6 weeks to 2 years
Wrens
Twelve babies with four educators. Sleep and feeding follow your routine from home, not ours.
Early learning and kindergarten · Pippinvale, Victoria
A place for your little one in 2027.
Three small rooms, the same educators all year, and meals cooked in our own kitchen every morning.
Wrens6 weeks to 2Waitlist
Robins2 to 3 years2 places from Feb
Kookaburras3 to 5 years1 place now
Places updated by the centre this week
Looking for something?
Search the whole site, including inside every policy, down to the page.
Our rooms
Three rooms, small on purpose.
Each room has its own educators who stay with the group all year, so your child is known by name from the first week.
2 to 3 years
Robins
Fifteen toddlers with three educators, lots of time outside, and toilet learning when your child is ready.
3 to 5 years
Kookaburras
Twenty-two children and a kindergarten program led by a qualified early childhood teacher.
This week
Noticeboard
Two Robins places from February
Two places are opening in the Robins (toddler) room from Monday 1 February 2027, on Monday to Wednesday or Wednesday to Friday. Book a visit to see the room, or join the waitlist and we will call you.
This week's menu
Monday beef and vegetable ragu. Tuesday chicken and corn soup with damper. Wednesday lentil dahl with rice. Thursday fish pie. Friday vegetable fried rice. Morning and afternoon tea are fresh fruit, crackers and something our cook has baked.
Sun hats every day from now on
Sun protection started on 1 September. Please pack a named broad-brimmed hat each day. Spare hats are in every room and we supply the sunscreen.
Closed Tuesday 3 November, Melbourne Cup Day
The centre is closed for the public holiday. We reopen on Wednesday 4 November at 7:00am.
A day at Pippinvale
What a Tuesday looks like.
The same gentle rhythm every day, so children always know what comes next.
Doors open
A warm breakfast and a quiet start for early arrivals.
Morning group
Each room meets on the mat to talk about the day ahead.
Outside
The garden, the sandpit and the mud kitchen, in hats from September.
Lunch
Cooked in our kitchen that morning and eaten together at low tables.
Rest
Sleep or quiet rest, following the routine your child has at home.
Afternoon tea
Fresh fruit, something baked, and a story.
Inside or out
Children choose: clay and painting inside, or the garden.
Home time
A word with the educator about the day at every pick-up.
Cooked here
Real food, from our own kitchen.
Our cook makes breakfast, lunch and two snacks from scratch every day, from a four-week menu that changes with the seasons. We are a nut-aware centre, and every child with an allergy has a plan.
How we handle allergies
From the director
Most families know within five minutes of walking in. Come on a normal morning and see if it feels right. If it does, we will find you a place as soon as we can.
Rosa Calder
Centre director
Questions families ask
The short answers.
Do you have a waitlist?
Yes, and it is free to join. We offer places in the order families joined, with priority for brothers and sisters of children already here.
What does a day cost?
Our daily fee is $148 before the Child Care Subsidy. It covers all meals, nappies, sunscreen and the kindergarten program. Most families pay much less once the subsidy comes off.
How does the Child Care Subsidy work?
Once you confirm your enrolment in your myGov account, the subsidy is paid to us and taken straight off your fee. Your statement shows the full fee, the subsidy and the gap.
When should my child stay home sick?
With a temperature of 38°C or more, or after vomiting or diarrhoea, until they have been well for 24 hours. The Illness and Exclusion Policy has the full list.
What are your hours?
7:00am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday, all year except public holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year.
Come and see a normal morning.
Visits run on Tuesday and Thursday at 10:00am and take about 45 minutes. Bring your little one, walk through every room, and ask us anything.