The relationships children have with the people around them shape the way they see the world and affect all areas of their development. We believe a nurturing environment and a close bond with our caring educators helps babies feel safe and loved, so they can thrive.

By the time babies reach their first birthday, they’ll have learned all the sounds they need to speak their native language. Our educators spend the day talking and interacting with your baby, so they’re immersed in language every day. We also spend time explaining what we’re doing and regularly read aloud from a range of colourful and interactive picture books, to help your baby learn to speak and foster a love of reading from an early age.

Babies use all their senses to learn about the world. They touch and taste objects, listen to voices and music, see the colours in their environment and feel comforted by familiar smells. Our educators provide a variety of activities to help babies develop their sensory awareness, like shaking a musical instrument to teach them about cause and effect, or playing with toys that develop their problem-solving skills. At this age, they also begin to understand the idea of object permanence—that things they can’t see still exist—when we play peek-a-boo or hide and seek.

Your little one is developing at a rapid speed and learning new skills every day. The play spaces in our nursery rooms are designed to stimulate their senses and help them develop muscle strength through movements like kicking, crawling, standing, reaching and grasping.

Did you know that babies start developing social skills as soon as they’re born? A cute smile, gazing into your eyes, babbling and cooing are all signs that your baby is communicating with you and developing healthy attachments. You’ll see their personality start to emerge and notice their unique smile, giggle and cry.

At this age, it’s important that educators spend one-on-one time with each child, to make sure they feel secure and develop trusting relationships. Talking, playing and reading to children fosters this social and emotional development.

Although they’re very young, babies can recognise language and music from their own culture. Where possible, our educators speak to children in their own language or learn important phrases. We also offer a range of books and music from the cultures of the children in our care. Creativity and imagination is an important part of your child’s development, which is why we introduce art from a young age. Our educators enjoy painting and drawing with each child on a one-on-one basis, to make sure it’s a safe and fun experience.

The best way to prepare children for primary school is to help them develop strong literacy and numeracy skills from a young age. Our educators spend time reading aloud and encourage children to read, write and count throughout the day. Reasoning, speaking, listening, creating, analysing and identifying words and numbers are all important concepts that are developed within our program. If your child makes a sandcastle or recognises a street sign, it’s a sign that they’re on the right path to developing their literacy and numeracy skills.

Fostering independence in children plays a major role in their self-esteem, personal identity and emotional wellbeing. It also helps them understand how to solve problems and encourages them to try new things, which is important for their learning and development. We build your toddler’s confidence by encouraging them to dress themselves, put on their own shoes, go to the toilet and other everyday tasks that will help them develop a ‘can do’ attitude.

This is often known as the ‘patience testing’ stage. Toddlers become more assertive and learn the power of saying ‘no’ to adults. It’s an age where children want their independence, but need the security of knowing you’re still there. Our educators provide consistent routines for your toddler, which helps them feel more secure and builds trust. We also help your child develop their social skills by helping them interact with other children, through group activities and play experiences.

Our toddler program provides a strong foundation for children to learn complex physical tasks, like holding a pencil and kicking a ball. Activities like play dough, building blocks and drawing are used to develop your child’s fine motor skills, while group activities, ball games and obstacle courses develop their gross motor skills. Our educators create fun, new experiences every day to help your child build strong muscles and develop their balance and coordination. We also enjoy a number of activities outdoors, to give children hands-on learning experiences with nature and stimulate their senses.

Toddlers are very curious about the world and learning all the time. Tipping sand out of a bucket helps them understand gravity and volume, while washing their hands teaches them about liquids and temperature. Our educators are there to explain how things work and extend on their knowledge using our interactive Smart Boards. They may not be able to see animals in the wild or watch a volcano erupt, but our technology gives them these experiences and allows them to learn more about the world they live in.

Living in a diverse society like Australia provides us with a wonderful opportunity to teach children about respecting other cultures. We value the culture and heritage of every child in our care and incorporate them into our daily program, to help your child develop a strong cultural identity. We hold a number of concerts each year, where the children can perform for their family and share arts and cultural experiences they’ve enjoyed in our centre. It’s also a great opportunity for parents, grandparents and carers to get to know other families in the community.

Literacy and numeracy is one of the most important skills that children can learn and has a significant impact on their future success. We use play-based learning that gives children hands-on experiences with reading, writing and counting every day. When children pretend to go shopping with play money and a cash register, they’re learning the basics of mathematics. Similarly, when they read a recipe and measure ingredients, they’re learning about volume, quantity and other measurements. These experiences expose children to words, sounds and numbers and help them apply them in a meaningful way to their everyday life.

As part of our education program, we also provide synthetic phonics training to teach children to read and give them an opportunity to visit local primary schools to help them get used to their new environment.

Children are now becoming confident learners and starting to express what, when, how and why they want to learn. Our educators guide this learning to help children develop important decision-making, problem-solving and negotiation skills. At this age, children have developed core self-help skills that allow them to become independent. We reinforce these behaviours throughout the day, by encouraging children to tie their own shoelaces, do up their own zippers and button their own shirts.

Educators provide children with additional classroom responsibilities such as setting the table at meal times, feeding the animals and other tasks. We also allocate ‘Water Rangers’, ‘Power Rangers’ and ‘Recycle Rangers’ roles, to teach children how to respect and care for the environment.

Children make sense of the world by observing and interacting with their environment and the people in it. At this age, pre-schoolers develop an understanding of other people’s feelings and start to become more sensitive to the emotions of others. Our educators role-model positive behaviours and use language that teaches children how to express what they’re feeling and resolve conflict. They also reinforce social rules such as a table manners and etiquette, so children become valuable members of society.

Your child is now mastering more complex movements that have a significant impact on their physical development. In our program, educators reinforce the importance of staying physically active and teach children about nutrition and healthy food choices. They also help children develop sophisticated motor skills, such as pushing the pedals on a bike, holding a pencil correctly and learning to use scissors to cut paper. We introduce challenging group games that give children an opportunity to develop their social skills and learn outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine.

Why? Why? Why? This is the age where children start to notice their environment and begin to question why things are so. Science is a great way to explain to children how the world works and forms an important part of our education program. We encourage children to test theories or predict what will happen, such as how to make a tunnel in the sand without it collapsing, or working out whether the cork will float in the water. Our educators use interactive Smart Boards, iPads and other technology, to enhance their learning and prepare them for primary school.

We believe it’s important to act as role models for the children in our care and teach them to respect and appreciate people of all cultures, religions, backgrounds, genders and abilities. We make sure the cultures of the children in our care are represented in our centres, through music, visual art, books and displays. We also stimulate discussions with children about similarities and differences between people in a positive and inclusive way. Our educators stimulate the imaginations of children and encourage creative thinking, through a range of activities such as drama, visual arts and music.