Lightning Reef Primary School
Location
74-88 Holmes Road
North Bendigo
VIC 3552
Programs offered
Before School Care opening hours
Monday to Friday
7:00am – 8:30am
After School Care opening hours
Monday to Friday
3:15pm – 6:00pm
School Holiday Program opening hours
Monday to Friday
7:00am – 6:00pm
Contact us in centre
Lightning Reef Primary
Before and After School Program
We support busy Bendigo families with high quality care outside of school hours. Suitable for children between five and 12 years old, our programs are a great way to complement your child's learning.
We offer a mix of fun activities – from arts and crafts to sport and ball games. Whatever sparks your child's interest, our experienced Educators will make sure they have an amazing start and end to their day.
We'll provide a healthy breakfast in the morning and nutritious snacks after school.
We also offer a Pupil Free Day program throughout the school year, depending on booking numbers.
Bendigo
School Holiday Program
Our Bendigo holiday program provides an opportunity for your child to learn from new experiences through a fun mix of activities, while making new friends along the way.
We offer a wide variety of interest-based in-house activities, themed incursions and exciting excursions. Our holiday programs are run by experienced Educators who help your child become more confident and independent.
Activities could include anything from seasonal craft activities to fitness challenges to becoming a scientist for the day. We run regular excursions too. In the past, we've headed to the local cinema as well as awesome indoor playgrounds.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming program – we'll share the schedule on this page about four weeks before the school holidays start.
Winter Wonders Holiday Program
Bookings are now open for our Winter Wonders 2025 School Holiday Program! The program runs on weekdays from Monday 7 July to Friday 18 July 2025 (excluding public holidays).
We've planned a bumper program of school holiday activities that will interest your child over the holidays.
Activity days can include:
- In-house (activities run by our Educator team)
- Incursion (activities run by visitors to our service)
- Excursion (activities run at an off-site location)
- Self-guided incursion (premium activities run by our educator team, available at select centres)
- Supreme incursion (supreme activities run by visitors to our service)
What to bring
- Lunch and snack (nutritious and nut free)
- SunSmart hat and sunscreen
- Water bottle
- Weather appropriate clothing and shoes
- Swimwear, towel and change of clothes as required (if an activity involves water)
You can also read our School Holiday Program FAQs.
The prices listed in the table below are the full fee for each day. If you're entitled to Child Care Subsidy, what you actually pay could be significantly reduced.
Date |
Activity Details |
| Week 1 | |
| Monday 07 July |
Magician Duck Cameron Prepare to be amazed by the award winning Duck Cameron as he performs a live magic show full of wonder, laughs, and jaw-dropping tricks! Then, step behind the curtain to a Magic Workshop and learn fun, beginner-friendly tricks you can perform at home. Category: Incursion Cost: $113.00 |
| Tuesday 08 July |
Inflatable World Take a trip to the biggest inflatable playground in Australia today so get ready for a high-energy adventure! Bounce, jump, climb and flip your way through a world of inflatable fun that’s perfect for all ages. Don't forget to bring your socks. Category: Excursion Cost: $129.00 |
| Wednesday 09 July |
Winter STEM Bundle up for a day of frosty fun with STEM activities inspired by the magic of winter. We’ll explore how snowstorms form, conduct hands-on experiments to learn how animals stay warm, and build DIY snowmen that won’t melt away! From painting unique snowflakes to discovering the science behind the cold, this day is packed with chilly challenges and cosy creativity. Category: Inhouse Cost: $92.00 |
| Thursday 10 July |
Build & Battle Join us for our Build & Battle regional hub day! Mixing the ultimate elements of physical and mental strength we will battle it out in Laser Tag, learn the ways of the force in a Jedi Academy and build with Nano Blocks which you can even take home! Category: Incursion Cost: $113.00 |
| Friday 11 July |
Tenpin Bowling We're off to Bendigo Bowling for two epic games of Tenpin Bowling. Come along and see if you can get a strike today! Make sure to wear your closed toe shoes. Category: Excursion Cost: $129.00 |
| Week 2 | |
| Monday 14 July |
Parkys Play This giant four level indoor playground is designed to make you feel empowered and confident. Complete with five giant slides, a soft ball cannon play zone, two trampolines, a large ball pit, a flying fox and one huge jumping cushion! Category: Excursion Cost: $129.00 |
