29 April 2020 – Update

Further to the information below, we ask that you please ensure you inform management through admin@thelittlevillage.com.au if you are considering a return to care after your COVID absence. We are looking to employ a staged return to care for all children to ensure we are within ratio and that we are following social distancing guidelines. Restrictions will continue to be in place until the Child Care (ECEC) Relief package is lifted.

For families still attending, we ask that you take our Managing Pandemic (COVID-19) Policy as our daily practice and procedure. Please follow protocol very carefully and please do not be offended if we do not accept your child to be in attendance. We may do this if we suspect any of the COVID-19 symptoms. We do this for the safety of all our villagers, including other children and staff.

 

 

28 March 2020

To our villager, near and far,

It is so important at this time to look within ourselves and to others for support and how to proceed when it is all getting a bit too much. But at The Little Village, we need to remember that we are not in this alone. We need to pull together so that we may, when all this is over, resume our lives as normal. We don’t want to have to rebuild, or relocate, or to reconsider. Self-isolation should be the pause and not the full-stop.


A message of thanks

We understand that many families are choosing to stay at home at this time. We fully understand and support your decision. Everyone has differing circumstances and reasons to stay home.

Our beautiful Zias, who continue to come every day, to maintain normalcy and routine, have created home activities to continue the learning experiences of our little villagers. They have also created an online platform for learning though our Little Village App. Each day, they will send an activity for the little villagers to do at home, which is aligned to our Village Program Direction as well as the EYLF outcomes. We thank them for their consistency and above all the comfort they bring at this time. We also want to thank the families that have continued their support during this time of uncertainty.

We have had families source food, milk and other pantry items that are hard to come by with so many restrictions in play. Your patronage and continued attendance has been a source of encouragement and motivation to ensure everything is being done to minimise risk of contagion and above all to continue to deliver the best care and education for our children.


What TLV are doing to minimise the risk

At The Little Village, we have the highest priority for hygiene practices. Our promise to review and deliver on our  practices to maintain a healthy and safe environment continues. We have many strategies that have been put in place to address the growing restrictions we are being faced with. Please visit our COVID-19 Resource page to review our current strategies.


Stay informed

All staff villagers, including management, are constantly staying informed and up-to-date with the latest recommendations and developments. For the latest information and resources on COVID-19, please view our resource page.


In the event of closure

In the event that there is a temporary shut-down, families will not be charged for the period of closure. If our village has been exposed to a confirmed case, we will contact all families on The Little Village app and via email. Please ensure you are checking communication regularly.


If you choose to stay home

The government’s announcement of the Child Care Relief package means that your fees will be waived throughout the duration of the restrictions placed and requirements of social distancing.

There has been an increase of allowable absences from 42 days to 62 days and unlimited additional absences with no medical certificates required for up to 14 weeks from your last attended day. We will come out of this together, only if we go through this together.

Continuing care

For families needing care because of their work arrangements, we will continue to provide care for essential workers. As you may understand, we have had to make some concessions to be able to stay afloat. The significant reduction in income means we have had to reduce the number of staff per day. This will not impact ratio, as providing excellent care and education remains our number one priority.

For families still attending, we ask that you take our Managing Pandemic (COVID-19) Policy as our daily practice and procedure. Please follow protocol very carefully and please do not be offended if we do not accept your child to be in attendance. We may do this if we suspect any of the COVID-19 symptoms. We do this for the safety of all our villagers, including other children and staff.


We pray that our village stays safe during this time. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to families whom have continued to put their trust in us. We will come through this as the village we are, together, stronger and closer than ever.