Creative Garden Early Learning Cheltenham

Spacious and resource-rich environments

Creative Garden Cheltenham is designed to be a home away from home that encourages every child’s exploration. The resource-rich early learning environments in our child care centre have been carefully created to immerse your child into a world of exploration, curiosity, and learning.

We have 3 spaces for outdoor play, 0-2 year yard that has plenty of shade, a sandpit and a beautiful deck area. Our 2-3 yard has a bike track, a large central sandpit, a beautiful tree that provides great shade, moveable climbing equipment, and plenty of space to move around. Our 3-5 yard is generous in size with a climbing fort, chicken coop, moveable climbing equipment, a digging patch and a large sandpit. We also have a woodwork table that the children love utilising under supervision.

Indoor environments are set up to encourage the children to learn through play, with enriching resources throughout all rooms. The rooms set up are designed with the children at the front of mind, changing as the needs and interests of the children do. This also encourages and supports the different stages of learning and development for each child.

Dedicated team of educators and teachers

Our longstanding team of passionate early childhood educators make up the heart of our Cheltenham child care centre. Our Teachers and Educators are very passionate about the early education sector. We strive to create a calm, comfortable and welcoming environment where each child feels safe. 

Our kindergarten program taught by a qualified early childhood teacher will assist to prepare your child socially and emotionally for their transition to primary school.

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. 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:

• Sustainability Program: We have a garden where the children grow vegetables from seeds. We place a large emphasis on reusing, reducing and recycling in all facets of the centre. 
• Incursions & Excursion Program: Our programs encourage children to interact with and discover their local Community. We often have visits from community services in Cheltenham such as police and the local librarian. We also go on adventures to the local parks, school, aged care residences and shops.
• Sports programs: This program is designed to encourage activity and movement, while also building the children’s motor skills.

Delicious and healthy meals prepared on site

Our centre chef Yuval prepares and cooks healthy and nutritious meals daily, catering to the unique dietary requirements of every child. Our Cheltenham child care centre is a nut and egg free environment due to allergies and the menu rotates over a 4 week period.

Here at Creative Garden Cheltenham , we believe that by encouraging active participation in food preparation (such as growing & harvesting the fruit and vegetables, preparing, and helping cook the meal) – children learn to appreciate and understand the importance of healthy eating.

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 today.

Rooms

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

Nursery/Bottlebrush room (0 – 12 months) and Nursery 2/Gumnuts room (12 – 18 months)

Our Nursery rooms provide:

• A homely, safe and secure environment where your child will develop and grow.
• Qualified and supportive educator team who truly care 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.
• A consistent home routine following what you provide at home including nap and eating times.

Toddlers/ Bluebell room (1.5 – 2 years) and Pre Kinder/LilyPilly room (2 – 3 years)

Our Toddler and Pre Kinder rooms offer:

• Play-based 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.
• 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.

Junior Kinder/ Wattle room (3 – 4 years) and Kindergarten/ Banksia (3 – 5 years)

Our Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten rooms provide:

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

Hope

My name is Hope Watcham, and I have been working in early education for 17 years. I hold a Diploma in Children’s Services. I am most passionate about building meaningful connections with our community, families, children and educators. 

I have always wanted to be an early childhood educator since I was in Year 7. The joy on a child’s face as they play is contagious, and seeing them accomplish something and be so happy about that is such a wonderful feeling. I feel a deep sense of happiness and pride when a child finishes up at the centre to move on to school, and they are so ready for that next stage of their learning journey.

At our centre, we are such a tight-knit team. We all work together to provide the best possible care to the children and support to our families. We are happy, kind and always there for the children and their families. All of us educators bring something unique to the table, whether it is musical talent, another language, a love for science or the amazing storytelling talent. We are a centre that prides itself on connecting with everyone in our community. We pride ourselves on the consistency within the centre, ensuring that children have regular educators looking after them throughout the year.

If you choose our centre, you can expect a warm welcome from all of us here.

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.