Kinda Kapers is a privately run group of Long Day Care Centres that offer high quality care for your children.  Our staff are well trained and highly motivated (and often mothers themselves). We maintain a high ratio of staff to children (higher than required) to ensure that our standards of quality care can be maintained.

Where food is provided by the centre it is nutritionally balanced and made from fresh produce.

We pride ourselves on the care that we provide and invite you to come and visit one of our centres and find out first-hand what it means to be part of the Kinda Kapers family.

In Relation to Children:

We strive to create an environment that provides children with opportunities to develop relationships that foster the child’s sense of self and confidence. We believe relationships should promote and develop self esteem and positive concepts. We seek to create an environment that captures each child’s individual sense of wonder, curiosity and natural creativity.

We respect the individuality that children bring to our centre, and value their diverse abilities, interests and cultural background.

To support this staff will aim to:

• Develop relationships with each child which cherishes and promotes their uniqueness. We believe that genuine, trusting relationships allow children to feel accepted and valued within their social communities
• Support children to develop relationships, which allow them to understand the importance of life skills such as empathy, sharing, negotiation, self control, problem solving and conflict resolution
• Create an environment where children feel a sense of belonging and importance. A place where they know they are valued, safe and respected
• Encourage self esteem and confidence building which in turn assists children to feel confident to approach complex social concepts and new, unfamiliar or challenging life and learning experiences
• Support children in developing and maintaining genuine relationships with adults and peers to foster their interpersonal development thus their concepts of self and self esteem
• Provide an emotionally safe environment characterised by freedom of expression, acceptance and social justice
• Observe and maintain a range of quality documentation for each child’s portfolio regarding their individual learning, development, interests and well being. Staff will then utilise this information to plan, foster and support each child’s individual learning style and life skills
• Create an environment of inclusiveness and longevity in friendships of ALL adults and peers and to support children to value each person’s individuality, abilities and talents
• Support children to explore and learn about relationships, how to read social situations and develop appropriate ways to behave and respond in these situations
• Develop an environment that supports children’s exploration, investigation and extension of learning through independent and collaborative choices and decision making
• Develop programs which are responsive to children and families with additional needs
• Develop a mutually respectful environment where children’s self initiated learning is promoted and encouraged
• Support children to identify and respect their own and other’s wants and needs

In Relation to the Family:

We endeavour to maintain open, honest and respectful communication with families. We believe communication is an effective method towards building positive and trusting relationships, understanding and knowledge.

We strive towards facilitating extensive communication through the use of a variety of formal and informal processes that allow the two-way sharing of knowledge and experiences about each child.

We encourage family participation in programming, planning and centre operations and believe this is a significant factor in building successful solid and long term relationships.

To support this we aim to:

• Create an atmosphere of and develop and maintain relationships of mutual respect and support between parents, staff and extended families
• Be approachable for all families needs, requirements and grievances
• Have all families view staff’s relationships with children as consistent, secure, sensitive and responsive
• Have all families see staff working co-operatively as a team towards positive outcomes for all children
• For all staff to respect the cultural, diverse abilities and philosophical beliefs of all families and integrate this into the centre programming
• Form open and proactive relationships with parents and support them with their chosen child rearing practices
• To be seen as an important support network in the wellbeing and development of each child and to be able to outsource support networks in the wider community when needed
• Treat all families equally – not to discriminate against race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, marital status or family structure

In Relation to the Staff:

We believe that a unified and fair team is a basis for providing quality and consistent care. Relationships that are sensitive, accepting and understanding of each other’s perspectives form strong work place partnerships. We pride ourselves on sharing skills, knowledge and expertise to structure a highly professional staffing body.

To support this we aim:

• For all staff to be aware of each persons uniqueness and appreciate each persons feelings, views, needs, interests, ideas and contributions and how this has a positive result towards an effective team
• To provide opportunities for staff development, persona and professional growth and for each staff member to have a sense of self and ownership within the work place
  
• To promote a positive and constructive communication, problem solving and conflict resolution so each staff member has an opportunity to feel as a respected and valued member of the team
• To be supportive of each other in the work place, to demonstrate and role model respectful and genuine relationships
• To communicate effectively with staff to increase productivity and encourage and implement high quality routines, programs and care practices
• To provide consistent, regular staff that, have formed trusting relationships with the children 
• Be aware of the limits and limitations of our roles and responsibilities in               relationships with parents, children and colleagues

In Relation to the Physical Environment:

We will always aim to construct an environment to provide opportunities and possibilities for children’s experiences. Staff and children will arrange the environment in such a way as to reflect the image of the child as we see it – as a unique, empowered, resourceful, capable explorer and learner.

We will encourage children to treasure and respect their environment so that they see what happens in that environment as valuable and engenders a sense of belonging. This assists in the development of children’s experiences as well as enshrining the products of those experiences as part of the environment.

To support this we aim to:

• Encourage collaboration and relationships
• Encourage children to assist with the setting up of the physical environment to promote a sense of belonging and instil the importance of caring for their environment
• Design the surroundings in consultation with all staff, children and parents to reflect the lives and interests of the children
• Make resources, materials and equipment accessible to children for their use, taking into consideration safety aspects
• Make sure diversity is reflected in many ways throughout the centre
• Design the environment in an aesthetically appealing way with attention to the appreciation of colour, light, pictures, presentation of craft,photos etc
• Respectively and professionally display children’s works of progress and their end products
• work with children to care for and look after the outdoor environment
• Engage children in conversation and interaction in regards to taking care of the natural environment via our own vegetable / herb garden and worm farm
• Support children to appreciate the beauty and wonderment of the natural environment and the world that surrounds them

In Relation to the Community:

We will endeavour to form a integral part of the wider community which collaboratively supports children’s well being and families child rearing practices. We will aim to develop relationships within the broader community where support is both provided and received. Staff will have knowledge of what is available in the community to support them as a family and as part of the community. Kinda Kapers will encourage such a flow within relationships within the broader community to enable the child to attend the service being in the community rather than being taken out of it.

To support this we aim to:

• Develop links and partnerships with the outside community, including businesses, community organisation, other professional organisations that serve children and families
• Develop open communication / relationships with the local schools