Children are placed in a room according to their year of birth, and we have separate waitlists for each year. Unfortunately, the Centre usually has a waiting list for each age group, and some families may be on the waitlist for some time before a place can be allocated.
We are never able to guarantee a place in advance and we recommend that parents place their child’s name on other waiting lists in case a place is not offered at the time required.
When children are accepted into the centre they will be allocated a room according to birth date. The centre aims for the birth date range for each room to be no greater than 12 months from the youngest to the eldest.
The birth date range in each room will be from 1st January to 31st December. Children are eligible for their preschool funded year if they turn 4 years of age by 30 April. Research and analysis completed at WECC has established that a significant number of children born in the January-May period will hold off for school entry a further year.
Our researched recommendation is that once securing a position at WECC, your child continues with that group commencing and completing each year together.
We encourage children to move through the rooms in sequence; allowing children the ability to form strong social relationships with their peers and to be given the opportunity to grow and develop in an environment they feel secure in.
We are guided by the National Early Years Learning Framework for Australia which states:
“Belonging – knowing where and with whom you belong- is integral to human existence. Children belong first to a family, a cultural group, a neighbourhood and a wider community. Belonging acknowledges children’s interdependence with others and the basis of relationships in defining identities. In early childhood, and throughout life relationships are crucial to a sense of belonging. Belonging is central to being and becoming in that it shapes who children are and who they can become.”
Waitlist Application Form
- This is an application only and does not guarantee enrolment
- Please submit an application for each child you wish to place onto the waitlist
- Applications are submitted through “My Family Lounge”. Please refer below for instructions on how to register.
- To finalise your application, a $20 Administration Fee per child is required.
- You will be directed to a payment page once you submit your application on My Family Lounge
You remain on our waitlist indefinitely, provided you return update phone calls/emails and inform the centre of any change in contact details.
Please note that when placing your child in Wattletree Early Childhood Centre, we will continue to provide care up to and including 4 year old Kindergarten. We have 5 rooms at our service and we encourage children to move through the rooms in order of sequence. We strongly discourage children skipping rooms so please take into account when placing your child in our centre you are satisfied with the age they will commence school. Children are eligible for their preschool funded year if they turn 4 years of age by the 30th of April, this is our room 5.
Registering for My Family Lounge in 3 Simple Steps
- For Families who currently attend the service and are NEW to My Family Lounge – Please contact WECC to receive your unique login
- For Families who do not currently attend the service – Please complete the Parent Sign-In below and click on “Register”
- Once you have created a My Family Lounge account, please proceed to Step 2
- To submit a Waitlist Application, sign into your My Family Lounge account and tell us about you, your child and what bookings you are after so we can help you out
- You will then be directed to pay the non-refundable $20 Administration Fee
- You can update your waitlist application at any time by signing into your My Family Lounge account.
- Following submission of your application, we will contact you when we have a place available for your child. We will then email you an Offer to accept.
- Upon accepting the Offer, you will be required to complete and submit your child’s Enrolment form online to confirm your child’s place and pay a Bond through My Family Lounge
Easy as 1…2…3
Visit myfamilylounge.com.au to see how this amazing parent portal will benefit you and step by step videos on how to use it.
Please see our policies below for more information:
Orientation & Enrolment Policy
WECC recognises that in the initial period of commencing at the Centre, parents and children may feel anxious and need additional support.
The Centre aims to provide a method to assist in the settling and welcoming of the child and the extended family.
This policy applies to all staff and parents.
The purpose of this policy is to assist the staff and parents to work together to achieve a smooth start to enrolment at the Centre.
Initially, a family will have an informal enrolment interview with the Director. The parent(s) will be given written information about the Centre and the particular room the child will be in, and will be introduced to staff. The Director will answer questions the parent(s) may have, and show the parents the handbooks and other information readily accessible in the foyer.
Educators will implement the Communication Policy, and start building a partnership with the family by gathering information about the child’s personality, needs, preferences and home routines, and the family’s wishes, values and cultural background.
The family will be given a more detailed tour of the room and Centre, particularly the communication systems, where to find information on the program, where to find out about the child’s day, where to leave medication and the child’s bag, how the staff roster works, and other such information.
Settling in will be tailored to meet both parents’ and children’s needs. Some parents may not feel the child needs more than one visit; other parents will be reassured to know that quite a number of visits may be made. It is understood that some parents have only limited time for orientation visits.
The educators will accommodate the parents’ and child’s level of English, (and general literacy), and the Interpreter Service will be used if necessary. A support worker and/or resource person will be organised if the child has a limited knowledge of English and no available staff educator speaks the home language. Written information will be made available in the home language if necessary.
Parents will be encouraged to visit with the child prior to the official, paid start day. Visit times and duration can be discussed with the Room Coordinator. On these visits, the child can become familiar with the Centre environment, routines and staff, while the child still has the security of a family member. Child and parent may stay for a meal, participate in toileting and outside play routines etc, but usually the visiting family should avoid the Centre’s after lunch rest period. Staff will especially aim to establish what changes may be needed to room routine, food, toileting, bedding, program etc to better accommodate the child’s or family’s needs.
A child’s diagnosed medical condition must be communicated to the Director, Room leader and recorded in the child’s enrolment form. All medical plans (provided by a doctor) must be given to the centre Director prior to the child’s first day in care. The centre director will also develop a risk minimisation plan and communication plan in conjunction with the parent/guardian. This information is then communicated to the child’s educators. Further information can be found in our medical conditions policy, which will also be provided to all families of a child with a diagnosed medical condition.
Staff will be welcoming of the child and the extended family, and will be understanding of the limits parents may face in orienting the child, eg, if the parent must start work quickly.
