General Information

Our Daily Rhythm

At Leylands Learning Centre, every day is shaped around the children in our care — and because our rooms cater to different ages and stages, each one follows its own gentle rhythm. Younger children need more rest and one-on-one nurturing, while our older children thrive on more structured play and school readiness experiences. Rather than a single timetable for the whole centre, each room has a routine designed to suit the children within it.

While the details differ from room to room, some things stay wonderfully consistent across our day:

A warm welcome. From when our doors open, families are greeted by our educators, and it's a lovely moment to share any information about your child's morning. Breakfast is available for early arrivals, and there are always inviting activities ready to explore.

Nourishing food throughout the day. We provide breakfast, morning tea, a healthy lunch, afternoon tea, and a late snack, along with fresh water always on offer. Menus include plenty of variety — fruit, toast, yoghurt, freshly cooked options and more — and children are encouraged to build independence in age-appropriate ways, like scraping their own bowls and pouring their own drinks.

Time indoors and out. Weather permitting, children move freely between indoor and outdoor spaces, with sunscreen applied before outdoor play. Each day balances child-led free play with planned learning experiences and group times led by our educators.

Rest that suits each child. Sleep and quiet time are tailored to each child's needs. Non-sleepers enjoy calm activities, and our older children take part in our school readiness program.

Care that follows the child. Nappy changes and toileting happen as each child needs them, not just at set times, and we keep sleep, bottle, meal and nappy records that families are welcome to view.

Staying connected. You can follow along with your child's day through our LIFT App, updated from the afternoon onwards, and there's always time at pick-up for a proper chat with your child's educators about how their day unfolded.

We'd love to show you how each of our rooms comes to life — please ask us about the routine for your child's room, and we'll happily walk you through it.

Absences

Good news — the Child Care Subsidy covers 42 days of absence for each child per financial year, and these can be used for any reason at all, whether it's a family holiday, religious leave, school holidays, or anything else that comes up. Once those 42 days are used up, full fees do apply for any further absences, so it's worth keeping an eye on the count throughout the year.

Just a gentle note: the CCS payment itself is arranged directly between you (as the parent account holder) and Centrelink. Our team is always happy to offer guidance where we can, but any adjustments to your subsidy will need to be sorted out with Centrelink directly.

Withdrawal from Care

Parents/guardians intending to withdraw their child must provide notice in writing:

We ask for four weeks' written notice when you're planning to withdraw your child, which gives us time to plan ahead and, where possible, offer the place to another family.

A little context on why this matters: fees are what secure your child's place with us, and they're also what allow Leylands Learning Centre to keep providing the quality of care we're proud of. If we don't receive the full four weeks' notice, fees will still apply until your child's place is filled. It's also worth knowing that CCS won't be paid for any days your child doesn't attend leading up to their notified leaving date, so those days would be charged at full fee.

We understand circumstances change, and we're always happy to talk things through with you.

To find out our current daily fees before the Child Care Subsidy is applied, please contact the centre and our team will be happy to talk you through them.

A $500 bond is required to secure your child's place at the Service. This bond is fully refunded when your child leaves, once any outstanding fees have been settled.

A few things that are helpful to know:

• Fees apply for all days your child is enrolled on their routine booking. This includes forced closure days, sick days, family holidays and public holidays. The reason for this is that our costs — rent and staff wages in particular — continue on these days regardless of whether your child attends. From time to time, the Service may also be directed to close during local emergencies such as bushfire, flood or a pandemic.
• If you'd like to reduce your child's routine bookings or withdraw them, we ask for two weeks' notice.
• Fees are paid weekly in arrears through our direct debit system. You'll receive a statement every Saturday showing that week's fee, your Centrelink CCS, and the gap you'll pay. The gap fee is then deducted by direct debit the following Tuesday.

If anything about fees or bookings is ever unclear, please just ask — we're always glad to help.

Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is the payment the Government makes to help families with the cost of child care. It's paid directly to the service and passed on to you as a reduction in your fees. Families contribute the difference between the fee we charge and the subsidy amount — this difference is known as the gap fee. While your entitlement itself is worked out between you and Centrelink rather than by us, we're always glad to help you understand how it applies to your fees.

To find out our current daily fees, please contact the centre — our team is happy to talk you through them and can also calculate your Child Care Subsidy for you, so you'll know exactly what your out-of-pocket gap fee will be.

Leylands Learning Centre provides a nutritionally balanced menu of breakfast, morning tea, hot lunch, afternoon tea and late afternoon snack. We will supply fresh milk, soy milk (if required) and water for morning and afternoon tea.

Leylands Learning Centre is a nut and egg free centre. Please do not bring produces that contain nuts or eggs as this can cause allergic or anaphylaxis reactions among children who attend the service.

After careful consideration and research, Leylands Learning Centre has selected Kids Gourmet Food as our preferred caterer for our children’s meals.

Why we chose KGF:

1. They use premium quality fresh ingredients from the markets, and prepared by a team of qualified chefs.
2. They have designed a menu around the use nutritious ingredients such as whole grains, vegetables, fruit, fish, poultry, red meat and full cream dairy products. Sugar, salt and saturated fat are kept to an absolute minimum.
3. They have a 6-week rotating menu, providing children with variety of food throughout the year.
4. All meat served are Halal certified. Making Leylands Learning Centre a Halal centre.
5. Special meals are always provided separately, making allergen control during mealtime effortless.
6. Puree for younger children also provided.

