What are the ELC Education Program options?
Early Learning Centre (ELC) provides two-day, three – day and five-day options for 3-year-olds and a five-day program for 4-year-olds. The Standard Day ELC program runs during School Terms while the Long Day Education program runs 48 weeks per year.
What hours/days does the Program operate?
The Standard Day ELC program operates between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. during School Terms.
The Long Day Education program operation hours are 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
What days does ELC Long Day Program run?
2 days Long Day Education Program runs on Thursday and Friday
3 days Long Day Education Program runs on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
5 days Long Day Education Program runs on Monday to Friday
What qualifications do the staff have?
Our staff are all experienced Early Childhood Educators who hold a minimum qualification of a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and a current Working with Children Check. Our Program Leaders hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies and are trained in First Aid, CPR, asthma and anaphylaxis.
Who can attend the ELC Education Program?
Your child/children must be enrolled in the Education option to attend. If your child is enrolled in the ELC program only (without the long day option), he/she cannot attend the ELC Long Day Education Program.
Can I use the Program for casual bookings?
No. Enrolment in the ELC Long Day program is for the year and is subject to an interview and offer process. There is a limited number of places.
Can I change options throughout the year?
Yes. Any variations in the days required should be made in writing to the Director of ELC. Notice of a decrease in days must be given four weeks in advance. Notice of an increase in days can be made at any time with a pro-rata adjustment for fees. An increase in days may take a short time to come into effect depending on the place availability.
What is the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and How much is the CCS?
CCS replaced Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate from 1 July 2018. The amount of Child Care Subsidy (CCS) you can get depends on your circumstances. Please refer to the Child Care Subsidy – Service Australia website for more information.
Does my child need to attend a certain number of hours/days a week to receive the CCS?
The CCS depends on a number of factors, including the work/study hours of the parent, family income, etc. Please visit the Child Care Subsidy – Service Australia website for further details.
How do I pay my fees fortnightly?
All ELC Fees must be paid by the due date via Direct Debit from a Bank Account or by Credit Card (Visa and Master Card only).
You must consent to Firbank Grammar School Direct Debiting from your bank account or credit card (Visa/Master Card only) for all fees that you incur by using a Service.
What are the registration and enrolment fees?
A fee of $200 is payable when you submit an application form.
A further enrolment fee of $2,000 must be paid upon acceptance into the ELC Program.
These are non – refundable payments.
Do we still pay the daily rate even if we don’t attend?
Yes. However, if this is an authorised absence you will still be eligible for any CCS that you would otherwise receive for that day.
How many absences can my child have?
Families can get CCS when their child is absent from a session of care. For the 2022-23 financial year, you can get 10 extra allowable absences due to Covid-19 bringing the total number of absence days to 52 and they do not include public holidays or Centre close-down days.
If my child has a doctor’s certificate, is this still recorded as an absence?
Yes.
Does the School have to record the actual times of attendance of each child?
Yes, the “Child Care Provider Handbook’ published by the Department of Education states that each session report that is submitted to the CCS System must record actual attendance in and out times (except for absences).
If the actual hours of attendance are being reported, does that mean that payments are made according to this or to the session times?
Since we are billing a session/daily fee and reporting on the number of days for which we are operating, the payments are made on the session times/days, not the actual hours of attendance.
When do the public holidays fall?
These are the gazetted public holidays for Melbourne and will be published on Firbank’s website. The ELC programs will not be open.
