At YWCA Canberra, our mission is ‘We strengthen communities by supporting girls and women through our services and advocacy’ and our vision is ‘Girls and women thriving’.

We provide essential, quality services for women, girls and families in the ACT and surrounding regions. We work in the areas of children’s services, community development, homelessness and affordable housing, domestic and family violence, youth services, personal and professional training, women’s leadership and advocacy.

You can read the YWCA Canberra Client Service Charter for more information on our commitment to providing excellence in customer service.

At YWCA Canberra, we understand that the experience of childhood is a unique journey. Every part of the journey is important to us.

Our role is to give children a sound foundation for their future learning and development by providing them with the skills and experiences needed to develop as lifelong learners and become competent, active and informed individuals.

We achieve this by developing and creating rich, engaging play-based learning environments and activities that reflect children’s interests and allow for exploration.

We enable a sense of belonging in the children and families in our services through our safe, supportive, respectful and inclusive environment.

We excel at providing high-quality education and care to children because we are a child-focused organisation that is influenced by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Early Childhood Code of Ethics, the National Quality Framework and Standards, the National Early Years Learning Framework, and the My Time Our Place Framework for school age care.

Our program managers and educators participate in a wide variety of professional development and training to further extend their skills and knowledge.

Our environments support and encourage each child’s individual development in line with the National Quality Framework and Standards, National Early Years Learning Framework, and the My Time Our Place Framework, and are inspired by leading international examples of innovative, flexible early childhood practices.

We follow the Early Years Learning Framework and implement a set of standards and regulations governed by the Children’s Education and Care Assurance in Canberra. In NSW, we also follow the standards and regulations governed by the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate.

All our services have systems and processes in place to ensure compliance with all regulatory and legal frameworks. Our Directors are supported by a team consisting of an Operations Manager, Quality and Compliance Coordinator and a Quality Support Officer, who assist with all aspects of service delivery. This team conducts regular self-assessments against the National Quality Standards to ensure all services continuously improve and maintain the highest quality.

Our educators are mentored and provided with regular professional development opportunities to ensure they are up to date with current best practices and knowledge regarding the sector.

Family participation in the quality assurance process is essential. We encourage and appreciate your involvement and feedback.

Current educator ratios, as required under national law and regulations, are:

• Early childhood education:
  • zero to two years: one educator to four children
  • two to three years: one educator to five children
  • three years and over: one educator to 11 children (NSW one educator to ten children)
• School age care: one educator to 11 children.

YWCA Canberra’s policies comply with ACT Children’s Services Standards and the National Quality Standards and are reviewed regularly.

A comprehensive policy and procedure folder is available at individual programs for viewing.

If your child has allergies, intolerances, dietary requirements, or medical conditions, you will need to provide your child’s action plan(s) before we can confirm enrolment. All educators will follow the action plan.

If your child has a medical condition, you must read the Medical Conditions Policy located at the service at the beginning of your child attending the service.

Educational Leaders, Centre Directors, Program Managers and Educators working within YWCA Canberra services pride themselves on the experiences and activities they provide for the children in their care.

Knowing that each child and each service is different, our trained staff plan every child’s education using a specified curriculum, grounded in current theories and practices. Programmed activities and experiences are designed with the children’s input and cater to their individual needs. All of our activities meet the requirements of the National Quality Framework, while embedding the National Early Years Learning Framework and the My Time Our Place Framework in programming and evaluations.

Educational Leaders, Program Managers, Centre Directors and Educators draw inspiration for activities from their own skills and experiences, as well as the children’s ideas and initiatives. Educators are flexible wherever possible in their approach to programming, ensuring they foster children’s learning and fun through spontaneous play-based learning.

We look forward to providing your family with the highest quality, innovative and personalised education and care experience.

Our services protect the privacy and confidentiality of our children, families and educators through policies and procedures. Written information is kept secure and is only accessed as required by those who are authorised to view it. Families can request to meet with the Centre Director/Program Manager to discuss confidential issues.

You can read the YWCA Canberra privacy policy for more information.

Please be aware that the service does not take responsibility for children until they are signed in at the service. It is a legal requirement that children are signed in and out by a family member or an authorised guardian when delivering or collecting children from the service.

Early childhood services

Each early childhood service will open and close at times depending on the needs of the families that use the service. These are determined by YWCA Canberra and included on this website, and must be adhered to.

Please be aware of your program’s closing times. For the safety of children, only those persons nominated on the enrolment form will be authorised to collect your child/ren. No child is permitted to leave the service other than by usual arrangements unless the program receives written authorisation from a parent/guardian.

In the case of an emergency, a parent/guardian must contact the program and provide details of the changes to arrangements. Authorised people must provide photo identification if they are unknown to the educators, to ensure children’s safety.

A late fee of $30 per child for every 15 minutes will be charged for children picked up after the service closing time.

Late fees will be added to the next fortnight’s account. The late fee is strictly adhered to, as staff are required to remain at the program until all children are collected. Families who are continually late may be excluded.

School age care

Children attending before school care must be signed in by a parent/guardian on arrival, and will be signed out by an educator at 9am. Children attending after school care will be signed in by an educator on arrival at the service and signed out by the parent/guardian on departure.

For the safety of children, only those persons nominated on the enrolment form will be authorised to collect your child/ren. Children leaving the service on their own must sign themselves out; this must be authorised by a parent/guardian. No child is permitted to leave the service other than by usual arrangements unless the program receives written authorisation from a parent/guardian.

In the case of an emergency, a parent/guardian must contact the program and provide details of the changes to arrangements. Authorised people must provide photo identification if they are unknown to the educators, to ensure children’s safety.

Please be aware of your program’s closing times.

A late fee of $20 per child for every 15 minutes will be charged for children picked up after the service closing time.

Late fees will be added to the next fortnight’s account. The late fee is strictly adhered to, as two educators are required to remain at the program until all children are collected. Families who are continually late may be excluded.