| Daycare Contract Hours of Operation: Each family will have their specific hours outlined in our financial agreement. I require two weeks notice if you need to change the hours required. If those changes need to take effect immediately, then two weeks at the regular fees rate will be required before the new fee schedule will take effect. I also reserve the right to terminate our agreement if the new hours will not work well for my childcare. Parents Initials: _______ Spaces: I offer both full-time and part-time spaces. Full time spaces will generally be preferred over part-time positions. I reserve the right to terminate a part- time position, if the position can be filled with a full time family. You may opt to pay for a full - time slot in order to keep your part-time position. Parents Initials: _______ Communication: Communication is very important to me. When I accept a new family into my daycare, I like to be sure that we can share openly any concerns or questions that may arise. I welcome questions, feedback, or discussions of any kind that are oriented towards a positive outcome for the child(ren). It is only through parent/provider interaction that a goal of quality, nurturing care can be achieved. Sensitive issues will be discussed in private outside of regular childcare hours either by telephone or conference. Conferences will not be scheduled as a routine part of your child�s care; however, should you like to have a conference, you may request one at any time. I will explain some of the activities we are doing, our current curriculum themes, events that will be happening during the month, my days off, and any other pertinent or fun information that may be of interest to you. You are always welcome to contribute to our online newsletter. You are encouraged to call me at any time. If you call during the day, please be aware that I may be busy with the children and may not be able to answer the phone. If you would leave a message on my voice mail, I will call you back as soon as possible. Open door policy: I maintain an �open door� policy for my parents. Parents are welcome to drop in or call any time during regular childcare hours. I would appreciate your taking into consideration my schedule when dropping in or calling and remember that visitors usually cause the children to react in an excited manner that does not normally occur when I am alone with the children. If you call during the day, please be aware that I may be busy with the children and may not be able to answer the phone. If you would leave a message, I will call you back as soon as possible. My open door policy does not mean that our doors will be kept unlocked. The door will be unlocked for arrival and departure times, but otherwise they will be locked, as we do not want �unexpected� visitors to enter without our permission or knowledge. I also don�t want little ones leaving the house unsupervised Enrollment Policy: There are several forms that I must have completed and in my possession before I can assume the responsibility of caring for your child. The forms are as follows: Signed Contract and Financial Agreement Child Profile/Information Sheet Contact Information Sheet Authorization for Consent for Emergency Treatment Permission and Consent Form Please keep me informed of any change in addresses, telephone numbers, and other pertinent information listed on any/all of the above forms. If you have any questions regarding the completions of these forms, please feel free to ask. Parents Initials: ______ Security Deposit: Before your child is admitted into childcare, I require a security deposit. This deposit protects me from unexpected family departures from childcare. This deposit will be credited towards your final childcare payments when you decide to leave my Daycare. I say credited because your rates may be higher when you leave our Daycare then when you initially enroll, so you may still owe an undetermined amount when you leave my services. Your deposit will be equal to two weeks care. Parents Initials: ______ Explanation of fees: I provide childcare as my job. I choose to provide childcare because I find satisfaction making a difference in the life of a child; their first discoveries, their mastery of a new skill, etc. However, like most people, I also work because my family needs the second income. Your fees are my entire income. Beyond that your fees pay for special childcare insurance, training, food, toys, equipment, art supplies and all of the other things that your child will use. Most people work on an average a 40-hour workweek. Mine is over 70-hours, and that does not include my training, preparation, bookkeeping, paper work, shopping and cleaning time. I hope that this gives you a better idea of what your childcare dollars cover. Parents Initials: ______ Overtime fees: Overtime means any unscheduled time your child is in my care. You are schedule for childcare for the hours listed in your Child Care Contract. My overtime rate is $2.00 per 15 minute increment that a child is left here past your schedule hours. These fees are due in cash upon parent�s arrival. I do understand that emergencies and situations can provide certain difficulties from time to time. You will be allowed one grace day (period not to exceed 30 minutes and it is not accumulative) per month where I will waive the overtime fee. If the time exceeds 30 minutes, the overtime fee must be paid in full before I