About Us

Your Child Is in Great Hands

Committee of Management

Raleigh Street Community Children's Centre (Raleigh St) is managed by a Director, Assistant Director and a parent-run Committee of Management.

The Committee of Management (CoM) is responsible for working collaboratively with the Director, Assistant Director, Educators and families to shape the philosophy and strategic direction of Raleigh St, and to maintain high quality of care and education.

It is also tasked with overseeing Raleigh St's ongoing financial health and sustainability including setting fees and managing the budget.

The CoM consists usually of elected family members volunteering their time and experience. They are elected annually at the Annual General Meeting.

Committee meetings are held monthly.

Nutrition

At Raleigh St we provide a wide variety of seasonal vegetables, grains, proteins, fruits and dairy sources. We use low salt & sugar options and follow the Victorian Healthy Eating guidelines for children in long day care.

Raleigh St staff are trained in the Confident Body, Confident Child methodology, which encourages body positivity, acceptance of diversity and healthful attitude towards physical activity and enjoyment of food.

Our meals are freshly prepared onsite each day by our cook. The menus follow a rotating four week Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter plan. All dietary requirements are catered for.

Families are asked to provide a piece of fruit for their child to share at morning tea. During the day there is also an all day vegetable snack box available to the children. Cows/ soy/rice/oat milk is offered to children at both morning and afternoon tea. Water is provided all day.

Birthday cakes are available to celebrate your child’s special day. We offer a choice of 4 cakes: berry-coconut; chocolate ; apple and orange; or a fresh watermelon and fruit salad cake (summer only). All cakes are made in house.

Family Participation

Raleigh St is a not-for-profit organisation. As the smallest Centre in Darebin, we rely on families to provide support for initiatives that are above and beyond our daily operations.

Family Participation Program:

Each year families are required to contribute a minimum of nine hours of their time to Raleigh St (4.5 hours for single parent families). The Family Participation Program helps to foster a community environment, but also assists in reducing costs at Raleigh St. If a family does not meet the minimum nine-hour requirement, they will be billed a participation fee of $180 at the end of the year ($90 for single parent families).

Common tasks that parents help with throughout the year include gardening, sewing, mending equipment, administration jobs, organising social events, joining the committee, joining a sub-committee, reviewing suppliers, policy updates, or running an activity for the children such as music, craft or language. There are also three working bees every year, where participants tidy and clean the centre, fix and maintain equipment and do any other odd job that are required.

Families bring an incredibly wide range of skills and expertise to Raleigh St, which helps to enrich and create a thriving community. We are always open to new ideas on different ways families can contribute throughout the year.

Fees

Daily Fee 2023: $149
Weekly Fee 2023 : $735 (5 consecutive days of attendance)

Government assistance with fees (Child Care Subsidy) is available to families via application to the Department of Human Services. If families are eligible for government assistance the subsidy is paid directly to the Centre and families are charged the gap fee.

For more information visit the Department of Human Services website or call 13 61 50 to apply for CCS.

The daily fee is reviewed annually by the Committee of Management as part of the budgeting planning process that takes place prior to the 30th June each year. Any fee increases as result of this review would take effect in July of that year.

Fee Payment:

Fees will be invoiced to parents/guardians directly on a fortnightly basis and must be paid via direct debit arrangement.

It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that fees are paid promptly as non-payment seriously impacts on the Centre's cash flow.

Fees are payable for booked days and includes days when:

A child is absent from the Centre
A child is sick and absent
A child is on holidays
Public holidays