Sample Menu:

We Provide

• Nappy
• Sunscreen.
• Protective clothing for painting, water play etc.
• 5 meals per day
• School readiness program
• The centre caters for children with other food allergies and religions needs.

What to Bring

• One hat (if possible wide brimmed or legionnaire) 
• One blanket and cover sheet for sleep/rest time 
• One extra set of both summer and winter clothing (please include more if your child is toilet training).
• Two or more pairs of underpants (if your child is toilet training).
• A reasonable locker size bag for all their belongings.
• Please send your child in suitable play clothes so they may play and explore freely and not worry about getting good clothes dirty. Ensure their clothing and footwear is easy enough for them to perform simple tasks on their own, such as elastic waistband for easy toileting and velcro shoes to place on and off independently. Thongs and clogs are not acceptable. Please label all clothing.

Sun Protection

At Leylands Learning Centre we practice safe fun in and out of the sun procedures. We ask that parents dress their children in clothing that gives them maximum protection from the sun. A loose fitting cotton T-shirt which covers the shoulders and the back of the neck is recommended. We also recommend that you apply SPF 30+ broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen to your child when arriving at the centre. More will be applied throughout the day as needed.

Toys & Treasures from Home

We recognise the enthusiasm your child has for some toys and how they wish to show them to their friends but we would appreciate it if toys were NOT brought from home. Your child’s “treasures” can be lost or broken, causing unnecessary distress. They can bring a soft toy for rest time which is kept in their locker until needed.

The Centre and Educators do not accept responsibility for any broken, lost or damaged toys which are brought from home to the centre.

Birthdays

This is a very special day for your child. You may bring a Birthday cake on the day you wish to celebrate as long as the cake is nut and egg free. Please feel free to join us for afternoon tea on this day, to make it a really special day for your child. Photos will be take for your child with your permission.

Exclusions from Care

Exclusions due to illness: for the health and safety reasons of other children, a child will not be able to attend the centre during the period of time in which:

• have a contagious illness or infectious disease
• have been in close contact with someone who has a positive confirmed case of COVID-19
• have a temperature above 38°C when assessed prior to entry to the service (effective during a pandemic or outbreak of an infectious disease)
• are unwell and unable to participate in normal activities or require additional attention
• have had a temperature, vomiting in the last 24 hours- as reported by a parent
• have had diarrhoea in the last 48 hours
• have started a course of anti-biotics in the last 24 hours
• have been given medication for a temperature prior to arriving at the Service (for example: Panadol)
• Children may become unwell throughout the day, educators will take the child’s temperature. If the child’s temperature is 38°C or higher, management will contact the child’s parents/guardian/emergency contacts as soon as possible to have the child collected (within 1 hour)

Immunisation/Birth Certificate

Upon enrolment to the centre we will require proof and the provision of an up to date ACIR History Statement of your child’s immunisation according to their age. In the event a child has not been immunised and a condition that is usually prevented by immunisation occurs, that child may be excluded from care as this is a Department of Health requirement. A copy of the child’s birth certificate is also required.

Medication

All medication must be handed to a staff member. NO MEDICATIONS MUST BE LEFT  IN YOUR CHILD/CHILDREN’S BAG.

• Only prescribed medication will be given, as directed by the child’s doctor, in writing or as set out on the original bottle label which will define clearly the child’s name, times to be given and the length of time to be given.
• If your child is on long term medication we must have a letter from the doctor treating your child. These instructions must state the name of the medication, dosage, and when and how it is to be administered. This letter must be renewed every 3 months.
• If your child has any allergies then an action plan must be made available to the centre and educators from the treating doctor.
• Please note that staff will only administer medication with the correct written authority from doctors. Staff will strictly follow instructions written by the treating doctor and therefore staff will not be liable for any allergic reaction or injury encountered to the child as a result of the medication. Please ensure the information placed on the medical plan or permission form is clear and accurate. Staff will not be held responsible for incorrect information written by the parent.

We acknowledge the primary and vital influence families have in their children's lives, and we understand that strong, trusting relationships between educators and families are at the heart of achieving quality outcomes for every child.

To support this, we offer families a range of ways to stay connected and informed:

1. Emails and online messages through our OWNA app
2. Face-to-face and phone conversations
3. Newsletters and announcements
4. Daily updates and child observations shared through the OWNA app
5. Our noticeboard
6. A feedback and complaint form available in the sign-in area

We warmly welcome your input at any time — your insights and feedback help us provide the best possible care for your child.

If you ever have a concern or complaint, we encourage you to raise it first with our Centre Director on 02 9787 3110, or with the Approved Provider. You're also welcome to put your concerns in writing to info@leylands.com.au. We take all feedback seriously and will always do our best to work through any issue with you.

If you feel your concern hasn't been resolved, you can contact the NSW Early Learning Commission, the independent regulator for early childhood education and care in NSW, on 1800 619 113 or at information@earlylearningcommission.nsw.gov.au.