will provide care for your child again. Habitual tardiness may result in termination of care. I charge the overtime fees, not from a desire to make extra money, but because I have a very busy family schedule after 6:00, hence the fee is in place to discourage late pick up Parents Initials: ______ Late Fees: A late fee of $5 per day, including Saturday and Sunday, will be added to any payment not received before 6:00 pm on Friday. Your childcare payment including all late fees, must be paid on or before the following Monday or childcare will be terminated. Repeated late payments are grounds for termination. Should it become necessary to go to court over non-payment of fees owed, you will be responsible for all cost incurred and attorney fees. Parents Initials: ______ Holding Fee: Once you have decided to enroll your child in care, in order to hold a vacancy for longer than one month, a non-refundable holding fee of $75.00 per month is required to hold the spot for your child. Failure to pay this holding fee will result in the day care spot being made available to other clients. Parents Initials: ______ Payment Procedures: Your specific rates will be outlined in you Contract and Financial Agreement form. Payment is payable each Friday afternoon at pick up time. Or the last day of care in the week. Cash would be preferred, however cheques will also be accepted. If a cheque is returned to me for non-sufficient funds, you will be required to pay a fee of $10.00. In addition, I will only accept cash payment from that point forward. I will give you a minimum of two weeks notice of any increase in your childcare fee. If you prefer, you may pay once per month, at the beginning of the current month. The monthly payment would be calculated monthly based on the agreed per week fee. You may also give post dated cheques for your weekly payments at the beginning of the month in the amount of your weekly rate. There are a limited number of spaces available, and a space has been reserved for your child that cannot always be filled on a short-term basis. Therefore, weekly payments are not based on child�s attendance. No refunds are given for late arrivals/early departures, or exclusion due to illness. Parents Initials: ______ Other Fees: An overtime fee of $2.00 per 15 minute increment past 6:15 p.m. will be charged. I have a very busy family life after 6:30, hence the fee is in place to discourage late pick up. Parent�s Initials: _______ Provider Vacation, Holidays & Absences: Each year the daycare will be closed for Christmas Holidays. These holidays will start the 23rd at closing and finish the day following New Years Day. The daycare will also be closed for Good Friday, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, and Thanksgiving. The daycare may also be closed for up to two weeks vacation during the year. I try to base these vacation days in conjunction with the daycare parent�s holidays so as to be less disruptive to everyone involved with the daycare. Notification of at least four weeks will be given prior to any closed days, with the exception of emergencies or illness. No payment of fees will be expected for holidays that are pre-arranged by the provider. Although I will make every effort to be available each day, there may be occasions when I am not able to provide service. You will be notified as soon as possible of any personal or family illness, funeral or emergency. In case I need a personal/sick day it will be your responsibility to obtain substitute care on such occasions. I strongly suggest that you have a family member, a friend, or a substitute provider lined up for all times that I am closed due to illness or emergency. Parents are responsible for finding back-up care during provider absences. Parent Initials: ________ Parent Vacation and Absences: Parents may take ten days per year vacation where payment of fees will not be expected provided two weeks advance notice is given. After these ten days, I will require you to pay one half of the regular weekly fee for each week that your child is not in attendance. Parent Initials: _______ Extended Leave: In cases of extended leave (children absent from the daycare for more then the ten days vacation, long term illness, etc.) I will require you to pay one half of the regular weekly fee for each week your child is not yet in attendance to hold a spot for your child. Parents Initials:_______ Trail Period & Giving Notice: All new children will be cared for a four week trial period beginning on your child�s first day of care. During that time the parent or provider may terminate the childcare agreement with 24 hours notice. After the trial period, a two week written notice is required by either party to terminate the agreement. If two weeks notice is not given, the security deposit will be used to cover the last week of care. I will also give notice if the child is to be terminated from care. Any abuse or violation of the rules/policies of the contract/handbook may be just cause for termination. Immediate termination can occur for behaviour problems, or dangerous parental situations. If I, for the above or any other reason to be at my discretion, give immediate termination, your deposit will be refunded. Parent�s Initials: ______ Withdrawal: Parents may withdraw the child from my care by giving two week�s notice in writing. Please provide a written statement that includes the last date of care and the reasons