Saturday childcare on offer at Sesame Kids for busy Ballarat families

Sesame Kids, an early childhood education and care (ECEC) centre in the Victorian town of Ballarat, is offering long day care services on Saturdays in response to demand from the local parent community, local news source The Ballarat Courier has reported. 

 

Owner Mageda Charrouf identified the need while working closely with parents already enrolled in the centre. 

 

“Our families work shift work and by offering Saturday care we are able to meet their needs to provide for their children,” she told The Ballarat Courier. 

 

Current uptake of the offering is small thus far, with an average of seven to ten children on any given Saturday, but the option to have children cared for is one which has been welcomed by those in the community who have unpredictable work schedules. 

 

“Families who work in emergency services and those who have second jobs who require Saturday care. We also get families booking their children in so that they can get away and have time to themselves,” Ms Charrouf said. 

 

The small Saturday group runs on a mixed age program, with Sesame Kids being the first provider in Ballarat to offer the care model, which is popular in Melbourne, its nearest capital city. 

 

Staffing ratios on the weekend are the same as during the busy weekday sessions, and a member of the leadership team is on hand if further support is needed, Ms Charrouf told The Ballarat Courier. 

 

She says staff and children alike benefit from the “relaxed environment” on the weekend, and while there are no plans at present to offer Sunday care, this would be considered if there was a demand from families. 

 

To read the original coverage of this piece, as produced by The Ballarat Courier, please see here.