Child care for different age groups
The Y Early Learning Centres offer child care for babies six weeks old to children five year of age.
- Babies: 0 – 18 months
- Toddlers: 18 months – 3 years
- Kindergarten: 3 – 5 years
Types of child care
There are different types of child care available in Victoria to suit you and your child’s needs including long day care, occasional care, family day care (which takes places in a carer’s home) and in-home care such as nannies. At the Y we offer long day care across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria and we will have 3-year-old and 4-year-old kindergarten programs at all of our sites.
Long day care
Long day care is child care based in registered centres with qualified, professional early learning educators providing all-day, or part-time care for children aged 0 -5 years available from early morning until evening. Children are often grouped together by age and all our centres are support busy families between 6:30am and 6:30pm.
The YMCA child care curriculum
We deliver evidence-based, high quality, inclusive learning programs to meet the needs of your child. At the Y, our strong program incorporates diverse play-based learning experiences and activities developed from the national framework, as well as including ‘child-initiated play’.
Our child care curriculum follows The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) which is a component of the Australian Government’s National Quality Framework (NQF). The EYLF describes key concepts and strategies that define children’s lives through belonging, being and becoming.
What do children learn in child care?
Children learn and practice language and communication skills, early literacy, physical literacy and numeracy skills, memory, and social and emotional skills, including building friendships. In addition, our program focuses on art, music and sustainability topics as well as nature play and environmental appreciation activities.
Goal setting and feedback with parents is also a fundamental part of the child care curriculum at the Y. We discuss your child’s needs during the enrolment process and create learning goals to achieve these. We then provide you with regular feedback and insights on these areas that can also be incorporated into home life.
Our child care philosophy
At the Y we take a holistic approach to supporting your child’s development. We are committed to developing ‘the whole child’, which includes their social and emotional learning, as well as their physical, personal and cognitive skills.
Our purpose is to enhance the life of your child so that they can reach their full potential. We aim to achieve this by creating a safe, healthy, nurturing environment which empowers children to become active learners and thinkers who explore their interests and challenges.
Above all, child safety is our highest priority at the Y. We ensure that child-safe and COVID Safe practices are embedded into every action and process at our early learning centres.
As a not-for-profit organisation, inclusive community and relationship building is also at the heart of everything we do at the Y. We foster creating meaningful relationships and experiences with our children, families and educators. Learn more about our early learning centres.
Child care fees
Child care fees are charged on a daily rate and are specific to each early learning centre location. At the Y, fees are paid fortnightly by direct debit and a fortnightly statement is emailed to you show you the amount you need to pay, less any child care subsidy you may be approved for by Centrelink. View our child care locations to check fees for centres near you.
Child care subsidy
The Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is a government contribution of money paid directly to approved child care centre providers which means you pay lower fees. The government CCS is designed to help make child care more affordable and it provides higher levels of financial support for families who earn the least. Learn more about the child care subsidy and if you are eligible.
Find a child care centre
The Y has 18 early learning centres to support children in growth areas in Melbourne, regional Victoria and one site in NSW. The locations are nearby local amenities such as shopping centres, post offices, hospitals and train stations. Many of our centres are co-located in primary schools, which provides a convenient single drop-off for many families and also supports children to feel prepared and excited for the transition to school. These planned co-locations enable us to create community partnerships, connections and events, and also help foster a sense of belonging for children and families.
Select your preferred centre for location specific information.
Talk to us
Our enrolment support team can answer your queries, assess your needs and guide you through the Child Care Subsidy eligibility requirements and the enrolment process.