| Tuesday 15 July |
Express yourself Get ready for a day full of creativity, expression, and laughter as we dive into the world of emojis. Design your own emoji characters, explore how to turn simple letters and numbers into expressive cartoon faces, and enjoy games and activities that celebrate communication and feelings in fun ways. From silly faces to big smiles, this day encourages self-expression, imagination, and lots of shared joy. Category: Inhouse Cost: $92.00 |
| Wednesday 16 July |
Elio We're off to the cinemas today to watch Elio. Watch as Elio navigates a crisis of intergalactic proportions, forms new bonds with alien lifeforms, and discovers his true place in the universe. Come along and enjoy a tasty popcorn treat. Category: Excursion Cost: $129.00 |
| Thursday 17 July |
Arts & Crafts Bonanza Inspired by the children's ideas from previous programs, today’s session is all about creativity, fun, and a splash of science! We’ll be exploring a variety of art mediums, from building frosty snowmen with real snow to painting the school windows with soapy colours. Join us for an exciting day of artistic expression with a wintry, scientific twist! Category: Inhouse Cost: $92.00 |
| Friday 18 July |
Discovery Science & Tech Centre With over 100 interactive exhibits to explore, you won't know what to try first at Discovery! Be sure to look out for the whacky mirrors that make you look really strange, the echoing chamber that repeats your words a thousand times over and don't forget to play a tune on the thong-a-phone! Category: Excursion Cost: $129.00 |
Prices
To support our families, we offer permanent and casual booking options. Casual bookings do incur an additional cost.
Please contact your local centre for advice on any questions you have regarding pricing.
|
Program |
Fee |
You pay as little as* |
| Before School Care (permanent booking) | $19.20 | $3.25 |
| Before School Care (casual booking) | $24.40 | $12.80 |
| After School Care (permanent booking) | $31.90 | $4.79 |
| After School Care (casual booking) | $37.10 | $12.76 |
| Pupil Free Day (dependent on numbers) | $106.40 |
Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
|
Our programs qualify for the Federal Government's Child Care Subsidy (CCS). CCS helps eligible families access approved and registered child care providers by partially subsidising the cost of daily fees. The 'Fee' price listed in the table above is the full permanent or casual daily fee for each program without any CCS entitlements. *The 'You pay as little as' price is an example of the out of pocket fee paid by families who qualify for the maximum CCS percentage (90%). The fees above are calculated at 85% subsidy to allow for the 5% withheld by Services Australia to reduce the chances of an overpayment. When our holiday programs are open for bookings, you'll be able to see the prices for each activity on this page. These prices are the daily price and do not include any CCS you may be entitled to, which could significantly reduce your out of pocket expense. Refer to the Government website for more information about CCS funding and your eligibility. We also recommend using this CCS calculator to estimate your new subsidy payments. Our customer service and onsite teams are happy to assist you with any queries you have regarding this funding and to help you navigate the system. |
Book your place
|
You can book into our Outside School Hours Care programs through My Family Lounge (our online booking system). Read our 'How to enrol' guide to make sure you've got everything you need to book. You can also read our FAQs about Before and After School Care and School Holiday Programs. Returning families: Sign in New families: Register Got a question? Feel free to submit an enquiry and we'll be in touch. Holiday Program: Enquire Before and After School Care: Enquire |
Take part in awesome art and craft activities – we encourage all children to express their creativity.
Let your imagination run wild and try something new with the support of our Educators.
Try out a range of exciting sport and ball games and learn new skills along the way.
Find out how to build new things, create experiments, and test your inventions!
Play outdoors and enjoy a range of physical activities suitable for all abilities.
Discover the magic of science during cool experiments and other STEM activities.
Develop your artistic skills through drawing, colouring, painting and more.
Relax and unwind with quiet time activities – perfect for reflecting on a busy day or recharging for activities to come.
Challenge your friends and work together as a team! Our sport activities are designed to be inclusive and lots of fun.
Play quietly or with friends – our toys, board games and puzzles will engage your child and provide opportunities to socialise.