Lightning Reef Early Learning Centre

When it comes to choosing the right ELC for your child, seeing a centre in person is a really important step. It will give you a feel for what the centre is like and make your decision making a whole lot easier.

We’d love to show you around our centre so that you can make sure it's right for you and your child.

During the centre tour, you'll get the opportunity to:

• meet our educators;
• see our daily routines;
• explore our indoor and outdoor spaces;
• ask any questions you may have.

Book a centre tour

When you enquire about joining our centre, we’ll contact you to confirm whether we have a space available for your child. We’ll then help you start the enrolment process.

During enrolment, you'll be able to submit a booking request for your child’s preferred start date. You will then be put onto a waiting list. We regularly review and maintain our waiting lists so that the process is fair for all families.

Once you receive your offer via email, you will have three days to accept it. If you have not accepted the offer within three days, it will expire and those requested days will become available to the next family who is on the waiting list.

You can then resubmit another booking request and follow the same process.

From the moment you first get in touch with us, we work hard to understand the needs of your child.

During the orientation process, our educators will work with you to understand how we can best support your child’s wellbeing. We’ll chat with you about your child’s routine, their interests and your learning and development goals.

We value regular meetings and face to face conversations throughout your time with us. At every drop-off and pick-up, our educators will let you know how your child’s day was. We also encourage you to talk to us about how your child is doing at home.

This communication will make sure that we complement your child’s development between home and centre. By working together, we can ensure your child reaches their full potential.

Choosing a child care centre for the first time is exciting, but it can stir up feelings of guilt and confusion. With so many things to consider, how do you know where to start?

The first thing you should do is stop feeling guilty. It's normal to worry if you're putting your child in an ELC for the first time, but you needn't. Early learning education and care is great for your child's development and they'll love spending time at the centre and making new friends.

To be sure that an ELC is right for you and your child, we recommend considering the following five things:

1. Quality of education – look for a centre that will provide valuable learning experiences for your child. Does the centre have a range of programs and activities to support their holistic development? Are the rooms well-equipped and stimulating? Will your child get the opportunity to explore and be inspired?
   
   
2. Centre credentials – check that the ELC is licensed and registered to provide child care services. You can also look at the centre's National Quality Standards rating, the qualifications and experience of its educators, and reviews from other families.
   
   
3. Atmosphere – visit the centres you are interested in and take note of how they feel. Is the centre safe, welcoming and comfortable? Do the children seem happy? Are the staff kind and do the educators have a good relationship with the children? Above all, can you see your child enjoying themselves there?
   
   
4. Logistics – what is your ideal location of your child's ELC? This could be somewhere close to home or your workplace. Also think about how many hours of care your child will need and check whether there is availability at the centres you are looking at.
   
   
5. Food menus – take a look at the ELC's approach to food and nutrition. A great centre will provide fresh, healthy food options and all centres should be able to cater to your child's dietary and religious requirements if needed.

When you consider these things, the process of choosing a child care centre should become a little clearer. If you have any questions about whether our centre will suit you and your child's needs, we would love for you to contact us. We'll be happy to help guide you through the process.

At the Y, we believe in encouraging young minds to grow. Our childcare philosophy is to deliver a play-based curriculum that supports children to explore, experiment, discover new things and let their imagination soar.

As well incorporating play-based experiences into your child’s day, our curriculum is informed by your child’s interests and curiosity. This enriches your child’s learning and empowers them to enter each stage of their young life with confidence.

The Australian government's Early Years Learning Framework also guides our curriculum. In line with the framework, we focus on literacy and communication; numeracy and science; and creativity and art. Developing your child's self-confidence and autonomy is another key part of our philosophy, as is fostering an appreciation of the natural world.

Our passionate and highly experienced educators deliver our childcare and kindergarten curriculum through inspiring, age-appropriate activities. This includes activities involving technology, group time and quiet time, as well as activities that promote social-emotional, cognitive and problem-solving skills.

During these activities, our educators provide opportunities for your child to express themselves. They focus on the process of the activity rather than emphasising a prescribed outcome. This helps your child to use their initiative, expand their imagination and try new things.

As a Y Early Learning Centre, we work in partnership with families to set learning goals around each child’s development stage, interests and unique needs.

We know you want your child to thrive and this approach to learning will give them the best start in life. At our centre, your child will get the chance to grow and learn, make new friends, discover more about their world and be adventurous every single day. 

We provide nutritional food your child will love.

Our menus consist of healthy and balanced meals. We use fresh, seasonal produce and encourage children to develop a positive attitude towards trying new foods. Your child can get involved in special cooking experiences too.

When creating our menus, we'll work closely with you to make sure we cater to your child’s needs, including food allergies and other dietary requirements. We can even include your own family recipes, which helps us to serve up varied, multicultural meals.

To support healthy outcomes for children, we also follow the Victorian government's Healthy Eating Advisory Service guidelines. This ensures that all our meals meet nutritional requirements for children.