Wee Little Lambs Policy and Procedures

WeeLittleLambs.com Policy & Procedures

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

Our Goal...... 2

Our Mission...... 2

Our Philosophy...... 2

Our Beginnings...... 2

Our Rating...... 2

Accreditation...... 2

Days of Operation ...... 3

Tuition...... 3

Fees ...... 3

Late Fees for Tribal/DHS…………………………………………………………………………………..4

Tribe Financial Assistance ...... 4

DHS Assistance...... 4

Holidays ...... 4

Vacation Days ...... 5

Inclement Weather ...... 5

Tornado and Fire Drills ...... 5

Emergency Procedures...... 5

Drop off...... 5

Pick-up ...... 5

Custodial/Non-Custodial Parents...... 5

Staff...... 6

Birthdays ...... 6

Holiday Parties ...... 6

Animals……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Sick Kids ...... 6

Your child will be sent home if: ...... 6

Medications and Prescriptions...... 7

Sanitation...... 7

Ouchie Report...... 7

Immunizations...... 7

Nutrition / Meals...... 7

Rest Time...... 7

Withdrawal...... 8

Records...... 8

Curriculum...... 8

Staff/Child Ratio...... 8

Our Babies, Our One’s, Our Two’s………………………………………………………………………...8

Three’s & Four’s, Before/After School...... 9

Open House...... 9

Parent Meeting...... 9

Parent Opportunity...... 9

Open Door Policy...... 9

Volunteers…………………………………………………………………………………………………..9

Parent’s Communication and Involvement...... 9

DHS Compliance File...... 9

Literature...... 9

Disenrollment...... 10

Dress/Clothing...... 10

Required Items...... 10

Holding Spots...... 10

Court Orders Effecting Enrolled Children...... 10

Personal Items...... 11

Changing Materials………………………………………………………………………………...... 11

Biting...... 11

Behavior Control...... 11

Corporal Punishment...... 11

Child Abuse...... 12

Press Release……………………………………………………………………………...... 13

Our Goal

We strive to provide a developmental program that includes experiences, which meet the needs and interest of your child. Each day your child will enter a loving Christian atmosphere where they will learn more about God’s world. Each child will be encouraged to become aware of how unique they are, while learning self-discipline and right choices. WWL provides a program to accommodate the WHOLE child. We strive to compliment family values by surrounding the children with a Christian atmosphere of respect and loving appreciation for each person. Each child is encouraged to progress at their own speed through enriched experiences, self-discipline and the ability to make right choices.

Our Mission

Giving hope to children by providing them an opportunity to succeed, learn and be loved.

Our Philosophy

Our philosophy at Wee Little Lambs is three-fold: We are dedicated to the care and development of three areas of each of the children in our care: Mind, Body and Soul.

Mind - we encompass learning, socialization, cognitive development and reasoning through various activities in our learning program. We offer a loving environment in which interacting with others while learning to make right choices.
Body - We believe that a child’s play is their “work”. The child’s physical development will be enhanced through play and the use of age appropriate equipment. Hot, nutritional meals, along with fun, physical activities are important aspects of our daily schedule.
Soul - As a Christian learning center, Christ is at the center of everything we do. By treating each child as an important individual, created and loved by God, we promote an atmosphere of positive biblical truths increasing their understanding of God’s love.

It is our hope that each child will recognize at an early age his/her need for a personal relationship with God. We use the A-Beka Bible Curriculum and teach Bible stories through songs, prayer and creative activities.

Our Beginnings

When planning this facility I believed that God was leading me to provide a quality Christian, learning environment in which working parents could feel confident leaving their children. It is the desire of Wee Little Lambs to touch families for Christ through the means of childcare. We hope you have a great experience and are with us for a long time.

Our Rating

Wee Little Lambs is rated by DHS a 3 star facility (which is the highest star level) and National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA). We are among an elite group of childcare providers who are nationally recognized dedicated to bring quality care to the children and parents.

Accreditation

How accreditation benefits you and your child? The National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA) program was established to verify quality standards your child deserves. The NECPA program, which has been thoroughly tested, has a rigorous process that measures areas such as Developmental Program, Health and Safety, Indoor and Outdoor, Administration and Professional Quality, and Parent, Community and School Relations. The accreditation process, developed in conjunction with the renowned Early Childhood Education Programs Department of Pennsylvania State University, probes these issues in depth on behalf of parents and children alike. They have probed over 250 aspects of the program's care, learning, safety, and administration. NECPA sent a professional to visit our site to verify responses. The resulting in-depth profile of the program's approach and operations was analyzed by NECPA's National Accreditation Council to determine if our program met their rigorous standards and deserves the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation. Wee Little Lambs met all the standards during our evaluation. We go through an annual report process every year on-site with a NEPCA consultant to keep our status.

