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Child Safe Organisation logo featuring colourful hands forming a star shape, symbolizing support and protection for children in early childhood education.
Child Safe Organisation logo featuring colourful hands forming a star shape, symbolizing support and protection for children in early childhood education.
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0-3 Years Program

Starfish strive to provide a nurturing and enjoyable environment that encourages your toddler’s development.

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Toddler playing with colourful educational toys in a nursery classroom at Starfish Early Learning Centre
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0-3 Years Program
TRUSTED STANDARDS

Our Foundation

Starfish Early Learning Centre logo featuring an orange starfish and playful text, representing early childhood education and care services.
Since 2009
Child Safe Organisation logo featuring colourful hands forming a star shape, symbolizing support and protection for children in early childhood education.
Child Safe Organisation
Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program logo
Kitchen Garden
Light bulb representing ideas and learning

A Varied Learning Approach

In addition to play-based learning, our educational program offers various contexts to enrich their learning, including, construction, imaginative play, music and movement, art and so much more.
Colourful paint palette

Extracurricular Experiences

Our regular learning program is complemented by extracurricular activities. These incursions are offered by experts in fields like physical education, arts, music, indigenous culture, animals, and dance.
Children's playground slide

Safe & Specific Facilities

The learning environments used for our babies and toddlers are specifically designed to challenge children to take developmentally appropriate risks, while also maintaining their safety and wellbeing.

Which room will your child be in?

Children can start at Starfish from six weeks of age, and move through four age groups before school. Rooms are a guide rather than a cut-off. We move a child when they're ready, not on their birthday.
6 weeks to 18 months

Babies

Home routines followed. A Daily Routine updates for sleeps, meals and milk, so you leave knowing exactly how the day went.
18 months to 3 years

Toddler

Construction, imaginative play, music and movement, art and sensory experiences. Real materials, real mess, room to move.
3 to 4 years

Three-year-old kinder

Our funded kindergarten program begins. See how kinder works.
4 to 5 years

Four-year-old kinder

The final year before school, with the same educators and the same rhythm your child already knows.
Children exploring outdoor play spaces with natural elements at Starfish Early Learning Centre

Our curriculum offers a range of learning opportunities, including play-based learning and sensory experiences.

Our 0-3 year old programs are designed in the same way as our funded 3 and 4 year old kindergarten programs, however contains content that is relevant to these ages and developmental levels. This ensures a smooth transition into the kindergarten program for children moving up from younger rooms.

Sun Safety And Nappies

Starfish facilities are sun-smart, and sunscreen and a hat are compulsory when playing outdoors. Sunscreen will be provided in your fees, and Starfish hats are available for purchase at all of our centres, or children can bring their own. Premium disposable nappies and wipes are provided for all children at our centre at no extra cost.
Smiling toddler wearing a blue sun hat outdoors at Starfish Early Learning Centre, highlighting sun safety and nappies policy

What's included in your daily fee

Baby diaper
Nappies and sunscreen
Chef hat
Nutritious, high-quality meals freshly prepared by our qualified chef
Healthy balanced meal
Lunch
Children's backpack
Tailored educational programs to children's evolving interests
Open book
Engaging, age-appropriate toys, books and learning resources
Colourful children's building blocks
Two one-hour orientation sessions
Red apple
Breakfast
Healthy banana and cracker snack
Afternoon tea
Colourful paint palette
Rotating educational curriculum
Children's sand bucket and shovel
Safe, shaded playgrounds designed for every age group
Thumbs up
CCS-approved centre
Cup of tea
Morning tea
Children's playground slide
Play-based learning
Pencil and writing paper
Extra-curricular activities
Broccoli
Kitchen garden program and veggie patch

Fees and subsidy

Most families using long day care receive the Child Care Subsidy, which changes what you actually pay by a considerable margin. Because entitlement depends on your household, we don't publish a single figure that would be wrong for almost everyone reading it.

Use the calculator to get an estimate, then bring it to your tour. The Centre Director will show you the real gap fee for the days you want, at the centre you want.
Estimate your subsidy
Out-of-pocket cost depends on your family's Child Care Subsidy entitlement, which is determined by Services Australia. Fees vary by centre and by room.

