September Newsletter - Glenden

Community newsletter
September, 2012 5
Glenden C&K
enrolment Process
We have had several enquiries
about our enrolment process of
late, so we have decided to be
more pro-active in providing this
information to our families and
the community, to clear up any
misconceptions. the government
provides all services with a very
strict enrolment process which
we must follow when enrolling
children into the centre. We
apologise for the lengthy wait
some of you have experienced,
however it has been completely
out of our control.
every placement has been
considered via the ‘enrolment
priority list’, by current vacancies
and age/ratios. During the June/
July school holidays, many
families left town, creating
vacancies within the centre
and we were able to fill these
vacancies immediately based
on the priority list. the birth – 3
room is creating the majority
of the wait as the ratio and
maximum group size is drastically
smaller than the Kindergarten
room. Our centre is at 100%
capacity in bOtH rooms and
there are still 15 families on the
waiting list, 14 of them for the
birth-3 room. So far Hayley and
I have placed every child who
has been on the wait list prior to
June 2012.
We have been in discussions
with C & K and Newlands about
the future of the service and
hopefully we will be able to
increase our maximum group
size in the near future, however
we please ask that you be
patient while we try and source
solutions. please see below for
an explanation of the enrolment
procedure:
• The Birth-3 Room has 3 staff
and the maximum we can have
in this room is 13. this being
no more than 8 under the age
of 2 and 5 aged 2 -3 years. the
ratio is 4 children to 1 staff for
under 2’s and 5 children to
1 staff for children aged
2-3. this is how we get our
maximum group of 13 per day.
• The children who have already
turned 3, 4 and turning 5 this
year are in the Kindergarten
room. this room has 24
children with 2 staff as the
ratio is 1 staff to 12 children.
Under the Qld Government
Kindergarten scheme and
NQF Guidelines, we are
advised to place pre-prep
Children in this age group
FIrSt, with these children
having a minimum of 2 days
per week. A pre-prep child will
be turning 4 beFOre the 30th
of June that year or 5 after
the 30th of June. this means
they will be attending formal
schooling the following year.
• Once a parent has completed
the necessary paperwork
(waiting list form) we add them
to the list as per that date,
however if bOtH parents are
working/studying/training they
will always jump the queue, as
working families receive first
priority, after children who are
at risk of harm. It also means
that a child who has been on
the list may not be placed
into a position if a new family
arrives where bOtH parents
are working.
• When you read the waiting list
form, you will clearly see a set
of ‘priority boxes’ which the
parent must tick. these are
under the section: Conditions
of Application. You will note
that this signed document
relates to section 14 of the
Family Assistance Act. It is not
something Hayley and I have
had any input into, but purely
a government criteria list we
must follow.
we thank each of you for being
patient and if you have any
questions, or you would like a
copy of the waiting list form,
please feel free to speak with
myself or Hayley at any stage.
GAlA oPeninG
Friday, 13th July 2012
On the 13th of July, invited guests attended the gala opening of
Glenden C & K’s Outdoor Learning environment. the evening
started with a meet and greet at the centre, where sponsors
and committee members could witness, the importance of the
new learning area in more depth. this was followed by a special
presentation which showcased how Glenden C & K is leading the
way in the development of engaging outdoor environments that
enable children to transition seamlessly from the indoors and fully
develop all learning opportunities regardless of context.
We were extremely fortunate to have had barrie elvish, the
CeO of C & K at our centre during the opening. He was very
impressed by the centre including the new outdoor learning
environment and went on to say, “The new outdoor landscape
will provide fantastic opportunities for children to test their
capabilities, experience the thrill of achievement and the
resilience that comes from not succeeding. It’s part of every
child’s DNA to take risks. The challenge for our staff in such
a wonderful outdoor environment is to enable children to
engage in managed risk activities. On behalf of all Glenden
children who will attend our service, I applaud Newland’s
Coal for their support of this exciting development.”
We would like to sincerely thank morris Corporation for
providing the wonderful selection of food for the evening,
special guests, the parent advisory committee and staff.
Without each of you, none of this would have been possible.