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By Peter R Smithson Understanding what a day care is and what specifically they do is important. Mairangi and Murrays Bay are lucky to have access to quality child care centres. Not your sizeable corporate operations, we have more intimate and specialised centres which are in line with the Bays culture. Below are a some Q&As that may help when thinking about Child Care services.What is a Day Care or Child Care Centre? Firstly, the title are one in the same. They are Educational and Care centres which are MOE licensed. Who works at a Child Care Centre? Tertiary educated teachers are a legal requirement. The ratio of registered and nonregistered carers is dependent on the childrens ages and requests. A registered teacher is someone who holds a Diploma in Teaching. Nonregistered are not qualified, but have significant knowledgehow. Age groups and when can we start? The age at which your infant can start will vary amongst centres. Some accept children from birth through to school age while others concentrate on a more personalised age band approach. Folkestone Street Infant Care in Mairangi Bay, provides services for children between 0 to 3yrs, whilst Murrays Bay Child Care caters for the older age group. This is so they can focus on the specified needs of the respective age groups. These centres operate together to ensure the best changeover between age groups, with open communication which is scarce amongst centres. How often can they go? Most centres require a minimum amount of two days enrolment per week. They will also have a minimum number of hours or days. Some are more flexible than others to cater for parent needs. For instance, Folkestone Street Infant Care gives you between 6hr and 9hr bands per day. What will it cost? This will depend on the centre you opt for and what they have to offer for example Centre atmosphere, the level of personalised care, food offered etc. Individual parents have to make selections about value for money. Some centres may have capped daily and weekly charges. This means if your infant is there for a duration of time, you pay a discounted set rate. What to try to find in a good child care centre A good child care centre will have wonderful relationships with the Children and Parents. A unstrained open door policy for parents will be in place where parents can experience the balance struck between the busiest and calm times of the day. This harmony is important due to the number of children being cared for. Staff should be spending time with children exploring methods and language in ways that encourage learning and continue to provoke them. The children should also be free to move from task to activity as they choose. Look for real grass, trees, leaves, sticks, insect, gardens, adventure equipment etc. They are all key outside exploring environments that a infant needs. Space in the elements is equally if not more important than internal activity. Routine There is not a specified class or play time. The routines can be flexible to individual infant needs, however you will find lunch at a certain time, some peaceful time, tidy up time and so on. Children need to feel secure in knowing roughly how the day is going to pan out for them. A flexible routine enables adults to take action to children, to take notice of their needs and build upon it. Good carers will see where a childs interest lies and will attempt to develop it by encouraging the infant towards a similar activity or one that tracks on from what they have been doing, learning that is unable to occur if the routine is too tight. Exploration and experimental learning Infants learn important talents and concepts while they are playing. They are interested to know more and often learning occurs when they encounter challenges and are given opportunities to find a solution to problems. Staff in a good day care will recognise this and give children gain access to to a wide range of interesting materials which they can use themselves and examine with. For more information on Child day care Auckland today! |
