Long Day Care Services

At Council, we understand children are unique and our educational program caters to each child’s individual needs. We acknowledge the diverse traditional values held by families in our communities and within our centres we understand the importance of creating a warm and inviting environment.

Guided by Early Years Learning Framework, both children and parents’ feedback, current events and children’s interests, our educational program is a collaboration of many learning areas with the goal of providing opportunities for children to achieve all learning outcomes and relevant developmental milestones.

Our Educators are qualified and continue to grow in their roles through professional development and mentorship programs offered by our leadership team. Located in culturally rich and mature communities, we understand the importance of staff continuity and creating an inviting environment to cater to our returning families and all siblings in their learning journey.

Our team believes in building strong relationships with children and strives to provide them with consistent emotional support necessary in this skill development phase and to teach them the importance of positive interaction with others. We value our rich surrounding community, the knowledge shared by community members, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders; and strive to learn while educating the children of our community.

Our Educators believe in collaborative learning and believe that learning outcomes are best achieved through partnership. We are committed to building a strong and genuine relationship with families which leads to better exploration of learning potential in everyday events.

We have a holistic approach to teaching and learning: We pay attention to children’s physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing while focusing on their cognitive skills. While focusing on delivering the required learning outcomes we understand that children learn in an interconnected manner therefore we have created sub programs about Indigenous and Cultural perspectives, sustainability, leading a healthy lifestyle, connecting with nature and respecting the environment. These additional programs allow our educators to incorporate all aspects of learning into our daily program based on children’s interests and through our centre and community events.

We are guided by the Early Years Learning Framework of Australia and our unique educational curriculum works on the theory of emergent and inquiry project-based learning. Our curriculum gives every child the opportunity to engage in meaningful and purposeful learning experiences that will help each child grow and evolve to their full potential.

Our service follows the Early Years Learning Framework including the principles, practices and learning outcomes to ensure that the educational program and practice of educators are child-centric, stimulating and that they maximise opportunities for enhancing and extending each child’s learning and development.

Our curriculum includes a program that builds on each child's individual knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities, and interests which is likely to have long term benefits for children and for the broader society. We are guided in the development of our curriculum by the National Quality Standard and Framework.

The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a high national benchmark for early childhood education and care and outside school hours care services in Australia. The NQSF includes seven quality areas that are important outcomes for children.

School Transition

Our school readiness program aims to prepare your child for school and beyond by developing the foundational skills for formal learning prior to starting school. This is essential in developing capable and confident, lifelong learners. We also focus on emotional intelligence and core values that include respect, kindness, empathy, perseverance, patience and courage, curiosity, resilience and a sense of agency as well as gratitude and inclusion.

A smooth transition to school for you and your child is important to us. We believe that when children are confident, school will be a positive and rewarding experience for them.

As your child moves through their early years, the transition to formal schooling is one of their most significant milestones. Preparing your child for the transition to school and their future doesn’t just happen in the year before school, it happens from the day they are born. Through our contemporary early learning Curriculum, we scaffold children’s learning through a wide range of experiences that set them up for lifelong learning.

Good nutrition is an essential ingredient of quality childcare. At our centres we aim to develop good food habits, because early experiences with food have a strong impact on a child’s future eating habits and health.

The food that children eat influences their growth and development, capacity to learn, and their overall behaviour. Knowing this, we provide the children with nutritious meals, which will help foster the development of positive eating practices and enhance their emotional and psychological growth.

All of the children’s meal requirements for the entire day are included in our daily fees and provided, using quality, fresh ingredients that can accommodate for any food allergy or intolerance. Milk and water are served at each mealtime.

Our centres feature fully equipped kitchens where our cooks prepare all of our meals fresh on a daily basis. We source all of our ingredients from local suppliers which not only supports our local community but also ensures consistent quality and freshness.

The menu is varied and considers special dietary needs

• Infants over the age of six-months are provided with iron rich foods, meals and snacks of progressing texture according to their age.
• Children with allergies are provided with appropriate substitutes of food and drink, in line with the menu planning guidelines.
• The menu includes meals from different cultures and a variety of tastes, colours, textures and flavours.
• Main meals are not repeated in the two-week menu cycle and the main ingredient in a meal is not repeated on the same day each week.
• Water is available freely throughout the day.

Here are a few things to pack for a day:

• A labelled bag with at least one spare change of clothes (i.e., pants, underwear, socks, shirt, etc.).  Additional clothes may be required for children who are potty training.
• Nappies - at least five, provide pull-ups and extra clothing for children who are potty training.
• Labelled bottles for children on formula or expressed breast milk.
• A labelled empty bottle for children who are on cow's milk - make sure bottles are accompanied with their lids.
• Labelled drink bottles with lid for children aged from two to six years.
• Sun Safe Hat.
• Comfort item (if required).
• Dummy in a sealed, named container (if required).
• Any medications - please give these to centre staff to manage directly (must be accompanied with a Doctor's certificate or a pharmacy label).