St Ives Chase Kindergarten Parents Info

Parents Information

St Ives Chase Kindergarten is a licensed multicultural Centre catering for up to 40 children aged between 2.5 - 6 years for 2-5 days per week. The Centre is open 50 weeks per year between 7:00am and 6:00pm. We are open all year with the exception of Public Holidays and 2 weeks during the Christmas period. Dates will be advised.  

Fees as at 1 January 2025 and valid until December 2025 (prices are current as at August 2024 and are subject to change in the future).

2.5 - 3 Year old
Pre-School Hours:
9.00am - 3.00pm
$132.00 a day per child

Long Day Care Hours:
7.00am - 6.00pm
$155.00 a day per child

3 - 6 Year old
Pre-School Hours:
9.00am - 3.00pm
$130.00 a day per child

Long Day Care Hours:
7.00am - 6.00pm
$150.00 a day per child

The following items need to be brought each day your child attends the Centre and please ensure your child’s belongings are clearly labelled with their full name –

  • A sun safe hat – this needs to protect your child’s face, neck and ears and must be brought all year round regardless of the weather conditions. We recommend that parents apply sunscreen to their child every day before they bring them to the Kindergarten. This encourages good habits from an early age.
  • A backpack – this should be easy for your child to open and close themselves without adult assistance. Please ensure that it is large enough to accommodate your child’s lunch box, water bottle, morning tea and spare clothes.
  • Morning and lunch tea – morning tea needs to be stored in a paper bag in the fridge and lunch needs to be in a lunch box and stored in the fridge.
  • Spare clothes– these need to be appropriate for all weather conditions. Children get distressed when they have to wear clothes that don’t belong to them. Accidents occur and are not always caused by wet pants. They are often caused by the spilling of paint, water or other craft activities.
  • Water bottle – all children need to bring a water bottle every day.
  • Drawstring bag and small blanket – your child will need a drawstring bag and small blanket. Please do not provide pillows. One small sheet must be brought on the first day and taken home if not attending the centre on the following day. The sheet must be washed weekly.

Our centre is a busy place where children are actively engaged in projects which challenge and stimulate the imagination and creativity. Our goal is to achieve authentic learning outcomes for the children from an emergent curriculum which creates a freedom and passion for learning through exploration and discovery.

Our program not only prepares children for their first years at school, but creates confident involved learners and effective communicators with a strong sense of identity and wellbeing. We love to extend the curriculum into our vast, natural outdoor area by including a rich variety of environmental activities. Children extend and develop in areas of language and literacy, numeracy, locomotive skills, problem solving as well as arts and drama.

We understand it can be stressful for parents to leave their children with new faces, especially in the early stages. For this reason, we have a strong emphasis on communicating with parents and whilst we would always welcome the opportunity to talk with you personally, we employ several different methods to ensure that we are always available to you, ensuring we are all kept well informed.

  • EIKOH App – the Centre has a custom secure mobile-based portfolio platform that aims to ensure your child receives the best support possible and that you are involved and kept up-to-date with your child’s development. It allows parents to see their child’s activities at any time while Educators can share photos, videos, stories and reflections in real time. Parents can read and respond to posts, upload photos and videos and stay updated on announcements and calendar events.
  • Communication pockets – every child has a pocket in which notices and letters are placed. Parents may also use these to pass on information to other parents.
  • Newsletters – these are available on the App and are an important source of information.
  • Reports – the Centre completes developmental progress reports which are sent home mid-year and at the end of year which explains your child’s development and answers any questions you may have regarding learning and development and school readiness.
  • Email – our email system is heavily used internally and we encourage parents to communicate with us via email if they so choose.

The Centre provides afternoon tea to the children that are attending Long Day Care and the Cancer Council’s Kids 50+ sunscreen is applied to all children throughout the day.

We cater for children with allergies and dietary requirements and encourage children’s healthy eating and physical activity using a range of fun, play-based learning experiences in consultation with Munch & Move NSW Health initiative that supports the healthy development of children birth to 5 years.

Due to the increased number of children with an anaphylaxis reaction to nuts, the Centre is NUT AWARE. To assist us with this, we ask that your child does not bring any food or drink, of any kind, into the Centre. We also ask that if your child has had a nut product to eat before arriving at the Centre that you ensure that they brush their teeth and thoroughly wash their hands before coming into the Centre.

The first day is not always easy. For many it is a new experience separating from parents as well as adjusting to a new environment. All children are individuals and the time it takes to settle into the new environment will be different for each child. 

Parents and children are welcome to visit the Centre before your child’s first day so that they can become familiar with staff and premises. Please call the Director to organise these visits. Parents are encouraged to stay for a short period. Sometimes, it is better to leave your child but return early and spend time in the Centre in the afternoon (it all depends on your child).

It is important that before the first day you talk with your child about the Centre and what they can expect, this helps with the transition. Orientation days are also encouraged. Please remember that children pick up on the feelings of their parents and if you are unsure or anxious about leaving your child, please talk to the Director or educators.

You are welcome to call the Centre during the day to see how your child is going. It is most important that you always say good bye to your child before you leave the Centre, even if you feel this is distressing to your child. If you fail to do this it can lead to mistrust and adds to the distress for your child.

The Centre cannot provide adequate care for sick or contagious children so please keep your child at home if they are unwell. Please show consideration for others if your child has a cough or cold as these spread quickly in the Centre’s environment. Keeping them at home will reduce the risk of infections being spread at the centre and will allow for your child to recover quickly.

A Doctor’s Certificate is necessary for re-admission to the Centre after an infectious illness. Only authorised medicines can be administered to the children. These must be fully labelled and the details of the dose and when the medicine is to be given must be written daily on a medication form. 

Children with the following conditions must be excluded from the Centre as per the Centre's Health Policy Statement.

- Coloured discharge from the eyes

- Vomiting

- Diarrhoea

- Fever, lethargic, irritable or tired

- Live lice or eggs

Keep your child at home while any symptoms of an illness remain and for 24 hours from commencing antibiotics to ensure they have no side effects to the medication. Children who are experiencing fevers, vomiting or diarrhoea need to remain home until symptoms have stopped for at least 24 hours.

Parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child if they develop a temperature, vomiting or diarrhoea. If parents cannot be reached an emergency contact person will be contacted and asked to collect the child.

All parents are required to give permission at the time of enrolment for their child to be given treatment in the event of an emergency where medical, dental, hospital treatment or ambulance service is required.

To change your child’s permanent days or withdraw them from the Centre, please follow these steps:

  1. Provide one month’s notice in writing of your intention to make the change or withdraw your child.
  2. You can send your notice via email to either of the following addresses:
    • admin@eikoh.nsw.edu.au
    • director@stiveschase.nsw.edu.au

Contact Us
St Ives Chase Kindergarten
120 Warrimoo Avenue
St Ives NSW 2075

Phone:  02 9449 8829

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