WHAT’S SMARTIES ALL ABOUT?
Smarties opened its doors in April 2005. It started off as a morning’s only playgroup for children aged 2 to five years, and has grown into a full day facility which now offers grade R, and caters for the aftercare needs of primary school children.
In the Early Learning Centre we follow a theme based curriculum which includes activities such as theme discussions, creative activities, numeracy and literacy activities, songs and rhymes, story time, gross and fine motor development and social skills. We strive for the holistic development of the children. All activities are presented in English only. Our ratio of children to adults is low, and the morning programme runs at approximately 10:1.
We are registered with the department of social development and receive annual inspections from the district social worker as well as health and safety inspections from the district health department.
Our outdoor play area is spacious and has a large variety of play equipment. There are also many indoor activities and educational toys. Our centre is under 24 hour camera surveillance as safety is one of our top priorities.
Extra mural activities are available: We currently offer Little Lab Coats, Monkeynastix, Tumbling Tigers, Dance Mouse, Robotics and Rugby. NOTE: These activities are subject to change based on the demand.
There are various reliable and trustworthy transport services available which can assist in bringing your children to and from school in the mornings and afternoons. Monthly or daily trips can be arranged with the respective transporters.
Our Aftercare service is aimed at providing a relaxed environment for children to be in after school. We attend to the bulk of the homework so that your evenings at home are relaxed. However, reading is not done at Aftercare as the environment can sometimes be disruptive and children then do not learn to read fluently. Reading at home also gives you, the parent, an opportunity to be part of your child’s school work and progress. Children may do projects at Aftercare. They have access to the internet for research, but materials need to come from home.
Smarties ELC is committed to providing experiences for each child in preparation for early success and school readiness. Smarties ELC provides a learning environment that supports children to develop the strengths and skills necessary for them to construct their own knowledge and prepare them for their next school environment.
With the knowledge that all children learn at different levels and speeds, our ELC staff will provide children with a broad range of educational & fun opportunities that will help each child learn to the best of his or her abilities. We will strive to provide experiences that enrich each child’s social, emotional, physical, cognitive, intellectual, and creative abilities.
Children will have a safe, wholesome, nurturing experience. Children will be in a safe environment in which they can solve problems and express their feelings through words, art and other creative areas. Children will be exposed to positive character lessons and experiences, used to help shape them into successful members of a social world.
Children will enter their next school environment with the necessary skills to promote lifelong learning.
- Smarties accepts that no child will be precluded on the basis of race, colour, gender, religion or creed.
- The child should however be age appropriate for the class for which admission is sought.
- A non-refundable registration fee, as determined each year, is payable together with the submission of application documents.
- Application will not be considered unless all the required documentation and information is provided:
- Complete application form
- Signed contract of enrolment
- Copy of work permit of parents of children without RSA citizenship
- Copy of the child’s clinic card
- Smarties stresses the fact that children who attend this facility are communicated with in English.
- All children and teachers treat each other as if they were HIV positive
- There is no contact with human blood
- Smarties does not exclude children because of their status
- Disclosure of HIV/AIDS status is not a legal requirement
- It is the responsibility of the parents to determine HIV/AIDS confidentiality
- Treat all blood as contaminated and use gloves
- All wounds are washed with cold running water
- Caregivers wash all contaminated surfaces with disinfectant
- Caregivers dispose of blood contaminated materials either down the toilet or in a sealed plastic bag
- Smarties has a fully equipped first aid kit and care-givers trained in first aid
- Care-givers are encouraged to be sympathetic, open-minded and supportive
- The school encourages parents to speak openly about HIV/AIDS
- As far as reasonably possible, Smarties will attempt to accommodate children with disabilities
- If the child struggles in the surroundings or does not benefit from the programmes offered here, or adapt well, or if attendance at this school is deemed not to be in the best interest of the child, then Smarties reserves the right to express this to the parents of the child and request that the child be transferred to a school who can accommodate their needs