FKI and GBH each has a Health Centre staffed by Registered Nurses during normal school hours throughout term time. 

Nursing staff are contactable per the details below. 

FKI -  8554 4758 or fkinurses@scopus.vic.edu.au

GBH - 9900 4677 or gbhnurses@scopus.vic.edu.au

Outside of normal operating times, staff operating activities before or after school have undergone first aid training.

The health and well being of your children is our priority. Mount Scopus has a focus on a risk minimisation approach to infection prevention and control principles in daily care activities. By practising eective hygiene practices we help minimise the spread of illness and infectious diseases and promote good health.

Children in kindergartens are at particular risk of transmitting infectious diseases because of: 

• close contact with other children and staff

• lack of previous exposure to common infections

• lack of toilet training

• lack of control of other body secretions, mouthing behaviour, such as licking, biting or chewing on toys or their own clothing.

Unfortunately it is not possible to prevent all infections and illness. If your child is unwell and going to be absent then please notify our kinder staff. 

If your child becomes unwell and is unable to remain at kinder the school nurse or teacher will call requesting that your child be taken home within a reasonable time frame. By keeping your child at home whilst they are unwell you aid in their recovery and also prevent others from being infected. 

The Public health and Wellbeing Regulations (2009) contain several statutory obligations relating to school exclusions for infectious diseases. The exclusion period are the minimum times a child must be excluded from childcare and school.  Click here to access. The list is also available in each of our kinder rooms.

Please consider these general guidelines before returning your child to our ELCs:

• Children who have a fever are requested to stay home until they have been without a fever for 24 hours (without medication) and are well enough to return.

• If your child was sent home from school the expectation is that they do not return to school or kinder the following day.

• If your child has vomited or has had diarrhoea, they are to stay home for 24 hours after the last episode as per the Department of Health ‘Minimum Periods of Exclusion’ Guidelines. If there are more than two cases of vomiting or diarrhoea in the classroom, this minimum period of exclusion will be extended to 48 hours exclusion after the last episode.

• Children who require Panadol or similar medication before they commence the day are obviously unwell, and we ask that you respect the needs of the classroom as well as your child’s wellbeing, and keep your child at home.

• If your child has post-viral symptoms then they will need to provide a medical certificate from a doctor before your child can return to the classroom.

Medication

Emergency medication such as an Epipen and Ventolin can be administered by any staff member in an emergency.

If your child requires other medication then they are not deemed well enough to be attending school. 

Medical conditions

For the safety of your child at kinder you must inform the health centre if your child has been diagnosed with any medical condition.

You will be required to supply any emergency medication (eg Epipen, Ventolin) and a current action management plan for your child in consultation with the school nurse.

Injuries

All injuries at kinder are recorded and parents are informed at the end of the day. 

If it is of a more serious nature you will be notified by the school nurse. Serious injuries may require notification to Worksafe and to other governing bodies and an incident form will be submitted.

Lice

Your cooperation is an important part of the efforts being made to control the spread of head lice in the school.

Whilst parents have the primary responsibility for the detection and treatment of head lice our school community will work in a cooperative and collaborative manner to assist all families to manage head lice effectively.

Parents can clearly help break the cycle of head lice by doing the following:

• Weekly check of your child’s hair using the method known as ‘conditioner and combing.’ This allows early detection of head lice and will limit the establishment of large outbreaks.

• Encourage your child to avoid head to head contact with other children.

• Tying back and braiding long hair can help prevent the spread of head lice.

• Ensure your child does not attend school with untreated head lice as per MSMC school policy and the Public Health and Wellbeing regulations 2009.

• Notify the health centre if head lice is detected in your child’s hair.

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 other symptoms.

Smoking 

Parents and staff are not allowed to smoke in the grounds as well as within four metres of the entrance to the centre, in accordance with the law.

Parent communication

Communication between parents and teachers is vital and commences prior to children starting kinder. 

Any information on a child’s special needs must be advised well in advance so teachers can plan to meet those needs. Information should include both verbal communication and copies of any external testing a child has undergone, such as developmental assessments, speech therapy, occupational therapy or any other relevant medical issues. Student Services on each campus will also meet with you to discuss your child’s needs along with a planned support strategy.

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. 

Orientation Evenings at the start of the year will familiarise you with the day to day running of your Kindergarten.

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.

In Upper Kinder, teachers write a transition report for their child's prep teacher. You will be asked to contribute to this report. This assists in passing on any useful information from both you and the kinder teacher to your child's prep teacher.

If you have any concerns about your child which you feel you need to advise prior to commencement then please contact Enrolments.

Confidentiality

Our records are confidential and governed by our Privacy Policy, which is available on our website.

Staff will not disclose or discuss personal information concerning children and their relatives with any unauthorised person. Confidential information will be seen and discussed only by staff who need the information to provide services. 

Children’s records are available to parents at all times.

Communicating with separated parents

All communication with parents is predicated on the basis that, unless there are court orders in place to the contrary, parents share responsibility for the long term welfare of their children and have the right to be involved in, and communicated with about all relevant issues. 

