FAQs

Sunshine on Sunshine is open from 7.00am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday

Sunshine on Vickery is open from 7.30am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday

Both centres are open every day except Statutory Holidays and weekends.

At Sunshine we pride ourselves on providing affordable quality childcare. Our fees range from $35 to $210 for our under three year olds and Free to $119 for our over three year olds.

Check out our Fee Page for more information

Your fees cover the cost of all meals (including a cooked lunch), nappies, individual learning folders and cow’s milk for bottles (not formula).

Our Administrators are well versed in dealing with WINZ and working through this process alongside you. We have all the forms available on site that you might need and we can advise on the best course of action for your personal situation.

The Government supports many families with a child care subsidy and families can earn a surprising amount and still receive a subsidy. To check if you may be eligible phone 0800 599 099 or click to find out if you qualify for child care assistance: http://www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz/childcare-assistance/

Childcare subsidy is dependent on family situation, income and hours worked/studied. There are 5 tier rates of subsidy available and WINZ will let you know which one you qualify for. It is a good idea to apply 3-4 weeks before you need your subsidy to start as WINZ cannot backdate payments.

Most families qualify for 9 hours for their under two year old. You don’t even have to be working or in study to be eligible.

We are committed to providing a healthy environment for all children and staff. It is difficult to remove the risk of infection and illness completely; however we provide an environment in which all efforts are made to reduce the risk of illness and infectious diseases spreading. Teachers role model and encourage children to develop skills and understand self-care and personal hygiene.

We also understand the pressure of working/studying parents with children and we acknowledge the difficulties faced by these parents who have children who are ill. We do take this into account and will discuss your child’s symptoms with you. We are also committed to knowing our children and being able to differentiate between sickness and teething etc.
Our Illness policy states that children who exhibit these symptoms must be excluded from Childcare until their symptoms clear
• Elevated Temperature
• Hot, cold, moist, clammy or cyanosed skin (blue tinge mainly to lips, fingers and toes)
• Respiratory difficulties, excessive coughing, high pitched wheezy, chesty or laboured breathing
• Rash (or given all clear from General Practioner)
• Conjunctivitis is highly contagious therefore children will be excluded until all signs of conjunctivitis have disappeared.
• Headaches
• Stiff neck
• Generally unwell and unable to participate in our program.

Children who display the following must be excluded for 24-48 hours after symptoms clear:
• Diarrhea or offensive loose motions
• Vomiting

Both Sunshine on Vickery and Sunshine on Sunshine have Facebook pages that are updated each week with photo moments regarding your children’s learning and development.

We also hold termly Family/Whanau Events that all of our whanau are invited to. These include, but are not limited to Matariki, Grandparent Days, and Christmas Celebrations.

Both centres try for at least 2 outings/excursions a year and we ask for Parent/Whanau assistance to make these possible – we like to give you a lot of notice so you can organise it with your work/study for the time away.

You can also keep in touch with your child kaiako through email, phone calls and by dropping in and staying when you have a few minutes.

We organise parent evenings where you can speak with us about the care and needs of your individual child, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Each child has a portfolio of their learning journey while at Sunshine. Whanau are encouraged to add to these, telling us about your child’s learning and development journey at home.

In our under two rooms we maintain maximum ratios of 1 teacher to 4 children (1:4), however usually we sit lower than this.
Ministry of Education Ratio for children aged under 2 is 1:5.

In our over 2 rooms our ratios are between 1:8 and 1:10 depending on the age, stage and needs of our tamariki.
Ministry of Education Ratio for children aged over 2 is1:10.

Depending on how full each centre is, children can generally start straight away if there are spaces. However we encourage whanau to have a 2 week transition period to settle your child into the centre.

We offer 6 transition visits, starting from 1 hour and working up to 3 hours. We encourage these to be taken over a 2 week period. The first week will consist of 3 hour long sessions where the parent or whanau member stays with the child and carries out all their care routines (if necessary). In the second week we encourage the parent or whanau member to stay with the child for a short period of time and then leave them for a period of up to two hours (for two sessions) and then three hours on the final session. Generally your child would be ready to start the following week.

However we also understand all children are different and all whanau have different situations, so we are flexible on the length of time transition would take. Please talk to us about your individual needs.

