Policies and Procedures

Our website provides lots of information, however seeing our Centre first hand is even better! Please contact us for a tour or for answers to more specific questions.

Policies and Procedures:

All policies and procedures are stated in detail and are included in our Policy and Procedure Manual. Please feel free to contact us if you have any inquiries or concerns regarding our policies. A Parent Handbook is also available by clicking here.

Some of our policies and procedures:

Arrival and Departure:

Parents are asked to accompany their child, regardless of age, to and from the building/playground and retrieve belongings from their cubby or hook. Please ensure that an educator acknowledges you when dropping off or picking up your child. If your child is going to be absent, please call the Centre in the morning with the reason for the absence. If we have not receive confirmation of your child’s absence by 10am we will contact you by phone.

Parents and guardians may pick up their child any time during the day; however, children will not be released to anyone who is not listed on the release form without permission. Written permission is required for anyone not listed on your child’s application form to pick up your child.

Financial:

Upon registration a  non-refundable fee of $25.00 ($11.81 if eligible for CWELCC)  is required. Families will be invoiced  a 50% deposit of the last month’s fee which is applied when the required notice is given. One month written notice is required when you wish to withdraw your child from a program. Please note: There is no reduction in fees for absenteeism due to illness, inclement weather, school closures or statutory holidays.

Tuition is to be paid monthly in advance. Payment may be made by cash (with advance arrangements), cheque or e-transfer.  If tuition has not been remitted by the 15th of the month, a 2% interest charge will be applied, unless advance, alternate arrangements have been made. An administration charge applies to all NSF payments.

We ask families to respect our closing time of 5:30pm. If a child is picked up after 5:30pm, a $10 plus $2 per minute late fee will be invoiced. Families who are consistently late may be asked to withdraw their child(ren) from the program.

Child-Educator Interactions:

The adults at Inspiring Minds ELC value respect, confidence, risk taking, and empathy. We use these beliefs to guide our interactions, attitudes and relationships. They aid in the development of a secure environment which builds a sense of self-worth, belonging and well-being, as well as encourage the give and take of communication. Educators support and encourage the children to interact and communicate in a positive way. The children practice useful and appropriate strategies to regulate and express their feelings, remain calm, recognize the effect of their actions on others and build resiliency.

Following the premises that every behaviour has a reason and all interactions build relationships, we do not permit:

• corporal punishment
• the deprivation of basic needs including food, drink, shelter, sleep, toilet use, clothing or bedding
• locking the exits of the centre for the purpose of confining children, or confining a child in any locked room or structure or being left without supervision
• harsh or degrading measures or threats that would humiliate, shame, frighten a child or undermine a child’s self-respect, dignity or self-worth
• physical restraint of a child for the purposes of discipline or in lieu of supervision
• inflicting bodily harm on a child, including making a child eat or drink against his/her will or using food as a means to control and/or reward behaviour.

Suspected infractions of these guidelines will be reported to and investigated by the Director or Supervisor.

The goal is, in partnership with parents, to assist children in developing self-control, self-confidence and ultimately, self-discipline and sensitivity in their interactions with others.

School Age Behaviour Code:

All children come to Inspiring Minds Early Learning Centre (IMELC) with the right to develop their many skills as fully as possible. Children develop at different rates and come to care with different life experiences.  Therefore the consequences in response to inappropriate behaviour will take into consideration age; family dynamics that could impact the child emotionally, current stage of development and availability of external support.

Click here to read more.