Unfortunately, our experience with Mini Masterminds was extremely disappointing and stressful.<br><br>There were serious concerns regarding the way my child was treated while in their care, and I felt that my concerns were not handled in a way that gave me confidence as a parent. Communication throughout the situation was also very frustrating.<br><br>On top of this, we experienced ongoing issues with fees and payments, including unexpected deductions from our account and inconsistent information about the amount allegedly owing. Despite repeatedly contacting the centre and explaining the situation, I did not feel that the matter was handled clearly or professionally.<br><br>For me, the most important thing when choosing a childcare centre is knowing that my child is safe, respected and genuinely cared for. Unfortunately, based on our experience, I no longer had that confidence.<br><br>I would strongly recommend that parents do their own research, ask detailed questions about how incidents are handled, and carefully monitor their accounts and childcare fees.<br>I have also attached the photo off my child being scratched by the teacher.<br>This was a very upsetting experience for our family, and I would not choose this centre again

Save yourself the stress and look elsewhere for childcare.<br><br>Before enrolling, I strongly recommend checking the government's Starting Blocks website. You’ll find that Mini Masterminds at Box Hill does not meet National Quality Standards—their official rating is still listed as 'Working Towards.' To me, this is a major red flag. When choosing a childcare centre for your children, why settle for anything less than a service that at least meets—if not exceeds—national standards?<br><br>Based on my family's stressful experience, I unfortunately cannot recommend this centre. We have since transferred our children to a much better centre and the difference is night and day. At their new centre, both children settled in instantly without tears. They genuinely love going there, and the staff have been amazing. In contrast, during our time at Mini Masterminds, we dealt with tears every single day—our eldest struggled to settle and cried daily for over a year.<br><br>The primary reason we stayed as long as we did was the previous director, Michael, who was exceptional. He left around the same time that we did. Unfortunately, the centre suffers from extreme instability, experiencing five director changes in just 18 months, alongside serious safety concerns. High management turnover persists as we recently learned the Assistant Director has also since departed. This raises serious questions about the centre's culture and working conditions.<br><br>There were many issues with the centre but ultimately we chose to withdraw our children due to:<br><br>Safety & Lack of Supervision: Frequent incidents resulting in regular doctor visits, antibiotics for severe human bites, and multiple ER visits.<br><br>Poor Communication & Conduct: Delayed injury notifications, dishonesty from staff, and breaches of confidentiality.<br><br>Gross Negligence: The centre repeatedly lost our child's medication upon departure, which the Area Manager dismissed while refusing reimbursement. Another departing family experienced the exact same issue with lost medication, missing medical action plans and incorrect billing.<br><br>A quick search on local Box Hill community groups on Facebook reflects many similar negative experiences.<br><br>I strongly encourage parents to look elsewhere for quality care.

I had a very disappointing experience during the tour yesterday. The director and assistant director did not acknowledge us at all. The director walked past us without even making eye contact or greeting us. There was no warm welcome, and we had to wait quite a long time before an educator came to speak with us.<br>The educator who showed us around seemed kind and professional, but we were very disappointed with the management. First impressions are important, and unfortunately, this experience did not make us feel valued or welcomed.<br>Based on our experience, I would not feel comfortable enrolling my child at this centre.

Reposting as for some reason my review keeps getting deleted.<br><br>I strongly suggest checking the local Facebook groups for the Box Hill and Gables Community for more genuine and unincentivised reviews of this centre.<br><br>I cannot recommend Mini Masterminds Box Hill due to serious concerns for supervision, management instability, and negligence that my family experienced first hand.<br><br>Do not be fooled by the recent influx of 5-star reviews. This does not add up when the new director has only been in the role for 6 weeks. This does not reflect the reality of the lack of care we experienced and this is evident in similar negative reviews left prior to this. A recent lengthy 5 star review (image below) has been left by a staff member.<br><br>Over our children's 1.5 year attendance, the centre director changed 5 times, with only one temporary director from another MM centre showing true competence. On numerous occasions, our children’s favourite educators had left the centre without notice or explanation, which diminished our children's sense of security and raised concerns for staff wellbeing and retention.<br><br>Major issues we experienced include;<br><br>Safety & Supervision:<br>Our children were involved in 5 separate incidents requiring medical care. This included three severe child-on-child bites requiring antibiotics (two from the same child), a fall from play equipment, and a trip over toys left on a path—both resulting in split lips and urgent medical care (costing us hospital time and lost wages). To make matters worse, staff delayed us leaving for the doctor on the last split lip incident to discuss an unrelated and later disproven incident.<br><br>Privacy Breach:<br>An educator inappropriately discussed our child’s behaviour with another parent in our absence. As a blatant breach of confidentiality, this was our breaking point to withdraw our children immediately.<br><br>Handling of Personal Belongings:<br>Belongings were often sent home with other families due to poor oversight, despite being clearly labelled.<br><br>Lost Medication & Negligence:<br>The centre lost our child’s emergency medication (this was never opened or used) upon our departure. After weeks of back-and-forth, including an email stating it was found, they misplaced it a second time and now have officially refused to reimburse us despite their proven negligence. Where would the medication be found if it was a real emergency?<br><br>Security Flaw:<br>Weeks after leaving, our security access code was still active, allowing us to walk right into the centre to discuss the missing medication—a massive safety breach!<br><br>We cannot recommend this centre to any parent that is concerned for their child's safety and wellbeing. Any centre currently advertising a coffee van for parents and 2 days per week free childcare for 4 weeks must be desperate for enrolments.<br><br>The centre's response fails to address all of these issues clearly, nor what happened to our son's medication when we only attended the centre twice after leaving for the sole purpose of collecting the missing medication.<br><br>I am still unsure as to why these reviews that my wife and I have left keep getting deleted.

