Hours and Attendance

The Reaching for Rainbows Child Development Centre is open from 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, year-round.

STATUTORY HOLIDAYS

Reaching for Rainbows will be closed on all holidays, including:

Regular fees, for these days, are included in the applicable weekly rate.

STORM DAYS

In the case of severe weather (i.e. heavy snowfall, icy roads and severe wind storms) we ask parents to notify the centre, as early as possible, if your child will not be attending or will be arriving late. This information will enable us to arrange our staffing requirements, accordingly.

Should severe weather conditions necessitate delayed opening or centre closure, radio announcements will be made as early as possible in the morning. Parents will also be notified via e-mail, the HiMama app and on applicable classroom group chats. A decision will be made on centre closure by 6:30 a.m. Should severe weather necessitate mid-day closure, an announcement will be made on the radio and parents will be contacted and asked to arrange for pick-up of their child as soon as possible.

CLOSURE FOR ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY

As part of our commitment to lifelong learning and on-going continuous quality improvement, all staff members at Reaching for Rainbows participate in numerous conferences and professional development opportunities throughout the year. For the most part, these opportunities occur on weekends and evenings and require that our staff sacrifice their own time, for themselves and from their families, in order to attend. One day per year, however, PiCS (Professionalism in the Child Care Sector) our local committee responsible for professional development of educators in participating Greater Moncton centres, hosts a professional development day on a weekday that will require the closure of centres for that day.

Regular fees, for this day, are included in the applicable weekly rate and notification will be given to parents, no less than 4 weeks, prior to the applicable date

VACATION AND ABSENCES

Our centre is licensed by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Based on regulations, as defined in the Operator Manual for Full-time and Part-time Early Learning and Childcare Centres, each licensed early learning and childcare facility is registered for a given number of child “spaces”. Essentially, when you register your child at Reaching for Rainbows, you are renting a “space”. That space belongs to your child and may not be given to another until your child is no longer attending the centre. You are, therefore, financially responsible for that space for every day/week of your child’s registration, regardless of his/her attendance. If your child is unable to
attend the centre due to illness, vacation or a spur of the moment visit from Grandma, you are still responsible to pay regular weekly/daily childcare fees.

INCLUSION POLICY

Reaching for Rainbows offers all of our programs in a quality inclusive environment where all children are valued and their individual personalities, qualities and strengths are recognized and celebrated. At Reaching for Rainbows, all children have access to the same programs, the same levels of attendance and participation and we make every effort to provide necessary modifications and adaptations to support all children to experience full, meaningful participation in all aspects of our programs. Please note, our complete inclusion policy is available in appendix B, as an extension of this family handbook, in hard copy in the main entrance to the centre or electronically on our website, at reachingforrainbows.ca or via email, by request.