Welcome To The Akidamy School Of Early Learning

On behalf of everyone here at the Akidamy, welcome to our School. Our team are committed to our values and to helping your child flourish. Our role is to make all children feel respected, supported, encouraged, inspired, listened to and cared for. We are committed to sharing your child's learning journey with you every step of the way. 

The following information will provide you with an insight into how the School operates. For detailed information, please refer to our policies online or ask at Reception. 
 
Please contact our School Director at any time with any questions in regards to our operations and policies. 
 

Key Information

Address: 28 Cantonment St, Fremantle WA 6160
Contact: (08) 9227 1409 or office.freo@theakidamy.wa.edu.au 
Hours: 7.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday (Closed public holidays)
 
 
 

Enrolment

Once you have formally accepted enrolment, please ensure all information about your child and family is kept up to date. Please notify us of any changes that may occur or impact your child’s enrolment. 
 
Families are required to provide The Akidamy with two weeks' written notice when cancelling enrolment. 
 
If you wish to delay your child’s enrolment within two weeks of the agreed commencement date, the Enrolment Fee of $150 is forfeited, and this will need to be paid again when agreeing on a new commencement date. If a new commencement date cannot be approved by The Akidamy, you will need to go back onto the waiting list until another available place becomes available. 
 
If you choose to withdraw from The Akidamy within two weeks of the agreed commencement date, the written notice period applies. Full payment of the first two weeks of school fees is payable and is non-refundable. Full fees are payable as you are not entitled to claim any Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for this period. 
 
 

Policy in full: Payment of Fees & CCS Account Policy 

Fee	Price	Payment Method & Schedule
Daily Fee per child	$215	Payable in advance and processed every Friday using Childcare Easy Pay.
Holiday Rate (reduction of 10%)	$193.50	Payable in advance and processed every Friday using Childcare Easy Pay.
Online Waitlist Joining Fee	$150	Payable prior to joining the waitlist, payment made online via Credit Card
Enrolment Fee	$150	Payable prior to Child's first Orientation Day and processed along with the first two weeks of child's daily fees using Childcare Easy Pay.
Refundable Holding Deposit	$500	Payable upon enrolment and processed after enrolment accepted via direct debit of nominated bank account.
Late Fee	$1 per minute	Payable direct to School
Failure to sign in/out penalty fee	$5 per occurrence	Payable direct to School

 
Daily Fee per child: This fee is applicable to each day a child is enrolled, regardless of public holidays or any absence due to illness or otherwise. Fees are paid in advance. All payments must be made via Childcare Easy Pay, and all families must complete a Childcare Easy Pay application form upon enrolment. Our School has a no cash or EFT policy. 
 
Holiday Rate (reduction of 10%): Two week's written notice is required to receive a discounted rate 10% on the daily fee. This is capped at four weeks per the financial year (reflective of the weekly booking) i.e.: 2 days a week will equate to 8 days per financial year. 

Online Waitlist Joining Fee: This is a $150 non-refundable fee to be paid online in order to be placed on our waitlist, prior to enrolment is offered. This fee is to cover administration costs. Without this fee, we are unable to process your application and follow up with you on our waitlist. 
 
Enrolment Fee: Once enrolment is confirmed, a compulsory $150 administration fee per child  is required to confirm the school booking. This fee covers administration costs associated with the application process.  Please note this is non-refundable. 

• Once you have formally accepted enrolment, please ensure all information about your child and family is kept up to date. Please notify us of any changes that may occur or impact your child’s enrolment.
• Families are required to provide The Akidamy with two weeks' written notice when cancelling enrolment. 
• If you wish to delay your child’s enrolment WITHIN two weeks of the agreed commencement date, the Enrolment Fee of $150 is forfeited, and this will need to be paid again when agreeing on a new commencement date. If a new commencement date cannot be approved by The Akidamy, you will need to go back onto the waiting list until another available place becomes available. 
• If you choose to withdraw from The Akidamy WITHIN two weeks of the agreed commencement date, the written notice period applies. Full payment of the first two weeks of school fees is payable and is non-refundable. Full fees are payable as you are not entitled to claim any Child Care Subsidy (CCS) for this period. 

 
Refundable Holding Deposit: Once enrolment is confirmed, a $500 holding deposit will be deducted from your nominated account to ensure commitment and fulfilment of a space at the school. This payment will be refunded to families 3 weeks after the child leaves The Akidamy if all accounts are paid in full and no amount is outstanding when the child leaves the service. 
  
Late Fees: $1 per minute will be charged if your child is collected after 6 pm. This is payable directly to the School.

Admin Fees For Failure to Sign Children In/Out on the SmartCentral Kiosk: Parents will be charged a $5 admin fee for failing to correctly sign their child in and out of the front kiosk for each session that their child attends. This is a government requirement for all families to ensure that they are correctly receiving their CCS entitlements. We are responsible for submitting this information to them each week. 
 
Additional and Reduced Days: Booked sessions can be changed with two weeks’ notice if there is a space available. Swapping of session depends on availability and the capacity of the studio. Please note we do not offer alternating days between weeks. 
 
Childcare Subsidy (CCS) and Centrelink
To claim CCS, you must provide the CRN number of the CCS claimant and the CRN number of your child. You can apply for Childcare Subsidy through Centrelink. Once we submit your CRN numbers to CCS, you need to approve the enrolment in your MyGov account before your CCS becomes active.
 
Once you have approved your child’s enrolment in MyGov, your CCS payments can take up to 2 weeks to be paid. Your CCS will be backpaid from the start of your child’s enrolment and will automatically come through as a credit to your Akidamy account.
 
Childcare subsidy payments are calculated based on multiple factors, including your CCS percentage, allocated hours per fortnight, sessions per fortnight, our cost per session and session duration. Please keep Centrelink updated with any changes, such as your address or work circumstances.

