Centre Updates! 

Hello to all of our Haven Families,

With only 1 term left of 2026, we say it every year but this year has gone by so quickly and we are so grateful to continually be apart of your child's educational journey. 

We are very much looking forward to all the fun that comes in term 4 from the warmer weather, Christmas parties, art and craft, transition sessions, upcoming holidays and a whole lot of fun.

A quick reminder to please update children's sunscreen that is kept at Haven (where needed) and to review bags for lighter clothing and changes of clothes for the warm weather. 

Children will need to ensure that their shoulders are covered with sandals preferably having a heel strap to support them not slipping off. 

Carpark Safety

Please ensure the gate to the carpark is closed behind you and latched into place. Having this gate closed is so valuable to keeping children safe and the responsibility of adults. 

We also ask that children are not running out of their room and into reception by themselves with the risk of the door being open and children getting into the carpark. 

Lastly, when you are dropping or picking up your child/children and need any assistance, just call us and we will come and help you. With Haven’s Child Safe Standards and Centre policies we can not have any child left alone and unsupervised in a car. If you are needing  to leave your child in the car due to unforeseen circumstances, give us a call and an Educator can come and sit in the car while you do the drop off/pick up.

Haven Enrolments 2027

Majority of Haven Families should have now received their enrolment confirmations or letters of offers for 2027. 

Forest Room (childcare) will be sent the first week of October, with all families at this point expected to be offered their preferred days.

Thankyou to everyone for your patience during this busy process, our spaces in 2027 are limited so if you are needing to make any changes please reach out as soon as possible. 

Our next step is starting to look at our educator and teaching teams for 2027. This process will include staff check ins, reflections, overall service numbers, levels of experience, dynamics and individual preferences. Our aim is to support our educators in working in rooms that they will continue to enjoy, are passionate about, can be professional challenged and will work well within that team, including days of work. Where possible we will move an educator up with children into the next room however this may not always be the case. Please be assured that all of our educators are highly skilled and knowledgeable to support different ages of children, building strong connections and sense of belonging in each room.

This process does take time, in which we will share with families as soon as possible but are predicting the start of December. 

Children Transitions 

For those children who will be moving to a new room they will commence in their new rooms from the 4th of January 2027. 

This date will be reflective of your new bookings for 2027, unless holidays are noted or other arrangements are requested. 

Transitions into their new rooms will commence across Term 4 2025.

• Transitions may include engaging in group times, open gate play, having meals together, group experiences and/or free play. 
• Flexible transitions across the term are done with familiar current educators to the children alongside their peers to support children's sense of belonging and comfort while exploring a new environment. This open approach helps promote the new room as a positive experience/ room and not be so overwhelming for the children. 
• We will work to balance & rotate transitions to ensure all children have ample time transitions. 
• Families are always welcome to view all rooms at Haven at drop-off / pick-up to gain an understanding of the environment and curriculum. Please do not hesitate to ask.

Victorian Child Safe Standards 

Behind the scenes we have been working hard on reviewing a few of our key commitments and policies to be relevant to current child safety considerations and to also be easier to read and implement into daily practices. 

This has included updating our Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing to also include the voice of children. We would love you to have a read, share any feedback and to also check out the display in reception including children's drawings. Having the voice, representation and drawings of children will continue to be a key theme across Haven and our displays.

Furthermore, we would like to share with families our Child Safety Code of Conduct which has been turned into an easy read version and is signed and acknowledge by all staff on an annual basis. It is important that we share documents like this to our broader community as child safety should always be a topic of conversation, an area of development and support from all levels. These easy read versions and expectation sheets will continue to be implemented for students, parent helpers, contractors and further developed to cover all aspects of our service. 

Family Holidays and Children finishing care at Haven 

Key upcoming public holidays include:

-Melbourne Cup Tuesday 3rd November

-Christmas Day Friday 25th Dec and Box Day (in lieu) Monday 28th Dec

-New Years Day Friday 1st Jan 2027

Towards the end of the year we will start emailing families to find out about children's attendance over Nov/Dec and into January. 

This time of year comes with many well deserved annual leave requests for staff and we try to give as much advanced approval to staff (where possible).

If you do already have holidays planned then you welcome to let us know. All Haven families are entitled to 20 days per calendar year at the discounted rate of 50% off fees. Reminder to please email us with 2 weeks notice for holidays. 

Before we know it the end of the will be here in which we sadly but also excitedly 

say goodbye to many children as their head of to school/ kinder or a new service (from moving houses etc). 

A quick and friendly reminder that Haven requires 2 weeks’ written notice for any changes to bookings including cease of enrolment. This ensures that family accounts are balanced at $0 and you or the service are not left with any debt. Please note, that if your child does not attend their last booked session at Haven, Centrelink will not pay CCS which will result in a full fee charge. On your last day families must also return access fobs to the service. Additionally, any child who is not returning to Haven Early Learning in 2027 will need to finish up no later than Thursday 24th December 2026.

Staff Updates  and Achievements 

A big welcome to Kathryn and Jess into our team at Haven who will be working in River and Sun (Kathryn) and Jess into the Forest Room. Sadly we said goodbye to Ellie and Makayla but wish them the best on their next role.

Congratulations to the following team members on their years of service.

1 year- Ruby

2 years- Isabelle

3 years- Shivi and Jane 

5 years- Julia

9 years- Bronwyn

Furthermore, congratulations to the staff members being recognised as staff member of the month: 

July- Shivi and Isabelle B for their growth across 2026.

August - Kristyn and Danni for their passion and fun they bring to Haven.