Staff will learn key phrases in the child’s home language. Staff will ensure they gather information on any special health, dietary, custody or other such needs the child or family may have.
Once the child is to left at the Centre, staff will support and comfort the child. The parent will usually be encouraged to say goodbye and leave fairly quickly, so the child is protected as much as possible from any distress or anxiety the parent may be feeling. The parent will be encouraged to leave with positive words and the reassurance that the parent will return after a ‘play/ lunch/ sleep’. The parent, if distressed, may also need to be supported to leave, and will be encouraged to telephone or come back after a time to see how the child is doing.
Parents will be advised to always say goodbye even if this upsets the child. This helps build the child’s sense of trust in parent and caregiver.
Parents will be welcomed and encouraged to become involved in the Centre’s activities at whatever level and in whatever way is appealing to them.
SOURCES AND RELATED POLICIES
Education and Care Services National Regulations, 2011
Family Assistance Office
Guide to the National Quality Standard, 2011
Belonging, Being and Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, 2009
- Fees and Charges
- Medical Conditions Policy
This policy was adopted by the Approved Provider of Wattletree Early Childhood Centre on 01/07/2017.
REVIEW DATE: 01/07/2018
Priority of Access & Waiting List Policy
By following the Australian Government Priority Access Guidelines, our aim is to provide a child care service that allocates places to those families with the greatest need for childcare support.
As there will usually be more families requesting access than there are places available, there will be clear guidelines for the management of the waiting list and for the allocation of places.
This policy applies to the Director and any others assisting with the waiting list and allocation of places, and also to all families applying for a place and those families already in the centre requesting to increase days.
The purpose of this policy is to achieve fair and equitable access, and to inform families on the procedures to be followed.
A computerised waiting list will be maintained. Children will be listed in date of birth and date of application order. Siblings will be cross-referenced.
Families apply for a place by filling in the application form and paying a $20 per family, non-refundable administration fee. This is paid once only. Payment of this fee does not guarantee a placement.
The application form needs to be filled in once only and will remain active from year to year as long as the family advises any changes of contact detail and returns the update slip posted out.
The family may telephone to advise the Centre of any changes to contact or booking details, and families may wish to telephone to enquire whether and when a place is likely to become available. Telephoning the centre is discouraged as it is time consuming and does not increase the chances of being allocated a place.
Given the number of families on the waiting list, the Centre will make contact via the telephone number provided on the waitlist application form to offer a place, this can happen at any time during the year. Due to the limited places available, a total of two attempts to contact families (on different days) will take place.
The centre will also contact families on the waitlist annually, via the email address provided on the waitlist application form to see if they would like their child to remain on the waitlist.
If the update reply email is not completed by the due date, the child will be taken off the waiting list. There are very few circumstances whereby a child will be reinstated on the list once taken off.
It is imperative that families provide us with the up to date contact details to avoid missing out.
An offer may be turned down without jeopardising the position on the waiting list.
No family on the waiting list will be guaranteed placement in the Centre. Families are advised to pursue other options in case a place is not offered. As the Centre is very popular, there will be families who are unsuccessful in securing a place.
Parents already in the centre who wish to increase days will also be subject to the Priority of Access Guidelines below.
The centre requires that all families book a minimum of 2 days.
The Priority of Access Guidelines are rigorously and objectively followed. There is no way for parents to be given special priority except as stated below.
Priority of Access –
To Long Day care and Kindergarten Programmes
Government Guidelines – Child Care Services Handbook: The centre is required to work within the guidelines of the Australian Government as laid down in the Child Care Services Handbook. It is recognised that in some locations demand for child care exceeds supply and in those instances services should allocate places to families with the greatest need for child care support.
The handbook sets out the following three levels of priority:
- Priority 1 – a child at risk of serious abuse or neglect
- Priority 2 – a child of a single parent who satisfies, or of parents who both satisfy the work/training/study test under section 14 of the Family Assistance Act
- Priority 3 – any other child [subject to employees/sibling priority at WECC).
In relation to three and four year old Kindergarten Programmes, the above applies, however, as the Centre is a preschool of choice for many local families, a number of places will be offered to families who are attending for preschool only, if the vacancies are available. The number of places will vary from year to year.
Current Wattletree Employees: Full time/Part time employees currently employed as a member of staff at WECC are granted the same priority as sibling priority (as above). In order to receive this priority the staff member must be engaged in paid work at WECC.
Siblings: Siblings of children currently attending or who have attended within the previous 2 years will be given priority. In the situation where two families in equal circumstances are competing for a position, that family with more than one child in the centre at the same time (sibling matching) will have priority.
Stonnington Residency: Though this Centre operates independently through an incorporated parent management group, the Stonnington Council provides the building as a community resource. Therefore, in the interests of fairness, first priority is given to residents of the City of Stonnington. Proof of residency will likely be required.
Date of application: In circumstances where two families in equal circumstances are competing for a position, the date of original application- (as per the Wait List Application date) will be the determining factor. This will also apply to parents already in the centre wishing to increase days.
Centre Management: Occasionally, the Centre must protect the quality of care through the allocation of places. This will be in an exceptional circumstance e.g. when there are several children with additional needs in the one grouping. This is at the Director’s discretion subject to the Committee of Management approval.
SOURCES AND RELATED POLICIES
Department of Education and Training
Orientation and Enrolment Policy
Room Allocation Policy
This policy was adopted by the Approved Provider of Wattletree Early Childhood Centre on 01/07/2017.
REVIEW DATE: 01/07/2018
To submit an application to our waitlist, please complete the online form using the My Family Lounge login on this page, along with payment of the administration fee.