Days of Operation

Monday through Friday 7:00am - 5:30pm

Tuition

Tuition is due on the Monday of each week in advance*. If tuition is not paid by Tuesday P.M., there will be a $10.00 late payment fee assessed and added to your next bill. A charge of $35.00 shall be charged for a returned check. If a second check is returned, all payments will have to be made by cash or money order. Tuition is not based on attendance. We are reserving a space for your child and tuition must be paid whether your child is in attendance or not. All financial questions concerning an account are to be made with the Director (Chelsea Perryman) or Kayla Ferguson. Checks should be made payable to Wee Little Lambs and deposited in the payment box at the center.

Fees

Registration Fee- One Week of Self Pay Tuition

This fee will be due the day of enrollment and must be paid before the child begins.

Curriculum Fee- $35

This fee will be due each August.

6 weeks thru13 months*

$140 (28 per day)

*Children who are one year old will not be moved up to one year old classroom until the child can eat regular food, does not use a bottle and can walk. Their fee will stay $140.00 until the child actually moves to the one year old classroom.

13 months and older

$132.50 ($26.50 per day)

School age (Up to age 12)

Listed below you will find the tuition for school age children. For business reasons, we must have this policy in effect because we have to order extra food/milk and have added expenses for supplies when your children are in attendance all day.

Before and after school: $50 per week whether your child is in attendance or not.
$125 per week when school is out whether child is in attendance or not.

When WLL is closed (i.e. Thanksgiving week- you would pay $75 because we are closed Thanksgiving Day and the day after. Spring Break is $125 for the week because school is out a full week. These fees are due whether the child is in attendance or not.)

During the summer, it is $125 per week whether the child is in attendance or not.

Summer Activity Fee- A summer activity fee will be charged to each child and will be due by May 25th of each year. This fee will be charged because the cost of activities and travel expenses. The goal is to keep the children entertained with different trips, but it is expensive. The fee per child will be $100. We get a small grant from a tribe, but it is not enough to cover all activities. If this fee is not paid by May 25, then your child will not be able to participate in the activities.

Late Fees for Tribal/DHS

If co-pay is not paid by the 5th of every month then a $10 late fee will be charged on the 6th. If it is not received by the following Monday, a $10 late fee will be applied. This fee will be applied every Monday until payment is received. We will notify DHS or the tribe the last business day of the month if payment is not received.

Tribe Financial Assistance

Wee Little Lambs is contracted with all of the tribes in the area. There is a co-payment, which is set by your tribe, and this must be paid to WLL by the 5th day of the month. Failure to pay co-pay will result in your child being disenrolled and tribe will be notified. The tribe will only pay for days that both parents are working; the parent is responsible to pay WLL for days absent. If your child is absent you will be charged: $28.00 a day for infants, $26.50 per day for one year olds, $26.50 per day for two year olds, and $26.50 per day for three and four years olds.If you need to bring your child during days off prior approval with the tribe will need to be made and the tribe will need to contact WLL. Without prior approval parents will be responsible for those days. All tribes require that balances be paid in full with the center upon disenrollment. We are required to report any outstanding balances to the tribe. All the tribes require you to renew your paper work with them and to keep them informed of any job changes, address changes, changes in marital status, etc. It is your responsibility to keep the tribe well informed, failure to do so will result in termination of tribal benefits, therefore, making you responsible for any tuition charges.

DHS Assistance

Wee Little Lambs is contracted with DHS; you are required by DHS to pay your co-payment and swipe your card in the morning to check your child in and in the afternoon to check your child out. Continued missed swipes will result in dismissal of your child. If needed, you can get more than one DHS card.

If you have been approved to receive childcare benefits from OKDHS, your children should only be in care while you are at work, in school, or training. It is very important that you swipe your card and sign

the attendance form for your child (ren) every day they attend Wee Little Lambs. If you do not swipe your card to check child in you will be called to return to WLL to check your child in or take child home.

You must read the message received on the POS machine when you swipe your EBT card. If you don’t receive a messaged that says “Approved” you must call your caseworker right a way to report the message and correct the problem. If you receive a “denied” message there is no guarantee of payment. Wee Little Lambs will ask you to pay for any day your child (ren) was in attendance at the center. You will receive the “denied” message until the problem is corrected. Failure to correct the problem in a timely manner will result in you paying Wee Little Lambs for those days your child (ren) was in attendance. If the tape reads SAF stored, do not swipe again. It means someone is on the phone and will print as soon as the phone line is not in use.