At Sunshine Childcare we believe in providing all children with the best quality care and education we can. This means we are an inclusive setting and we will work with you, your whanau and your child to ensure the experience is a positive one for them.
Please talk to us about what your child’s individual needs are and what you would like us to do for you.

All visitors to our building are required to sign in and sign out to ensure we are able to keep a record of who has been in our centre. We also ask on enrolment for you to provide us details of any court orders that are in place and we make sure that this information is handled confidentially and sensitively, but that the people who need to know are aware of this.

All people who are not known to our staff that are coming to pick up a child are required to show ID and to be on the child pick up list.

We understand that in some situations, ‘things happen’ and your usual person may not be available to pick up your child. In this situation, we encourage you to ring us and give permission for someone different to pick up your child; we will ask them for ID on pick-up to confirm they are who they say they are.

We are also sensitive to the need to keep children safe, and that may mean that your child is not visible online through our website, facebook or any other forms of digital or print media. Please let us know if this is your wish when you sign then enrolment form.

At Sunshine Childcare we maintain a minimum of 80% qualified teaching professionals throughout both centres.

We also believe in building the teaching capacity of our staff and we do this by having staff that are in training (through various organisations) to become qualified Early Childhood Teachers. We provide them with a fully qualified mentor to assist with their training and to support them to reach their goal.

We also value experience in addition to qualifications. A few of our staff have years of experience working with children and are not qualified. We value the contribution and the experience they bring to our centre.

At Sunshine Childcare we implement the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum –Te Whariki through a play based curriculum.

This teaching and learning document is based on four principles of learning – empowerment, holistic development, family & community and relationships. These principles are designed to develop confidence, aid communication and build positive relationships within our centre family and whanau.

We take pride in the fact that we cater for each individual child. We provide a daily learning programme where child-led, spontaneous and teacher-initiated experiences are woven like a whariki through play; to support children’s evolving skills, attitudes and dispositions which are essential for being confident life long learners.

We offer an environment rich in nature; trees, grass, mud. Here at Sunshine we believe in letting kids be kids and empower their learning through thoughtful and provoking play experience.

We are open every day except for Statutory Holidays – including the days between Christmas and New Year

At Sunshine Childcare we are committed to ensuring that we provide a correct nutritional and balanced diet to support the development of each child. We want to ensure meal times are an empowering experience for children, encouraging their independence, promoting self-help and supporting positive decisions regarding healthy eating. Meals are an opportunity for children and teachers to engage in conversation and develop relationships.

Our menu is developed termly, on a four week rotation with seasonal and home grown fruit and vegetables available each day. Our onsite chefs provide varied and nutritious meals in alignment with our Healthy Heart Programme.

We have a level 1 Healthy heart Award – The Rito Award (Founding). This level helps us to put some strong foundations in place around healthy eating and physical activity. We are always working towards the next level of Healthy Heart.

Both the Rimu Room at Sunshine on Sunshine and the Pohutukawa Room at Sunshine on Vickery have been in discussions with the schools that our children will be attending to see what information we could share and how we could prepare children for school. This has resulted in the centres creating a Mini Portfolio which has strong links to the Primary School curriculum that is sent through to the child’s new entrant teacher before they start school. This gives the school knowledge about our tamariki and an understanding of who they are before their first day.

We do not offer transition to school visits – we encourage you as the parent/whanau to be involved with these as it is important for you to have the connection with the school and your childs new teacher.

Both centres have at least 2 outings/excursions a year and we ask for Parent/Whanau assistance to make these possible – we like to give you a lot of notice so you can organise it with your work/study for the time away. Most rooms also participate in short walks around our community.

We also arrange to have outside providers come into the centre – like music lessons or gym class – so your child can experience a full range of activities while in our care.

At both Sunshine on Sunshine and Sunshine on Vickery we provide quiet sleep areas for all children needing to rest or sleep. Feel free to bring along items that will assist your child during sleeping times such as dummies, bed toys and comforters.

At Sunshine Childcare we know that parent/whanau are entitled to make decisions about immunising their children. If you choose not to immunise your child you will need to inform us on their enrolment form. In the event that there is an outbreak, your child will not be able to attend, along with children who are not fully immunised, for the period that the Ministry of Health recommends.