Our Services

Child care

There are different types of child care facilities, including:

Centre Based Long Day Care (sometimes called creches, child care, nurseries)

Long day care centres provide an educational program to meet the developmental needs of children in a caring and stimulating environment.

Centres are licensed by the relevant state government body (eg. NSW Department of Community Services) and are generally open long hours each day, for most weeks of the year.

Priority of access is given to families where parents work so it is important to emphasise this when you are putting your name on any waiting list.

Centres may be sponsored by Local Government, community groups, church organisations, registered charities or be privately operated.

Pre school Services (sometimes called kindergartens)

Preschools are licensed by the relevant state government body  and are generally open for shorter hours of the day, e.g. 9am - 3pm or 8am - 4pm.  Some preschools operate on a sessional basis offering the program for half day periods. 

Most preschools operate the same hours and weeks of the year as the state public schools. This means they close during school holiday periods.  Children in preschool services are not usually supplied with morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea.  Parents are generally required to provide food and drinks for their child each day.

Most preschool require that your child be toilet trained.

In all states and territories preschools offer an educational program with trained early childhood teachers.

Preschool programs that are provided in isolated areas may  operate from a mobile van or in conjunction with another community facility.  Some isolated services may only operate for part of the day either a morning or afternoon program on specified days of the week.  Mobile preschools aim to reach as many isolated communities as possible in the week.

Family Day Care Schemes

Family Day Care provides home-based child care for children 0-5 years as well as before and after school care for older children.  In most states each carer is licensed by relevant state government body to care for up to five or six pre-school aged children and two school aged children. Some Family Day Care schemes impose a limit on the number of children aged under 2 years that can be cared for at any one time, for example, some carers can care for a maximum of two children under the age of 2 years.  Strict health and safety requirements must be met.

Emphasis is placed on the provision of quality child care within a home environment, providing an  extension of the child's own family environment.

Children are cared for in small groups in supervised private homes by selected care givers, who are supported, advised and assisted by a professional team of qualified child care staff, working from the local Family Day Care scheme. 

A co-ordinator is employed to select care providers and match them with families requiring care.  Child Development Officers supervise the care givers' home on a regular basis. Weekly playgroup sessions and all equipment are supplied for the children.  Some Family Day Care Schemes provide extensive toy libraries to all carers within the scheme.

In Home Care

The In Home Care Service is a flexible form of child care where care is provided in the child's home by an approved carer. Parents using this form of child care can apply for Child Care Benefit to help pay a portion of their fees. It is primarily for shiftworkers, families who live in rural and remote areas where distance/isolation prevents them accessing other child care services, and families with a parent or child with a disability or illness.

Home Based Care

Home Based Carers provide care for children in their own home. 

In most states carers are generally licensed independently by the relevant state government body. The carers may care for up to 5 children aged six weeks to school age. .

The Children's Services Adviser from the relevant state government body is responsible for visiting each carer in their home. 

You will need to contact each carer individually and we recommend that you visit the carers home to make sure that you are happy with the service the carer is providing and that you feel that you and your child will be able to get along with the carer.

Nannies

Employing a nanny or au pair to care for your child/ren can be the most expensive form of child care but becomes more affordable when there is more than one child involved.

Nannies can be live-in or live-out and household duties may be negotiated. They can be sourced via agencies or private advertising.

There are some advantages to employing a nanny. Your child would receive one to one care and could be cared for in your own home. 

This type of care is often more flexible and there are great benefits when the nanny is attuned to your child's needs and routines. 

When choosing a nanny, most parents look for qualities such as trustworthiness, reliability, adaptability and resourcefulness.  Experience working with young children may not always be important (to some parents) as long as you and your child feel comfortable with the person and the nanny shows good interaction and rapport with your family. Sharing a nanny with another parent may be an option.

Occasional Care Centres

Occasional child care centres cater for children aged 6 weeks to school age. 

This type of care allows parents the flexibility, when needed, to leave their children in the care of professional qualified staff. 

Occasional care is intended to cater to the needs of parents who wish for short term care, primarily for the parent who needs a break from the children, to go shopping, attend appointments, study for short periods or when an emergency arises etc. Most centres have a limit on the number of hours and days a parent can access the service.

 Vacation Care (sometimes called school holiday care)

The focus of these services for primary school age children is on planned leisure activities that meet the social and recreational needs of the children while  meeting the care requirements of working families.

 In determining which centre is the most appropriate for your child it is necessary to examine the service's ability to cater to these differing needs.  It is important to consider staffing levels, the program offered by the centre, the indoor and outdoor areas available to the children, equipment provided, the centre's policy on discipline and health and safety issues etc.

 Vacation Care is available to all children who attend primary school. Some areas have additional, specifically designed programs for teenagers.

 Public and private schools often run vacation care programs, as well as local councils who employ specialist recreation advisers. Information is available from community service and sport/recreation providers. Holiday camps may also be available through these organisations as well.

 Programs are quite diverse, depending on the co-ordinator. Activities range from; music, storytime, creative craft work, weaving, painting, to indoor and outdoor sports. Optional excursions to skating rinks, movie theatres, ten pin bowling alleys and to many other venues are offered.

The activities are geared to the age group of the child/children and their particular interests.

Vacation care program costs do vary and excursions usually cost extra.

The advantage of vacation care is that the children will have a great time, meeting new friends and parents / carers will have peace of mind knowing the children are enjoying the holidays whilst knowing where they are. Hours are usually suitable for working parents to drop children off and to pick them up.