Program Statement and Mission ……………..……………3

Age Categories…………………………………………………………3

Tuition Fees………………….……………………………………………3

Hours of Operation…………………………..………………………3

Holidays…………………………………………………………………….4

Sample Menu……………………………….……………………………5

First Day Checklist ……………………….….………………………6

Admission and Discharge Policy……………………….……6

Sanitary Practices…………………………………………………….6

Sick Children……………………………………………………………..7

Potty Training…………………………………………………………….8

Parent Issues and Concerns……………………………………9

Prohibited Practices….…………….………………..……………10

Program Statement & Mission

At Happy Hearts Daycare, we promote a culture within our staff, community and learning environments, where children are respected for having knowledge, talents, interests and budding futures.

Our mission is to support families in the development of confident children by providing child care that inspires a passion for life through play, nature, food, learning and love.

Age Categories

At Happy Hearts Daycare, we offer care to children as young as 12 months of age to 4 years old. We provide individual instruction so that our program can be tailored to the unique needs of your child. Once children are developmentally ready, we help them transition into our advanced program which we call Forest school. This program can be a substitution for public education or be used in combination to enrich what is otherwise lacking.

9 months 10 years

Tuition Fees

Daycare –> 70$ per day

Forest school –> 60$ per day

This fee entitles access to full-day care, delicious snacks and meals, instruction from staff who are paid a living wage, family events that build community and support, access to a meticulously designed facility, and the understanding that every child in our care will have fun and know they are safe.

Tuition fees are due by the first of the month, and invoices will be emailed through Quickbooks.

Payments will be made by E-Transfer to Susie.HappyHearts@gmail.com

Late Fees

In the event that you are running late to pick up your child, please contact the Supervisor in charge through “Brightwheel” to inform them of your estimated arrival . If proper protocol is not followed you may be charged 1$ per minute for pick-up after 5pm. This is at the discretion of the Daycare Director and is meant as a deterrent.

In the event that tuition is not received by 7am on the first of the month, an additional 5$ per day will be added to your balance owing.

Hours of Operation

Daycare 8:00am 5:00pm

Forest school 9:00am 3:00pm

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Holidays

The daycare will be CLOSED on all Statutory Holidays.

Please remember that 70$ is due for all Statutory Holidays so that our staff can have a well deserved paid holiday. If your child does not usually attend on the day the daycare is closed, you are still required to pay for this day. To make your invoicing more predictable, 1 Holiday Fee will be added to each invoice across the year.

Over March Break and Christmas, you are not required to pay for daycare as we will be closed for Vacation. March Break and Winter Camps may be offered, Contact Susie to enrol.

A leave of absence will be granted due to a work lay-off, loss of job or maternity leave. If a child is absent from daycare, you can pay 50% of your normal fee to hold the position open for up to eight weeks per year. After eight weeks, the rate will return to the full amount or the vacancy may be filled with another child.

Holiday	2022- 2023
Labour Day	September 5
Thanksgiving	October 10
Christmas Eve	December 24
Christmas Day	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26
Christmas Break	Closed from Dec 26^th – Jan 6
New Years Day	January 2
Family Day	February 20
March Break	March 13^th – 17th
Good Friday	April 7
Easter Monday	April 10
Victoria Day	May 22
Canada Day	July 1
Civic Holiday	August 7
Labour Day	September 4

Sample Menu

WE SOURCE THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF FOOD, OFTEN TAKING FROM OUR OWN VEGETABLE GARDENS. ALL FOOD IS MADE FROM SCRATCH BY OUR ON SITE COOK, Steven Bolton. OUR COOK HAS A PASSION FOR FOOD AND NUTRITION AND IS A CERTIFIED FOOD HANDLER.

Breakfast………….08:30 am

Snack……………….10:30 am

Lunch……………….12:30 pm

Snack……………….04:00 pm

First Day Checklist

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS SHOULD BE PROVIDED BY PARENT AND REMAIN AT DAYCARE

Bike Helmet
A blanket for sleeping
Fitted crib sheet
Indoor slippers
One sleeve of diapers
Water cup with a sipping lid
Diaper Creams, sun screen, bug repellent
Two changes of clothing in a sealed bag, labeled with the child’s name, to be used in case of an accident.
Seasonal apparel: sun hat, snow hat, snow pants, gloves, rain boots etc.

Milk bottle ** if applicable
Formula ** if applicable

Admission and Discharge Policy

Happy Hearts Daycare does not discriminate in admissions based on medical decisions, race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. We do, however, recognize that not every child will fit comfortably into our child care family. For this reason, every new child begins on a one-month trial basis. During this trial, the parents or the provider are allowed to give a one-day notice to terminate care on the basis of not being a “good match.”

HOLDING FEE

Once you have been approved for an available space at Happy Hearts Daycare, the Holding Fee must be paid to secure enrolment for your child. The fee is non-refundable should alternate arrangements be made by you. The amount is equal to one month of daycare and will be credited toward your last month of fees owed when your child finishes daycare.

FINAL NOTICE

One month’s notice is required at the time of termination. By signing the contract agreement, the parent or guardian agrees to give one month’s written notice before terminating care or paying the one-month fee to terminate immediately. Happy Hearts appreciates as much notice as possible, therefore, if you provide more than one month’s notice, your child’s spot is guaranteed until your date of termination.

Sanitary Practices

Happy hearts daycare strives to maintain a clean and safe environment for children to play and learn in. We believe in using effective, natural, tough cleaning and disinfecting solutions frequently to limit the spread of germs and viruses. Daily cleaning and tidying is important to the safety of staff and children to minimize injuries and accidents.

Sick Children

Staff, parents, and children must not attend the program if they are sick, even if symptoms resemble a mild cold.

SYMPTOMS TO LOOK FOR INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO

Fever	Cough	Infection	Diarrhea
Sore Throat	Headache	Rash	Difficulty Breathing
Runny Nose	Nausea/Vomiting	Conjunctivitis	Head Lice
Abdominal Pain	Difficulty Swallowing	Nasal Congestion	Extreme Fussiness

Children who have a fever of 100⁰F (37.8⁰C) or above or other signs of illness will not be admitted to the facility. Do not bring your child to daycare if they have suffered from any of these symptoms within the past 24 hours.

REPORTING ILLNESSES

If symptoms arise on evenings or weekends, parents should not wait until business hours to update Susie on their child’s status. Please use brightwheel to update admin about your child’s illness and symptoms so we can take the necessary steps to clean our facility before reopening. Information about illness outbreaks in the daycare will be communicated through email.

A child will receive up to 6 Sick Days, when 24-hours notice is given to the daycare and the child stays home with symptoms. When requested, 50% of fee’s will be credited to the family towards future daycare.

A Sick Child Can Not Return to Daycare Until

They have had no fever for at least 24 hours without the use of any medicine

AND

Other symptoms have subsided

Potty Training

A potty trained child is a child who can communicate to an adult that they have to go potty before they have to go.

Be able to pull down their underwear and pants and get them back up without assistance.
Be able to wipe themselves after using the toilet.
Be able to get off the potty by themselves.
Be able to wash and dry their hands.

How we assist children at daycare

We have them sit on the potty during natural transition times (before and after meals, before and after naps, before and after outdoor play, and diaper changes)
We practice with them getting their pants up and down on their own and hand washing.
We will supervise them and watch for signs that they have to go
We will bag pee soaked underwear and return it to the parent at the end of the day but we will not do this with soiled underwear. We must dispose of that immediately into the garbage. We don’t do laundry of any soaked or soaked or soiled clothes. They are bagged, put outside, and returned to the parents at the end of the day.
We put children into underwear after they have been completely accident free in our care for two weeks.

