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Finding the right early learning centre is not as simple as it sounds. When it comes to your little one, an early learning centre is an important part of life. It’s the place where many children spend the majority of their time and plays a central role in your child’s education and social and emotional development. For these reasons and more, you should pay particular attention to the early learning centre that you choose for your child.
Choosing an early learning centre is not as easy as selecting the one closest to your home or work, or the centre that is the most affordable, instead you should consider the following factors:
- Your child’s happiness
- The centre’s curriculum
- The composition of that particular centre
- The centre’s style of care and education
Depending on your child and your family, the above list may include more factors, however, it’s important to remember that your child’s early childhood education is one of the most important decisions that you will make. We understand that searching for and deciding on the right early childhood education centre is exhausting and complicated so, we’ve attempted to make it easier by providing you with five questions to ask yourself when considering a centre.
These questions can serve as a guide when deciding among different centres. It takes into account several different factors and most importantly, your child’s happiness and comfort.
5 questions to find the right early learning centre
- Is the curriculum and care style in line with mine and my child’s needs?
The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia provides objectives for early learning centres to implement – how they choose to achieve these objectives is up to them. This is important to know because while the result may be the same for all early learning centres, its effectiveness lies in the methods used by the centre. Find out what activities and approaches are used by your prospective centre and determine whether your child would thrive in that environment. Young Academics uses two effective methods, sensory play and play-based learning, to achieve the necessary objectives for children.
- Is the centre geographically convenient for me?
Even though we mentioned previously that you should not solely base your decision and the proximity of the centre to your home or work, it is a factor that should be considered within the realm of other factors. The location of a centre is important because it determines whether or not you will be able to pick-up and drop-off your child at the centre’s stipulated opening and closing times. This is important for the security of your child and their comfort. Don’t select a centre that is completely out of the way for you, because you never know when your child may need an emergency pick-up.
- Does the centre’s physical space meet what I want for my child?
Ensure that you give your prospective centre a tour to determine whether or not its physical space is appropriate for your child. As a general rule, centres that offer natural light, ample space and a hygienic environment will be the most comfortable for your child. However, you can also search for centres that have special features such as outdoor learning environments and purpose-built indoor spaces.
- Is the team at the centre capable?
Even though Australia is home to competent carers, you must ensure that the specific centre that you are interested in has an acceptable staff to child ratio, qualified carers and overall dedicated staff. You can find out more about the centre’s staff by asking the following questions:
- How do carers address special needs in children?
- What is staff turnover for the centre
- What are the qualifications of the carers?
A reputable centre will be more than happy to answer your questions.
- What did other parents say about the centre?
Lastly, you can always judge a centre based on what parents of children who currently attend there or who did in the past say about the centre. You can find parents in parent groups on social media, or you can ask the centre for parent references. Parents care about their children and will provide you with a reliable and honest review.
We hope that the above question makes your search for an early learning centre much easier. At Young Academics, the comfort, joy and security of your child is our #1 priority.
For more information about our centre, contact us today on 1300 668 993.
Want to join the Young Academics family? Drop your details here, and our friendly team will be in touch with you shortly.
