1787799596_02_How_It_Works

How It Works · Little Scholars School of Early Learning

How It Works Little Scholars School of Early Learning Prepared for Search Scope · Drew Heslehurst, Executive Director · August 2026

Timeframes below are ranges we can honour in a busy week, not a good one.

The process Summarise how working with you goes, in three or four sentences A family contacts the campus nearest them, and the first thing we do is talk about what they actually need, days, ages, and when they want to start. We invite them in for a tour while the campus is running, because that is the only way to really judge a place, and we would rather they saw the ordinary version than a staged one. If it feels right, we work through enrolment together, including walking them through their Child Care Subsidy so they know what their days will genuinely cost them.

From there the child comes in for orientation visits before their first full day, and their educators build a settling plan around that particular child rather than a standard one. After that it is an ongoing relationship, usually for several years and often across siblings, with the same educators and daily updates through the parent app.

The steps, one per line Enquiry. A family gets in touch with the campus by phone or through the website. We ask what days and ages they need and check what is available in that room. If we can, we quote fees at this point, based on the family's Child Care Subsidy percentage, and if they do not know their percentage, we work it out with them first.

Tour. The family visits the campus, ideally mid-morning while the rooms are actually running. They meet the campus director and see the room their child would be in. This is the step that matters most, and we encourage families to tour several centres, not just ours.

Offer and enrolment. If the family wants to proceed, we confirm the days available and complete the enrolment paperwork. This includes immunisation records, any medical or dietary information, authorised contacts, and setting up the parent app.

Subsidy setup. The family confirms their Child Care Subsidy enrolment through their myGov account. We walk families through this if it is unfamiliar. The subsidy is paid directly to the campus and reduces what the family is invoiced.

Orientation visits. Before the first full day, the child comes in for one or more short visits with a parent, so the room, the educators and the routine are familiar rather than new. The number of visits is set by the child, not by a policy.

Settling. The child starts, and their educators build a settling approach around them, how they separate, what comforts them, how they eat and sleep. Parents get frequent contact during this period. The first fortnight is usually the hardest and we say so upfront rather than pretending otherwise.

Ongoing care. Daily updates, photos and observations through the parent app. Regular conversations with the room educators about how the child is developing. Access to everything in the Family Time Program as part of the normal day.

Kindergarten year. For children in the year before school, a government-approved kindergarten program delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher, within normal long day care hours.

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How It Works · Little Scholars School of Early Learning

Transition to school. A documented transition statement for every child, and support for the family through the move to school.

What do you need from the customer, and when?

At enquiry: the days of the week you need, your child's age or due date, and roughly when you want to start. If you know your Child Care Subsidy percentage, bring it. It lets us quote you a real number rather than a general one. If you do not know it, tell us and we will work it out with you.

At enrolment, before the first day: your child's immunisation history statement, birth certificate or equivalent, and your Customer Reference Numbers for the subsidy. Details of any allergies, medical conditions, medications or dietary requirements, along with any action plans from your doctor. Emergency and authorised contacts. Court orders or parenting arrangements where they apply. Consent decisions, including photography.

Before the first full day: we ask you to come in for orientation visits with your child. This is the single most useful thing a parent can do and it makes settling considerably easier.

Ongoing: tell us when something changes at home. A new sibling, a house move, a change in sleep, a hard week.

It affects how a child presents at campus and we would much rather know. Keep medical information and action plans current, and let the campus know in advance about changes to days or extended absences.

The most common cause of a delayed start is missing immunisation records or an incomplete subsidy setup, so those two are worth sorting early.

Questions customers ask Your ten most asked questions, with answers Do you have a place for my child?

It depends on the campus, the age group and the days you need, and it changes as families come and go. The only way to know is to ask us. Availability in one room can be completely different to the room next door. Even if we cannot offer exactly what you want straight away, tell us the days you are after and we will let you know as things open up.

What happens on a tour?

You come in, usually mid-morning while everything is actually running, and the campus director takes you through. You will see the room your child would be in, meet the educators, and see what is happening rather than a tidied-up version. Ask anything you like. We would genuinely rather you toured a few centres and compared, because you will know very quickly which one feels right.

How much will it cost me?

We will tell you, but we need one thing from you first: your Child Care Subsidy percentage. The reason is that the headline daily rate is a number nobody actually pays. The subsidy is worked out on your household income, your activity level and how many children you have in care, so two families at the same campus on the same days can pay very different amounts. If you know your percentage, we can give you a real figure for your days. If you do not, we will work it out with you and then quote you properly.

What is included?

Meals are cooked on site by our chef and eaten during the day. Nappies and wipes are supplied, and so is sunscreen. The extracurricular programs every child does, things like bush kinder, cooking, music and yoga, run as part of the day at no extra cost. Haircuts happen on site, and so do doctor, dental, allied health and specialist appointments. You get a daily digital portfolio through the parent app. This is the Family Time Program, and it is not an optional extra or an upgrade. It is simply how every campus runs its day.

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How It Works · Little Scholars School of Early Learning

Two things sit outside it and are charged separately, and we would rather you heard that from us now than found it on an invoice. The first is Take Home Meals: dinner cooked by our chefs, ready to collect at pickup, or served to your child at campus before you go if you would rather they ate here. It is the one families ask about most, because it is not something other centres do. The second is a few specialist activities: swimming, dance, some sports programs. Your child does not have to do them and misses nothing if they do not. We will always tell you which activities at your campus are included and which are not, before you enrol rather than after.

How does enrolment work?

After the tour, if you want to go ahead, we confirm the days and take you through the enrolment forms. You will need immunisation records, your subsidy details, and information about any medical or dietary needs. Then we book in orientation visits before your child's first full day. It is more straightforward than most people expect, and if you are moving from another centre it is genuinely just a matter of a start date.

Do you offer kindergarten?

Yes, at every campus. It is a government-approved kindergarten program taught by a qualified early childhood teacher, and it runs inside our normal long day care hours, so you are not trying to solve a half-day pickup problem around work. Every child finishes with a documented transition statement for their school.

How do you settle a child who has never been in care?

Slowly, and around that particular child. We start with orientation visits so the room and the educators are familiar before the first full day. Then their educators work out what that child needs, how they like to separate, what comforts them, how they sleep. We will be honest with you: the first fortnight is often hard, and there will probably be a morning where you cry in the car. That is normal and it passes. You will hear from us during the day, not just at pickup.

What if my child cries at drop-off?

Most of them do at some point, and it almost never lasts as long as parents imagine. Our educators will stay with your child and settle them, and we will let you know how they went shortly afterwards rather than leaving you wondering all day. If it goes on longer than we would expect, we will sit down with you and work out what is going on. It usually means something specific, not that your child cannot cope.

How do you handle allergies and dietary requirements?

Tell us everything at enrolment, and give us any action plans from your doctor. Because we cook on site rather than bringing food in, we have real control over what your child eats and we can accommodate allergies, intolerances and cultural or religious requirements properly. Our chefs and educators work from documented plans for every child who needs one, and those get reviewed as things change.

How will I know what my child has done during the day?

Through the parent app, during the day, not in a summary at the end. Photos, observations, meals, sleeps, nappies or toileting. And you will get an actual conversation at pickup, not "she had a good day", but what she was into, who she played with, what she managed for the first time. If you want to know something specific, ask, and we will tell you.

What makes people hesitate, and what do you tell them?

"I am worried my child will not be safe, or will not be properly watched."

This is the biggest one, and most parents will not say it out loud. We tell them exactly what we do rather than reassuring them in general terms. We name the policies that govern child safety, that every educator does national child safety training refreshed annually, that we run an internal Child Safety Squad and a speak-up culture, and that our Operations Manager is a Queensland Children's Rights Ambassador. We also tell them they are always free to raise a concern with the Department directly, and we mean it. And then we say: come and watch a room for ten minutes. It will tell you more than we can.

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How It Works · Little Scholars School of Early Learning

"It is more than I wanted to pay."

We do not argue with this and we never claim to be cheap. What we do is make sure they are comparing the right number. Most people are looking at a headline rate rather than what they would actually pay after subsidy.

So we work their subsidy out with them. Often the gap is much smaller than they assumed. If it is still more than they want to spend, that is a fair decision and we say so.

"My child is settled where they are, I do not want to upset them."

Reasonable, and worth taking seriously. But children settle again, usually faster than parents expect, and a fortnight of disruption is a small price if the next three years are better. We ask them what made them start looking in the first place, because there is normally a specific reason, and that reason does not usually go away on its own.

"I feel guilty putting my child in care at all."

Almost every parent feels this and nobody says it. We do not try to talk them out of it, because you cannot argue someone out of a feeling. What we say is that children in good early education do well, socially, with language, with confidence, and that a parent who is doing work they need or want to do is not depriving their child of anything. Then we get on with showing them the room.

"The tour will be a performance and the reality will be different."

Fair, and it happens. So we tour mid-morning when it is busy rather than at a convenient quiet time, we do not tidy up for visitors, and we encourage people to turn up and see several centres. We would also say: talk to a parent at pickup. We cannot script that.

"I got on a waitlist somewhere else and never heard back."

That is a legitimate frustration with our whole sector. We tell families what we can realistically offer and when, and if we cannot help we will say so rather than leaving them hanging. If a family is waiting on a specific day or room, they hear from us as things change.

"I do not want to be judged for how much care I use, or for asking a lot of questions."

Nobody here will do that. Ask us anything, what happened at two o'clock, how the subsidy works, why we do things a particular way. A parent who asks a lot of questions is a parent paying attention, which is exactly what we want.

NEEDS INPUT None. Every question in this document is answered from confirmed source material.

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