Phone / Fax: 02 9520 9109
 
Engadine Gumnuts is a 36 placed childcare centre, with High Quality Accreditation.  The centre is licensed to enrol 8 children from 0-2 years, 8 children from 2 to 3 years, and 20 children from 3 to 6 years of age per day.
 
Hours are 7:30am - 6:00pm. Open 49 weeks of the year                                                                                                             
Daily Fees  
0-2 $79.00
2-3 $71.00
3-5 $69.00

Included in your fees are 5 meals (including hot lunch), visitors, sunscreen and wipes.
 
A bond will need to be paid on accepting a position at Engadine Gumnut Childcare Centre. The Bond has been calculated to cover any increase in fees over the coming years while you child attends Gumnuts. The bond is fully refundable after a minimum 2 months when your child leaves Gumnuts. (Conditions apply until your child commences care). 

Centre Tours – Please make an appointment to tour the centre by ringing 95209109 or visit between the hours of 9:00am – 11:30am and 2:00pm – 4:00pm.
 
Enrolment fee - Each child will be charged an annual levy  of $20.00 (for 2 -5 rooms) and $25.00 (for 0-2 room) at the beginning of the year to help cover al administrations costs. The extra cost for the 0-2 room covers bibs, washers and cot sheets.
 
Sheet Fee (2 -5 year old rooms)
A sheet fee of 35.00 will need to be paid within the first month of starting at Gumnut. 

Philosophy

At Engadine Gumnut Child Care Centre we seek to provide a warm, safe, caring, stimulating and home-like environment that meets the developmental needs and interests of each child in our care. We believe children learn best through play-based learning which is child-initiated and provides the opportunity for each child to be seen as competent, social, healthy, curious and resourceful learners. It is our belief that the quality of experiences, environment and the positive relationships built between educators, children, families and the wider communities will have a strong influence on children’s success in later life.

Gumnut Child Care Centre believes that the foundation of our practices to foster children’s learning and development reflects the Early Years Learning Framework. We endeavour to meet these educational visions by developing:

1.    Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships.  Displayed through:

• Nurturing a mutually supportive environment which supports and strengthens family ties
• Positively interacting with children though open communication to listen to their thoughts and feelings 
• Encouraging children to develop self-discipline through positive guidance
• Establishing an understanding of the importance of team work and collaboration amongst children, staff and families.
• Meeting the interrelated needs and changing needs of parents and children
  

2.    Partnerships:  Displayed through

• Supporting and encouraging the interest and involvement of parents to share in making this centre an extension of home. We also support and encourage parent’s questions and suggestions regarding the continual review of our Philosophy and goals.
• Encouraging parent involvement in the management of the centre and the programming for their children.
• Communicating freely and respectfully with each other to share insights and perspectives about each child
• Liaising with other community groups and services to develop support networks for the benefit of children’s needs.
  

3.    High expectations and equity.   Displayed through:

• Staff regarding all individuals equally and providing equal and unbiased opportunities for both boys and girls to develop to their full potential regardless of race, religion, gender or disability
• All children have a right to feel confident about themselves and to believe that their contributions are worthwhile. Our programs will endeavour to provide all children with the opportunity to make choices, to make mistakes and try again.
• Providing children the opportunity to develop socially, emotionally, physically, creatively and intellectually at his/her own pace.
  

4.    Respect for diversity.    Displayed through:

• Recognising that each child comes to the centre with a different set of experiences, knowledge, interests and developmental needs.
• Acknowledging the range of cultural backgrounds of our families and having a genuine regard for all children, their language and culture, while endeavouring to meet multicultural needs within our programs. We will achieve this through implementing policies and practices which respond to the multicultural needs of the children and families. Parents who wish to share their cultures eg language, food, music, national dress, etc are most welcome to do so.
• Providing opportunities to explore similarities and differences
  

5.    Ongoing learning and reflective practice   Displayed through:

• Providing child care students and trainees with practical experiences within the child care field, while under constant supervision.
• Engaging in professional reflection, self reflection and appreciation/reflection with our peers to examine current practices, outcomes and children’s well being
• Providing an environment which maintains high standards of health, safety, nutrition and hygiene, while constantly researching and supporting the transition to a chemical free centre.
  

