules to help the child learn and understand boundaries

·        Adults leading by example as children imitate behaviour

·        Avoiding isolation and humiliation of children

·        Being consistent - saying  ‘No’ and meaning ‘No’

·        Clarifying expectations and rules of behaviour

·        Reinforcing positive behaviour at all times i.e. display painting, rewards etc

 Staff will use positive methods of discipline which self-control, self-direction, self-esteem and cooperation.

 It is not acceptable to use the following as a means of correction:

 ·        Hitting, shaking, biting or any other physical restraint

·        Mental or emotional punishment such as humiliating, isolating or threatening a child

·        Depriving child of meals or snacks

 We have a range of strategies for dealing with behaviour which falls short of expectations i.e. temper tantrums and bullying included:

 ·        Distracting or removing the child from the environment

·        Explaining why this behaviour is not acceptable

·        Giving the child the chance to calm down and regain control

 Biting 

As mentioned above Longtown Creche will develop a range of approaches for dealing with difficult behaviour

 

• We will, in co-operation with the childcare worker and the parents develop work plans for children who display challenging behaviour
• Parents will be included, informed and supported to follow work plans for children, if and when appropriate
• Where necessary additional support may be sought by referral to other professionals.  The support of professional help should not be regarded negatively by the crèche or parents
• We will support the childcare worker to work on a one to one basis with a child who may be biting or displaying other challenging behaviour over an agreed period of time.  The childcare worker will specifically engage the child in extending their interests and helping the child to avoid the behaviour.

 Working with parents is also essential when dealing with behavioural issues.  It may be necessary to seek additional help by referral to other professionals.  Seeking professional help must never be regarded as a failure on the part of the pre-school or parent.

 It is Longtown Creche Ltd’s goal to recognize triggers that cause biting and redirect a child before the incident occurs. In the event we are unable to intervene the following steps will take place:

 ·   The provider will first attend to the bitten child by comforting and then cleaning the bitten area with soap and water. Ice will be applied if bruising occurs.

·   The child who did the biting will be removed from the setting and in an age appropriate manner will explain to that the behavior is unacceptable: “Biting hurts”, or “We bite food, not people”. Care will be taken not to reward the child that did the biting with extra attention.

·   The incident will be documented on an Accident/Incident form that will need to be signed by the parent of the biter and the provider. The parent will receive a copy of the signed form, and the original will be placed in the child’s file.

·   Longtown Creche Ltd will not identify the child who did the biting to the parents of the bitten.

·  Parents will be asked to work with their child in discouraging the aggressive behavior.

 Toilet Training Policy

When you feel your child is ready for toilet teaching, we ask that you begin this teaching at home during a weekend or vacation. Please note: Longtown Creche Ltd will only begin to assist your child in Toilet Training if you have successfully began training at home for a week prior.

 We will follow through and encourage your child while in care. Toilet training will be done in a relaxed manner with the cooperation of the family. We require that the child is at least 2 years of age and must also be showing signs of readiness. Positive reinforcement and consistency must be continued at home.

 The child must be kept in pull-ups at all times. Please keep in mind that the activity level here can distract your child from responding to an urge to use the toilet, more so than at your home. Therefore, we will continue to use pull ups until your child can and will announce that (s)he must use the bathroom and can control his/her bladder and bowels for a few minutes beyond that announcement. It is required that parents supply pull-ups with velcro closings and a few extra changes of clothing.

 PROPER CLOTHING

Do not bring your child in panties or underwear without prior approval from Longtown Creche Ltd. Together, we will determine whether the child has naptime and bedtime control established. During toilet training the child needs to be dressed in "user friendly" clothing as much as possible. The best items are shorts and pants with elastic waists. Please do not dress your child in the following items:

• No Tight clothing
• No Shirts that snap in the crotch
• No Pants with snaps & zippers
• No Overalls
• No Belts
• No One piece outfits

The clothes listed above can make it difficult for your child to reach the toilet in time. Your child also needs to be able to pull his/her own pants up and down and these items will hinder your child’s ability to do so.

 REQUIRED SUPPLIES

The following items are to be left at the childcare and replaced as needed. State licensing requires that soiled clothing be returned in a plastic bag at the end of the day.

     ·        Three (3) changes of clothing including socks (an extra pair of shoes if available)

·        A bag of Pull-Ups – you will be notified when the supply is running low