Little Learners starting information
Welcome to Scopus Little Learners
We are delighted that you chosen us to partner with you in our Little Learners program.
We know that there will be many questions along the way and we hope that this will help guide you through the starting process.
Please click through on each topic to access the information that you will need.
All parents in all year levels need to ensure they are familiar with the policies and information outlined in the Parent Handbook, on our website. The College's Child Protection Policy is also available on the same page. Any change to our policies is issued via the Scopus App and updates noted in the handbook.
Little Learners (Long day care) program
Monday to Thursday 7.30am - 6.00pm
Friday 7.30am - 5.00pm (Summer)
7.30am - 4.00pm (Winter)
The change between summer and winter time will be advised.
Complete information regarding school dates for the coming two years can be found on the Mount Scopus Calendar which can be viewed here.
Operating period
The first day of operation for Little Learners is Thursday 5 January, 2023.
The last day of operation is Friday 22 December, 2023.
The operating and closed days are listed here on the Terms and Conditions.
Staffing
Little Learners is staffed on the ratio of 1 educator to 4 children for two year old children.
There will be a maximum of 16 children in the room on any one day (except in the case of emergency care).
Our staff exceed the mandated qualification requirements.
Drop off and pick up
At the start of the year as children settle into their new routines and become familiar with their new learning environment parents are required to walk into the room with their child to sign them in and drop them off in the mornings. As your child settles, if you wish to transition to using the drop off bay, where your child will be greeted by a staff member who will escort them to their room and sign them in, then please discuss this with your teacher to see if they feel the timing is right to do so. Children need to be completely settled to use drop off bay. We will not take crying children out of cars as this is traumatic for both your child and the educator.
In the afternoon all children must be collected directly from the room. Any person collecting a child from Little Learners must be pre-registered to do so via the Xplor Home app.
In order to ensure that your child/ren can commence, full documentation must be completed and returned by Friday 18 November.
ELC policies
When completing the required documentation you will be asked if you have read and accept the policies an procedures of the ELC. You can find them listed below.
Early Learning Centre (ELC) Specific Policies
Pursuant to the Education and Care Services National Regulations (2011), we are required to collect a range of information for all children attending one our Early Learning Centre (ELC) services, which at Mount Scopus includes Little Learners, Lower Kinder or Upper Kinder.
This includes a current Australian Immunisation Registry Status certificate for each enrolled ELC child. No other documents are acceptable based on the legislation, including immunisation certificates from other countries.
Additionally, complete medical details for each child, along with emergency contact and GP details must be provided, along with any relevant care plans such as for asthma or diabetes.
You will also be required to provide a headshot of your child, which the educators use in preparation for the start of the year.
*Please note that the 'no jab, no play' legislation applies to Little Learners. This means that no child can commence if we have not received their immunisation status certificate indicating that they have received all required immunisations for their age.
At Mount Scopus we want to see our children flourish. Our aim is for children to not only develop their intellectual skills but also their social and emotional wellbeing. This is the time that they begin to learn valuable social skills and use them to build meaningful relationships. We want children to become resilient, sociable and confident learners.
We invite you to share some information with us about your child/ren. This will be used as a starting point at the pre-commencement meeting in December which you can build upon in your discussion with the teacher.
With this in mind, we ask you to complete a child profile form via the link below.
Starting date: On this form there is also a question relating to your child's starting date. Although the program commences on Thursday 5 January, 2023, and billing commences on that date we understand that some people may still be on holiday at that time. Please complete the question as to when you expect your child to commence at Little Learners.
Please click here to access the profile form for Little Learners; please complete by Friday 18 November.
Children
Children, along with their parents are invited to attend a pre-commencement interview. These are scheduled 15 minute meetings on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 December between 8.30am and 11.30am.
Please call Anna in the FKI office on 8554 4700 to schedule your appointment time.
Important: Please remember that if your documentation is not completed and returned by 18 November you will not be able to proceed with the interview and your child may not be able to commence in January.
