Advice for Early Years families

Welcome to Early Years at MC Square. Here you’ll find info about:

  • what we’ll provide to your child at Early Years
  • what you’ll need to provide to us when your child is at Early Years
  • how we’ll work with you so your child can grow and develop.

What we provide to your child

We provide a number of products and services that includes:

  • nappies and wipes
  • sunscreen
  • morning and afternoon tea
  • incursions and excursions
  • a record of your child’s routine for the day such as sleep time and nappy changes.

Our educators also provide toilet training assistance. They are experts at recognising the signs that your child is ready to go to the toilet themselves. They will work with you in developing your child’s physical and cognitive abilities for toilet training.

 

What you need to provide for us

Food and drink

  • A water bottle with your child’s name.
  • A healthy lunch in a lunchbox with your child’s name. Please, do not bring nuts into the service because of the serious risk of life from allergic reactions. This includes:
    • whole nuts
    • nut oils
    • nut products such as peanut butter
    • Nutella
    • satays
    • certain muesli bars and biscuits

 

Nappies and creams

Bring your own nappies, sunscreen or wipes if your child has a reaction to products we provide.

If your child suffers from nappy rash, please provide a named, in-date nappy cream. We will ask you to sign a permission form allowing us to apply this cream to your child. We will also follow any of your directions for non-medical creams.

 

Clothing and other care items

To make sure your child is ready for any weather condition, please bring:

  • A suitable hat with your child’s name (broad brimmed, legionnaire or bucket style). This is if UV levels are 3 or above. Visit the Sun Smart website for more information.
  • Appropriate clothing for warm or cold weather, including a warm jacket and hat for outdoor learning in the cooler months.
  • At least 1 extra change of weather appropriate clothes.

Also bring the following items if your child requires them:

  • comforter
  • transition item
  • blankets
  • dummies.

 

Allergies, anaphylaxis, asthma and other medical conditions

Our commitment is to the health and safety of all children at our service. All educators hold current first aid qualifications.

Our educators also observe the following policies:

  • dealing with medical conditions policy
  • administration of first aid policy
  • anaphylaxis policy
  • asthma policy
  • diabetes policy
  • epilepsy policy
  • dealing with infectious diseases policy
  • administration of medication policy
  • the incident injury accident and illness policy.

If your child has a medical condition including asthma, allergies, or anaphylaxis, we’ll require:

  • a medical action plan from your family doctor
  • named in-date prescribed medication as per the medical advice
  • a risk minimisation and communication plan.

Our educators will help develop a communication and minimisation plan with you. This helps ensure the sharing and documentation of important info.

You can find further info about specific medical conditions at our front desk.

 

We’re always available for a chat about your child

Our educators provide personal info during pick up and drop off. You can also view info about a child’s sleep time and nappy changes in the room.

With daily reflection requirements, observations and planning, our educators provide insights about learning experiences they have had with each child. This means that your child has their own portfolio and plan that’s specifically tailored to them.

We encourage parents and a child’s adult to call during the day to ask about their child.

For more detailed discussion, you can organise a meeting with your child’s educator.

 

We love getting parents involved

We have a collaborative approach to early childhood learning and the values you bring as your child’s first teacher. We love to incorporate aspects of the family life into our programs.

You are welcome to see any documentation about your child. We also welcome any programming and documentation ideas you have.

If you have special skills or interests, we encourage you to share them. We have had wonderful learning experiences led by parents. This helps build the relationship between home and the early learning environment.