Read our KingKids FAQ’s below to find out everything you will need to know as a parent or guardian enrolling your child into a KingKids childcare centre. For any additional queries, please don’t hesitate to contact our centre’s directly here.
We’re open Monday to Friday from 6.30am to 6.30pm 52 weeks a year, closing only on Public Holidays and if mandated by the government due to serious conditions such as a code red fire threat.
Activities, Education and Care for your child that will keep them entertained and stimulated.
All your child’s meals (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack). Children up to 12 months of age are provided with s26 Gold formula at no cost to you. If you choose to give your baby another brand of formula, please provide this to your child’s Educators. We’re happy to give your child breast milk in accordance with our Breastfeeding policy.
Nappies are provided as required. The Centre has a chosen brand. If you would prefer another brand to the one provided, please send additional nappies in your child’s bag and inform their Educator. If your child requires nappy cream please provide this in its original packaging clearly labelled to leave at the centre. You can give this to your child’s Educator.
We apply our chosen brand of sunscreen to children 20 minutes before going outside during Daylight Saving months. If your child has a specific brand of sunscreen that they prefer, please provide this to our Educators.
Yes, all meals are cooked on the premise. We ensure they meet Nutrition Australia standards. Vegetarian and special dietary needs can be catered for upon approval by the Centre Director.
An Authorised nominee is a person who has been given permission by a parent or family member to collect your child from the Service. This person can also give consent for medical treatment or the administration of medication for your child.
It is important that you provide the Authorised Nominee’s name, address and contact details. We recommend that you include as many Authorised Nominees as possible, so if you get stuck you can call on these people to help out. It is recommended that you carry photo ID with you at all times if the person collecting the child is unknown to the Educators, they may be asked to provide this.
We offer both 10 and 12 hour days. At our Rowville centre we only offer 10 hour days for our full time children.
A Complying Written Arrangement (CWA) is an ongoing agreement between an Early Childhood Education Centre service provider and a Parent/Guardian, to provide care in return for fees. The CWA must contain a minimum amount of information as defined by the Government.
We are required to have a CWA in place for each child in their care, as set out in subsection 200B (3) of the Family Assistance Administration Act.
The CWA needs to include all of the following (in accordance with subsection 200B (3) of the Family Assistance Administration Act):
A CWA is required for all families that are attending KingKids. The CWA Agreement must be signed before a child can commence are at one of our services.
For more information please go to the following website: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/child-care-subsidy
Any time your child’s booking changes you will be required to sign a new agreement.
Most families find that two orientations are enough for their children to feel comfortable in our service, however if you and your child want more than two orientations, then that is absolutely OK. It is important that both you and your child feel comfortable and we’ll do what we can to make this possible.
Please do not bring your child in if they are unwell; they are incredibly precious and when they are unwell the best place for them is in the comfort of their home. Also, bringing an unwell child into the Service is putting all children and team members at risk of becoming ill too.
We follow the minimum exclusion period as advised in the Australian Governments National Health and Medical Research Councils publication “Staying Healthy in Childcare”
On the 2nd of July 2018, the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) system came in to affect. The Child Care Subsidy replaced Child Care Benefit (CCB) and Child Care Rebate (CCR) with a single, means-tested subsidy. Childcare Subsidy is designed to provide more assistance to low and middle-income families.
Many families out of pocket cost Child Care fees have fallen between $20 – $30 per day under the CCS system.
Who is eligible?
Some basic requirements must be satisfied for an individual to be eligible to receive Child Care Subsidy for a child. These include:
If your child is absent from childcare?
We pay this subsidy for up to 42 absences for each child, per financial year. You can use these absence days for any reason, including if the child is overseas. We don’t need evidence.
Absence days are the days you would normally get CCS. This includes public holidays. You can only use an absence day after your child has physically attended the service for the first time.
In special circumstances, you may get CCS for more than 42 absence days. Talk to your childcare service about this. You may need to provide supporting documents.
We’ll cancel your enrolment if either of the following occurs:
For more information on the absences, please visit the human services website
Additional Child Care Subsidy
If you’re eligible for Child Care Subsidy you may be able to get extra help with the cost of approved childcare.
