Natural steps albany kids playing in nature

Enrolling Your Child at Albany

At Natural Steps we encourage parents and family to visit the centre before they enrol their child. Please phone us on 09 479 5051 or email the centre to arrange a visit.

NATURAL STEPS ALBANY

We appreciate that settling into a new environment can be an exciting and sensitive time for children and parents. We endeavour to make the transition from home to centre as smooth as possible.

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NATURAL STEPS ALBANY: ALL NEW ENROLMENTS RECEIVE 6 WEEKS OF FREE FEES

Building a strong partnership between parents/family and our staff is a very important step. We value any information that you can share with us regarding your child's routines, preferences and personality.

Two pre-entry visits before your child’s start date are agreed and organised once enrolment has been confirmed. After these visits if you or the teacher feel further visits are required this can be arranged through the Manager.

Visits before your child starts

First visit
Parents are invited to stay at the centre with their child and get to know staff and centre routines. This is a lovely time for staff to chat with the parent about their child. A staff member will show you where the policies and procedures can be found, the programme displays, portfolios, medicine booklet, menu display, sign-in sheet and parent information board. Nursery children will be given their bag and journal.

Second visit
We ask the parent to leave the child with us for an hour.

Additional visits
Additional visits can be arranged. Please speak to the Manager.

What your child needs to bring every day

Children need to be dressed in sensible and comfortable play clothes. They will be running, jumping, getting paint and glue on their clothes and can get wet and muddy.

“There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes”

At times, when it is raining we do go on walking excursions and play outside, therefore children need to wear a raincoat and closed in shoes (gumboots are preferred). Also, in our carpentry area shoes have to be worn at all times.

Please note we do not keep spare clothing at the kindergarten. Sharing clothing is not in our practice. Should your child run out of clothing you will be called.

Infants Bags

Natural Steps provides a bag and wet bag
- A bag and wet bag is provided by Natural Steps for our infants.
- 3 complete NAMED change of clothes, including socks and underwear.
- NAME wet bag please.
- A NAMED familiar comforting toy/blanket/dummy if they have one
- In summer a NAMED sunhat that can be left at the centre
- In winter a NAMED coat, woollen hat and gumboots (optional).
- The centre provides sun cream however you are welcome bring your own from home to keep at the centre.
- If your child needs a nappy cream please provide a NAMED tube/jar and hand it to the teacher.
- If your child is on breast milk or formula you will need to provide this. Cows milk is provided by the Centre.

Toddler and Preschool Bags
- A special bag (like the one they will take to school) to put their belongings in.
- A NAMED wet bag.
- A NAMED drink bottle (with water). The drink bottle is to go home
- with your child every day and returned the next day clean and with fresh water.
- A NAMED familiar comforting toy/blanket/dummy if they have one
- NAMED Shoes that are easy to get on and off by the child. Some children bring slippers for inside play. In winter we recommend bring gumboots.
- Children that are being toilet trained will need extra changes of clothes and extra spare underpants.
- In summer a NAMED sunhat that can be left at the centre
- In winter a NAMED coat, woollen hat and gumboots (optional).