Both of those are below, room by room, with what each room costs a week and how many children one adult is actually responsible for. Not the number the state allows. The number we run. They are different, and the difference is the only reason to choose one centre over another.
Call (816) 555-0171Five rooms · checked at 7 a.m. each weekday
Openings change. When a room is full it says full and gives the month we expect the next place, because a waiting list you cannot see the length of is worse than a no.
Six weeks to twelve months
2 places openStart any Monday
Twelve months to two years
FullNext place expected October
Two to three years
1 place openStart any Monday
Three to five years, preschool
1 place openStart any Monday
Five to twelve, before and after school
Full in term timeSummer places open now
The number that matters
A licence proves a centre is not breaking the law. It does not tell you how many children one adult is watching at four in the afternoon, and that is the whole of what you are buying. Here is both numbers side by side, including the room where we run the state minimum and are not pretending otherwise.
| Age group | State allows | We run | Group size cap | Where the extra adult comes from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 12 months | 1 : 4 | 1 : 3 | 8 | A third adult 6 to 11 a.m. |
| 12 to 24 months | 1 : 4 | 1 : 4 | 12 | Nowhere. This room is at the minimum. |
| 2 to 3 years | 1 : 8 | 1 : 6 | 16 | An afternoon floater who covers breaks |
| 3 to 5 years | 1 : 10 | 1 : 8 | 24 | A third adult 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| School age | 1 : 16 | 1 : 12 | 36 | Three staff on every school run |
Sapling sits at the state minimum because a fourth adult in a twelve child toddler room would put the tuition up by about $40 a week and we have not been able to make that arithmetic work. We would rather write that down than let you assume otherwise.
Inspections
They are public, they are searchable by licence number, and almost no centre links to its own. Ours is licence 001-843-152 and you can read every visit for the last five years, including the ones where we were cited.
We would rather you read them here than find them later and wonder what else was not mentioned. Here is what the last three visits found.
If you want the reports and would rather not go looking, ask on a tour and you will be handed printed copies of the last two years before you are shown a single classroom.
Tuition
Weekly tuition is in each room above. These are the charges that surprise people, printed here rather than in the enrolment packet.
Breakfast, hot lunch and two snacks. Nappies and wipes in Acorn and Sapling. All supplies, field trips and the school run. There is no supply fee and no separate snack charge.
$75 per family, not per child, paid when you accept a place. There is no deposit and no holding fee to sit on the waiting list.
Full tuition is due on weeks your child is away, sick or on holiday, because the place and the staff member are still there. Two weeks a year are credited back and you choose which.
$1 a minute per child, and it goes to the two people who stayed rather than to the centre. Traffic on 69 happens and nobody is ever made to feel it. Ring us and it is fine.
We take child care subsidy at all five rooms and will help you fill the form in at the desk. You are not charged the difference between the subsidy rate and our rate.
In writing, and that is all. No penalty, no forfeited deposit, and your place is held for four weeks if you are coming back.
Tours are unbooked and unaccompanied by a sales talk. Turn up, ask for whoever is at the desk, and walk into any room that has your child's age in it. We will not tidy first because we will not know you are coming.
Call (816) 555-0171Monday to Friday
6 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Closed weekends and six holidays.
001-843-152
Licensed capacity 96
Opened March 2004.
(816) 555-0171
The desk, not a call centre. If it rings out it is because somebody is holding a baby.