Creative Garden Early Learning Centenary Heights

Our Early Learning Environments

Creative Garden Centenary Heights child care centre in Toowoomba provides a nurturing and enriching early learning environment that fosters exploration and curiosity.

The outdoor environments at our Toowoomba child care centre include natural environments, sandpits, a cubby house, vegetable garden and more. Our outdoor learning program focuses on the development of your child’s strength, balance, and self-confidence. Our indoor learning spaces offer a variety of engaging for children to learn and grow. Our experienced educators and teachers use these to design various age-appropriate play-based experiences.

Dedicated Team of Educators and Teachers

At the heart of our child care centre in Toowoomba is our longstanding team of early childhood educators and teachers with some team members at the centre for over 5 years.

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 Toowoomba child care centre provides children with nutritious, unprocessed, and seasonal whole foods. Our menu rotates every four weeks to cater to diverse dietary requirements. We actively involve children in food preparation to promote healthy eating.

At Creative Garden Centenary Heights child care centre in Toowoomba, 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.
• Community Engagement Program: We often have visits from local community services in Toowoomba, and we go out on adventures to teach the children about their local environment.
• Sports Program: Ginger Sport soccer program is offered to the kindergarten rooms weekly. It allows the children to be active and supports their physical health and well-being.
• Music Program: Our weekly Maggie Moo music program for all age groups is designed to develop fundamental skills that help support children’s language skills, self-regulation, memory, and concentration. 
• Real life experiences: Children participate in fun and exciting experiences such as harvesting the veggie garden, caring for our worm farm and early cooking skills. 

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

At our Toowoomba early learning centre, we offer a QLD Government-approved Kindergarten enhanced learning program, supporting your child’s development and well-being from now, at school and beyond. In Queensland, 4-year-old children are able to access a funded Kindergarten program that fosters play based learning, led by a Bachelor Qualified Early Childhood Teacher. If eligible, your child will be able to participate in the Government-approved Kindergarten program, at no cost, up to 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:

• QLD ‘Free Kindy’ 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

Rooms

Creative Garden Early Learning Centenary Heights provides early education and child care for children from nursery age through to kindergarten. Each room has been designed and set up to deliver the best early learning experience for your little one.

Our Nursery room (6 weeks – 15 months) provides:

• A homely, safe and secure environment for children.
• Highly qualified and dedicated educators who care deeply about children’s wellbeing and growth.
• Activities designed to grow physical and cognitive development, including tummy time, sensory play, music, singing, rhymes and reading.
• An open-door policy for families that allows them to drop in for a visit, a feed or a play at any time of the day.

Our Toddler room (15 months – 30 months) provides:

• Play-cased activities including music, movement, memory and construction games that are designed to support sensory-motor and cognitive development.
• Enhanced social skills and self-confidence through group play.
• The ongoing development of language skills through reading and open-ended questions.
• Real-life and play-based experiences that allow children to engage in basic literacy and numeracy concepts.

Our Kindergarten room (30 months – 5 years) provides:

• A Kindergarten program with a comprehensive curriculum focused on further developing literacy, numeracy and social skills.
• Interest-based learning placing children at the forefront of their early education experience.
• Play-based opportunities to further develop social skills and emotional development.
• A transition-to-school program.

Kimberley

I began my early childhood education and care career in 2009 and started working at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre, Centenary Heights, in 2015. I hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care.

I grew up in a family home daycare environment. After pursuing other careers, I found myself being drawn back to early learning as my passion and dedication continued to grow for the industry.

As an early educator, I have learnt about the importance of the first five years in a child’s development. As a result, I am a strong advocate for play-based learning and the children’s voice and agency.

I believe in providing a safe and secure homely environment for children to feel comfortable in their surroundings to show their true nature.

There are many benefits to attending a dedicated early childhood centre. With access to a range of age-appropriate learning resources, trained educators, and new experiences among friends, we set children up to thrive in an environment dedicated to learning.

Our team is extremely passionate about creating a centre that is a home away from home for both families and children. We work in partnership with families to ensure a strong community and environment to support growth and agency for all children.

We understand that starting at a new centre can be overwhelming. That is why from the very first inquiry, we make sure that we address all your questions one by one and work towards making the child and family feel a part of our community.

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.