Open Door Policy

O    our Centre is open and ready for inspection
P    parents are welcome to visit at any time
E    entry to our Centres by parents is your best guarantee of Quality Care
N    never hesitate to contact your Centre's Staff or Management Team

C    come and see how proud we are of the care we offer your children
E    explore our Centre and discuss your child's needs with our qualified and experienced staff
N    never hesitate to contribute your ideas on our Centre Policies
T    trained and talented staff are always ready for parental input
R    right now is the time to strengthen our Partnership in.....
E    educating, Nurturing and Supporting your Child

Engadine Gumnut Child Care Centre encourages and supports all forms of parent participation in the day to day running and program development at the kindy. Parent Participation is encouraged, but not compulsory.

 

PROGRAM POLICY

  AIM – All children need to feel that they are valued as individuals and capable of achieving their full potential. We aim to provide a program that is individually and developmentally appropriate with children’s home language, culture, religious beliefs and interests incorporated.

RATIONALE: At Engadine Gumnuts we acknowledge that children of all ages learn in a variety of ways and vary in their capabilities. We believe in fostering children’s learning and development by encompassing the practices outlined in the Early Years Learning Framework.

We promote children’s learning by:

• Adopting holistic approach
  Children’s physical, personal, social, cognitive, emotional and spiritual wellbeing are observed in relation to the five learning outcomes stated in the EYLF framework ie
  

• Children have a strong sense of identity
• Children are connected with and contribute to their world
• Children have strong sense of wellbeing
• Children are confident and involved learners
• Children are effective communicators
  

• Being responsive to children

All children are observed in relation to the ELYF outcomes with Educators being responsive to their ideas, interests and play. Educators record this information in individual journals through observations, photos and work samples which are then reflected upon to allow educators to build on children’s strengths, skills and knowledge.

• Planning and implementing learning through play

Children are given the opportunity to discover, create, improvise and imagine through planned and spontaneous play experiences and routines with educators, peers and the environment. Educators take the time to sit and converse with children to extend their thinking in a supportive environment. Educators adopt the ‘solution chart’ during experiences where supporting the inclusion of all in play is required to ensure fair play and positive ways of dealing with conflict.

• Intentional teaching

Educators look at each child’s needs and interests and will plan objectives to meet these needs/interests by providing experiences which challenge and extend children’s thinking and learning through modelling, demonstrations, open questioning, problem solving and engaging in shared thinking. These experiences are documented in the child’s individual journal with educators given allocated programming time each week to plan extension experiences.

• Creating physical and social learning environments that have a positive impact on children’s learning

Educators program and provide an indoor and outdoor environment which allows for a balanced opportunity for quiet time, individual, small and large group times, adequate rest periods. The environment covers fine and gross motor skills, art and craft, music, language, maths and science, nutritional education.

• Valuing the cultural and social contexts of children and their families

Provisions are included in the program to develop positive attitudes and awareness towards cultural differences. We acknowledge that each child comes to the centre bearing their own cultural practices and we value the importance that these practices have on the child, their family and the wider community. Special activities are arranged during the year to allow all family members and other members of the community to participate in the centres activities. These include Crazy Hair Day (cystfibrosis), Easter, Chinese New Year, Australia Day, etc to develop awareness and understanding.

• Providing for continuity in experiences and enabling children to have successful transition

Educators take the time to have friendly interactions with children individually and respond to them warmly. Through these interactions educators endeavour to ensure that children feel safe, secure, confident and included. Educators plan an orientation and transition process whilst also collecting updated children’s profiles to encourage a smooth transition from the home setting to Engadine Gumnuts. During this period Educators assist children in the understanding of routines, expectations and begin to establish relationships between educators and peers. News time is another opportunity provided for all children to share home and out of Child Care experiences with peers and Educators.

• Assessing and monitoring children’s learning to inform provision and to support children in achieving learning outcomes.

Observations are documented on each child within an ongoing cycle with checklists being completed every 6 months to determine where each child is at and what they understand. This information is then discussed in partnership with families to communicate child’s learning and plan effectively for future learning.

Programs and experiences are evaluated daily with Educators recording one special activity that each child has been involved each day they attend Gumnuts. These activities are written in the daily diary and are emailed to families and displayed next to the notice board in the foyer for families to view. All previous plans are available for parents to view in each room and on request.  All records are confidential and remain the property of the centre. Individual journals are available for parents to look at on request and will be discussed on Parent/teacher week. Parents are encouraged to ask any questions, we welcome their interest and suggestions.

