In line with the organisations vision, Lady Gowrie Children’s Services is highly valued by families and education and care professionals for the delivery of excellent, responsive services to children and families.
Program / Curriculum
There is a great deal of evidence based research that identifies the importance of the early years as the foundation for lifelong learning. The years prior to school are universally accepted as the critical period of the child’s life for establishing the basis of the children’s future learning and development. Therefore, quality early experiences support best outcomes for young children and enhance ongoing development in middle childhood.The development of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), which was developed and endorsed by the Federal Government, guides early childhoood curriculum devleopment at Lady Gowrie Tasmania. Similarly, the soon to be released framework for the middle years will be used to guide program development for the outside school hours care programs at Lady Gowrie Tasmania.
Lady Gowrie education and care professionals meet regularly to plan and evaluate high quality programs. During this planning process, information from children and families, research, curriculum frameworks and theories inform everyday practice within Lady Gowrie education and care programs.
Families are actively encouraged to participate and contribute to the development and evaluation of programs for children.
Education and Care Professionals
Research indicates that one of the key components of quality education and care is the qualifications and qualities of staff. Lady Gowrie Tasmania actively encourages and supports educators to either gain a formal qualification or upgrade an existing qualification to a higher level.
Despite a critical skills shortage nationally, Lady Gowrie Tasmania has been successful in attracting and retaining committed education and care professionals. This is due to the organisation supporting improved wages and conditions and a supportive environment provided for educators.
Educators are selected not only for their qualifications, skills and experience but also for the personal qualities essential to undertake the important role of caring for and educating young children.
Ongoing Professional Learning
To support innovation in program and curriculum planning, Lady Gowrie education and care professionals are encouraged to gain a formal qualification or upgrade an existing qualification. An internal scholarship program contributes towards the cost of such study.
Education and care professionals have the opportunity to participate in a broad range of professional learning provided by the organisation or by other agencies through conferences and forums. An internal leadership program and up skilling program is also in place for aspiring leaders.
Primary Caregiving
In light of early brain research and the significance of attachment an relationships in the first three years of a child’s life, Lady Gowrie Child Centres are committed to primary care giving for children under tree years of age. The main goal of primary care giving is to foster secure attachments between education and care professionals and children, and to build strong partnerships with families.
Meals
Lunch, morning, afternoon tea and late afternoon tea are provided at most centres. The cost of these meals is included in the fee structure at those centres. These centres have attained ‘Start Right Eat Right’ accreditation which means children are offered meals and snacks that meet the recommended dietary guidelines by recognised authorities and at least 50% of children’s daily nutritional requirements are met through the meal and snack provision.
At our smaller centres, Lindisfarne North, Richmond, South Hobart, Swansea, Taroona and Frederick Street (in the North of the state), families provide lunchboxes for children attending. The guidelines of the ‘Start Right Eat Right’ healthy lunchboxes are recommended to families. Morning, afternoon tea and late afternoon tea are provided by the centre.
For the Outside School Hours Care and Preschool / Occasional Care Programs, morning and / or afternoon tea is provided and included in the fees. During the Vacation Care Program, families provide lunchboxes for children attending unless lunch is provide as part of a particular activity in the program e.g. cooking experiences, barbeque, or restaurant excursion.
Lady Gowrie Tasmania prides itself on the quality and quantity of meals provided for children. The menu is planned in consultation with the Department of Health; Community Nutrition Unit to ensure it continues to meet the recommendations of this recognised authority. The weekly menu is displayed at each site and special dietary requirements are accommodated.
With ongoing concerns regarding the increase of childhood obesity, it is important that the organisation contributes to influencing positive food choices as an early intervention strategy.
Fees and Accounts
Fees are charges on a sessional, daily or weekly basis and are payable daily, weekly or fortnightly. EFTPOS, Bpay and Credit Card facilities are available.
Hours of Operation
The centres / services traditionally close between Christmas and New Year and on other gazetted public holidays. The hours of operation vary from centre to centre, depending on the needs of the community.Please refer to individual centre/service information for exact hours of operation.
Centre / Service Tours
Each centre / service conducts regular tours for prospective families. Please contact the respective centre / service to arrange a visit.
Wait List / Enrolment Inquiry
As the education and care programs at Lady Gowrie are in great demand, families seeking care either now or in the future are encouraged to complete the Waitlist / Enrolment Inquiry Form.
Once lodged, families are required to update the date every three months from the lodgement date. Due to the number of families on the waitlist / enrolment inquiry database, failure to update this information results in the details being removed.
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