Southgate Medallion

Annual Survey

Thank you for taking part in the annual survey. The results and responses can be found in this month’s newsletter. Please check below

Educator Appreciation Month

May is educator appreciation month. Please consider a small way to show your educator that you appreciate all they do – this could be picking up a coffee for them at drop-off, a card made by your child, for example. Small gestures of gratitude make a big difference in our educator’s day.

Holiday Policy Focus

As we are coming into Holiday season it might be a good time to check in with your educator about their holiday policy (not all educators have this, as this is a policy created by educators themselves).

As a holiday/vacation policy is an out of agency policy, the agency cannot advocate for either parties on this.

If an educator is deciding to implement a holiday policy, please set aside some time to discuss the terms and conditions within their policies and ask questions before you sign it.

Have a wonderful May,

Emma

Coordinator

We as adults all rely on visual helpers every day. We use calendars, day timers, street signs, grocery lists, maps, and so on. Using visual cues in our environment allows us to plan, organize, and most of all be independent. Visuals are equally important to children because they are just beginning to learn how things work in the world.

Why do visual supports make it easier for children to understand and communicate?

Words “disappear” right after we say them, visuals hold time and space.

Visuals direct attention to them and hold attention.

Visuals allow more time to process the information.

Visuals assist in remembering.

Using the same words every time a visual is shown, teaches your child those words.

Anything we see that helps us with communication by giving us information with our eyes is a visual support. The type of visual that works best with each individual child depends on what is meaningful to the child. The most widely recommended visuals are those that are used to provide children with information.

For example, labels placed around the home or classroom help to inform your child where to find and where to put materials. Rules provide your child with clear expectations. Other types of visuals that give information in a logical, structured, and sequential form consist of schedules, mini-schedules, and “first/then” boards. Activity choice boards allow your child to make selections during their play.

The previously named visuals can be presented in several formats, depending on your child’s level of understanding. Ranging from most concrete to most abstract, possible visuals are:

• Objects – this would be considered the first level of visual representations and would include the actual objects (e.g., for some children, seeing a sandwich in their parent’s/teacher’s hand tells them “it’s time for lunch.”)
• Color photographs – this would consist of colored photographs of the concrete objects (e.g., for some children being shown a photograph of a bus means “we’re going to daycare” OR “we’re going home”)
• Black and white photographs – this level would consist of the same photographs but in black and white
• Color line drawings – these are picture symbols that are often used with children who are able to understand at this level of abstraction
• Black and white line drawings – these are also picture symbols and serve the same purpose as colored lined drawings
• Miniature objects – these are smaller versions of the objects

https://connectability.ca/2010/09/23/using-visuals

If you are interested interested in creating visuals in create an inclusive environment, click on the link below for printer friendly versions on problem solving, daily schedules, behavior expectations and more!

https://asapgrit.ca/resources/social-emotional-resources/

Sister Margaret has a unique way of planting and sprouting vegatables. She does this type of planting, as well as other types of planting, annualy and always involve the dayhome children. Children of different ages enjoy getting in the dirt and monitoring the plants as they sprout and grow.

Thank you to all who took time to respond to our Anuual Feedback Survey for parents- we appreciate the time you spent doing so and love hearing what we are doing well and suggestions for ways to grow.

Survey Results

(Results from 121 parent respones)

Question: I am Satisfied with the care my child/ren recieve?

Stongly Agree-97, Agree- 23 Disagree- 0, Strongly Disagree-0, Neutral-1

Question: If I have a question, I have recieved an answer within 24 hours?

Stongly Agree-80, Agree-30, Disagree- 4, Strongly Disagree-1 Neutral-6

Question: I feel that my child/chldren is/are getting adequate outddor playtime (weather permitting)?

Stongly Agree- 82, Agree- 28, Disagree-7, Strongly Disagree-1, Neutral-3

Question: I feel that my child/children developmental needs are being met within the dayhome program?

Stongly Agree- 90 Agree- 29 Disagree-1 Strongly Disagree- 0 Neutral-1

Question: Communication with my educator has been very effective?

Stongly Agree-95, Agree- 21, Disagree- 2, Strongly Disagree- 0, Neutral-3

Question: I recieved regular updates about my child's day from my dayome eductor (program, menu, naptime etc.)?

Stongly Agree-81, Agree- 27, Disagree- 9, Strongly Disagree- 0, Neutral-4

Question: Communication with my consultant and agency staff has been very effective?

