FAQs

We offer the convenience of direct debit payments from a nominated bank account or credit card. No cash is accepted or left on any premises.

Alphabeta services are approved to pass on reductions in Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate under the Department of Human Services scheme. However, you will need to check your eligibility with the Department of Human Services. We are also able to calculate your reductions and adjust fees accordingly once we receive the individual CRNs for your child.

Each session fee includes the cost of carers, activities, plus snacks (eg: morning and afternoon tea) where applicable.The fee also covers access to indoor and outdoor play equipment, access to computers and internet connectivity and educational resources such as online subscriptions, games and reading material.We offer a variety of different play equipment (crafts, art supplies, games, books, sports equipment etc) to cater for different interests. During vacation care, we ask parents to provide lunch for their children as the activities programs are varied, ranging from in-house activities (indoor / outdoor and incursions) and excursions.

All of our meals are planned based on the new national guidelines for Healthy Eating. Our menus are tailored to services and include a variety of hot and cold snacks such as seasonal fruits, yoghurt, sandwiches / wraps / melts, pasta bakes, fresh vegetables and dips. We also offer light milk alternatives and water.

We provide:

• Hot and cold breakfast (before school)
• Hot and cold afternoon tea (after school, vacation care and pupil free days)
• Hot and cold morning tea (vacation care and pupil free days)

We ask parents to provide a packed lunch for their child for vacation care and pupil free days only.

Our services also cater for children with food allergies or specific dietary requirements, offering an alternative menu for these children.

The new Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents in Australia are based around promoting balanced healthy eating in OOSH services. They recommend that children consume different food types in appropriate amounts to obtain all the required nutrients without excess energy intake. The guidelines also show new daily serving recommendations for food categories based on age ranges (eg. 4-7 yrs, 8-11 yrs and 12-18 yrs). As caregivers, our Educators have a great opportunity to be role models of positive behaviour and healthy lifestyles.

Our service supports the new guidelines and will encourage children to:
Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits, eat plenty of cereals (including bread, rice, pasta and noodles) preferably wholegrain. Include milks, yoghurts, cheeses and / or alternatives including reduced fat milk for children over 2 years of age, choose water as a drink.

Our service will show care to:

• Limit saturated fat and total moderate fat intake
• Choose foods low in salt, consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars.

Your child can attend a service even if they are not enrolled in the school provided that there is no waiting list and that they meet a certain priority. Sometimes there may be a waiting list for OOSH services and to ensure the system is fair, we abide by the “Priority of Access Guidelines” set by the Australian Government. These guidelines are applicable to all Child Care Benefit (CCB) approved service providers except for those operating employer sponsored child care services.

Vacation care programs are run only during NSW school term breaks and vary for each service as schools start and finish on different days. Vacation care is only run at schools where there is demand and is subject to a minimum enrolment quota. To enquire about Vacation care, please contact us