We've summarised the key information parents are after most often below. It's important that you read the complete policies as they may contain information not shown here
Whānau involvement
Communication between home and centre is very important, so that we can work together to provide the very best. We welcome emails, phone calls, comments on Educa or a chat in person. Kaiako are available to discuss any queries or concerns you may have about your centre and your child.
Whānau are welcome at all times. We encourage you to be actively involved in decisions made about your child. Any information you share with us is confidential. We hope any concern you might have can be discussed and resolved.
Attendance
Holidays
If you are planning to take your child out of the centre on holiday, you are eligible for a 50% discount for that time. You will need to give 2 weeks' notice by filling in a holiday form or emailing your head teacher with the dates. The discount applies for up to 3 weeks consecutively. After 3 weeks, full fees apply again.
Booked hours
Please pick up your child promptly according to your booked hours. Our staff:child ratio is determined by the booked hours. Extra attendance requests must be arranged beforehand and charges will apply .
Absences and lateness
Please phone or text us in the morning if your child is not attending or will be arriving late. If you are unavoidably late in picking up your child, please phone us.
Health and wellness
Illness
For the well-being of all children, it is essential that we minimise illness within the centres so it is important that children stay at home if they are sick.
If your child becomes unwell during the day, a teacher will contact you immediately. Please ensure our contact records are up-to-date and that a parent is always able to be reached. We follow Ministry of Health guidelines and so for certain illnesses there are exclusion periods (e.g. conjuntivitis, stomach bugs, etc.) which a teacher will discuss with you if necessary. If your child becomes unwell at home and you are unsure about whether they should come in, please phone and speak with a teacher prior to arriving.
Immunisation
The Ministry of Health requires children to have an Immunisation Certificate to show what childhood immunisations they have had.
It is our responsibility to ask to see the Immunisation Certificate when a child is enrolled or when the child turns 15 months and again when they turn 4 years old. Information from the Certificate is recorded on a register and is confidential.
In the event of the outbreak of an infectious disease in the community, the Ministry of Health is able to look at the register and may require us to exclude children who are not immunised against the infectious disease so that they, and other children, are protected.
It is the responsibility of the whānau to:
- Make an active and informed choice about immunisation for their child
- Show the Immunisation Certificate to kaiako.
Accident forms
Children's safety is really important to us, but from time to time accidents happen. If your child has an accident during the day, teachers will fill out an accident form. This will be discussed with you when you arrive to pick your child up and you will be required to sign the form. If your child has a more serious accident a teacher will contact you immediately.
Emergency alerts
The OUCA Centres endeavour to be open every day, in line with the University. However, from time to time, we may need to change our opening hours due to weather or other circumstances beyond our control.
If weather conditions seriously restrict movement around the city, we may delay the opening or close the centres. We will let you know via our Facebook pages. If the weather situation continues to deteriorate the Facebook page information will be updated.
On a day where the weather is deteriorating we may contact you to pick-up your child early, to allow all children and staff the opportunity to reach their homes safely.
Fees
When your child starts at an OUCA centre we will email you a letter which includes a link and password to enable access to the parental portal on our billing system (INFOCARE) for checking on your account.
Each week, we will create an invoice for the previous week which you can view through the portal and confirm that charges are what you were expecting. Prompt payment is expected. An automatic payment option is preferred. Payments may take a couple of days to show in your account.
- A 50% discount is available for planned holidays with a 2 week notification of the absence, for the first 3 weeks of holiday
- Full fees are charged on statutory holidays if they fall on an enrolled day
- Four weeks advance notice is required when a child is finishing at the centre.
Monthly statements will be sent during the first week of the following month.
If you cannot pay, please speak to the manager as soon as possible. If an outstanding debt is not addressed in a timely manner, a child's enrolment may be cancelled. We will pursue outstanding debts to the court if necessary. The cost of recovering the debt will be charged to the debtor.
Either the manager or dministrator are available between 7:30am and 4:30pm each day to explain our billing system to you. They can be reached on +64 3 742 1080.
Any queries don't hesitate to email or call in at reception.
Email ouca.office@otago.ac.nz