Vacation Care is an additional service that is provided for families during the school holiday period. It is available for families that attend Randwick Public School as well as families from other schools. The program consists of a range of incursions and excursions tailored for specific year groups.
There is a strict enrolment process that is the same for all holiday sessions. The program and enrolment form are available ONLY to Randwick Public School families for the first 72 hours after it’s released. After the 72 hour period has elapsed the program is then made available to families from outside the school.
Families can access the vacation program and enrolment forms directly from the centre or via email. Any other documents needed (such as waivers) will also be made available with the program and enrolment form and must be filled out and returned.
Please note: All vacation care bookings are non-refundable or transferable, for any reason including change of mind of days or absence so please ensure you only submit your form for the days you require. Please only mark the days that you are certain you need. By submitting your enrolment form, families are agreeing to confirmation of days (depending on availability) therefore payment is required in full for your confirmed days.
What to bring to Vacation Care:
A backpack including the following –
- Healthy morning tea & lunch (unless specified that lunch is provided on
- the program)
Note: Due to children with anaphylactic allergies, Randwick OOSH strives to be free from products containing nuts. Parents/guardians are asked to use caution when packing meals for their children. - Water bottle
- Raincoat – please avoid umbrellas as these can be hazardous when walking with large groups of children
- A warm jumper
- Hat – we recommend wide brimmed to protect the neck and ears as well.
- Sunscreen if you prefer that your child use a particular brand.
- Swimming costume, towel & goggles if the excursion/incursion involves water activities.
- Spare clothes (including underwear) in case there are any accidents.
Children are permitted to bring their scooters/bikes/rollerblades to use at the centre when not participating in scheduled activities, however helmets must be worn at all times.
Always mark belongings with your child’s full name. Any belongings brought to the centre by your child remain the sole responsibility of the child and family. Randwick OOSH staff take no responsibility for lost, stolen or broken items.
Electronic Devices:
Electronic devices such as iPads/Nintendo DS can be brought to the centre during vacation care only. Children will only be permitted to use such devices for a restricted amount of time. Please read additional information surrounding electronic devices at the service in the above Vacation Care drop down menu.
What to wear:
Please ensure your child is wearing comfortable clothes that offer maximum sun protection. Closed shoes that are suitable for walking and playing are best, thongs and sandals are impractical. Children will be given a blue OOSH hat to wear on excursions which assist staff with identifying children in public. These hats must be returned after each excursion and are not to be kept by families.
Arriving and Departing:
All children must be present at the centre by 10am for roll call. If you are late you may miss excursions (excursions leaving before 10am will be specified on the program). In general, children will return back to the centre from excursions between 2.00pm – 3.30pm. A bus time table for each Vacation Care period is displayed in the entrance to the centre, please read it carefully.
On arrival to the service parents/guardians are to apply sunscreen to their child.
Hours:
Vacation Care functions between 7:30am-6:00pm Monday-Friday of the school holidays. The service is closed for only two weeks each year, which encompasses the Christmas and New Year’s period. Families will be notified each year when this two week period falls.
The centre abides by a strict late pick up fee schedule. If you are going to be late, families are asked to notify the centre as soon as practicable. Arriving any time past 6:00pm is considered late and will incur a late fee charge which is outlined in our Fees Policy.
Please notify the centre as soon as possible if your child is going to be away from the centre.
Excursions:
On the Vacation Care program you can find your child’s activity for the day. Children must participate in the scheduled activity as you are unable to book them into any other year group’s activity. No children are permitted to stay at the centre whilst their year group attends an excursion.
On all excursions, there will generally be a 1:8 staff to child ratio and 1:5 staff to child ratio for swimming activities. The number of children going on each excursion can vary from as small as 7 up to 150 children depending on year groups and the type of excursion.
Risk Assessments are conducted for each incursion/excursion to ensure safety standards are upheld at all times, these assessments are available for viewing upon request.
Fees:
Families are asked to hold off payment until you have received a confirmation by Randwick OOSH staff via statement or phone contact. All fees (for vacation care and before and after school care) must be up to date in order to enrol into Vacation Care.
Weather:
Please note that at times the weather is unpredictable and circumstances may arise that require changes to be made to our program on the day.