Vacation Care – School Holiday Program – Sept/Oct 2021

Additional Information for Vacation Care

Sun Safety: Kariong OOSH endorses the Cancer Council’s ‘Sun Safe OOSH’ Policy. Under this policy, a daily UV check is conducted, and at times where the UV level is 3 or above, SPF 50+ sunscreen is applied every 2-3 hours. Children are also required to wear sun safe clothing, including a broad brimmed, bucket style or legionnaire hat, and clothing which covers their shoulders. Singlets and caps are not sun safe clothing. If your child attends Vacation Care without appropriate sun safe clothing, they will be provided with a hat/ shirt. This will incur a laundering fee of $3 per item. Children must also wear enclosed shoes and bring a jumper or a jacket and drink bottle each day. Thongs, open toed and slip-on style shoes are not permitted.

Caps are not permitted at Kariong OOSH.

Mobile Phone Number: 0405 358 049 Kariong OOSH has a mobile phone, in addition to our landline. This phone will be carried by the Service Supervisor whilst on excursions. 

Hours of operation: Kariong OOSH is open from 6.30am till 6.30pm Monday to Friday during the school holidays and Kariong Public School Pupil Free Days (excludes public holidays). Bookings are essential as places are limited. If you have enquires outside of these times please leave us a message or send us an email.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS): CCS is available to registered parents for Vacation Care.

If you are a family that only uses Kariong OOSH for Vacation Care you will need to reconfirm your enrolment with Centrelink for CCS to be applied to your account. This will need to be done around the first day of attendance to stop your enrolment falling back into exited family status. If you fail to do this you will be charged FULL FEES. Please contact Family Assistance Office (FAO) on 136 150, or login to your MyGov account or Centrelink App to be CCS assessed.

Bookings: Bookings are to be made via BookMe, which is accessed from your Hubworks account. If you need your login details please advise us. In the case that a day becomes booked out, a waiting list will be prepared and parents will be notified if a place becomes available.

Cancellations: Please notify the Centre of any cancellations as soon as possible. We do not swap days, and there is a 25% Cancellation Fee, if you cancel your booking within 7 days of the booked day.

Payment: The cost per day during Vacation Care is $65 per child. Please note that additional costs may apply to some ‘in centre’ activities and excursions, to cover increased staffing costs and transportation costs. (Please see the program for these additional charges). Fees are due to paid at time of booking. We understand that some families’ accounts are in credit, so we are requesting in order to secure your days, that 25% of total fees are paid at time of booking. This will be calculated at checkout with BookMe.

Supervision: Kariong OOSH is approved for a maximum of 75 school age children per day, however limitations may be placed on maximum number of enrolments due to staffing or transport requirements. Staff to child ratios of 1:15 are maintained during centre days, with increased supervision on excursions. Risk Assessments are conducted prior to each excursion and are available for parents to view. These are available at the Sign in and out desk. A Responsible Person holding their Apply First Aid, Child Protection, Asthma & Anaphylaxis certificate and CPR will be rostered on at all times throughout the day. The responsible person/s are listed on the white board above the sign in and out desk.

Kariong OOSH’s Vacation Care Program: We are aware that sometimes programmed activities will not appeal to all children. Be assured that wherever possible we try to provide alternative activities such as craft, games or movies. There are also opportunities for children to assist with activities even if they do not wish to take part in the actual activity.

Program variations: The Vacation Care program is subject to change without notice if it is deemed in the best interests of children. E.g. changes to program on wet weather days. Should an excursion change, parents will be required to sign their permission for the new excursion prior to children attending.

Medication: If your child requires medication an Administration of Medication form must be completed on each day that the medication is to be administered. Please note that no over-the- counter medication will be given (except Panadol) Medication must be prescribed by a registered medical practitioner, provided in original packaging with the child’s correct name and will be administered as per dosage instructions that are attached to the packaging (i.e. a sticker placed on the packaging by a pharmacist, or any written instructions provided by a registered medical practitioner). Any medication that has expired will not be administered to your child.

Food: Please pack a nutritious morning tea, lunch and some snacks for your children on all days. There may be days where we provide lunch or a snack, please see the vacation care program for these days. Please ensure that your child has adequate food, as Vacation Care days are active and long and the children do get quite hungry.

Water: Water will be freely available at the Centre, but please supply a drink bottle each day as these can be refilled as required. If your child forgets a water bottle on an excursion day, Kariong OOSH will supply a water bottle, but $5 surcharge will be added to your account each time this occurs.

Nut policy: Kariong OOSH is an allergy aware service, and we observe a nut avoidance policy, for the safety of all children. Please do not send any nuts or food products containing nuts to Kariong OOSH. These items will be removed from the care environment and returned to the parent at the completion of each day.

Special diets: If children are on restricted diets due to food allergies etc. parents are advised to  provide alternatives food for their child as we cannot guarantee that the foods available will be suitable for your child’s needs. Please see a Responsible Person for a Care Plan for a Child with Special Dietary Requirements.

Spending money: Children are not permitted to bring money for an excursion unless the program indicates otherwise as there is no opportunity for them to spend it. Kariong OOSH takes no responsibility for any monies that are bought into care.

Personal Gaming Devices: Children are not permitted to bring their personal gaming devices during Vacation Care, except on allocated days, specific times will be allocated for playing their games so that they spend some time participating in other activities. All games, including iPad games, must be G or PG rated as per centre policy. Any games above this classification (M, MA15+) will be confiscated and returned to the child’s parent/ guardian at the completion of the day. Kariong OOSH is not responsible for any breakages or lost property. Children are not permitted to use mobile phones at Kariong OOSH at any time.