Parent's Handbook...
Our goal at Creative Stages is to help your child grow and learn at a pace children and parents are comfortable with. We believe each child is unique and has great potential. We want to help your child begin his or her first learning experience with a great feeling.
Mission
We are striving to make our environment at Creative Stages very similar to what your child will
experience in elementary school. We provide a separate area for lunch so your child can experience a school lunchroom atmosphere. Our facility also has separate areas for art and library because, for example, some elementary school aged children find it a challenge to sit still for story time in elementary school libraries. Our aim at Creative Stages is to help prepare your child for these and other challenges. We hope to ease your child’s transition into school when the time comes.
Policies
Creative Stages accepts children 6 weeks thru 5 years old full-time and provides after-school care for children thru 12 years old. We also provide transportation for our after-school care program from
all Valley schools.
Hours
6:30 am - 6:00 pm Monday thru Friday
Clothing
At Creative Stages, we want children to be comfortable and able to play freely. Parents are asked to provide a complete change of clothing for each child. Every child should be dressed appropriately for play outside in cold weather. All clothing items should be labeled with the child’s name.
Meals & Snacks
Creative Stages will provide breakfast, in our lunchroom, for children who arrive before 8:30 AM. Our weekly menus are posted. A hot nutritious lunch will be served each day in our lunchroom. Children will also receive afternoon snacks. Parents should make Creative Stages aware of any food allergies or special nutritional needs. Parents are encouraged to provide formula and baby food for all infants. Non-glass bottles should be used, and all bottles and food should be labeled with your child’s name. Parents also need to supply diapers and wipes for each baby on an
as needed basis.
Naptime
Here at Creative Stages, children stay busy and play hard. Therefore, all children will have a nap time each day. We will provide cots for each child. Our cots will be kept clean and in good condition. Parents need to provide a blanket or pillow for each child. These should be labeled with the child’s name. Creative Stages will launder cot sheets weekly.
Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, Creative Stages will use the Shelby County school system as a guide. Tornado and fire drills are practiced during the year.
Emergency & Accident Procedures
If a serious accident occurs, Creative Stages will attempt to call the child’s parents. If the injury is serious, the paramedics will be called. If a non-serious accident occurs, first aid treatment will be applied. All accidents will be reported on an accident report form and a copy will be sent home.
Holidays
Creative Stages will be closed for the following holidays:
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
July 4th
Labor Day
Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Parent Involvement
Parents are welcome to visit and look around our center at any time.
Disciplinary Procedures
Any necessary disciplinary action taken at Creative Stages will be done in a loving and respectful manner. Physical punishment will never be used. Time-outs and redirection methods will be used. Creative Stages reserves the right to dismiss a child from the center if his/her behavior prevents other children from learning and enjoying classroom activities. However, this will be a last resort, to be used only if other disciplinary procedures have failed.
Arrival & Departure
Parents must sign their child in upon arrival and sign them out when leaving each day. Parents should take their child to the classroom and leave the child in the care of a staff member. Upon enrollment in the center, parents must provide a list of persons authorized to pick up their child. Children will NOT be released to anyone whose name is not on this list, and ID must be provided by each person. Please let the center know when someone other than the parent will be picking a child up.
Security
Creative Stages takes the safety and security of your children very seriously. That’s why we have an ADT security system, including a video camera to view all persons entering and leaving our building. Our door will be locked and secure so anyone entering the building will have to be “buzzed” in.
Employees
Creative Stages takes great pride in choosing the best possible people to care for your children. We want you to feel comfortable leaving your child at a place you know “your child is cared for - not just kept”. For this reason, all of our rooms are fully viewable, and all employees have passed thorough background investigations. All employees are subject to random, on-site drug testing in addition to background checks required by DHR.
Licensing
Creative Stages is licensed by the State of Alabama and meets or exceeds all requirements set by the state. Our center undergoes periodic health, fire and licensing inspections.
Health
Creative Stages will do everything possible to protect your children from illnesses and infections. However, children can become sick. If your child becomes ill during the day, we will isolate him/her from the other children and call you to pick him/her up. We ask that you do so as soon as possible for the well-being of your child and also the other children. By law, your child should not return to the center until free from illness symptoms. In the case of a fever, your child should not be brought back to the center until he/she has been fever free for 24 hours.
Immunizations
Creative Stages complies with the State of Alabama’s regulations in requiring each parent to provide a doctor’s certificate and immunization record upon enrollment. These records must be updated as your child receives new immunizations.
Medications
Parents must complete a medication authorization form each day a child is required to take medication at the center. The State of Alabama regulations require that all medication be in its original container and clearly show the child’s name, doctor’s name, prescribed dosage, and date. The parent shall provide a measuring instrument for dosing each medication. Parents are encouraged to give medications at home if at all possible. Children under 2 years of age must have a doctor's note allowing them to be given over - the - counter pain / cold medicine.
~ A place where your child is cared for….
…not just kept ~
Creative Stages Child Care Inc.
Director, Vicki Knight
Degree in Child Daycare Management
