CHERRY CRESCENT PRESCHOOL Fees Policy Mandatory – Quality Area 7 AuthorisationThis policy was adopted by the Approved Provider of Cherry Crescent Preschool on 7th December 2020. Review date:This policy shall be reviewed:___________________________________________________ Person with management and control:_____________________________________________ Date:_______________________________ PurposeThis policy will provide clear guidelines for:
Policy statement1. Values2. Scope3. Background and legislationBackgroundThe Department of Education and Training (DET) provides funding for each child who is enrolled and attending a funded kindergarten program in the year before school. Income from other sources, primarily fees, is required to meet all the additional costs incurred by the service in the delivery of the children’s program. In addition, the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (refer to Definitions) enables eligible children to attend a funded kindergarten program free of charge in the year before school. DET also funds Early Start Kindergarten for three-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and children known to Child Protection, to access kindergarten programs as outlined in The Kindergarten Funding Guide (refer to Sources). Regulation 168(2) (n) of Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 requires that funded services have a comprehensive written fees policy, and the content of this policy must be communicated to families. The policy must include a written statement about the fees to be charged and the payment process. All families must be informed of applicable term and annual fees at the time of enrolment. Services must also advise eligible families of the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy arrangements. The fees charged must comply with the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy requirements (refer to Definitions), and be responsive to the local community and the viability of the service. The Kindergarten Funding Guide (refer to Sources) outlines the criteria to be covered in the policy. Legislation and standardsRelevant legislation and standards include but are not limited to:
4. DefinitionsThe terms defined in this section relate specifically to this policy. For commonly used terms e.g. Approved Provider, Nominated Supervisor, Regulatory Authority etc. refer to the General Definitions section of this manual. Approved child care: Approved child care services are services that have Australian Government approval to receive the Child Care Subsidy (refer to Definitions) on behalf of eligible parents. Approved child care includes centre based day care, including long day care and occasional care, family day care, outside school hours care and in home care. Early Start Kindergarten: A funding program that enables three-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and children known to Child Protection to attend a kindergarten program that is planned and delivered by an early childhood teacher for up to 15 hours per week. Details are available at: www.education.vic.gov.au Enrolment application fee: A payment to cover administrative costs associated with the processing of a child’s enrolment application for a place in a program at the service. Excursion/service event charge: An additional charge required to meet the cost of special events or excursions that occur in response to emerging children’s program needs. Events that are planned ahead and are included as an expenditure item in the service’s budget do not incur this additional charge (refer to Excursions and Service Events Policy). Fees: A charge for a place within a program at the service. Health Care Card: A Commonwealth Government entitlement providing concessions for low-income earners and other eligible people. Details are available at: www.humanservices.gov.au Kindergarten fee deposit: A charge to secure a place that has been offered in a program at the service. This payment is retained and used as your child’s term 4fees. Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (KFS): A state government subsidy paid in addition to per capita grants to subsidise the costs of parent fees and enable eligible children to attend a funded kindergarten for 15 hours free of charge (The Kindergarten Funding Guide (refer to Sources)). 5. Sources and related policiesSources
ProceduresThe Approved Provider and Person with Management and Control are responsible for:The Nominated Supervisor and Person in Day-to-Day Charge is responsible for:All other staff are responsible for:Parents/guardians are responsible for:EvaluationIn order to assess whether the values and purposes of the policy have been achieved, the Approved Provider will:
AttachmentsAttachment 1 FEE INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES
The Department of Education and Training (DET) provides funding for each child enrolled and attending kindergarten in the year before school as a contribution toward the costs of providing the program. Services meet the balance of costs through charging fees and fundraising activities. DET provides a Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (see below) that enables children from eligible families to attend a kindergarten program free of charge in the year before school. DET also provides funding to assist eligible three-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and children known to Child Protection, to access kindergarten programs. Cherry Crescent Preschool provides a range of support options to parents/guardians experiencing difficulty with payment of fees (see below). Planned closures and additional hours to account for closure: Cherry Crescent Preschool offers a funded four year old kindergarten program that is planned and delivered by a qualified teacher. The funded four year old program offers at least 15 hours per week for 40 weeks of the year, or 600 hours per year. There may be times when it is not possible to deliver the scheduled funded kindergarten program hours in a given week due to public holidays, child-free days, unplanned teacher absences or emergency situations.