 

Orientation & Preparing for Care

Prior to your child starting at the School, we ask that you and your child visit the School for two orientation sessions of approximately one hour each. The process will assist in making separation easier and allow for your child to become familiar with the environment, their educators, and new friends. 

During these orientation sessions, we require you to stay on-site (in the School) so that your child understands what is happening. We provide access to free internet and coffee/tea/filtered water at the reception area while you wait. Please ask any of our team members at reception to take your order and provide you with the wifi password.
 
This time also allows parents to meet our team and to pass on any information relevant about their child. This is not only an important time for a child, it also assists parents to feel more confident leaving their children in our care. 
 

Nothing But the Child

We provide all families with a hat, bag, bottle, nappies, sunscreen, and bedding. This is done to reduce waste and stress for families and to reduce the time spent looking for individual items each day.

This also ensures that the children have a sense of community with the Akidamy  
The clothing is optional for the children, however hats and water bottles are used for activities and must not leave the School. 
 
Our aim at The Akidamy is to reduce families stress by simplifying their entering and exiting of the School to allow time for educators and families to interact
 

What to bring to the Akidamy

• Own breast milk (must be labelled and dated) and baby formula
• Spare set of labelled clothing
• Ensure child is wearing socks and shoes
• Warm clothing during colder periods of the year. 
• Medication: Please refer to the Medication Policy for further information.

  

Procedures to be completed on Arrival & Departure

It is required by law that each child is signed in and out of the School via our (SmartCentral) kiosk at School reception.

If someone other than an authorised person is collecting your child, you will need to notify the staff prior to pick up, and this person will be required to show identification. No child will be allowed to leave the School without parental consent. 

Failure to sign your child in or out may result in the School being fined, this fine will in turn be passed on to you, as it is your responsibility that children are signed absent when this occurs holidays are signed for and, as previously stated, signed in and out each day. 
 

Casual days may be requested through our software platform; SmartCentral. Parents may request as many casual days as they wish. You will receive an email from SmartCentral to confirm if your request has been approved. Casual bookings are approved a week in advance. You are welcome to call our phone on the day to request a casual session.

Download the app on Apple and Google Play for free.   
 

Our Spaces

The Akidamy has thoughtfully designed and considered every aspect of the School in relation to children’s development. Our bespoke space allows for both indoor and outdoor play in any weather, as we believe this free-flowing learning environment is ideally suited to children’s growth and wellbeing. Our indoor space creates ideal places for reflection, engagement, and interaction with others. 
 
The environment is considered the third teacher. Children are encouraged to be independent by choosing their own activities to foster self-esteem, experimentation, imagination, curiosity, and to allow discovery. We incorporate natural and recycled materials as they are open-ended and have many possible uses. 
 
We have four studios at The Akidamy:

• Nursery Studio - 3 to 18 months 
• Toddler Studio - 18 to 26 months 
• Kindergarten 3 - 2.5 to 3.5 years approx. 
• Kindergarten 4 - 3.5 to 5 years approx. 

The spaces have been designed by educational experts to stimulate learning through exploration, curiosity, and play. Before your child moves up to the next studio space, we look at their developmental milestones to ensure they are ready. We also allow them a transition period between studios so they can settle happily into their new environment. 

 

Studio Rhythm of the Day

Depending on the age of your child and which Studio they are in, a selection of enriching and fun activities will fill their day. Just some of these include:

• School Readiness programme delivered by a specialist Occupational Therapist
• Italian Language programme
• Sign Language programme 
• Yoga/Mindfulness
• OSOJI
• Community Walk & Norwood Park Visits
• Reggio Emilia-inspired Pedagogy
• Excursions and Incursions 
• Healthy vegetarian meals
• Sleep & rest
• Reading, art and music

 

The menu is on display each day at La Cucina. Our Cucina – Italian for kitchen – will be visible to all. Children will be invited to engage with seeing their food being prepared and cooked. The delicious smells will permeate the environment – more of the 'just like home' experience for our families and children alike.  

All meals provided are strictly vegetarian. The menu includes morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and a late snack. All food is prepared freshly on the premises. We are continuously evaluating our menu (seasonally adjusted), and we value your suggestions and feedback. 
 
It is essential that you inform the School of any special dietary requirements for a child so we can put a plan into place.
 

We use Earlyworks to communicate your child's learning, daily images, critical information (dietary requirements, medical information, severe allergic and anaphylaxis reaction), policies, QIP, events, historical records, excursions, and general news. The app provides details about your child's day which includes the food they consumed, their sleep times, attendance time stamp and nappy changes and much more. It is also a platform where you can send messages to our team about your children and also provide feedback about their day and learning.
 
Download the app on Apple and Google Play for free.  

Our School QIP is available for families to review in Earlyworks under the document section of the app, or a copy can be emailed to you directly. Any feedback or suggestions should be emailed to the Education Leader (education.freo@theakidamy.wa.edu.au) and or the School Director (director.freo@theakidamy.wa.edu.au). 
 
Once a quarter we publish the PENSIERI (Italian: "thoughts"), which is the School online magazine of the school activities.
 

Our educators take a proactive approach to safety and conduct thorough risk assessments of all play areas so that each child can feel safe and free to explore their environment. 
 
A Senior First Aid qualified staff member is present at all times as well as nominated asthma and anaphylaxis supervisors. Should an accident or sudden illness occur, educators will immediately commence first aid and you will be contacted to collect your child. In emergencies, you will be advised of the plan of action regarding further medical treatment.
 
During an emergency, if you or your authorised nominee cannot be contacted, the Nominated Supervisor will provide the ambulance officers with information regarding your child and a team member known to the child will accompany them to the hospital and stay until you arrive. Full documentation of the incident will be made available.