Additional Information

Firstly, welcome and thank you for visiting our website. We are extremely happy that you have chosen or considered to send your child to Kangakare.

Our aim is to provide your child with all the opportunities they need to socialise, develop, grow, and become independent learners. We know that starting a new Creche/Preschool is an especially important milestone in your child’s (and your) life. To ensure a positive start, you and your child will need the support and encouragement that a good setting can provide. You will need to be reassured that your child is in the care of appropriately qualified and experienced staff.

For your child, this could be the first time they have been in a large group, or the first time they have been apart from you on a regular basis. Some children adapt to this very quickly, others take a little longer. Either situation is perfectly normal. We realise that you are entrusting us with the care of your child, and we place your child’s safety, welfare, and development at the top of our priorities.

We offer a secure, fun, happy, and stimulating environment where independence, self-confidence and consideration for others are encouraged, and aim to achieve the absolute best for all children, working towards the early learning goals of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The First Days

Full time/part time sessions

Before your child begins Kangakare, they will have three ‘visits’. These one-hour visits will be scheduled before their start date. These short visits are to help your child settle in with their new carers and new environment. On these visits we will discuss the routine, inform you of the daily activities and to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

On your first visit you will arrive at the main door where your child’s teacher will greet you and bring you and your child into their allocated room and encourage them to engage in activities with the other children and educators. If your child is happy to venture in without you, we would usually ask parents to sit in the waiting area. If not, one parent can take a seat in the classroom to help settle their child.

Your child’s teacher will take time to run through everything with you and answer any questions you might have on the day. Most children settle happily into the creche within a week or two. However, if you or the staff feel that your child needs a little longer, please do not worry about this – it is quite normal. Please talk to the staff if you have any concerns.

Moving to the next age group

Children all develop at their own pace and are not automatically moved to the next room in line with their birthdays, moves are carried out according to age, development, and sometimes available space. Your child’s teacher will inform you of the move before it happens.

Little vista

Little vista is an app we use here in Kangakare, our staff update it throughout the day with daily reports, pictures/videos, sleep times, eating, nappy changes and general updates on what your child is getting up too. Once your child starts with us you will be sent an invitation to join and once you download the app you will be able to log on and see all of this, as well as direct messaging to your child’s teachers.

Mealtimes

Parents should supply a healthy breakfast option for their child, breakfast is served from 8am-8:30am each morning, and we will supply cow’s milk for cereals if needed, while all other meals and snacks will be provided for full time and part time children by our fully qualified chef throughout the day. We have a healthy eating policy here in Kangakare, all meals are made from fresh and there is no salt or added sugar in our foods.

The children will be given a morning fruit snack at 10am, a hot lunch at 12noon, a fruit snack at 2:00pm and an afternoon snack at 4pm.

All 9-12 sessional children over 2.5 years children must supply their own fruit snack each day, snack should be in a zip lock disposable bag with your child’s name written clearly on it. Water & milk is supplied by Kangakare with all meals and water is readily available throughout the day for all children.

Arrival/Departure

Children are the responsibility of their parents/carers until they are signed in by a staff member at the start of each session, and after they have been signed out at the end of each session.

All children must be dropped and collected from Kangakare by an adult. We ask that you please inform us if someone different is collecting your child. We cannot and will not let a child leave with someone who is not known to us or who is not listed on your child detail form. All collectors who are not parents/guardians, will need to show a form of photo ID before the child can be handed over by a staff member.

All classes have their own designated drop off and collection area, you will be advised prior to your start date at which door to arrive too, and your child’s teacher will come out and take your child from you. We ask that all full-time parents inform their child’s teacher of their chosen collection time: 4.30pm / 5.00pm / 5.30pm / 5.45pm.

If you require to collect outside these times, you can inform the staff via the App and they will have your child ready, and hands washed before they go home.

Part-time places 8am – 2 pm: your child’s teacher will have them ready at 2pm sharp at their collection point. Sessional Care our Playschool & Montessori session is 9am -12 Noon and each group will be in their line at their collection points at 12 noon.

Parking

All parents/guardians/visitors arriving to Kangakare must use the car park across from the main building. Please use correct entry into the car park and be mindful of little bodies who will also be walking to and from their cars with their parents. We ask all parents to hold their child’s hand from the car until they are in the care of our staff. This is for the safety of everyone. We ask that you do not pull up outside the creche and park your car on the roadside or curbs, this causes disruption with traffic and also our fellow neighbours.

Clothing/toileting

We encourage children’s self-care and independence, with support given where necessary. We ask you to dress your child in simple clothing which your child can fasten and unfasten themselves when using the toilet. Also, while we provide aprons for messy play not all children will wear them – if your child is reluctant, we would still rather they joined in on the activity without an apron. Therefore, easily washable clothing which you do not mind getting messy is most suitable.

What to bring

• A small material bag/ drawstring bag with a complete change of clothes (including, vests, underwear, socks, tops, pants etc)
• Weather appropriate outdoor clothes (e.g., raincoat/warm coat, hat & sunhat).
• When relevant, please apply sunscreen before your child arrives at creche, a labelled bottle can also be kept here if your child is staying for a full day and your child’s teacher/carer will re-apply sunscreen when needed throughout the day.
• If your child is in nappies, a supply of your child’s usual nappies, cream, and wipes will be necessary. Please note we do not use “Pull Ups”.

Birthdays

We will celebrate all children’s birthdays on the closest day of attendance to the actual date. In line with our healthy eating policy, we do not provide “party food” but we do sing “Happy Birthday”, play party games and make your child’s day feel very special. If you wish, you can bring in balloons or some fun party pieces/crafts etc.

Policies

Our policies & procedures will be emailed out to parents before your child starts with us. Please do look through these as they underpin how we run our setting. If you wish for a copy of any policy or clarification on any of our polices, please ask a member of management.

If your child is unwell

If your child is not feeling well with a temperature/sick tummy/cough etc we ask that you ring the creche beforehand and speak to the manager on duty to let us know their symptoms.

If you have any worries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.