Stongly Agree-57, Agree- 44, Disagree- 6, Strongly Disagree- 2, Neutral-12

Question: Do yu enjoy recieveing a parent note from your consultant after their visit with your child's day home?

Stongly Agree- 109, Agree- 1, Disagree-0, Strongly Disagree- 0, Neutral-11

Question: Do you find the parent newsletter enjoyable to read?

Stongly Agree-69 , Agree- 5, Disagree- , Strongly Disagree- 0, Neutral-47

Question: I participating in the ages and stages questionnaire and found the feedback informative and useful?

Stongly Agree-30, Agree- 30, Disagree- 0, Strongly Disagree- 1, Neutral-58

Question: How often would yu like to receive the ASQ (currently it's twice a year)?

Yearly- 27, Twice a year- 62, More frequently- 9, Don't Participate-23

Question: As part of the agency community engagement, the agency has run 2 donation drives (winter foodbank drive & spring pregnancy care centre drive). How often do you feel you woud like to participate in optional donation drives?

Once a year- 45, Twice a year-56, More- 6, Never-13

Question: Would you recommend your dayhome educator to a new parent?

Yes-121, No-0

Question: Would you recommend the agency to a new parent?

Yes- 114, No-6

Survey Comments and Agency responses:

(Parent comments in black, Agency response in Bold)

Parent Comments:

· Radha is amazing

· Sangeeta is amazing, she really has been a second mom to my child and has really helped with the development of my child, could not be happier!

· Saba has made a huge difference in jacks speech development we are very very happy with her

· I can't say enough good things about the agency and our educator, Fehmida. I will always recommend and support both :)

· I am very satisfied with the Educator and the care provided

· Lana is amazing and my son loves going to her house each day

· I have seen remarkable changes in my daughter. All thanks to both of my educator

· Radha is absolutely amazing! She loves our son like he is her own. He has grown so much and his cognitive abilities have flourished I am very happy for this My day home educator is excellent and she always takes the best care of children.

· My day home educator is excellent and she always takes the best care of children.

· We love Teacher Nadia. She is an outstanding educator and we are so grateful to have her

· It’s great that our child is been taken care in every beautiful way.. thanks

· Asma’s day home is so wonderful! She takes good care of my son and he loves going to Asma’s!

· Strongly happy!

· I am so happy with Educator Thilaga , she is very creative and always have emotional bond with children. I would also recommend that there should be an appreciation for these kinds of educator who continuously producing the learning experiences for children where they are always feeling excited and connected with their educators.

· To take care of my girl. Thank you😊

· We are very pleased with our home educator as well as the agency

· Excellent.

· We really appreciate our current day home educator’s excellent service towards our child.

· I am a satisfied parent.

· My day home educator care is excellent and she is amazing.

· Susan has been incredible to our two boys. She loves them like her own, and I can tell how safe and loved my boys feel. There is no greater feeling then knowing they are in great, loving hands when we can’t be with them.

· We feel our daughter go everyday to her second home. Amrit is the best and we always recommend people to send their kids to Amrit.

· I am truly thankful for Arpana's care and dedication to my children. She is always providing them with meaningful learning experiences and encouraging them to create art projects. I am very impressed with how much she cares for my children and how she takes the time to make sure they are learning and having fun. Her kindness and energy are truly appreciated. Thank you, Arpana, for all that you do for my children

Thank you for your positive feedback, it is nice to know that so many of our parents are enjoying their experience with our agency, as well as in many of the great dayhomes, and with the dayhome Educators. We stive for the best service and have some amazing women caring for the children in this Agency.

· Wish they would take the payment on the 1st

· The only part about working with the agency that is disappointing is how random the payments are, its never consistent and is always a different day each month, I think it would be easier for all parents to budget the cost of childcare if the payments came out on the same day each month. We have never experienced payments like this, so it can be challenging to manage.

-The only frustration we have found is daycare fees not being taken out on time it is the 12th of the month and fees are still not taken. I assumed last month was a one off as things need to be set up but now this month also. Otherwise happy with care and whatnot.

