Waiting List

Please click on the link below to join our waitlist. A $30 non-refundable fee is payable. Please contact Little Saints on (07) 5471 3133 to organise payment. Once payment is received, your waitlist application will be confirmed.

https://app.mywaitlist.com.au/Waitlist/Apply?CentreID=50

What’s New?

Extension coming soon!

An extra Government Approved Kindergarten (Pre-Prep) and Pre-Kindergarten opening in Term 1, 2014. Register on our waitlist now for our new Term Time / School Hours Kindy and Pre-Kindy classes. Outside School Hours Care and Vacation Care will also be moving to the new venue in 2014.

Contact the Centre Director – Ms. Ola Goryl for further information.

Facebook

Little Saints has a Facebook page which all families are encouraged to access. Regular photos are posted online to keep families in touch with the happenings at the Centre. Feel free to comment or ‘like’ the photos which are posted of your children.

Here is the link to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LittleSaintsEarlyLearningCentre

Contact Us

Phone: 5471 3133

Fax:     5471 3795

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Centre Director - Ola Goryl

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Assistant Director - Trudiann Marshall

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Pre-Prep (Approved Kindergarten)

Little Saints Early Learning Centre serves the needs of children by helping them grow towards increasing physical, social, emotional and intellectual competence.

We are very excited to be implementing the Kindergarten Pilot Programme (Pre-Prep). The Pilot Programme has been developed to trial the new Early Years Learning Framework (ELYF) and the underlining Curriculum – Belonging, Being and Becoming. The Queensland Studies Authority has developed the new Kindergarten Curriculum Guideline (for Queensland) which is being implemented in our Pre-Prep Room. We are very excited at Little Saints, that we are able to provide an educational programme, which has been developed with the most current research about early learning with the support from the Education Department.

Our Pre-Prep Programme is offered daily between 8am and 4pm, and is run by a registered Early Childhood Teacher with the support of two trained staff implementing the programme.

History

Little Saints Early Learning Centre opened its doors on 28^th August 2005.  Little Saints is a purpose-built Long Day Care Centre which aims to provide the highest quality care and educational programmes in a happy, secure and loving environment.  The Centre is operated by St Andrew’s Anglican College located adjacent to the Little Saints campus.  Whilst Little Saints operates as a separate unit, much communication and coordination occurs between the Centre and the College (e.g. Accounts, Payroll, Operations, etc.).

Management

Our Centre has a professional Early Childhood qualified Director who is on hand daily to deal with any questions that may arise.  She is supported by the Assistant Director and the Management team of St Andrew’s Anglican College.  Both the Centre and the College are owned by The Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane. As Parents, we acknowledge that you are the most important people in your child’s life and, as such, your input and feedback are vital to our provision of a quality service that truly meets your and your child’s needs.

Educational Leader

Our curriculum is implemented by the educators in individual rooms, however our Educational Leader meets with educators regularly to support the educators. The role of the Educational Leader is to ensure that the curriculum is developed to support children’s learning and developmental needs as well as providing resources for educators to help them implement their programmes. The Educational Leader is available to parents to discuss children’s development or any concerns that the may have.

National Quality Framework and Licensing

Little Saints Early Learning Centre is a long day care centre and Kindergarten which provides care for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. Little Saints ELC is licensed under the Education and Care Services National Law 2010 and Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 through the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and monitored by the Office of Early Childhood Education and Care. Little Saints ELC is licensed to cater for a maximum of 84 children per day and the Centre is divided up into five different age groups. All staff hold qualifications in accordance with the regulations and in most cases exceed the requirements, hold suitability notices (blue cards) and asthma and anaphylaxis training.

Our Service participates in and values the National Quality Framework (NQF), including the National Quality Standard (NQS), the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the National Regulations – an Australian Government initiative linked to the funding of the Child Care Benefit for parents.  This is conducted through the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) and the state licensing department through scheduled site assessment visits and where appropriate, spontaneous visits. The NQS provides standards of quality practices for care provided in our Service as well as guidance and support from the Service’s self evaluation through our Quality Improvement Plan (QIP).  The system also allows educators to continually improve practices by identifying the quality aspects of care the Service is already providing and assisting the Service in developing goals for further improvement through our QIP.

Educators will involve parents, families and management in each stage to seek their input and views into practices and care in our Service – this includes having parent input into policy reviews, parent meetings and providing updates in newsletters about the Service’s current stage in the process.

The recently formed Committee will help in all aspects of decision making at Little Saints and will be the representative voice of parents and educators. The Committee will update policies, research recommended current practice, develop ways of implementing new procedures, and develop quality improvement measures. The Committee is currently made up of several members, both parents and staff and we welcome any new families to join. We meet monthly for approximately 1.5 hours.

The seven Standards under the NQS are –

1. Educational program and practice

2. Children’s health and safety

3. Physical environment

4. Staffing arrangements

5. Relationships with children

6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities

7. Leadership and service management

The Curriculum

Each room follows an Emergent Curriculum, where the children are the initiators of their learning and staff act as facilitators to help scaffold the children’s learning. Because the curriculum allows choice for children, all the learning is relevant to each child as the programme is drawn from the children’s interests.

The programme caters for each individual child’s needs and interests and is built around inquiry learning and play. Play is a vital part of a child’s life and is the way they make sense of their world. It is the basic ingredient to learning, develops new skills, and stimulates intellectual growth. We value play very highly in our daily life with the children, and therefore activities and experiences are based on their play.

