On this page you can read all about our guidelines and policies that explain life at Minnows kindergarten.
Enrolment form
Minnows Kindergarten is obligated by the Ministry of Education to have enrolment forms completed for each child. If any change in hours, please contact the office and make these changes, date and sign it. Please give us two – weeks notice when your child finishes at Minnows.
Lost property
Any unlabelled items of clothing are placed in the lost property box. Please check this regularly.
Clothing
As our children are very busy playing and get messy, we encourage children to wear suitable clothes for the appropriate weather conditions. Please also include a change of clothes in their bag with their names on and weather accessories such as sunhat.
Policies
The centre’s procedures, policies and charter are located on the noticeboard. The policies and procedures are reviewed on a rotating system as per the annual plan on the Planning Board. The policies that are currently under review are on the parent notice board or in the newsletter. We welcome your input in these.
Complaints
If you feel unsure or uncomfortable about something, please discuss it with Nirmala. We will do our best to sort it out as soon as possible. Minnows Complaints procedure is located on the Whānau Information Board.
Sun Protection
Please provide a sunblock to stay at minnows for us to apply in the afternoon and ensure that you have applied Sun block on your child prior to arriving at minnows.
We ask parents to send along sunhats for their child, as it is Minnows policy that hats must be worn outdoors during the summer terms
Excursions
As part of the Pre-School programme we take children on walks around Ōmokoroa. Consent for local excursions is covered in the enrolment form and will be discussed when you enrol your child. Details of any planed excursions will be on the whānau information board and on Educa Dash board.
Immunisation
We are required by the Ministry of Education to ask if your child has been immunised, and if so, to sight your child’s immunisation record. If your child is not immunized we will inform you of any outbreaks in the area.
Sleep time
Children are ready for a rest after a busy morning’s exciting activities. In the afternoon we encourage children to rest or engage in quiet activities while giving the children who need to sleep the opportunity to do so.
For younger children we try and follow the home sleeping patterns where possible. We will discuss individual requirements with parents.
Birthdays
Birthdays are a time for us to celebrate with your child. Parents are welcome to join us to celebrate your child’s birthday with their friends at Minnows. We have a special mat time around 1.45 pm where the children sing happy birthday and blow out the candles and enjoy the cake during the afternoon tea.
Personal toys
At Minnows kindergarten, we have a wide range of stimulating and educational toys for your child to play with. Personal toys brought from home can easily be misplaced or damaged and we cannot assume responsibility for them. If your child has a special toy for sleeping, we are happy for this to accompany them at sleep time.
Toilet training
This is a natural process that all children go through at different ages. Please let staff know when you are starting the process at home, so we can continue it at Minnows.
Education Programme
We will provide a safe and challenging environment with a range of equipment for the healthy development of children.
We will provide a curriculum guided by Te Whāriki (The curriculum document for Early Childhood Education, Ministry of Education) which will include a play based programme. There will be a wide variety of experiences for children, which enables them to make choices and decisions.
Minnows will reflect the values and beliefs of the wider community, acknowledging and respecting differences. An assessment, planning and evaluation system will be used where learning goals will be set for each child in consultation with their parents/whānau. This will empower the children to learn and grow.
Staff will work alongside children and their families to develop positive, healthy relationships. We will build effective communication and extend children’s learning through role modeling, positive reinforcement, sensitive guidance and support
Portfolios
As part of our planning children have a portfolio which documents their learning achievements and ensures their individual needs are met. The file will contain
Written observations
– Photos
– Learning stories
– Individual plans
– Examples of art work
– Anecdotal accounts of events in the child’s day
Parent meeting
Parent meetings are held four times a year. We would like to encourage you to attend these as we value your ideas and suggestion on what you want to be included in the programme. It is also a time to discuss policies that are coming up for review.
Emergency Contacts
When enrolling your child you are required to give details of an emergency contact. This person will be contacted in case of an emergency when the parent cannot be contacted. Please make sure you notify us if this contact person changes.
Sickness
Due to the risk of infection we are unable to take care of sick children. You will need to keep your child at home if they are showing any signs of illness. If your child becomes ill during the day, we will contact you for collecting your child. There is a list of infectious conditions in the bathrooms.
Medication
When your child is under medication from a doctor, details must be written in the Medication Register and signed by the caregiver. The medication must be handed to a staff member and not be left in the child’s bag.
Communication
We aim to make communication with parents as open, regular and informative as possible. We recognise that the parents are restricted by time when they drop off or pick up. So we therefore instigated a variety of communication means:
– Teachers aim to communicate with parents daily.
– Whiteboards or noticeboards are located near main entranceways to communicate necessary information to all parents. These boards are updated frequently.
– Regular newsletters are posted in Educa to parents.
– Program planning is on the board located in the hallway
– Portfolio folders are kept for each child to communicate information to parents and teachers about the child’s development and leaning experiences
– Parents can ask at any time to meet with teachers to discuss their child’s development, care, education and any issues of importance.
– Parent meetings are held 4 times a year.