Thank you for your comments. It is important to understand that payments cannot be withdrawn on the first of the month due to the priority of paying educators and the lengthy process of individually invoicing over 500 children. Due to the complexity introduced with fees considering subsidies, program eligibility, and affordability, grants have significantly increased the work in our accounts department. We do our best to ensure that all information is accurate. This is an ever-changing time-consuming process. Please know that we are doing our best to make payments as quickly as possible. As we advance, we are adding additional resources to the accounts department in an effort to process this in a more timely manner for all parents.

· There has been many issues with the accounting department - they don't seem very well organized.

Accounts dealt with many subsidy payments and Affordability Grants not being paid or incorrectly paid by the Government, resulting in additional tracking and back claims to the Government. The Government was also extremely busy trying to process the massive increase in the number of children qualifying for subsidies. Not to mention the implementation of the affordability grant.

Reconciling all the children's accounts became quite the undertaking. Understandably not knowing the processes and difficulties accounts have been experiencing behind the scenes can be frustrating for some parents. Please be assured that we are working diligently to ensure all accounts are current, and maintaining accurate records for parents is very important.

· Ability to pay by credit card would be more consistent. Due to the current cost of signing up with a credit card company and the fees involved, it is not an option we are currently looking into.

· I haven’t received any feedback regarding the ASQ for my child-Please reach out to your dayhome consultant, she can review the results with you.

· I would love to hear more about what my child is doing day to day. Any preschool like activities or just free play?- We believe that children learn through play, and encourage play as a way for children to get ready for their school years. If there is something you would like to see your educator work on specifically- please reach out to her directly and make that plan together.

· Educator is good, my problem is more with that agency and the communication. Our policy is to respond within 24 hours via email or phone calls. We apologize if we have taken longer than that to respond to you. Please remember to leave a call back number when leaving voice mails.

· I would really love to receive pictures and videos during the day so I can see what my boys are up to at day home. Please bring this up to your educator directly. The agency encourages educators in sharing with parents though out the day, as long as doing so does not take the educator away from the dayhome children and her time and attention with them.

· After some hiccups at the start I think things have improved (in terms of communication, etc.). I hesitate to rave about my day home provider to a new parent because she is closed so often and for extended periods of time ... Not very helpful for working parents but I do think she is great with the kids and they are well looked after. We are happy you feel that your children are receiving good care and are looked after. Our educators are self employed business people, as an agency we can only advise our educator on this topic. However, it is ultimately their decision as to the amount of time they choose to take. We know that this decision directly affects parents.
If you feel that this is becoming difficult for you, we encourage you to share that with your educator so she is aware of the struggle this decision is putting you in.

· I would love for my child to be outside more but my provider can't always take them outside due to children being late or unprepared for the weather. Please share this request with your educator. Our agency promotes outdoor play daily as we too feel that it is beneficial to both the children and the educator. Maybe late drop offs can meet the Educator outside.

· I participate in community engagement drives for clothing/food/bottles on my own. It's a bit disconnected via a day home (which is a very personal feeling space) which is then via the agency. I think a monthly email from the Educator(s) regarding lesson plans and meal plans would be easier to follow than the pages posted in the home. I like having them in the home but drop off and pickup are so busy that we rarely have a moment to look. Consider including photos of some representative meals, if there are any. Due to our Agency wide focus on community engagement, we are trying to implement more opportunities for positive influence in our communities. Thank you for your participation in the drive. Please discuss your suggestion for other ways to receive information from your educator with her directly. Some Educators put together a monthly newsletter or simply take photos of that information and send it to the parents.

· I enjoyed the previous version of the educator newsletter. The current and previous parent newsletter is basically useless. We have found that feedback has been positive towards a more interactive web-based newsletter. We encourage you to give our newsletter more chances in hopes it will be helpful to you and your child(ren).

· I wasn’t able to participate in the ASQ last time. Is this option still available? The ages and stages questionnaire (ASQ) is a wonderful resource for parents. Our next ASQ will be in July, please reach out to your consultant if you do not receive it in July.

· An App for posting menus more clearly and scheduled outdoor activities would be great. This is a great suggestion, please share it with your educator as there are many Apps available for educators to use.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS--May 22/2023 Victoria Day Agency will be closed.

REMINDERS

As we are heading to spring and start splashing in puddles, its important to remember to pack a few extra items such as: rubber boots, sweaters, wind breakers, a change of clothes, sunscreen and a hat.

These will all make outdoor play a little more enjoyable for your little one.

Sunscreen and bug spray must be provided by the parents and labelled with the child's name