Pre-school Program

Engadine Gumnuts Pre-school is aimed towards giving your child greater confidence and self –esteem in preparation for Big School. Gumnuts currently has two staff with Bachelor of Teaching and Bachelor of Education degrees from university, who overview and help plan for our Preschool children.

Pre-school is an exciting time for your child where the teachers focus on further development of their pre-writing, pre-reading, pre-maths skills and social/emotional development. These activities are planned for the children to stimulate their mind and challenge their thoughts, while remaining fun, appealing and appropriate for their individual development.

OBJECTIVES FOR PRE-SCHOOL
Our main objectives for our Pre-schoolers are:
Socially and Emotionally

• To try their best, be happy and develop an enthusiasm for learning
• To progress at their individual pace
• To build confidence and self-esteem
  

Pre-Writing

• To reinforce correct pen grip and correct motor movements
• To practice moving from left to right with a pencil
• To reinforce letter formation, with a natural slope
• To practice drawing a variety of writing strokes, patterns and lines.

Pre-school Mathematics

• To ensure that Mathematical concepts are fully understood, through ‘hands on’ materials and in-depth discussions
• To extend each child’s thinking and reasoning skills, along with their estimation, matching and counting ability.
• To ask and answer questions such as: “What would happen if …?”
  

Pre-Reading

• To follow pictures/stories from left to right and top to bottom
• To identify likeness and differences
• To understand concept of sequence – first/last
  

Preschool Activities are ongoing throughout the year and incorporate many activities throughout the day, catering for the 3-5 year olds. All children in our Preschool room participate in:

• News time –To build self-esteem and confidence in front of a large group of children. Each child will have a special news day, once a fortnight, where they are encouraged to stand up in front of their peers and answer questions and talk about something special. The remaining children have the opportunity to listen to their friends and then ask questions, raising their hand for a turn.
• Writing centre (use of appropriate writing tools) – Children have access to these at all times, including HB Pencils, triangle grip pencils, scissors, handwriting tracing cards, foundation style alphabet practice sheets and name cards.
• Independence – Looking after their own belongings, housekeeping e.g. making their own bed, helping set the table, packing away, toileting and shoes on and off.
• Social Skills – Turn Taking, Waiting for a turn, sitting in small and large group experiences for 10-15 minutes, assisting and guiding peers, participating in group games and movement, engaging in co-operative play activities and Story Telling.
• Pre-Maths Activities – Weather Chart (today, tomorrow, yesterday), roll call, shapes, numeration, space 3D and 2D, matching, discussion, recognition, counting, identifying groups, describing objects, positions, sizes, basic addition and subtraction. 
• Pre-Reading Activities – group and individual story times, group games, table top activities such as “Make a word”, letter threading, pattern cards, lotto, the alphabet game and much more.
• Pre-writing Activities – Our writing centre and Pre-school Program folders (for our Big School leavers). Computer – Education programs that cover all the above areas of development.
  

Structured Activities throughout the day include: Specific Focus Groups of approximately 8-10 children, Large group discussion, with 20 children, Large Language group times, Large Music and movement group times, News time & question time, Weather chart, Roll Call.

Pre-school Program
In March of each year parents, from within the centre and from outside the centre are all invited to our Pre-school information night. This night will help parents to understand the structure of our Pre-school and to see first hand some of the wonderful activities and experiences your child can participate in as they prepare for big school.

Starting in May during rest time all children who are in their final year at Gumnuts will start working on their school journals which include activities on Pre-writing, Pre-reading and Maths. Each day children will be given one worksheet or activity to complete, based around our above mentioned Pre-school objectives. The children will be given simple 2-3 step directions as a small group and then asked to complete the activity independently, although their teacher will never be too far away for support. These activities will help develop hand-eye co-ordination and reinforce correct pen grip and correct motor movements with the emphasis on trying their best and becoming FAMILIAR with these types of activities, not on the end result.

At the end of each year the Pre-schoolers are given school readiness reports and checklist to be given to their schools, if required.

A vital part of the success of the pre-school program is the praise and encouragement that the children receive.  We aim to develop a great enthusiasm for learning within your child.
Teachers work at each child’s pace and offer full support and praise for effort, trying hard and the process they work through, rather than the resulting piece of work.

All families are invited to approach their child’s teacher at any time during their child’s time at Gumnuts to discuss transition to school and school readiness. We currently have extensive information sheets on school readiness checklist and journal articles for parents to access, photocopy or borrow at any time.