We observe children’s interests, abilities and needs very carefully and provide appropriate individual and group experiences to challenge and stimulate each child.

Within the programme children are given opportunities to:

{   Make choices

{   Develop creative abilities

{   Problem solve

{   Share and cooperate with others

Programme Evaluation

The programmes at Little Saints are dynamic and are constantly evaluated and modified. You as parents are your child’s primary educators and so it is vital that you contribute your ideas and suggestions. This may be done via discussion any time, documenting on the programme or adding to it or in your child’s individual profile.

Hours

The Centre is open Monday to Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm and is closed on all gazetted public holidays, including the Nambour Show Holiday. One day a year is designated for a staff development day similar to the pupil free days at the College. You will be informed of this day well in advance so that you can organise alternative care. The Centre is also closed for approximately 2 weeks at the end of the year covering the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays.

Enrolment Procedures

As occupancy at the Centre changes, families on the waiting list are notified if a suitable vacancy arises.  Once notified, a family has up to two weeks to enrol their child/ren in the vacant spot.  At this time an enrolment form must be completed providing details about the child, parents, emergency and medical contacts, as well as any particular needs or requirements of the child.  In addition, copies of the child’s birth certificate and immunisation records must be provided to keep in the child’s file.  Parents must also sign an Authorisation Form covering areas such as Paracetamol doses, sunscreen, photographs and visits to the College.

Little Saints has a policy which states that all children must be enrolled for a minimum of two days per week. Having two days allows children to settle into Little Saints more quickly as friendships are established earlier. It can be particularly difficult for some children to cope with only one day a week as the time between visits is quite long for a small child, and the settling in process may begin each time they attend.

N.B. It is very important to note also that enrolment at Little Saints in no way secures automatic enrolment at St Andrew’s – you will need to speak to the Registrar at the College to enrol for Prep.

Licensed Places

Little Saints is licensed for 84 children from 6 weeks to school age (not including school age). Each room has a specific ratio for the number of children that can be cared for by a staff member at any one time.  Little Saints adheres to these ratios at all times.  The table below outlines each age group within the Centre, with maximum group size (based on floor space) and staff to child ratios.

Each room has three staff members daily that are the primary carers. The Child Care Regulations require two staff in each room, however at Little Saints we exceed this requirement by having three staff in each room. This ensures that children receive the specialised care that they need in order to develop to their full potential. Having more staff throughout the Centre ensures that more one to one interactions are possible between staff and children. Children will be able to build strong relationships with their carers and the staff will grow to know the children well, through observation, guidance and daily interaction. Using their knowledge of each individual child staff can then build programs that will best meet the children’s developmental, needs and interests.

Children who are developmentally ready to move into the next room (should a position be available), are moved after they have had a transition period.  This is a time where children move between their current room and the next one until they are ready to commence full time in the new room.  Parents are notified in advance about transition plans so they have time to ask any questions and be comfortable with the change.

About our Staff

Little Saints Early Learning Centre meets all staffing requirements set out by the Office of Early Childhood Education and Care. All groups are staffed by qualified Group Leaders and Assistants.  Shifts are arranged so that one of your child’s primary carers will be at the Centre earlier in the morning and one will be there later in the afternoon to discuss any concerns that you may have regarding your child’s day. All staff who work at our Centre are dedicated caring professionals who have completed or are enrolled in courses in relation to child development and education.  Little Saints has a policy of employing qualified and experienced staff and supporting continued professional development.  All staff have a current Suitability Notice (blue card) and are qualified in first aid and complete annual CPR updates. Staff are chosen because of their excellent personal qualities, dedication to their chosen career in child care, and love of children.

Each Group Leader is responsible for the organisation and programme of their room under the guidance of the Centre Director.  This time is essential for the delivery of a high quality curriculum throughout the Centre.  Additional assistants may work at the Centre when children with special needs attend. Most of our staff have either completed studies beyond regulatory requirements or are currently enrolled in further studies.

Staffing – Rooms and Qualifications

Information about management is listed below, and information about staffing can be found at the entrance into Little Saints and each room.

Centre Director – Ola Goryl

• Master of Early Childhood – Research
• Bachelor of Teaching in Early Childhood
• Dip Child Care & Ed

Assistant Director - Trudiann Marshall

• Bachelor of Education
• Bachelor of Teaching in Early Childhood
• Cert in Child Care Studies

‘Sometimes’ Foods

Please refrain from sending junk food that is high in fat, salt, sugar and preservatives into the Centre. Things that are best left for home are chocolate coated muesli bars, roll-ups, cereal bars (LCMs, etc), sweet biscuits, cake, chocolate and lollies, chips, soft-drinks and juices.  Many of these types of food are full of empty kilojoules and therefore have limited nutritious value.  We  aim to reserve ‘sometimes’ foods for special occasions only such as birthdays, however only small amounts are permitted and we encourage families to send a healthy option along with the ‘sometimes’ foods e.g. a mini cupcake with a quarter apple. If children’s lunch boxes contain ‘sometimes’ foods, Little Saints will send the food home in the afternoon.

Nut-Free Centre – Anaphylaxis

Some children have a severe allergy to any peanut product – these allergies can be so severe as to be life threatening. For this reason we have made our Centre NUT FREE. We ask that parents respect this very serious request and refrain completely from sending in any form of nut product (e.g. peanut butter, muesli bars with nuts, etc.).  If your child has specific dietary requirements please see the Director.