Parents are responsible for advising the College of any changes in their family situation. If parents separate and then reconcile, this information should also be passed on to the College.

If there is a court ordered collection schedule in place then both parents are responsible for submitting a copy of a schedule noting which parent should be collecting on which day for the entire school year. This can be done by one parent copying the other in when emailing the schedule to the Enrolment Director. The College is not a party to court orders and is not responsible for working through the orders to determine the collection schedule. 

The College maintains systems which clearly show the details of both parents to teachers and other relevant staff who are responsible for communicating directly with individual families. Teachers and other staff are trained in how to read and act on this information.

The vast majority of information regarding students' activities and learning is posted on the Scopus App (and Toddle for ELC and school-aged children).

Emails or phone calls are only used for individual and private matters.

Consent is required from both parents for their child/ren to participate in some activities however if one parent does not respond, then it is presumed that they will abide by the response of the other parent. If one parent provides consent and the other withholds it then the student will not be able to participate in the activity.  

We understand that in some cases, communication between separated parents and sharing of details can be a sensitive issue. We urge all parents to understand that the procedures developed by the College are designed to place their child/ren's welfare as the top priority and allow the staff responsible for their well-being to proceed with clarity. Ensuring the information we have remains current is vital to achieving that outcome. 

Most tools used by the College (Scopus App, FlexiSchools, Toddle, Xplor House) are based on individual rather than family user so the processes do not differ for split families, However, for  the key tool, Parent Lounge, separated parent/guardian users of these apps may have different or additional procedures when using them from other families - please click here to access.

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:

Campus details, 

Primary and Secondary curriculum handbooks,

College calendar, 

Parent handbook, 

Parent Lounge access,

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.

Our ELCs  are licensed as Approved Long Day Care Centres through Mount Scopus Memorial College Early Learning Limited (ABN 44 611 377 881). By submitting the Centreink CRN (Customer Registration Number) for you and your child when requested we are able to process the government subsidy for you if your family is eligible. 

This information will be requested via the Xplor child registration form in the coming weeks. If your child has not yet attended child care you may need to apply to Centrelink to determine your eligibility so factor this into your lead time.

Centrelink pays all subsidies directly to a child's ELC which reduces the out-of-pocket fees paid by families. 

The  Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is not payable by Centrelink before the first day of physical attendance or after the last day of physical attendance either in the Kinder only or Long Day Care programs. Refer to Centrelink for full details of eligibility. 

As well as the CCS, families suffering temporary financial hardship or have a child at risk, amongst others, may also be eligible for the Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS). Further information is available via Centrelink. 

Tuition fees and fee policies

Fees and the fee policy are always available on the College website - click here to access - and will be updated each December for the following year.

Kinder program selection

In 2023 you will have the choice to select from two options which will be the same at both campuses; 

Kindergarten program only 

Long Day Care - 48 weeks (LDC 48)

If you select the Kindergarten program only then you will be able to book into Out of Hours School Care (OHSC) on a casual basis as needed. 

If you select LDC 48 then this is fully inclusive of beforecare, aftercare and  holiday program for all operating days. 

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.

Both programs attract the CCS and ACCS for eligible families. 

Further information on these programs is available via the links below. 

Kinder program options FAQs 

Child Care Subsidy estimator

Your program selection can be made via the link on the bottom of the CCS Estimator page.

Direct debits, pre-payment and the CCS

If you are unsure as to the level of CCS that you will receive and wish to set up a direct debit for fees, 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. 

This can only be done until after the fee statements have been issued in January, so 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. A direct debit form will be sent with the fee statement where you can indicate the dollar amount of the CCS you expect to receive over the calendar year. That can be amended during the course of the year if there are any discrepancies or changes to the level of CCS you expect to receive. 

Families who are pre-paying their fees will need to phone Accounts after their statement has been received and advise them of their expected CCS amount, which will be factored in when calculating the pre-payment discount. 

Any enquiries regarding your family's eligibility or subsidy level should be directed to Centrelink. 

Government funding offset / 'Free Kinder' program

From 2023 the Federal Government will provide further assistance to families for children enrolled in a kinder program in a long day care setting to help with the cost of providing quality early learning. 

Mount Scopus kindergartens operate a kinder program in a long day care setting. 

This is known as the 'Free Kinder' program, although the offset is $2000 per child per year for kinder programs in a long day care setting. 

This offset applies for all children enrolled in our Upper Kinder program in either campus except for any child for whom the offset is being claimed at another centre in 2023. 

Parents/guardians will be required to complete a declaration form confirming they are not registered to receive the offset at another centre as part of the starting documentation.

The offset will be paid directly to the centre and applied as a clearly labelled credit on the fee statement in four quarterly instalments of $500 each (or on a pro-rata basis for children who are not enrolled for the entire year). The offset will be credited after the CCS has been applied (for eligible families), thus maximising the benefit. 

Free Kinder payments will not impact the CCS payments; it is additional to them. Families who are not eligible for the CCS will automatically receive the $2000 offset unless they fall into the exception noted above.

Other than completing the declaration form there is nothing that families need to do; the credit will automatically be applied.