Enrolment Info
Here is where you'll find all the key information you'll need to know about enrolling your child at The Children's Garden.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us on 07 544 0864.
HOURS
Both our centres are open
Monday to Friday
7.30am to 5.30pm.
We are only licensed to have children on the premises during these hours, so please make every effort to collect your child before 5.30pm.
ENROLMENT
Please enquire with us directly about availability for the days and hours you require.
A registration fee of $50 applies for all new enrolments.
30 FREE HOURS
The Ministry of Education provides 20 free hours of ECE per week.
At The Children's Garden, we are pleased to offer an additional 10 hours per week free, so you can enjoy 30 hours free each week.
OUR CENTRES
We have two separate centres at The Children's Garden. Our Babies and Toddlers centre is located at 64 Victory Street and our Preschoolers centre is located just 100m around the corner at 4 Pamir Place.
BOOKINGS
When you enrol your child at The Children's Garden, we will work with you to books days and times that suit you to the best of our ability. Spaces are subject to availability, but we will do our best to accommodate you or add you to a waitlist.
To enable your child to form relationships with their teachers and other children, and to help them develop a sense of belonging, we have a minimum booking requirement of two half days a week (4.5 hours or more per day).
Siblings of enrolled children are offered first preference of available vacancies as this helps promote our family environment and assist parents with the care of their children.
If you need to change your booking at any time, please consult with our management team.
ATTENDANCE
Our centres are staffed according to our scheduled bookings. For this reason it's important that you contact us as soon as possible if your child won't be attending their pre-booked session or if you need a booking change. Please also contact us if you are running late for drop off or pick up.
If your child is going to be absent due to illness, please endeavour to contact us before 7.45am that day or sooner if possible.
If you child is booked to attend but is absent for any reason, full fees are charged. The reason for this is that our centres are staffed according to our scheduled bookings.
Any permanent changes in bookings need to be approved and recorded on an amendment form, signed and attached to your enrolment agreement.
We require a minimum of two weeks notice if you are intending to withdraw your child form The Children's Garden. This allows us to invite another child to fill the time slot you're vacating.
SETTLING IN
It is important that you feel comfortable leaving your child in our care and they get used to the centre and the staff. This is why pre-visits are essential. We require a minimum of three pre-visits before your child starts with us. You are welcome to do more if required.
For the first couple of visits you'll stay the whole time, and as you child starts to settle you'll leave for a short time to get them used to being there without you.
We recommend you come for a morning, lunch and afternoon session to enable your child to become familiar with the routines of the day.
All children take different lengths of time to settle into daycare life. Try to be consistent with your approach and feel free to discuss anything with us that may assist your child's settling in process.
FEES
To secure your booking at The Children's Garden, a non-refundable registration fee of $50 applies for all new enrolments.
If your child is over three, you may use your 30 Free ECE hours for a maximum of six hours per day. Free hours need to be used between 8.30am and 2.30pm each day, anything outside these hours will incur a small cost.
For families with more than one child and not eligible for free ECE hours, we offer a 20% discount for the additional sibling.
UNDER 3
Half day - 4.5 hours (AM or PM) $34 per day
$170 per week
Short day - 6 hours (leave by 3pm) $45 per day
$200 per week
Full day $55 per day
$225 per week
OVER 3 - WITH 30 HOURS FREE ECE
Half day - 4.5 hours (AM or PM) $0 per day
$0 per week
Short day - 6 hours (leave by 3pm) $0 per day
$0 per week
Full day $120 per week
ECE FUNDED HOURS
All children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to 20 hours of free care each week under the '20 hours Free ECE program' provided by the Ministry of Education. This is allocated at a maximum of six hours per day, up to 20 hours a week. Unused ECE hours cannot be carried over to another week. The Children's Garden provide an extra 10 hours free per week.
To receive your free ECE hours you must be enrolled at The Children's Garden and have completed the attestation section in your enrolement form. This section is an agreement between you and the Ministry and is a legal document, so needs to be filled out correctly.
WINZ SUBSIDY
Some families are entitled to receive a WINZ Subsidy for childcare fees. You can collect the necessary paperwork to apply for your WINZ Subsidy from our Centre Manager and discuss any questions you may have. Please note, you are required to pay the fees in full until we receive confirmation of your subsidy payments.
CENTRE POLICIES
Centre policies and procedures can be found in the foyer of our Pamir Street Centre. We review our policies annually and notify parents of any changes. Please let us know if you have any questions or suggestions around policies and procedures.