STEM Summer Camp Ottawa Inc. strives to provide exceptional program experiences for children and their families by creating a fun, safe and enriching STEM based environment, we design fun and engaging activities to make sure the children enjoy their STEM learning experiences! We build and mentor confident young minds and prepare them to be a part of our fast-developing world, letting them open gates to endless opportunities for their future! To ensure the health, safety and well being for all of the children enrolled in our programs, their families and our staff; the following Policies are implemented and will be strictly followed.
STEM Summer Camp Ottawa Inc. (SSCO.) will strive to accommodate all requests for the registration of a child into our program. Where the maximum capacity of the program has been reached and spaces are unavailable for new children to be enrolled, the wait list procedures set out will be followed accordingly. No fee will be charged to parents for placing a child on the waitlist. Families will submit an intake form with their contact information to be reached if a space becomes available. SSCO will contact families in order to ensure fairness and equal opportunity.
In order to register your child for our program, please complete the SSCO Registration forms and return them to SSCO. (Add here about Registration fee) SSCO reserves the right to terminate care of any child who they deem is not benefiting from the program or whom they feel our program is not suited to the child’s needs, with 1 week notice. In cases of violent behaviour, the care will be terminated immediately. SSCO has zero tolerance for any abusive actions towards its staff from parents or families enrolled in our program (this includes discrimination in any form, harassment, yelling, swearing, threats etc.) In addition to terminating care under these extreme circumstances, in order to ensure the health and wellbeing of our staff, if applicable, the proper authorities would also be contacted to inform of such behaviours.
Add here info about fees and when Fees are due. Payment can be made via etransfer by forwarding your payment to: stemcampottawa@gmail.com. Please enter your child’s first and last name in the message field when setting up the etransfer. Please note Fees are still required for all absences, sick days and vacation time the family may take. Our Fee covers the hours of 8:00am to 4:00 pm. If you arrive past 4:00 pm to pick your child up, the late fee is $1.00 per minute and must be paid in cash to the amp councilor directly. Before and After care is available from 7 am – 8 am and 4 pm – 5 pm for an additional fee. Please contact us for more information.
All issues and concerns raised by parents/guardians are taken seriously by SSCO and will be addressed. Every effort will be made to address and resolve issues and concerns to the satisfaction of all parties and as quickly as possible. Issues and concerns may be brought forward verbally or in writing. Responses and outcomes will be provided verbally, or in writing upon request. The level of detail provided to the parent/guardian will respect and maintain the confidentiality of all parties involved. An initial response to an issue or concern will be provided to the parents/guardians within 5 business days. The person who raised the concern/issue will be kept informed throughout the resolution process. Investigations of issues or concerns will be fair, impartial, and respectful to the parties involved. Every issue and concern will be treated confidentially, and every effort will be made to protect the privacy of parents/guardians, children, staff, students, and volunteers, except when information must be disclosed for legal reasons (e.g., to the Ministry of Education, College of Early Childhood Educators, law enforcement authorities or a Children’s Aid Society). SSCO maintains high standards for positive interaction, communication, and role-modeling for our children. Harassment and discrimination will therefore not be tolerated by any party. If at any point a parent/ guardian, provider or staff feels uncomfortable, threatened, abused, or belittled, they may immediately end the conversation and report the situation to the supervisor and/or licensee.
All parents, guardians and family members are expected to treat staff members respectfully. There is zero tolerance for yelling, swearing, threats, abuse or any other form of harassment. SSCO is an inclusive and diverse environment, where everyone feels welcome. There is zero tolerance for racial, gender, religious or any form of prejudice or discrimination. SSCO reserves the right to terminate care for any family who treats our staff in an abusive, discriminatory, or harassing manner. If SSCO determines whether a parent, guardian or family member has been abusive to our staff or in a harassing manner, care will be terminated without notice and without any refund. As this policy must be strictly enforced to ensure staff of SSCO are working in an environment free from any form of discrimination, abusive behaviours, or harassment.
The health and safety of our children, their families and our staff is of utmost priority. We follow Environment Canada Warnings for extreme weather warnings in making the decision to close our facility under extreme weather conditions such as snowstorms, tornado warnings etc. Parents are still required to pay for any of the days we would close due to extreme weather conditions, as our staff are still paid for these days and our expenses for the camp remain the same. Parents would be notified by email of closure before 7:00am the morning of, or in cases where we must close early, parents would be notified by email and by phone if necessary.
Emergency Management procedures are reviewed with staff prior to commencing employment with our program, these procedures include the following situations; fire, gas leak, flood, power failure, bomb threat, lock down procedures for any outside threats, natural disasters such as tornados, etc. Staff will follow emergency response procedures by following these three phases:
Staff will ensure that the children are kept safe, are accounted for and are supervised at all times during an emergency situation. Emergency evacuations would include, but are not limited to the following: fire, gas leak, power outage, etc. For situations that require evacuation of the program building, the meeting place to gather immediately for SSCO is in the field beside the building, by the gardening area. If it is deemed ‘unsafe to return’ to the building, the evacuation site to proceed to is located at: Barrhaven NON-Profit Housing Lobby 3001 Jockvale Rd. Nepean ON K2J4E4 Note: All directions given by emergency services personnel will be followed under all circumstances, including directions to evacuate to locations different than those listed above. If deemed unsafe to return to the building, all children and staff would proceed to the evacuation site as listed above. Once everyone is safe at the emergency evacuation site, staff will contact parents/guardians by telephone to inform them of the emergency and request them to pick their child up at the evacuation site as listed above. If staff are unable to reach the parents/guardians with all of the phone numbers provided to them, the staff will then call the listed emergency contact person according to the child’s file to inform them of the emergency and request them to pick up the child.
