The Willows State School Outside School Hours Care is a service provided to parents/guardians of the immediate community to care for school aged children outside the normal hours of school. It operates in accordance with the Child Care Regulation Act.
The sponsor for this centre is The Willows State School Parent's and Citizen's Association.
Before school care
Opens at 6.30 am and children are released to go to class at approximately 8.40 am. Prep year children are walked to class to arrive there by 8.40 am for the first session of school.
After school care
Begins at 3.00 pm and closes at 6.00 pm sharp.
Vacation Care
Operates from 6.30 am until 6.00 pm during all school holidays, except for two weeks at Christmas when the centre is closed.
Pupil Free Day care
Operates in the same way and hours as vacation care. Pupil Free Days are classified as Vacation Care Days for Centrelink purposes.
History of service
The service was offered in 1997 (the first year of The Willows State School) and was located in the Preschool. After a number of moves around the school due to a growing student population, funding was eventually obtained to enable the erection of a dedicated building to house The Willows State School OSHC in August 2004. Affectionately known as “The Shed”, the building is close to the staff car-park giving ease of access for parents to drop off students and to collect them.
Philosophy of service
Our Service has a belief that in order to provide quality care for children, the best interests of the child is of paramount concern. Therefore, the Service provides care in a way that:
Protects the child from harm;
Respects the child’s dignity and privacy;
Promotes the child’s well being;
Provides positive experiences to the child.
Our service also has the belief that quality activity programs should be planned and implemented so that:
The children’s physical, emotional and social needs are met in a safe, caring and supporting environment;
Programs will be meaningful and incorporate elements of play with elements of daily real-life experiences;
Freedom of choice in experiences is recognized;
Activities are balanced and age-appropriate.
Our Service believes children, parents, staff and relevant community members should be treated with respect and their views in relation to the operation of the Service should be considered and valued. The Service recognises and respects parents as primarily responsible for the upbringing, protection and development of their children. The Service aims to support parents in that role, to the greatest extent reasonably possible. The Service encourages and welcomes open discussion with all on issues relevant to the Service’s operation.
Management
The Management Committee meets once a month and then reports back to the P&C. The Management Committee is responsible for monitoring the performance of the Centre. All amendments to Policies and Procedures are to be ratified by the P&C before being put into effect at the Centre. Any decisions resulting from Management meetings will be shared with all staff through the Co-ordinator. All staff and parents are welcome to attend the sub-committee meetings.
Teamwork
The Centre encourages staff to work as team members to:
For further information please contact:
Telephone: (07) 4723 7748
Email: willowscare@bigpond.com