Holidays

Parents please check this list and make arrangements well in advance with your employer. Wee

Little Lambs will be closed for the following holidays:

New Years Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day (and the following Friday)
Christmas Eve
Christmas

Vacation Days

We will give you one week (5 days) at 1/2 price.

Inclement Weather

Wee Little Lambs will make every effort to remain open during inclement weather. Even if Grove schools are closed, it does not mean WLL will be closed. We will open 8:00am on those days. If we are unable to open listen to KGVE FM 99.3 radio station (786-2211), call Wee Little Lambs or FaceBook.

Tornado and Fire Drills

We practice tornado and fire drills monthly at WLL so that each child will be more prepared in the event of an actual emergency. We keep abreast of the weather and in the event of a tornado warning, we will take the children into the rooms designated as safe. We have Disaster and Emergency Plans in place for each class.Every classroom has evacuation plans posted.

Emergency Procedures

In case of a severe emergency or an acute illness warranting immediate attention the parent will be called. If the parent cannot be reached, a person on the emergency contact on your enrollment form will be contacted. We will call 911 or transport the child to the hospital. All of our staff are trained on child CPR and First Aid.

Your child must be signed in at the front desk each morning upon drop off, and signed out upon pick-up every evening. We are required by DHS to keep these records for 120 days.

Drop Off

Your child (ren) must arrive at WLL by 9:30a.m. If not, we will not be allowed to keep your child (ren) for that day. If you want your child (ren) to be served breakfast, they must arrive by 8:00a.m.

Pick-up

Your child (ren) must be picked up before 5:30 pm, any child (ren) left after 5:30 will be charged $5.00 for the first 5 minutes and an additional $1.00/minute there after(per child). Only those persons authorized on the enrollment form will be permitted to pick your child up. If it becomes necessary for someone else to pick your child up (that is not on the enrollment form) you will need to contact the office and give us the name and description of that person. That person should be prepared to show proper identification before your child is released into their care. No child will be released to a person that is not the enrollment form and we have not had a call from the parent. Please do not pick up your child (ren) between the hours of 11:45a.m. and 2:00p.m. unless it is an emergency or previous arrangements have been made. Children are either napping or resting during this time and picking up your child (ren) during this time may cause disruption.

Custodial/Non-Custodial Parents

Wee Little Lambs takes every precaution to ensure that only authorized individuals are allowed to pick up their children. However, in cases where the parents are divorced, parents need to keep several facts in mind. WLL cannot refuse to release a child to the child's parent or legal guardian who has or shares legal custody of the child and is able to verify such right. Therefore, if a parent wishes to prevent another parent or legal guardian from picking up their child, they must provide WLL with a court document showing sole custody of the child belonging to them or denying custody to the other parent or guardian.

Staff

All staff members,as of January 2014 are required to have national criminal fingerprint completed by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Oklahoma DHS. Staff is required to obtain 20 hours of training within the first 90 days of employment. 30 hours of training is required each year. Each member of our staff is trained in CPR/First Aid. They have chosen this profession because they have a desire to see children grow in a caring, loving, safe and nurturing program.

Birthdays

If you would like to celebrate your child’s birthday at school you will need to bring goodies for your child’s class only. Please check with your child’s teacher for the number of children in your child’s class. As of 2003 we have been advised by DHS that we can no longer accept home made items for any type of party. They have to be store bought and individually wrapped.

Holiday Parties

We will have a sign up sheet for those who would like to bring treats. We have a Fall, Christmas, Easter, and Valentines Day. As of 2003, we have been advised by DHS that we can no longer accept home made items for any type of party. They have to be store bought and individually wrapped.

Animals

Animals or pets of any kind are NOT allowed on the premises.

Sick Kids

Your child should be kept at home if:

If he/she has had a fever during the previous 24 hour period. The child must be fever free for at least 24 hours without fever reducing medication before returning to school.
He/she has a heavy nasal discharge (unless diagnosed non-contagious by a physician. We must have a note stating this)
If he/she has a constant chronic tight barking cough
If he/she has had diarrhea more than 1 time in the previous 24 hours
If he/she has diarrhea more than 2 times they will be sent home (There are a lot of diseases that cause diarrhea)
If he/she has a draining sore
If he/she is fussy, cranky, or generally not him/herself.
If you suspect that he/she is coming down with something
If he/she has an undiagnosed rash (they must have a doctors note to be allowed to attend)
If he/she has eye discharge or pink eyes (must have a doctors note before they are allowed to attend)
If he/she has head lice (live or nits)

Your child will be sent home if:

Wee Little Lambs Policy and Procedures

Table of Contents

Fees

Drop Off

Pick-up