Cherry Crescent Preschool will: • communicate to families at the beginning of the year about the days and times the service will operate • identify any planned closures, including public holidays and child-free days • provide details of any planned alternative sessions • manage disruptions in program delivery to ensure that staff, families and children are considered • inform the Department if a qualified replacement teacher cannot be sourced to deliver the funded program.
Where possible, Cherry Crescent Preschool will minimise the amount of disruption to normal service delivery, including: • appointing relief staff to ensure sessions can continue • scheduling closures so that the same group of children are not continually missing out on program hours • offering alternative sessions throughout the year.
Where possible, Cherry Crescent Preschool will try to avoid cancelling sessions or changing session times during the year if the closure has not been planned and communicated to families at the beginning of the year. Voluntary parent/guardian contribution: A voluntary payment for items not directly related to the provision of the children’s program. Attendance at the service is not conditional on this payment.
As part of the budget development process, the Committee of Management/Board sets fees each year for the programs of the service, taking into consideration:
Once fees are set for the year, they will only be reviewed in extraordinary circumstances, for example, if enrolments drop and the service is at risk of not being able to meet its expenses.
Other charges levied by Cherry Crescent Preschool are included on the Statement of Fees and Charges. These include:
A statement of fees and charges for four-year-old or three-year-old kindergarten will be provided to families on enrolment.
Not all service costs are covered by DET per capita funding and the fees charged. Fundraising is undertaken to meet the balance and/or pay for additional items for the service. While participation in fundraising is voluntary, the support of every family is encouraged. Fundraising activities are also an opportunity for families and communities to come together.
6.1 Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (four-year-old programs only) The Kindergarten Fee Subsidy is provided by DET and enables eligible children to attend 15 hours of kindergarten free of charge. Eligibility conditions may change from time-to-time and must be checked in the most recent edition of the Kindergarten Funding Guide (refer to Sources). Families may be eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy in the year before school if their child: • is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander; or • holds, or has a parent/guardian who holds a Humanitarian or refugee Visa; or • is a multiple birth child (triplets or more); or • holds, or has a parent who holds a Commonwealth Health Care Card, Pensioner Concession Card or Veteran’s Affairs Card. Exclusions and exceptions: Not available for approved child care services in receipt of Commonwealth Child Care Subsidy. Where a child is identified by a parent, carer or legal guardian as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, no verification is required. In all other instances, supporting documentation should be sighted by the service on acceptance of a place or on commencement in the program, however where there are delays, such as in obtaining health care cards for children in out-of-home care, the delay should not provide a barrier to the child accessing the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy. Families are eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy for the full term in which their concession is valid. Contact the service for further information. 6.2 Early Start Kindergarten fee subsidy Three-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children known to Child Protection are eligible to attend a funded early childhood program that is planned and delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher free of charge. The service receives funding for children who meet the eligibility criteria. Contact the service for further information.
The Committee of Management/Board will regularly review payment options and procedures to ensure that they are inclusive and sensitive to families’ cultural and financial situations. Fees will be invoiced to parents/guardians directly and each invoice will be accompanied by payment instructions. Term fees will ideally be received in full within 14 days of the child’s commencement at Cherry Crescent Preschool. For children enrolled after the commencement of a term, a pro rata invoice will be issued and the service will work with the families to aim for this payment to be paid in full within 14 days of the child’s commencement at the service. Receipts will be provided for all fee payments. Parents/guardians experiencing difficulty in paying fees are requested to contact Dianne Ferrel (primary nominee) to arrange a suitable alternative payment plan. The Privacy and Confidentiality Policy of the service will be complied with at all times in relation to a family’s financial/personal circumstances. A payment plan can be arranged to support families and children experiencing vulnerability to establish consistent attendance. Cherry Crescent Preschool is committee to engage families experiencing vulnerability. Australian research confirms that the families most in need are those least likely to access programs, with the very factors that make them vulnerable often acting as barriers to their seeking and obtaining help and support. The Centre for Community Child Health Policy Brief ‘Engaging Marginalised and Vulnerable Families’ provides the following advice for services engaging with vulnerable families: “The way in which services engage and work with families is critical: professionals need to respond to family priorities, build on family strengths, and establish partnerships that involve shared decision making, thereby giving families greater control over their lives.