These meetings are an opportunity for children to visit their new environment and meet the room teachers. It also allows for parents to discuss any particular likes or dislikes their child may have, or concerns they may have about their child, allowing for a smooth start to the year.
Parents
Nor are parents forgotten. If you are a first time Mount Scopus parent you may have many queries about the day to day program and logistics. Please diarise the dates and information will follow closer to the time for the following opportunities on offer for parents:
- Little Learners parent information session: Wednesday 30 November, 2022, 7.45pm
- New Parents Dinner: New date - Thursday 2 February, 2023
Once the year commences teachers and the school communicate with parent through a number of digital Apps:
The Toddle app is a digital portfolio showing both group and individual learning.
Teachers and admin post notices and a newsletter to the Scopus App regularly updating them on upcoming events, giving vital information.
It is important for parents to keep up to date with these notices as this is a main communication forum.
See the Websites, apps and portals page for more information.
New Parents Dinner
First time parents at Mount Scopus in all year levels will be invited to our New Parents Dinner scheduled to be held just prior to school commencing. In 2023, this will be held on the evening of Thursday 2 February . This allows the opportunity to meet some of the College Leadership Team, as well as other new parents. Invitations will be sent in December.
Commencement schedule
Little Learners will commence for students on Thursday 5 January, 2023.
To assist with settling in the children in a calm manner, the first two days for each child will focus on transition visits.
For the first day parents are invited to visit and remain with your child for an hour either morning or afternoon. This can be on a day they are ordinarily booked in or not.
For their second visit children can attend a half day (8:30am until 11.30am) without their parents on one of their regular scheduled days; please ensure your child brings their lunchbox with a packed lunch on that day. If they want to do half days for more than one day then that can be accommodated.
They can then commence attending for full days.
NB: This is a suggested transition schedule for children whose parents feel it would be beneficial. Any child may attend for the full day from the beginning of the year if you choose.
If you are intending to be away during January, please mention this during the interview and our team can discuss with you whether or not it would be suitable for your child to commence before your holiday or wait untiil your return. This will vary in accordance with a child's nature and any previous experience with care arrangements.
Parent communication
Your child will be involved with various staff for their pastoral care as well as their education.
For pastoral care, your first point of contact is your child's classroom teachers who you will meet at the pre-commencement interview in January.
Overseeing the pastoral care of all students is the ELC Director, who liaises closely with the classroom teachers and Student Services. The Deputy Principal - Primary, is also at the campus regularly throughout each week.
For educational queries, please contact the classroom teacher directly. Teachers are available to answer any queries about your child throughout the year and are best contacted by email or via a phone message which will be returned when they are not teaching.
Contact details of all relevant staff caring for your child will be provided at the start of the school year however information is also available in the Useful Contact Information section below.
The parent / teacher meetings are held in Terms 1, 2 and 4 for ELC students.
If you have any concerns about your child which you feel you need to advise prior to commencement then please contact Enrolments.
Class lists
Family contact details for the year group will be made available to parents in the Parent Lounge once school commences in February. These lists are only to be used for contacting other families for invitations and the like. They are not to be used in any other way for commercial, fundraising or other purposes.
NB: It is up to parents to share their details via the Parent Lounge so if contact details are not visible it means the parent/s have chosen not to share them.
Parents Association
The PA is an active body at Fink Karp Ivany (FKI) and run a range of ongoing events including weekly challah sales, Mother's Day and Father's Day stalls, and whole campus and inter-campus events.
It also coordinates Helping Hands, supporting families within the school in times of need.
Little Learners parents are invited to become involved in this wonderful and vibrant body.
College Fees
The College issues tuition fees for the following year in early December. The tuition fees will be available on the Scopus website via this link.
Child Care Subsidy
Our ELCs are licensed as Approved Long Day Care Centres through Mount Scopus Memorial College Early Learning Limited (ABN 44 611 377 881). By completing and returning the Child Care Subsidy form, we are able to process the government subsidy for you if your family is eligible.
All subsidies are directed to the ELC and reduces the out of pocket amount paid for fees.
