Vacation Care

The Vacation Care at The Children's Hospital at Westmead provides quality care for up to 30 children aged from 5 to 12 years. Positions are offered to all hospital employees as well as staff at attached hospitals at Westmead and Cumberland who may need to use the service. The Centre is a registered carer with DoCS, which enables parents to present their receipt for means tested Family Assistance at a Medicare/Centrelink Office.

Location

The service is located in one of The Children's Hospital at Westmead's existing classrooms. This classroom is opposite the surgical ward and is accessed by turning right once through the main entrance, walking straight towards the end of the corridor, turning right again when reaching the 'bear bite' Brasserie (following the signs for the surgical unit) then turning left at the second sign.

Hours of Opening

The Vacation Care hours of opening are 07:00 until 18:30hrs.

How to Book

Parents can book four weeks in advance of each program. Enrolment forms are obtained from the intranet under Child Care Services or from The Children's Hospital at Westmead Child Care Centre, (at the back of the hospital next to the Brain Injury unit and BJ Amos oval). Fees can be paid at the cashier's office at the hospital or at the Child Care Centre. If paying at the cashier please ensure that the receipt is forwarded onto the Child Care Centre either in person or via facsimile (98450640) to secure the booking. Please note; The booking and enrolment forms need to completed prior to payment being made, in order to secure a space for your child, these forms will be kept as confidential.

Fees

Daily fee per child applies. Fees must be paid in advance of the child attending. This fee is non-refundable if the booking is cancelled. There is an extra change on excursion days which is payable in cash at the Vacation Care Service, the staff there will issue a Children's Hospital handwriten receipt.

Methods of Payment
The cashier's office on Level 2 of the Children's Hospital, accepts payment types of, cash, cheque, credit card or EFTPOS. Payments by cheque or cash (only) can also be made at The Children's Hospital at Westmead Child Care Centre.

What to Bring

Children need to bring their own drinks, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. The children will also need to bring jumpers/jacket (depending on the weather) and a hat. The Centre provides sunscreen and children will not be permitted to play outdoors if they don't have a suitable hat. Comfortable clothing and suitable footwear should be worn. Due to the nature of the activities, children should not be sent in their best clothes.

Program

Each week of Vacation Care has a new program. Indoor activities are balanced with outdoor activities and include arts and crafts, music and drama. Activities are all supervised and are either structured or unstructured, allowing the children some degree of choice. An excursion is also planned each term, for which parental permission is obtained. When planning activities and excursions, the age and abilities of the children are taken into account. Likewise, the destination and length of the excursion and the method of transport are considered. All details of the excursions are published for parents/guardians with full details of destination, times of departure and return.

Staffing

Staff/child ratios are 1 staff member for every 15 children whilst in the Centre and on excursions the ratio is 1 staff member for every 8 children.

Contact

For enquiries please contact Suzanne Smith on 98453961 or Evelyn Pereira on 98453960.

During the vacation care program, the Centre can be contacted on Ph: 9845 2839.