For any outstanding fees, the following steps may be taken:-
If a family becomes eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy during a term, a full refund of the applicable term fees (and fee deposit, where appropriate) will be provided. Fees may still apply for programs offering more than the required minimum hours per week. In any other case, fees are non-refundable (exceptional circumstances may apply – these are at the discretion of the Committee of Management/Board). There will be no refund of fees in the following circumstances:
In addition, there will be no refund where a family chooses not to send their child to the program for the maximum number of hours for which they are enrolled.
Full payment is required to reserve a place while a child is waiting to turn three in our three year old kindergarten program. The child will need to be accompanied by an adult family member throughout the session, until they have turned three years of age.
Families experiencing financial hardship often require access to family support services. Information on these services may be available from the kindergarten service provider or alternatively families may contact the local council.
Fees set for the year would only be reviewed in extraordinary circumstances, for example, if attendance rates fall below the budget ‘break even’ point. Parents/guardians will be notified one term in advance of any required fee increase and will be offered the option to request a payment plan. Attachment 2 Statement of Fees and Charges
Fee schedule 2021 Four-year-old (funded) kindergarten
* While participation in fundraising is voluntary, support from every family is encouragedPayment of feesInvoices will be issued every term and we will work with every family to help aim for payment to be paid by the due date. Cherry Crescent Preschool will provide a range of support options to parents/guardians experiencing difficulty with payment of fees. Kindergarten fee depositThis payment secures your child’s place at Cherry Crescent Preschool and is payable during our Orientation Day. This payment is retained and used as your child’s term 4fees. Kindergarten Fee SubsidyFamilies who are eligible for the Kindergarten Fee Subsidy (refer to Fee information for families) will not be required to make fee payments. Attachment 3 Statement of Fees and Charges
Fee schedule 2021 Three-year-old kindergarten
* While participation in fundraising is voluntary, support from every family is encouragedPayment of feesInvoices will be issued every termand we will work with every family to help aim for payment to be paid by the due date. Cherry Crescent Preschool will provide a range of support options to parents/guardians experiencing difficulty with payment of fees. Kindergarten fee depositThis payment secures your child’s place at Cherry Crescent Preschool and is payable during our Orientation Day. This payment is retained and used as your child’s term 4 fees in our three-year-old (unfunded) kindergarten program. Early Start Kindergarten fee subsidyFamilies who are eligible for the Early Start Kindergarten fee subsidy (refer to Fee information for families) will not be required to make fee payments. Children turning three during the year of enrolment Full payment is required to reserve a place while your child is waiting to turn three in our three year old kindergarten program. Your child will need to be accompanied by an adult family member throughout the session, until they have turned three years of age.
Attachment 4 Statement of Fees and Charges
Fee schedule 2021 Three-year-old kindergarten
* While participation in fundraising is voluntary, support from every family is encouragedPayment of feesInvoices will be issued every termand we will work with every family to help aim for payment to be paid by the due date. Cherry Crescent Preschool will provide a range of support options to parents/guardians experiencing difficulty with payment of fees. Kindergarten fee depositThis payment secures your child’s place at Cherry Crescent Preschool and is payable during our Orientation Day. This payment is retained and used as your child’s term 4 fees in our three-year-old (unfunded) kindergarten program. Early Start Kindergarten fee subsidyFamilies who are eligible for the Early Start Kindergarten fee subsidy (refer to Fee information for families) will not be required to make fee payments. Children turning three during the year of enrolment Full payment is required to reserve a place while your child is waiting to turn three in our three year old kindergarten program. Your child will need to be accompanied by an adult family member throughout the session, until they have turned three years of age.
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