If your family is not eligible for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) then you will need to pay the Tuition Fees in full to the College.
Eligibility is determined by the household income as well as the activity level of parents. Refer to Centrelink for full details of eligibility.
There is an allowance of 52 absent days for the 2022-23 financial year, reducing to 42 allowable absences for 2023-24 onward. This means that you can still receive the CCS for days your child would normally attend when they are absent, up to this limit, including if the child is on a holiday. You don’t need to provide evidence for any absences you use under the allowable absence limit. Additonal absenses will also attract the CCS if supporting evidence, such as a medical certificate, is provided.
Please note that different rules apply for children who are overseas for six weeks or more during the financial year; contact Centrelink directly for further information.
CCS is not paid by Centrelink before the first day of physical attendance or after the last day of physical attendance of an enrolment.
Click here for more information on the Child Care Subsidy from the Australian Government.
Account payment
If you are unsure as to the level of CCS that you will receive, then our Accounts department will work with you to determine a suitable direct debit payment, which can then be adjusted if necessary, once the subsidy amount is known. Please note: Although we will claim the CCS on your behalf and apply it as a credit against your fees your fee statement will reflect the full fees being charged. Some of this will be offset by the CCS for eligible families. As we do not know how much CCS individual families will receive, and as the amount can change throughout the year if circumstances change, the CCS cannot be reflected on the fee statements.
Billable days
Families will be billed based on the days in the place offer confirmation from the first day the program operates, Thursday 5 January, irrespective of whether or not the child attends, even in the case of family holidays.
Parents are not charged for days when the centre is closed for public holidays, Jewish holidays (including all of Pesach) or over the New Year break as per the place offer confirmation. Please note that the last operating day for Little Learners is confirmation noted the program concludes on Friday 22 December, 2023.
Adding / changing days
Casual days can be requested on an ad hoc basis, subject to availability, online via the Xplor Home app. The process to do so will be outlined in due course.
If you wish to change or add to your permanent days then you can do so subject to availability.
If you wish to reduce your days (down to a minimum of two days per week) then two weeks notice is required.
Any requests to change permanent days should be emailed to Denise Kain.
New in 2023, parents will use the Xplor 'Home' app as follows in our ELCs:
- complete the required documentation
- can be used for contactless sign in and out of the room
- can be used to request extra casual days at Little Learners
Further information will be provided in due course.
The other tools are outlined below.
The following guide outlines the details of tools used across the College. Some will be relevant for all year levels and some will be for specific year levels or campuses.
College website
The College website hosts a range of information, including:
Primary and Secondary curriculum handbooks,
Our Scopus Family - donations; volunteering; Parents Association, alumni, grandparents and friends
The Scopus Facebook page is also accessible via our website. Please note: in line with cyber safety guidelines we ask that photos are not tagged, nor any names of children in the photo divulged. You can ‘friend’ this page in order to access regular posts of photos and other information from across the College.
The Scopus YouTube channel is linked to the website. It is worthwhile revisiting some recent announcements and Rabbi Kennard's end of term messages which really showcase the energy and diversity of what is on offer at Mount Scopus.
Two of the key tools that are used at Scopus are the Parent Lounge and the Scopus App.
Scopus App
Almost all daily information and notices, as well as weekly campus newsletters are delivered via the Scopus App.
The App also hosts links to a range of other resources and portals for parents that are discussed in this guide, such as Flexischools, the Caf online ordering system; Operoo; the Campion resources list; and the Driver Bus online booking portal, as well as providing another convenient link to Parent Lounge.
The College will be updating the App during the course of the year, however at this time to access the installation guide for the current version please click here.
The 2023 subscription groups will be available from Monday 9 January.
Parent Lounge
You will be issued with the login credentials to access Parent Lounge in the lead up to your child commencing. It is accessible in the header menu on the College website.
