Creative Garden Early Education Tullamarine

Spacious and resource rich environments  

Creative Garden Tullamarine is designed to be a home away from home that encourages every child’s exploration. Our resource-rich early learning environments have been carefully designed to immerse your child into a world of exploration, curiosity, and learning.  

Our centre boasts engaging outdoor spaces which include climbing equipment, slides, sandpits, a bike track and a community garden for the children to use. The children also participate in Art and Sensory experiences at all times in the outdoor environments at the centre. These spaces are specifically designed to ignite curiosity and encourage exploration. Our Tullamarine child care centre has expansive indoor play spaces that allow children to explore and investigate their surroundings. 

Dedicated and passionate team of educators

Our team of passionate educators and teachers make up the heart of our Tullamarine child care centre, with some staff having been at the centre for over 15 years. Our centre is also proudly multicultural with many different languages being spoken, such as Greek, Italian, Arabic and Bengali, exposing children to a variety of cultures and languages within the curriculum. 

At our Tullamarine child care centre, we know each child has unique talents and interests. Our experienced educators are passionate about helping every child succeed in discovering their identity and become confident, happy and resilient learners. 

Play-based early learning curriculum  

Play is essential to every child’s learning and development. It enables children to make decisions, learn, take risks, and have fun. At our Tullamarine child care centre, our experienced team plan play-based learning activities in line with national standards. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is designed to engage in your child’s interests and allow them to experience each day in a new way, supporting their learning in the lead-up to primary school.  

Our Early Learning Curriculum also provides children with: 

• Real Life experiences: Children participate in fun and exciting experiences such as woodworking, harvesting the veggie garden, caring for our worm farm and basic cooking skills.
• Sports program: This program is designed to encourage activity and movement, while also building the children’s motor skills.
• Community engagment: Our child care centre often hosts incursions from Didgeridoo Australia (didgeridoo, beats and Aboriginal art experiences) and Henny Penny chicken hatching to familiarise children with their local community.

Delicious and healthy meals prepared on site  

We provide children with nutrient-rich, fresh and seasonal  foods created to please even the fussiest of eaters. For variety, our menu rotates every four weeks, with our cook catering to the unique dietary requirements of every child. Our menu also changes with each season.

We look forward to partnering with you and your family to provide information, support, and high-quality early education and care in your child’s formative years. Contact our Family Support Team to start your journey with us today.  

Rooms

Our centre provides care for the following age groups:

Nursery (0-2 years):

Learning starts from before birth. Our nursery Educators have created a welcoming and nurturing environment where each baby feels safe to explore and discover new things – through their senses, their communication, cues (body language, facial expression, and sounds) and by experimenting. 

 On any given day you can see the nursery children engaging in all types of meaningful play, such as water play, music time, story time and more. Each day provides a brand new, exciting opportunity for our nursery children.  

Toddler (2-3 years):

Our Teachers and Educators encourage the toddler children to learn through play to help enhance their sensory-motor development. This learning happens through carefully planned music, dance, games and reading experiences. On any given day the children can be seen developing their numeracy by building a tower, sorting objects, pointing and identifying shapes and patterns and participating in counting songs and games. 

Children in our toddler rooms are encouraged to participate in group play. Group play is important, as it helps our toddlers develop important social skills such as, turn taking, developing self-confidence and emotional self-regulation. Our team helps children through talking, planning and role modelling.  

Kindergarten (3-5 years):

Kindergarten is a unique time for learning with peers and developing skills for later learning. Our play-based Kindergarten program encourages active engagement in learning and supports a range of positive developmental outcomes including resilience, independence, critical thinking, and creativity. Our kindergarten program is the perfect way to ensure your child is supported for their transition to school every step of the way.

Facilities

Our service provides the following facilities:

• Nappies
• Breakfast
• Morning tea
• Lunch
• Afternoon tea
• Other meals – Late snack/fruit available
• Petting zoo / animals
• Sustainability program
• Veggie garden
• On-site parking
• SMART Interactive Whiteboard
• In-house cook
• Fully air-conditioned
• Large, natural play environments
• Water play area
• Early Childhood Teacher
• Government Approved Kindergarten program
• Xplor – our family communication app

Kerrie

I have been working with children for a period of 22 years. I was at a Primary School for 9 years where I was an assistant in the Before & After school care program & then went on to become the Coordinator of the program. I also worked regularly in the 3 year old & 4 year old Pre-school /Kindergarten at the school. I then came to work here at Creative Garden where I had been a Lead educator for 11 years before moving to the Managers position in July 2018.

My favourite part of working at our centre is the people in it, the children, parents, families and educators whom all make up our ‘Creative Garden family’. Having the privilege of seeing our children grow and develop, well, there is nothing else quite like it. The saddest part is when our children finish up to go to school.

We are a close knit community, where we really value and support each other; this is extended to our families, who we have developed close relationships with. This culture is felt from the moment you walk in the door, where you really feel a sense of belonging. 

Here at Creative Garden Tullamarine we understand the importance of choosing the right care and education centre for you. Our team is passionate and committed to providing the best quality care and education. We strive to embed a sense of belonging where everyone is made to feel a part of our Creative Garden family. I am so proud of our service and encourage you to come and visit. We look forward to meeting you!

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.