Does your child need additional support to participate in the Bendigo Regional YMCA After School Care and Holiday Program? Amicus can assist!
Primary School aged children with a disability in Bendigo, can now receive additional support to increase their participation in Bendigo Regional YMCA’s After School Care and Holiday Programs.
Amicus will work together with you to look at the needs of your child and family to offer support that is tailored to your unique needs. We provide experienced and trained staff to provide your child with the opportunity to have the same experiences as their peers, to make new friends and most importantly of all, to have fun!
The After School Care program currently operates at 7 different sites including:
- St Liborius P.S
- St Moncia’s P.S
- Holy Rosary P.S
- St Killians P.S
- St Francis of the Fields P.S.
Hours of operation are Monday to Friday 3pm to 6pm during school terms.
After school activities on offer include craft, sport, drama, cooking, reading and excursions. Children can mix in either small or large groups or they can also choose to have quiet time or to finish homework.
Holiday Programs are currently operating at:
- Eaglehawk
- Kangaroo Flat
- Mundy Street
Hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm during school holidays (excluding Dec 24th to Jan 2nd and Easter Friday to Easter Tuesday)
This program offers a wide variety of experiences including art, sports clinics, cooking, swimming, drama, traditional games and cultural experiences as well as great excursions both near and far.
Funding
Amicus have received funding from the Victorian Government to work alongside the Bendigo Regional YMCA to provide extra support for primary school children with a disability in the After School Care and Holiday Programs. Amicus will use this funding to provide the additional support required for each child which will mean there is no additional cost to families beyond the usual costs that all families pay to access the program.
You may be eligible to receive the child care benefit, YMCA will provide you with this information as part of your registration. You will need to provide both your Family and Child Customer Reference Numbers.
Eligibility
Parents and Carers do not have to be working to access care, you may be studying, looking for work or need some respite care.
Support
Amicus will work together with you to look at the needs of your child and family to offer support that is tailored to your unique needs. For example, a full day of school holiday program may be too long for your child so we would look at how your child’s participation could still be supported but with reduced hours.
Amicus understand that the needs of every child are different. We will assess your child’s needs and provide experienced and trained staff accordingly. Some children may require 1:1 care, others may achieve full participation with 1 staff member per 2 or 3 children.
We will find out lots of information about your child’s needs when we meet with you, you may also have information from other professionals you feel would be useful i.e. early intervention, paediatrician, therapists etc. We will then provide any additional training required by staff to ensure
they are able to meet the specific support needs of your child.
We aim to be as flexible as possible in meeting your needs, but as we have limited funding and we want to offer care to as many families as possible, at this stage we cannot guarantee you a place 5 days per week.
Enrolling
To enrol for either program, head to the Bendigo Regional YMCA website http://www.bendigo.ymca.org.au and download and enrolment form or if you have no internet access, contact Trudy Holden on 5445 8300.
Referral
When you fill in your enrolment form, please tick the box asking for extra assistance. You will then receive a phone call from the program Coordinator at Amicus. We will come and meet with you to find out how we can best support your child to get the most out of the program. We know that you will have provided information about your child to many people. We are happy to receive any information of prior assessments you feel would be beneficial to us in supporting your child.
Planning
Your children’s choices and interests are respected and catered for by the staff when planning programs. Special activities can also be planned such as parties to celebrate birthdays and afternoons at the park. There may also be personal goals you would like us to support your child to
achieve.
Assessment
We believe that good communication with you is essential for us to provide the best support for your child. Regular follow ups part of the process to help us assess the level of your child’s participation and to ensure they are happy and comfortable with the level of support.
If you have any questions, please contact Tracey Christmas, Out of School Hours and Vacation Care Coordinator at Amicus on 5441 2666.
Amicus Inc 