** Would not recommend, frequently faced illness and safety issues here.**<br><br>My grandchildren were constantly getting sick or injured while attending. Whenever I visited, I often saw children with runny/snotty noses. It made me question why children who seemed sick were still at the centre instead of being sent home in line with illness policies.<br><br>As their grandmother, I often had to travel more than an hour (at the spur of the moment) to help out while my daughter took one of her children to the doctor or the emergency department. This was incredibly stressful for our family. It was just so frustrating and upsetting to see this happen so often.<br><br>Since my grandchildren have left the place, I'm pleased to say that they have been well and safe!

Great place for my kid to spend the day with full care and attention. Super friendly and helpful staff. They are always available to support. my little one is super excited to see miss Suzie every morning , She is amazing and caring.

As a parent, leaving your child with someone else is a huge thing, so I wanted to leave an honest review.<br><br>Are they perfect? No. Inconsistent communication and some staff turnover were concerning. But credit where credit’s due—they’ve listened to feedback, made changes, and the improvements in such a short period have been noticeable.<br><br>Our room educators genuinely care. You can tell they know the children as individuals, and that’s something you can’t fake. The other staff are always lovely and accommodating as well.<br><br>The biggest compliment I can give is that my son loves going to daycare. He walks in excited every morning, and as a working mum, that’s the best feeling. Thank you to the whole team for continuing to improve and for creating a place where our little boy feels safe, happy and cared for.

Extremely stressful experience. Do not recommend.<br><br>We stayed as long as we did only because of the previous director, Michael, who was excellent. However, the centre has zero stability (5 director changes in 1.5 years) and serious safety issues.<br><br>We ultimately chose to withdraw due to:<br><br>* Safety & Lack of Supervision:<br>Multiple incidents led to regular doctor visits, antibiotics for severe human bites, and several ER visits.<br><br>* Poor Communication: We were routinely notified of injuries hours after they happened.<br><br>* Gross Negligence: Upon leaving, the centre lost our child's medication, found it, and then lost it again. The Area Manager brushed it off and refused reimbursement. Another departing family experienced the exact same issue with missing medication, missing medical action plan, and overcharging.<br><br>Save yourself the stress and look elsewhere for childcare.

I cannot recommend Mini Masterminds Box Hill due to serious concerns for supervision, management instability, and negligence that my family experienced first hand.<br><br>Do not be fooled by the recent influx of 5-star reviews. This does not add up when the new director has only been in the role for 6 weeks. This does not reflect the reality of the lack of care we experienced and this is evident in similar negative reviews left prior to this. A recent lengthy 5 star review (image below) has been left by a staff member.<br><br>Over our children's 1.5 year attendance, the centre director changed 5 times, with only one temporary director from another MM centre showing true competence. On numerous occasions, our children’s favourite educators had left the centre without notice or explanation, which diminished our children's sense of security and raised concerns for staff wellbeing and retention.<br><br>Major issues we experienced include;<br><br>Safety & Supervision:<br>Our children were involved in 5 separate incidents requiring medical care. This included three severe child-on-child bites requiring antibiotics (two from the same child), a fall from play equipment, and a trip over toys left on a path—both resulting in split lips and urgent medical care (costing us hospital time and lost wages). To make matters worse, staff delayed us leaving for the doctor on the last split lip incident to discuss an unrelated and later disproven incident.<br><br>Privacy Breach:<br>An educator inappropriately discussed our child’s behaviour with another parent in our absence. As a blatant breach of confidentiality, this was our breaking point to withdraw our children immediately.<br><br>Handling of Personal Belongings:<br>Belongings were often sent home with other families due to poor oversight, despite being clearly labelled.<br><br>Lost Medication & Negligence:<br>The centre lost our child’s emergency medication (this was never opened or used) upon our departure. After weeks of back-and-forth, including an email stating it was found, they misplaced it a second time and now have officially refused to reimburse us despite their proven negligence. Where would the medication be found if it was a real emergency?<br><br>Security Flaw:<br>Weeks after leaving, our security access code was still active, allowing us to walk right into the centre to discuss the missing medication—a massive safety breach!<br><br>We cannot recommend this centre to any parent that is concerned for their child's safety and wellbeing. Any centre currently advertising a coffee van for parents and 2 days per week free childcare for 4 weeks must be desperate for enrolments.<br><br>The centre's response fails to address all of these issues clearly, nor what happened to our son's medication when we only attended the centre twice after leaving for the sole purpose of collecting the missing medication. The other review they refer to was left by my wife. We were both clients and as such are both entitled to leave reviews expressing our individual opinions. I am unsure why they have sought to delete my wife's review.

I honestly can’t recommend this centre enough. My son absolutely loves going every day, and seeing how much he’s grown and progressed since starting has been amazing.<br><br>All of the educators are so caring, kind and genuinely invested in the kids. They always take the time to tell me about his day, what he’s been doing, what he’s eaten, how he’s slept, and all the fun activities he’s been involved in. It really gives me peace of mind knowing he’s so well looked after.<br><br>Recently I had some concerns after hearing about an incident at another childcare centre, and I spoke with the director Keely. She was so understanding, took the time to explain all of their safety procedures and the checks they have in place, and answered every question I had without making me feel silly for asking. I left feeling completely reassured and even more confident that my son is in the best hands.<br><br>I truly can’t fault this centre. Every educator I’ve met has been amazing, and you can tell they genuinely care about the children and love what they do. I’m so grateful we found this centre, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to any family looking for a caring, safe and supportive environment for their little one.