Parent Lounge is used for a range of purposes, primarily:
- maintaining your current contact details, and sharing them with other parents in your child's year level,
- the sole tool for health and emergency contact information for children in Prep onward,
- organising parent teacher interview times,
- accessing school academic reports for Year 7 onward,
- accessing your child's ongoing assessment results and dates, and their daily timetable for Year 7 onward,
- paying school fees, and
- accessing 'How To' videos for the portals and apps under the School Links menu - NB: you will only be able to access this feature once you are a current parent.
Xplor
Xplor is used only for students using the ELCs and for primary school aged students using OSHC (including after care and holiday program) services.
Information collected is in line with the national regulations specific to these services including medical and emergency contact details, and information required to claim the government child care subsidy.
No child can commence at Scopus or attend any OSHC program prior to this information having been submitted and confirmed.
Operoo
Operoo is used to provide information and collect consent for excursions and activities across the College.
Flexischools
Cafeteria orders can be made via Flexischools. It is accessible via the Parent Resources section on the Scopus App or via a web browser - www.flexischools.com.au.
Parents set up an account for each child and then can place orders ahead of time, or up to 9.30am on the morning that lunch is required. Orders can also be changed or cancelled.
There is a range of daily specials, both hot and cold, that vary from day to day.
This is particularly handy if students have left their lunch at home and are not carrying cash with them.
Some Parents Association lunch orders in the primary school are also made via Flexischools.
Toddle
Toddle is an online learning journal and digital portfolio used at Mount Scopus from ELC to Year 6.
Toddle is a simple way for teachers and students to record and share their learning and what's been happening in the classroom.
The access information and links will be made available to parents prior to the commencement of school. You will need to ensure you are subscribed to your child's year level and class on the Scopus App.
Health Centre, iIlness and medication
FKI has a Health Centre staffed by Registered Nurses from 8.30am to 3.30pm.
Nursing staff are contactable on 8554 4758 or fkinurses@scopus.vic.edu.au.
Outside of normal operating times, staff operating activities before or after school have undergone first aid training.
For your own child’s benefit, and the well-being of other students and staff please do not send sick children to school or kinder. An unwell child will not be able to concentrate or learn effectively, and conversely, risks becoming more unwell and delaying their recovery by not being able to rest.
Medication will only be administered for chronic illnesses, asthma or anaphylaxis. If your child requires other medication then they are not deemed well enough to be attending school.
The Victorian government maintains a list of the minimum periods of exclusion from primary schools and children’s services for infectious diseases cases and their contacts. Click here to access.
Nut policy
The College has an ‘Allergy Aware’ policy. Staff and students are strongly encouraged not to bring nut or nut based products onto the College Campus, however this cannot be guaranteed. All anaphylactic students are strongly encouraged to question the ingredients of all foods they eat.
Allergies
Please ensure that any allergies, including hayfever, are noted in the medical section via Parent Lounge, so symptoms are not unnecessarily confused with COVID symptoms.
Summary checklist:
- return requested documents via the Xplor Home app by Friday 18 November
- complete and submit child profile form (including nominated start date) by Friday 18 November.
- schedule pre-commencement parent/child/teacher meeting by Friday 25 November.
- download Toddle app by 6 January 2023
- download Scopus App and subscribe to groups from 9 January 2023
ELC Key Contacts
Once your child commences, the following are the key contact details you may require.
ELC Director: Shana Upiter 03 9900 4648
Fink Karp lvany Campus: 03 8554 4700
To contact all teaching staff
To contact all student support staff
Accounts:
Child Care Subsidy enquiries Nikki Epstein 03 9834 0041
Tuition fee payments 03 9834 0026
Additional day requests - llrequests@scopus.vic.edu.au
Main Reception - Gandel Campus, Burwood: 03 9834 0000
For general enquiries at the College
To contact financial and clerical administrative staff
Principal’s Office: 03 9834 0005
To contact College Principal only: Rabbi Kennard
Deputy Principals:
Deputy Principal, Primary: Greg Hannon 03 9900 4602
Deputy Principal, Director of Alter Family School of Jewish Studies and Ivrit
Matti Borowski 03 9834 0003
Parents Association 03 9834 0160