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The Monash University School Holiday Program (MUSHP) is a licensed service provider. We must have a minimum number of qualified educators rostered on at all times. All educators are required to:
Each time your child attends the holiday program, you must sign them in and out and record the time. This is a legal requirement.
Parents can collect their children for lunch. If you choose to do this, you must sign them in and out on the lunchtime form. Check with educators to confirm the group's activities and location before and after the lunch period.
MUSHP caters for all children enrolled in primary school. This includes children who, after the January program, are going into:
Children up to 12 years old, and about to start secondary school, must have used the program before and/or have siblings in the program. We cannot give them priority if a younger child requires a place.
MUSHP offers care for 60 children. We place children in groups according to age. The groups use a range of on-campus facilities and venues for activities.
| Age range | Group allocation |
|---|---|
| 5 – 7 years | Green group |
| 8 years and over | Blue group |
You need to drop off and pick up your children from their main venue (except for swimming). You will receive your child's program and venue details in the Confirmation of Enrolment pack by mail.
Call the MUSHP mobile number 0408 507 101 to notify educators that you will be late. A late fine applies to those families where children are collected after 5:30pm. These are strictly enforced:
If we cannot contact you or your emergency contacts and your child is not picked up by 6:15pm, your child will be left in the care of the local Victorian Police.
Children spend more time outside compared to their school day routines and need to wear suitable clothing and footwear. Pack a jumper and coat in the event of rain.
Hats and sun block are essential items for the September, January and April programs, and are recommended for July. For further information concerning hats and sun block, visit the Sunsmart website
Parents need to provide packed lunches and snacks. MUSHP does not provide these. The holiday program is a long and active day, so you need to:
Drinks and water bottles are also essential items. Facilities are available to refill water bottles.
Please ensure your child does not bring any nuts or nut-based products to the program. This includes nuts, peanut butter, Nutella and chocolate bars containing nuts.
Monash University has an indoor heated swimming pool (Doug Ellis Aquatic Centre). Parents must indicate on the enrolment form:
On swimming days, pack a towel and bathers in a bag as well as sandals or thongs.
If you are going to collect your child from swimming, please let educators know at the start of the day. They need to ensure your child takes their belongings with them, ready to be picked up from the pool.
We charge a $10 swimming levy per child/per program. This covers the cost of additional educators to supervise children in the pool.
MUSHP does not provide refunds or credits if your child is sick.
The Child Care Benefit (CCB) is paid for up to 30 absence days per child, per financial year across all approved childcare services. It can be taken for any reason. Families who receive CCB as a fee reduction at more than one approved childcare service must inform the service when they have used their 30 allowable absence days. Absences are also indicated on your invoices from MUSHP.
See Family Assistance Office/Child Care Benefit for information about:
MUSHP follows the National Health and Medical Research Council's guidelines. This lists infectious diseases and exclusion times for children in care. Parents must inform the program coordinator immediately an infectious condition is found in their family. This helps minimise the risk of the illness spreading.
Some common illnesses are highly contagious and may prevent your child from attending. They include:
A medical clearance, including doctor's certificate is required prior to your child returning to care.
You must complete the necessary forms prior to enrolment, otherwise we cannot process your enrolment.
If your child is taking regular or short-term medication, discuss this with the program coordinator before your child attends to to ensure the correct procedures for giving the medication are followed. You will need to complete the medication administering form.
All medications must be clearly labelled with the child's name and signed in each day into the medication booklet provided. Parents should discuss their child's needs with their group educator at the time of signing in.
MUSHP welcomes and caters for children who may require additional care. Before completing your enrolment form, please arrange a meeting with the program coordinator. With the family's permission, our local Inclusion Support Facilitator (ISF) may attend this meeting, to discuss your child's requirements.
To provide vacation care that promotes:
On the first day of the program, both educators and children will discuss and set agreed rules. This includes talking about the consequences of breaking those rules including incident reports and exclusion. Educators will restate the rules to any new participants entering the program.
Children need to show age appropriate social behaviour and self-control. Trained educators will:
Educators may write an incident report if a child's behaviour:
Each incident report requires both the educators and parent/guardian's signature.
After three incident reports, or a particularly serious issue, the program coordinator may contact the child's parent/guardian to arrange an interview to resolve the problem.
As a result, the child may: