Creative Garden Early Learning Berwick

Our Early Learning Environments

Creative Garden Berwick provides a nurturing and enriching early learning environment that fosters exploration and curiosity.

The outdoor environments at our Berwick child care centre include a mud kitchen, vegetable garden, climbing frame, bike track and more. Our outdoor learning program focuses on the development of your child’s strength, balance, and self-confidence. 

We offer purpose built indoor spaces including interactive whiteboard and natural resources. Our play spaces encourage children to build upon their critical thinking skills and encourage positive engagement.

Dedicated Team of Educators and Teachers

At the heart of our child care centre in Berwick is our longstanding team of early childhood educators and teachers with some team members at the centre for over 17 years. We are a multicultural early learning centre in Berwick, with educators proficient in multiple languages, including German, Hindi, Marathi, Sinhala, Filipino, and Tamil.

Our team of passionate and qualified early childhood teachers and educators are dedicated to ensuring every child feels safe, nurtured, and inspired throughout their early education journey.

Health and Nutrition

Our Berwick early learning centre provides children with nutritious, unprocessed, and seasonal whole foods. Our menu rotates weekly and seasonally to cater to diverse dietary requirements. We actively involve children in food preparation to promote healthy eating.

At Creative Garden Berwick early learning centre, we recognise the importance of play in a child’s learning and development journey. Our team tailors play-based learning activities in line with national standards, specifically the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), helping prepare them for kindergarten and school readiness.

We also offer the following enriching learning experiences:

• Sustainability Program: Helps children develop and understand the importance of embedding sustainable practices into everyday life. Children learn about recycling, conserving water, growing food and the importance of protecting our planet. We utilise natural resources in our program and encourage families to donate recyclable resources.
• Community Engagement Program: Encourages children to interact with and discover their local community. We often have visits from community services, and we go out on adventures to teach the children about their local environment.
• Music & Movement Program: Our music program “Hey Dee Ho” is designed to develop fundamental skills that help support children’s self-regulation, memory, and concentration. 

Rooms

Facilities

• Nappies included
• Breakfast
• Morning tea
• Lunch
• Afternoon tea
• Late snacks
• Sustainability program
• Veggie garden
• On-site parking
• SMART interactive whiteboard
• Classroom technology – computers
• In-house cook
• Fully air-conditioned
• Large, natural play environments
• Water play area
• Early Childhood Teacher
• Government Approved Kindergarten Program
• Incursions include:
  • Music Mondays
  • Dental visits
  • Sports program
  • Safe pet care
  • Librarian Visits
• Sustainable practices:
  • Chickens – provide eggs, we give them food scraps
  • Recycling fish tank water to water the indoor plants
  • Lemon tree provides many opportunities for learning experiences and families are welcome to take some
  • Recycle cardboard boxes and plastic containers for construction and home corner play

Our Kindergarten programs are tailored to meet your child’s individual learning needs across numeracy, literacy, emotional and social development, resilience, and self-regulation.

Our Berwick child care centre offers the VIC Government-approved Kindergarten enhanced learning program, supporting your child’s development and well-being from now, at school and beyond. In Victoria, 3 and 4-year-old children are able to access a funded Kindergarten program led by a Bachelor Qualified Teacher. If eligible, your child will be able to participate in the government-approved Kindergarten program, at no cost, up to a minimum of 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year. Talk to us about how this reduces your out-of-pocket costs.

The added benefits of our Kindergarten program include:

• VIC ‘Best Start, Best Life’ Government-approved program
• Extended opening hours
• Open all year round (excl public holidays)
• Programs developed and delivered by our Early Childhood Teachers
• Exclusive music and movement program for self-regulation

Shani

I began my career in early childhood education in 2014. I became the centre manager at Creative Garden Berwick commencing as in August 2023.

I am a Bachelor Qualified, Full VIT-registered teacher. My personnel philosophy as an educator is always evolving, I believe every child is capable. I believe in having high expectations for every child to direct positive impact on children’s self-esteem and resilience. As educators, it is our responsibility to identify children’s capabilities, nurture them and challenge their learning.

Early childhood education is changing, it is not just a profession to provide care but a nurturing home that provides learning and experiences to holistically develop a child’s social, emotional, cognitive & physical needs. This learning between the child’s age of 6 weeks – 5 years, develops a solid foundation for lifelong learning & wellbeing in a child’s life.

My vision as a Centre Manager is to drive for change, for better practices and outcomes. I make sure I always empower our educators to strive towards practice that consistently delivers the best outcome for children’s learning & wellbeing. We assure quality care and learning within our centre and caters for children’s abilities, learning and interests.

Feel free to ask us any questions regarding the Centre program, learning and new embedding practices at Creative Garden Berwick. I am looking forward to meeting all the wonderful families. 

A centre tour is a convenient way to experience the centre of your choice and meet with our qualified educators at a time suitable to your family schedule. Creative Garden also offers the virtual tour option in all our centres. Click here to book a tour online.

On the day of the tour, you’ll have the opportunity to observe practices and interactions within the centre environment. You’ll be able to see all the rooms and playgrounds, ask the team members any questions you have in mind, and get all the information you need to make the best decision for your child.

Creative Garden’s Family Support team will add your child’s name to our waitlist if one of our centres is currently full in your child’s age group. We will then contact you as soon as a place becomes available.

We also do monthly check-ins to review the availability, and you will receive a text message confirming if you’re still happy to remain on the waitlist each month. If you would like to get an update at any point, you’re welcome to reach out on our Web Chat or give us a call.

Our Family Support team can also help you find more G8 early learning centres near you, with the same offerings at the Creative Garden’s centre you are interested in that have immediate availability.

It’s common for a child to experience separation anxiety when they first start child care. When you’re getting ready to start child care, you can help your child overcome anxieties by visiting the child care centre together for a Stay and Play session, and easing into new routines at home.

Click here to read more tips about how to make the transition easier for your child.

Most of our Creative Garden’s child care and early education centres offer the following:

• Nappies and wipes
• Sunscreen and hats
• Nutritious meals prepared by our in-house cook

Some centres also provide sheets and formula, so you may not need to remember to pack them.

For nursery children, be sure to bring: nappy rash cream, dummies, bottles and teats, comfort toys or blankets, three spare outfits, spare socks and a plastic bag for wet clothes.

For toddlers and preschool or kindergarten-aged children, it’s best to bring: spare underwear, water bottle or sippy cup, sun hat, closed-toe shoes, two spare outfits, spare socks and a plastic bag for wet clothes.

Plus anything else your individual child may need, such as breast milk, a sleeping bag, a comforter or medication.

It’s best to speak to your centre of choice for a full list of everything included.

Creative Garden uses Xplor Home as our family communication app. It is the best and easiest way to keep track of your child’s day. After you enrol your child with the centre, you can utilise Xplor Home to book child care days, manage your account, receive the photographs that capture your child’s learning, learn about your child’s progress, as well as keep up-to-date with upcoming centre events and important information.

If your child shows signs of an infectious illness when they arrive at the centre or becomes sick during the day, you may be notified that you need to make alternative arrangements or pick up your child from the centre, and keep them home until they are no longer infectious. While we understand that this can be inconvenient, Creative Garden is committed to maintaining a healthy environment and reducing the risk of infection for all children.

Under the Child Care Subsidy (CCS), families are allowed 42 absence days per child, per financial year. These can be taken for any reason, including public holidays and when children are sick, without the need for families to provide documentation.