Tips

Children should wear easy on and off pants during training
Model asking to use the washroom with other adults in your house
Let the child in the bathroom with you when you are going potty. This is really important for the same sex parent. Let them see how it works and you wash up afterwards.
If you see them mid way trying to poop or pee scurry them off to the potty to finish up.
Give your child three or four minutes to get the job done.
Train boys sitting down first. We switch them to standing up when they are tall enough to reach over the seat and adept enough to aim.

Nap time Training

Sometimes kids nap train right away when they are awake time trained. Most children are not able to do this and it is many months and sometimes years before they are nap trained. We require nap diapers until the child has slept through naps for 2 weeks without a pee accident.

Parent Issues and Concerns

Parents/guardians are encouraged to take an active role in our daycare and forest school and regularly discuss what their child(ren) are experiencing with our program. As supported by our program statement, we support positive and responsive interactions among the children, parents, child care providers and staff, and foster the engagement of and ongoing communication with parents about the program and their children. Our staff are available to engage parents in conversations and support a positive experience during every interaction.

All issues and concerns raised by parents are taken seriously and will be addressed. Every effort will be made to address and resolve issues and concerns to the satisfaction of all parties and as quickly as possible.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Every issue and concern will be treated confidentially and every effort will be made to protect the privacy of parents, children, staff, students and volunteers, except when information must be disclosed for legal reasons (e.g. to the Ministry of Education, College of Early Childhood Educators, law enforcement authorities or a Children’s Aid Society).

CONDUCT

Our daycare maintains high standards for positive interaction, communication and role modelling for children. Harassment and discrimination will therefore not be tolerated from any party.

SUSPECTED ABUSE OR NEGLECT OF A CHILD

Everyone, including members of the public and professionals who work closely with children, is required by law to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect.

If a parent expresses concerns that a child is being abused or neglected, the parent will be advised to contact the local Children’s Aid Society directly.

Persons who become aware of such concerns are also responsible for reporting this information to CAS as per the “Duty to Report” requirement under the Child and Family Services Act.

Emergency Management

Happy Hearts Daycare has emergency management policies and procedures in place to provide clear direction for staff to follow to support the safety and well-being of everyone involved. In the event that an emergency occurs, parents will be contacted by the Daycare Director by phone or in person as soon as possible.

Actives Off the Premises

Happy Hearts Daycare believes in the important of community engagement. We collaborate with community partners to offer experiences and outing in the neighborhood. Families will be informed of upcoming events and invited to come together on many of the projects. Children will participate in such outings as the farmer’s market, library, museum, meet and greets, parks and trails, volunteering, and fundraisers.

Prohibited Practices

Susie Bolton shall not permit, with respect to a child receiving child care at a daycare it operates or at a premises where it oversees the provision of child care,

Corporal punishment of the child;
Physical restraint of the child, such as confining the child to a high chair, car seat, stroller or other device for the purposes of discipline or in lieu of supervision, unless the physical restraint is for the purpose of preventing a child from hurting himself, herself or someone else, and is used only as a last resort and only until the risk of injury is no longer imminent;
Locking the exits of the child care premises for the purpose of confining the child, or confining the child in an area or room without adult supervision, unless such confinement occurs during an emergency and is required as part of the licensee’s emergency management policies and procedures;
Use of harsh or degrading measures or threats or use of derogatory language directed at or used in the presence of a child that would humiliate, shame or frighten the child or undermine his or her self-respect, dignity or self-worth;
Depriving the child of basic needs including food, drink, shelter, sleep, toilet use, clothing or bedding; or
Inflicting any bodily harm on children including making children eat or drink against their will. O. Reg. 137/15, s. 48; o. Reg. 126/16, s. 34.

No employee or volunteer of Happy Hearts Daycare, or student who is on an educational placement with the licensee, shall engage in any of the prohibited practices set out in subsection (1) with respect to a child receiving child care. O.Reg. 51/18, s. 19.

Parent Handbook

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