SSCO is responsible to support children’s health and wellbeing, comply with health-related requirements, and reduce illness from spreading from one child in the program to other children and adults, and respond to health problems. Children cannot attend the program if illness prevents their ability to participate in regular daily routines or if attendance could be harmful to themselves or others. Families will be advised to make alternative arrangements and seek medical attention for the following conditions: Unexplained or undiagnosed pain, Acute cold with fever, runny nose and eyes, coughing and sore throat, Difficulty with breathing, Fever over 38 Degrees Centigrade / 100.4 Degrees Fahrenheit, Sore throat and difficulty swallowing, Undiagnosed skin or eye rash, Headache and stiff neck, Unexplained Diarrhea (after child has had 2 bouts of diarrhea), Vomiting and/or abnormal cramps, Severe itching of body and scalp, Known or suspected communicable disease. Children must be symptom free for 48 hours before returning to the program. SSCO follows the “Guidelines for Schools and Child Care Centres on Communicable Diseases and Other Childhood Health Issues.” Issued by Ottawa Public Health; June 2018. https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/professionals-and-partners/resources/Documents/cd_guidelines_ccc_en.pdf Please refer to this guide for Symptoms, Transition, Incubation, and Period of communicability: Exclusion and Reporting Information.
SSCO cannot administer over the counter medications (such as fever reducer, for example). Any medication must be prescribed by a doctor and must be in the original container from the pharmacy with the prescription label clearly indicating your child’s full name, the name of the medication, the required dosage, and times for administering the medication as well as a start and finish date. (Unless it is an emergency medication; an end date will not be given). An authorization for administering medication form must
being completed and signed by the parent/guardian authorizing their consent to administer the medication as per the prescription label. Medication will be kept in a medication lock box (unless it is deemed an emergency medication) out of reach of the children at all times.
SSCO has a no-nit policy. This means if nits or bugs are found on a child’s head, we will call the parent to come pick up the child from the program. In order for the child to return, the child must be free from nits and bugs. There are many different types of treatments for head lice, and some may take longer than others. We recommend Parents/guardians speak to their pharmacist regarding the best treatment for their child. By having children return to care nit and bug free, we are preventing the spread to other children and staff.
All of our staff must fulfill our confidentiality expectations, which are not to speak about the children, staff, program operations or any other matters outside of program hours and service with anyone. We ask that families please do the same to ensure everyone’s confidentiality is maintained and respectively fulfilled. RECE’s must be registered with the College of Early Childhood Educators and must comply with the Code of Ethics as outlined by the College, which includes maintaining a professional relationship with families; and strongly advises against dual relationships. Any correspondence between staff and cliental of SSCO that occurs outside of the program, on social media and any other method of communication is not permitted, monitored, and therefore SSCO will not be held liable, rather the staff who chose to do so will be held accountable. For RECE’s this would result in an employer report to the College of Early Childhood Educators.
SSCO utilizes the use of a closed group app, Homeroom, to share photos and notes about the program day, Pictures and/or short videos are also posted for parents to see their child engaging in activities. SSCO also utilizes social media such as Facebook to share information about our program with families. A media permission form is included in the registration forms, in which you can indicate and let us know if you consent or do not want your child’s photo on any social media platform. **Please note, we will never include your child’s name with any picture**
SSCO will ensure that any child enrolled in the program is only released to the child’s parent/guardian or an individual that the parent/guardian has provided written authorization that the program may release the child to. SSCO requires written authorization from the legal parent / guardian, when another individual will be picking up their child from the program, even if the individual is listed as ‘authorized to pick up’ on the child’s registration forms. The program staff will not release any children from care without supervision. Accepting a child into care: When accepting a child into care at the time of drop-off, program staff in the room must: greet the parent/guardian and child, ask the parent/guardian how the child’s evening/morning has been and if there are any changes to the child’s pick-up procedure (i.e., someone other than the parent/guardian picking up). Where the parent/guardian has indicated that someone other than the child’s parent/guardians will be picking up, the staff must confirm that the person is listed on the ‘authorized to pick up list’ on the child’s registration forms, or where the individual is not listed, ask the parent/guardian to provide authorization for pick-up in writing (e.g., note or email), and document the change in pick-up procedure in the daily written record and sign the child in on the classroom attendance record. Releasing a child from care: The staff who is supervising the child at the time of pick-up shall only release the child to the child’s parent/guardian or individual that the parent/guardian has provided written authorization that the program may release the child to. Where the staff does not know the individual picking up the child (i.e., parent/guardian or authorized individual), confirm with another staff member that the individual picking up is the child’s parent/guardian/authorized individual, where the above is not possible, ask the parent/guardian/authorized individual for photo identification and confirm the individual’s information against the parent/guardian/authorized individual’s name on the child’s file or written authorization or emergency card. Dismissing a child from care without supervision procedures: Staff will only release children from care to the parent/guardian or other authorized adult. Under no circumstances will children be released from care to walk home alone.
Water bottle for ongoing water throughout the day
Seasonally appropriate outdoor wear
Indoor shoes
Sunscreen
Lunch and 2 snacks (ALL food must be peanut / nut free)
Please note all personal belongings, lunch bags, water bottles, etc. MUST be clearly labelled with your child’s name. SSCO will not be held responsible for any lost or missing items, so we highly recommend not bringing personal items aside from the list above.