To get this you must be eligible for Child Care Subsidy. And you need to be 1 of the following:
For more information on the ACCS, please see the following page on the Human Services website
Child Care Subsidy Entitlement
There are three factors that determine a family’s level of Child Care Subsidy. These include the Combined Family Income, the Activity Test and the Type of Care that you are applying for such as long day care or family day care.
The number of hours of subsidised childcare that families have access to per fortnight is determined by a three-step activity test.
In two parent families both parents, unless exempt, must meet the activity test. In the case where both parents meet different steps of the activity test, the parent with the lowest entitlement determines the hours of subsidised care for the child.
Recognised activities
A broad range of activities meet the activity test requirements, including:
Time taken to travel between the childcare service and the parents/carers place of work, training, study, or other recognised activity can also be included.
Activity hours do not need to coincide with childcare hours. For example, an individual undertaking work on the weekends is entitled to Child Care Subsidy during the week.
Low income families with a combined annual income of $68,163 or less who do not meet and are not exempt from the activity test are entitled to 24 hours of subsided care per fortnight under the Child Care Safety Net.
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) cap amount that will be applied to your account will be determined by the Service Type your child attends.
There is a different rate for Long Day care Centres and Family Day Care. These caps place an upper limit on the amount of Child Care Subsidy the Australian Government will provide. The rate cap will be used, in combination with family’s income and level of activity to calculate the amount of subsidy a family is entitled to receive.
Where a childcare service charges less than the hourly cap, families will receive their applicable percentage of the actual fee charged. Where a service charges more than the relevant cap, families will receive their applicable percentage of the hourly rate cap.
Exemptions
There are exemptions to the activity test for individuals who legitimately cannot meet the activity test requirements, such as parents with disability and carers.
Families who do not meet and are not exempt from the activity test and have a preschool aged child who attends preschool at a centre based day care service may be entitled to 36 hours of subsidised care per fortnight. This only applies to the preschool aged child/ren in the family.
To receive this entitlement, the child needs to be in the year two years before grade one of school (based on information provided in the family’s claim) and attending an appropriate preschool program at a centre-based day care service (as reported by the family’s child care service).
Child Care Subsidy Annual Cap
If your family earns $188,163 or less, you won’t have an annual cap on your subsidy.
If your family earns between $188,163 and $352,453, we’ll cap your subsidy. This means we’ll subsidise your fees up to the annual cap of $10,373 per child each financial year.
Childcare Subsidy Changes – families are responsible for their accounts with Centrelink.
Report a change in circumstances
You need to tell Centrelink if your circumstances change when you’re getting Child Care Subsidy.
Keep in mind, if the changes impact your subsidy, it can take up to 2 weeks to apply. This is because Centrelink check your eligibility and pay Child Care Subsidy fortnightly.
You can update most changes using your Centrelink online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
If you don’t tell Centrelink about changes to your circumstances within 14 days, it may affect your subsidy. You may be overpaid you and you’ll have to pay the money back.
If your childcare hours change you should review your family income estimate and activity levels. You can do this at any time using your Centrelink online account through myGov. Use the online guides to help you update your:
For more info on changes of your CCS, please visit the Human Services website.
To determine your actual out of pocket costs you’ll need to know the following:
This information can then be inputted into the following site to determine your out of pocket cost: https://www.childcaresubsidycalculator.com.au/
Direct debits are process on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Security Deposit
Each family is required to pay a $150 bond. This is refundable when your child leaves the service unless monies are owed, in which case they will be deducted from the Bond.
Enrolment Fee
To secure your child’s position at our centres, a $50 enrolment fee is required to be paid before orientation starts . Once paid, the families receive a KingKids Enrolment Pack filled with KingKids merchandise.
We allow for four (4) weeks holiday discount per calendar year (Jan-Dec) at 50% your ‘normal weekly fee’. Your ‘normal weekly fee’ is your normal booking from Monday to Friday, not for example Thursday to Wednesday.
This is included in your annual absences allowance as mentioned above under CCS absence information.
We require two (2) weeks’ notice for the holiday rate to apply. Unused holidays do not accumulate or roll over into the next year. The holiday rate will not be applied if your account is more than two weeks in arrears.
