SAFE
All School’s Out programmes are accredited by the Ministry of Social Development ensuring regulatory compliance and Staff:Child ratios are maintained
FUN
We aim to provide programmes that are fun and exciting for the children we look after. Activities are designed to encourage participation and engagement.
QUALITY
Don’t comprise on quality when it comes to the care of your precious children. School’s Out is an award winning provider of OSCAR care.
Got Questions?
Hopefully we have the answers for you right here on our FAQ page. If there is something that you can’t find the answer for, please get in touch with your local centre or can visit our Contact page and submit your question directly to us. We also invite you to download our handy Parent Information Guide by clicking the link below.
Download Parent Information Guide
How do I book in my child?
All School’s Out centres use the Enrolmy online booking platform for enrolments/bookings. If you are new to School’s Out please visit the centre page of the centre you are wishing to book your children into and follow the links to the Enrolmy booking page for your chosen activity.
Alternatively, the centre may email the Enrolmy booking link directly, inviting you to book into your chosen programme activity.
If you require assistance with making bookings, please contact the centre directly.
What are your staff-to-child ratios?
While at the centre our ratios are 1-adult to every 10-children. However, we will always have at least 2-adults working, even when there are less than 10-children currently in attendance.
For off-site trips and excursions, the ratios are: 1-adult for every 8-children, and 1-adult for every 6-children for any water based activities.
What are your hours of operation?
Our centre’s operating hours differ between individual programmes so that they suit the needs of the parents in each community.
Please visit the Centre Regions drop down above, to find the centre you are interested at booking with. Each centre’s hours are specified on their individual webpage.
Do School’s Out centres operate on Teacher Only days and other school closures?
In the event of Teacher Only days and other school closures, we will survey parents to determine demand. If deemed viable, School’s Out will provide a Full and/or a Half-day programme as required by the school closure.
Please let our Programme Manager know as soon as you are aware of your child’s school having a closure as this may have not yet been communicated to us, and we will require time to organise the appropriate staffing and activities.
What are your fees?
Our fees vary across our centres depending on their operating environment, please visit your centres webpage or contact the centre directly, to obtain the latest fee information.
The ongoing care of your children requires that your account remains up to date. If your account is overdue for a sustained period of time, your child’s enrolment may be terminated. School’s Out also reserves the right to refuse any bookings/enrolments due to unpaid fees. Please refer to our Fees Policy for more information.
What is a Payment Request?
Every Thursday you will receive a Payment Request asking for payment to be made by the following Monday. A Payment Request is what you need to pay for the coming week’s care, as all School’s Out fees must be paid in advance as per our Terms and Conditions.
If you do not make full payment on this Payment Request, you will receive an Invoice for care, during the following week.
When making payments, please reference as follows:
Particulars – Child Customer Number
Code – Child’s Last Name & First Name
Reference – Centre Name
What payment options do you have?
Internet banking or online credit card payments (via your Enrolmy Parent Portal) are the most convenient payment methods. Some of our centres do have EFTPOS facilities.
Please ensure you quote the reference details as per previous FAQ question when making payments. The bank account number for your centre is on every Payment Request/Invoice.
Can parents access subsidies for OSCAR-based childcare?
All School’s Out centres are accredited by the Ministry of Social Development, which allows eligible families to utilise the OSCAR Subsidy through WINZ.
Please note: It is the parents/caregivers responsibility to ensure all applications/renewals, and ‘Change of Circumstances’ paperwork is completed and submitted to WINZ, prior to your child’s attendance at any of our programmes. It is also the parents/caregivers responsibility to pay in advance any portion of fees not covered by the WINZ subsidy.
To check your eligibility for the subsidy, please click on the link below:
Will I be charged if my child is absent?
Please notify the centre immediately if your child is sick or unable to
attend a booked session. Please note: Normal charges for the booked session will apply (unless you are able to give one weeks notice of an absence, or you can make the booking modification within Enrolmy within the required one-week timeframe). This policy is in place due to our strict staffing ratios, programme planning, rostering, and transport logistics.
If any child is absent for three weeks or more without notification, we will not be able to hold their bookings open. Please refer to the Fee Policy for more information.
Why do I need to inform the School’s Out centre prior to my child’s absence?
You may be charged an additional fee if you do not inform us of your child’s absence. Once your children are booked into our programmes, they ramin the responsibility of School’s Out, until otherwise notified.
Programme staff are required to contact you immediately if your child is missing from the programme/pick-up location. If we cannot make contact with you, we will try the Emergency Contacts listed on the Safety Form, and if this is also unsuccessful, our policy states that we are to contact the Police and report the child as missing.
This is a very time-consuming process and disrupts the normal operation of the programme. Therefore, it is important that we receive notification of your child’s absence prior to the session commencing that they are booked into.
Do you offer any discounts?
While we endeavour to keep our fees as low as possible for all families, we do occasionally have special deals available. These deals are usually centre or region specific so keep an eye on your centres website or Facebook page for updates.
We also offer a discount for families with 3x or more children that attend our programmes, and are not eligible for the WINZ subsidy. A 50% discount applies to the eldest of the children attending (i.e. in a family with 4 children the 1st and 2nd eldest children would all receive a 50% discount on their weekly fees).
50% discount is also applied to any permanent BestStart and School’s Out staff members, please advise your programme manager to have this applied.
Why do I need to put 2x Emergency Contacts on the Safety Form?
In the event of an emergency or an unexplained absence it is important that we are able to contact you quickly. It is a MSD requirement (and part of their audit process of our operations) that all Safety Forms include 2x Emergency Contacts, along with the primary caregiver’s contact details.
The Emergency Contacts do not have to be people who are available to pick-up the children (these are know as “Authorised Pickups” on the Safety Form). They are someone who may know of your whereabouts or who can get in contact with you, in the unlikely event of an emergency, and we cannot get in direct contact with you or any other listed legal guardians.
What is your policy on electronic device and internet use?
Individual centres have discretion as to the use of electronic devices, such as cellphones and tablets. The use of devices is a privilege and they are not to be used without the express permission of programme staff.
Any child who is allowed to use a device, must sign the Internet User Agreement, which states that they will use the device responsibly while at School’s Out. It is also advised that parental-control applications are installed.
Please note: School’s Out does not take any responsibility for the care of electronic devices brought into the programme.
Do you have booster seats / approved child restraints in your vehicles?
All our vehicles used for child transport, have booster seats and “H-harness” seat belts available for use. All restraints meet NZTA specifications for children that require them.
If your child isn’t legally required to use a booster seat but you would like them to be secured in one, then please discuss this with staff at the centre.
Do you do homework with the children?
The opportunity is available for all children to do their homework at School’s Out. Staff will supervise or assist but will not complete it for them. If it is important to you that your child does their homework while in our care, then please discuss this with the Programme Manager.
Please note: That if you arrive to pick up your child before 4pm, there may not have been the opportunity to attend to homework, as the afternoon snack for all children takes priority.
Can my child bring toys to the centre?
Comfort-toys are welcomed at our centres, however we would
appreciate it, if children did not bring other toys into the programme. These can get broken or lost among the centre toys and it saves a lot of distress if you keep them safe at home for your child to play with there.
We do however encourage children to bring nature items of interest to share.