Find your nearest centre

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Starfish ELC Blackburn South childcare centre exterior with fenced entrance and landscaped surrounds
Exceeding the NQS

Blackburn South

  • 168 Canterbury Rd, Blackburn South
  • Phone (03) 9877 3930
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Blackburn South, Box Hill, Forest Hill, and surrounding suburbs
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Entrance and colourful exterior of Starfish ELC Essendon childcare centre
Meeting the NQS

Essendon

  • 1 Melfort Avenue, Essendon VIC 3040
  • Phone 1300 168 881
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Aberfeldie, Strathmore, Niddrie, Ascot Vale and Flemington
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Front entrance and outdoor area of Starfish ELC Nunawading
Exceeding the NQS

Nunawading

  • 28 Mountain View Road, Nunawading
  • Phone (03) 9894 1688
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Nunawading, Mitcham, Vermont and Box Hill North
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Founder of Starfish Early Learning Centre leading a team and creating nurturing environments for children
Exceeding the NQS

Reservoir

  • 17 Rosenthal Crescent, Reservoir
  • Phone (03) 9460 8200
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Reservoir, Thomastown, Fawkner, Bundoora, Macleod and surrounding northern suburbs.
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Exterior of Starfish ELC Springvale childcare centre
Meeting the NQS

Springvale

  • 28 St Johns Avenue, Springvale VIC 3171
  • Phone (03) 9574 2888
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Nearby locations: Springvale, Keysborough, Dandenong, Clayton South, Clarinda and surrounding areas
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Questions parents ask

At Starfish, from six weeks of age. There is no minimum age set in national regulation for long day care, so the youngest age accepted varies between providers. Many centres begin at six weeks, some at three or six months. If you're returning to work early, ask about the youngest child currently in the nursery when you tour.

Long day care in Victoria is generally organised into four groups: a nursery or babies room, a toddler room, a three-year-old room, and a four-year-old room. At Starfish that runs nursery from six weeks to around 18 months, toddler from around 18 months to three years, then the three-year-old and four-year-old funded kindergarten rooms.

Group names differ between providers. What matters more than the label is the ratio of educators to children in that room, which is set by the National Quality Framework.

Around 18 months to three years. We treat it as a guide rather than a rule. Some children are ready to move at 16 months and some at 22, and we make the call with you based on how your child is going with walking, eating, sleeping and playing alongside older children.

There isn't one, and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing about your family. Starting is usually driven by when parental leave ends rather than by a developmental window.

What does make a difference is how the start is handled. A settled start at six weeks tends to go better than a rushed start at two years. That's why we run two one-hour orientation play sessions before the first full day, and more if your child needs them.

Our program runs from six weeks to five years, finishing at the end of the four-year-old kindergarten year before your child starts school. We don't offer outside school hours care.

You come in for two one-hour play sessions before the first full day, and stay for both. Your child's educators use that time to learn their cues, and you use it to see the room without a handover happening.

If your child needs more than two sessions, we run more. From there, first days are usually shorter than a full day, and we build up at whatever pace works.

No. Premium nappies, wipes and sunscreen are provided, and meals are cooked on site by our chef each day. Cot and rest-mat linen is provided and laundered between uses. You'll need a hat, which you can bring or buy at the centre, and a change of clothes.

All centres are nut and egg aware. Talk to the Centre Director about any allergy or dietary requirement before your child starts.

They move into our funded kindergarten program, in the same building, with the same daily structure they already know. There's no shuttling between a long day care centre and a separate sessional kinder.

Our 0–3 program is deliberately designed on the same model as the kindergarten program, which is what makes that transition ordinary rather than a fresh start.
What does make a difference is how the start is handled. A settled start at six weeks tends to go better than a rushed start at two years. That's why we run two one-hour orientation play sessions before the first full day, and more if your child needs them.

Want To Know More?

If you have any further questions regarding the Starfish 0-3 Years Program get in touch today.
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