Your child can be absent from the Centre for up to 42 days per financial year for any reason and you are still entitled to claim your CCS and you’ll not be required to provide supporting documentation. If your child was to miss more than 42 days of care in a financial year your CCS will not be paid. Special circumstances can be taken into consideration. See http://guides.dss.gov.au/family-assistance-guide/1/1/a/17
Yes, holidays do count as absent days.
Like most employees, our Educators are paid a wage on Public Holidays. Therefore, full fees are still payable on Public Holidays for all permanent bookings.
We require two (2) weeks written notice when your child is leaving us. If your child does not attend their final two weeks, full fees are still required. The bond that you paid on enrolment can either be paid back into your nominated account or used to pay (or part pay) your final account.
3-Year-Old Kindergarten:
Funded Three-year-old Kindergarten is being introduced in stages. It will start in 2020 and 2021 in some council areas. In 2022, five hours per week of subsidised kindergarten will be available across the rest of the state.
4-Year-Old Kindergarten:
All children in Victoria are eligible to access a kindergarten program in their year before primary school. To enrol in a kindergarten program, your child needs to be at least four years old by 30 April in the year they will attend the program.
Your child must be enrolled in school by the age of six, unless they have an exemption. So, if your child’s birthday falls before 30 April in the calendar year, you have a choice about whether to enrol your child in school in the year they turn five or the next year. Children learn at different rates, in different ways, and at different times. In some cases, your child may benefit from starting a kindergarten program later.
We require two (2) weeks written notice when your child is leaving us. If your child does not attend their final two weeks, full fees are still required. The bond that you paid on enrolment can either be paid back into your nominated account or used to pay (or part pay) your final account.
No, unfortunately we are not able to offer discounts for multiple children attending the service as our centres operate at 100 percent capacity.
The following ratios will be implemented at KingKids Early Learning Centres and Kindergartens at all times. These ratios are considered to be a minimum standard and due consideration and risk assessment will occur to ensure correct Educator levels are in operation.
Educator to children ratios:
KingKids has the goal of maintaining a ratio of 1 Educator to 11 children in the Pre-Kinder room whenever possible.
Yes, we offer enjoyable incursions at our centres, these include farm visits, music, dance and language programs and visits from special guests such as Indigenous Community Members.
Community Outing Program
Yes, we believe our ‘Community Outings Program’ will provide your child the opportunity to engage and explore in their local community. Outings can include visiting the local gardens or parks to collect materials and resources for art projects, walk to the local schools, local milk bar or supermarket to purchase items for a home cooked meal as prepared by our children.
These excursions will be spontaneous and may occur at any time during the hours mentioned above – weather permitting. We will also continue to share our learning activities via photos and videos on QK Journey, so you can follow all our adventures.
Bush Kinder
Is an outdoor excursion that provides greater learning opportunities for our children enrolled in our Kindergarten curriculum.
We believe the introduction of ‘Bush Kinder’ will provide your child the opportunity to visit the local parks / gardens to collect materials and resources for art projects, walk to the local schools to participate in educational programs such as PMP or theatrical demonstrations.
KingKids Educators who are actively working alongside children and part of the Educator: children ratio will have completed a minimum of a certificate III level qualification.
All Educators prior to commencement of employment at KingKids are required to provide a current Police Check, employee working with Children Check, First Aid certification, CPR certificate, Anaphylaxis and Asthma training. The also provide a copy of their Child Safety Course Certification. These remain up to date at all times. Catering staff also ensure that their food handling qualifications are up to date at all times. Our Cleaners also require their WWC Check.
We believe professional development is a necessary process for Educators to engage as a part of their continued development and to always strive to exceed the National Quality Standards of the broader framework of KingKids. It aims to reflect current and projected needs of both KingKids and the individual team member, providing support for career development and adapting to change and changing roles.
If your child is moving from kindergarten to school, their educator will write a transition and learning statement.
The statement includes:
Your kindergarten will give the statement to your child’s school or prep teacher. It helps the teacher get to know your child and plan the best way to teach them.
For more information on the transition from kinder to school, please see the following link: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/parents/learning/Pages/moving-to-school.aspx