for withdrawal. If two weeks notice is not given, the security deposit will be used to cover the last two weeks of care. Absences of more that one week without notification and/or payment of fees will result in an automatic withdrawal. Re-admittance will include all back pay including late fees and a registration fee of $50.00 Parent�s Initials: ______ Arrival and Departure: Please send your child clean, dressed for the day and fed (if your child does not receive breakfast at the daycare). Please make your goodbye brief (no more than a couple of minutes). The longer you prolong departure that harder it gets. Never leave without telling your child goodbye. Please be brief at pick-up times also. Sometimes if both a parent and a provider are both in the same area (ex. drop-off, pick-up, etc.) A child may forget the rules, or test boundaries. Please help show your child that you respect me, the rules of my house, and my property by reminding them that the rules apply when you are around. I will also remind them of the rules, and correct them if needed. Please be in control of your child during these times. Please do not allow your child to run out to your car while you are still inside or while you are in the backyard. The safety rule is �no one goes outside without their parent with them�. My normal procedure is to release the child only to his/her parents or someone the parents have designated. If someone other than the parent is to pick up the child, please notify me ahead of time. A verbal notice is fine on that day if the person is on the list of people who are authorized to pick up your child. If the person in NOT on that list, I must have written permission to release your child. Please inform emergency contacts, or people designated to pick up your child, that if I do not know them, I would need to ask for photo identification. This is simply a measure taken for your child�s protection. I will not let a child leave without a parent�s verbal permission even if that person is listed as one of your designated pickup people. The safety of the children is a main concern of mine. In the unlikely event that a parent or designated adult picking up a child is in a condition that could preclude the child reaching home/destination safely, the following action will be taken: 1.Call the other parent or the emergency contact 2.Contact the police - document everything 3.Call the Children�s Aid Society Smoking will not be allowed in my house. I must request that you refrain from smoking while visiting my home and at drop off and pick up times. If there is a court order keeping one parent away from the child, I must have a written note from the custodial parent in my file to that effect. Otherwise I cannot prevent the non-custodial parent from picking up the child. Parents Initials: ________ Health Matters: A parent should keep the child at home if the child is/has: Conjunctivitis or pink eye or any type of eye infection, which is highly contagious. Impetigo or any rash until it is identified as not being contagious Diarrhea, which is watery or greenish runny bowel movement that looks different and is more frequent than the child�s usual stool Vomiting A severe cold with fever, sneezing, and nose drainage With the following contagious diseases that child must be kept away from the daycare: Measles Chicken pox Mumps Roseola Scarlet fever Hand, foot and mouth diesease If a doctor diagnoses an ear or throat infection and places the child on an antibiotic, the child must remain away until he/she has been on the medication for a minimum of 24 hours. I will administer prescription drugs to the child, to do this I require that parents provide: 1.Written authorization, including the dosage and time the drugs should be given. 2.Medication in the original container, clearly labeled with the child�s name, dosage, the date of purchase and instruction for storage and administration of the drug. These guidelines have been established by daycare associations and are quite reasonable. I cannot realistically care for a sick child and give proper care to other children in my group. These guidelines are also made with the children�s best interest in mind. Parents Initials: _______ Activities & Curriculum: Age appropriate activities are scheduled with flexibility allowed to respond to the needs of the individual child. The main goal of this childcare is to learn while having fun and improving social skills. We will be utilizing a variety of activities to accomplish this goal. Free play, reading, crafts, music/singing, dancing, pretend play, puzzles, games, educational videos and show and tell are just some of the activities we will be doing. This is a general guideline only. Our schedule may vary due to children�s wishes, special activity days, school schedules, etc. Parents Initials: ________ Behaviour Management and Discipline: My philosophy is that you use discipline to teach a child. I achieve this through love, consistency and firmness. The children are explained the rules of the daycare frequently so that they know the guideline. Once a child understands the rules and disobeys them, hurts others or property, the following developmentally appropriate guidance techniques will be used. These techniques are as follows: 1.Positive Reinforcement: The child will be encouraged when he/she is demonstrating acceptable behaviour. 2.Redirection: The child is redirected to another activity and given an opportunity to try again at another time. 3.Time Out: The child is separated from the group for a child-regulated period of time. This technique is used only when the child is exhibiting temper tantrum type behaviour or hurting self, others or equipment. When the child shows that he/she is ready to demonstrate acceptable behaviour, they are encouraged to join the rest of the group and try again. 4. Last Resort: When a child�s behaviour is continually upsetting or dangerous to others, or myself, a conference will be called with the parents. If the problems can�t be resolved, arrangements will have to be made for the child to go elsewhere for care. Parents Initials: _______ Meals: The children are offered food, not forced to eat. Children who choose not to eat will not be served additional food until the next mealtime. Please do not send food (half-eaten breakfasts, candy etc.) or gum with the children. Please feel free to discuss your child�s need for food, such as for medical reasons. Parents Initials: ________ Special Diets: If a child has a particular dietary need, I must be informed. Substitute meals or snacks may then be brought from home. This is not a nut free daycare. Parents Initials: _______ Potty Training: When you feel your child is ready for toilet teaching, I ask that you begin this teaching at home during the weekend or vacation. I will follow through and encourage your child while in my care. Toilet training will be done in a relaxed manner with the cooperation of the family. I require that the child must be at least 2.5 years old, and must be showing signs of readiness. When a child is ready, the process should go pretty quickly. The child must be kept in pull-ups at all times. Putting a child in diapers part time and training pants part time, can be confusing and delay the training process. Please keep in mind that the activity level here can distract your child from responding to an urge to use the potty, more so than at your home. Therefore, I will continue to use diapers or pull-ups until your child can and will announce that he/she must use the bathroom (not just at home, but here, as well) and can control his/her bladder and bowels for a few minutes beyond that announcement. Parents need to supply training pants with plastic pants or pull-ups, plus a couple of extra changes of clothing each day (don�t forget the socks!). During toilet training, I ask that the child be dressed in �user friendly� clothing, as much as possible. The best items are shorts and pants with elastic waists or dresses. Try to avoid really tight clothing, pants with snaps and zipper and overalls. These are difficult for children to remove �in hurry�. Parents Initials: _______ Diaper Changes: Diapers are checked and/or changed every two hours or more frequently if required. Parents Initials: ________ Naps: I offer toddlers naps generally as needed. Every effort will be made to ensure a proper rest time or at minimum a restful quiet time. If your child has a favorite blankie or other comfort object, you are certainly welcome to bring these. Parents Initials: ________ Supplies needed: Parents are responsible for supplying: Diapers/Pull-ups, wipes, rash ointment, all prescription and over the counter medications, fever/cold medication, weather appropriate change of clothes, sun screen in the summer time, a pair of slippers to wear inside and a car seat if your child will be traveling with us. A back pack is also recommended for bringing all supplies in and for bringing home any art work from that week. Parents Initials: _________ Toys/ Show and Tell: No toys should be brought from home unless it is the designated time for show and tell. All items brought for show and tell will be kept away until show and tell time and then put away immediately after. If your child needs a special toy or item for sleeping it will be allowed, but it will be put away when they first arrive. I take no responsibility for lost or broken toys brought from home. Should a child deliberately destroy the daycare toys or other property in my home through misuse, willfulness or carelessness, the parent will be required to replace it. Parents Initials: __________ Revisions to handbook and contract: I reserve the right to revise the daycare handbook and the accompanying contract as needed. I reserve the right to make changes in rates and policies as deemed necessary. You will be notified, in writing, of any changes that may occur. Every attempt will be made to give at least two weeks notice of changes. Parents Initials: __________ Referrals: Referrals from a parent are one of the biggest compliments I can receive. As a special thank you, I offer families a free day of childcare for each referral that enrolls. Your free day will be deducted from your weekly fee after the referred child has attended for four weeks. At times when taking on new children to the daycare I may ask your permission for a reference. A Final Note: I retain the right to enforce these policies at will. Lack of enforcement of a certain policy at any given time does not indicate that the particular policy is not longer in effect. I/We have read, understand, and agree to comply with the provider�s contract. Parents Signature __________________________________ Date_________________________________ Parents Signature___________________________________ Date _________________________________ |
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