Our centre offers the NSW Government-approved "Start Strong" Preschool Program, providing 600 hours of quality preschool education annually for children aged 3–5 years. This program includes fee relief funding to make early childhood education more affordable for families.

Our Enhanced Learning Program for Preschool children focuses on:

• Numeracy & Literacy: Developing key skills for lifelong learning.
• Self-Regulation: Fostering emotional control and resilience.
• Social & Emotional Development: Supporting independence and building healthy relationships.
• Creativity & Problem-Solving: Encouraging curiosity and critical thinking.

With extended hours and a year-round program (excluding public holidays), our Preschool program is delivered by qualified Early Childhood Teachers committed to supporting your child’s individual development.

Additional Benefits Include:

• Government subsidy: Further reduces out-of-pocket Preschool fees in addition to your eligible Childcare Subsidy (CCS).
• Personalised Learning Plans: Tailored to your child’s unique needs.
• Rhythm and Resilience Program: Music and movement to improve emotional regulation.
• School Readiness: Preparing your child for a smooth transition to school.

We also engage with local schools and provide transition statements, ensuring your child feels confident and prepared for the next steps in their education journey. Stay connected with your child’s progress via our Xplor platform, which offers regular updates on their learning and development.

“Let the child be the scriptwriter, director and the actor in their own play” - Magda Gerber

Nursery Space: 6 weeks – 2 years

Learning starts from before birth, and our Educators have created a welcoming and nurturing nursery environment where each baby feels safe to explore and discover new things - through their senses, their communication and cues (body language, facial expression and sounds) and through experimentation. On any given day you can see the nursery children engaging in all types of play including sensory play, music time, story time and more. Every day provides a brand new, exciting adventure for our babies to support their development, learning and wellbeing.

Toddler Space: 2 - 3 years

Our teachers and educators encourage the children to learn through play to help enhance their sensory-motor development. This happens through carefully planned music, dance, games, role playing and reading experiences.

On any given day the Toddlers 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 space 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 skilled team helps children through talking, planning and role modelling.

Preschool Space: 3 – 6 years

Preschool is a unique time for learning with peers and developing skills for later learning including confidence and curiosity, important skills for starting school. Our play-based program has school readiness at its core, encouraging active engagement in learning and supporting a range of positive developmental outcomes including resilience, independence, critical thinking and creativity.

The oral language supports literacy learning and a child’s oral language ability is the best predictor for later success in learning to read and write. Hearing the sounds within a language is the first critical step for all literacy learning. Our team supports our Preschool children's literacy development by engaging in rich discussions, reading, storytelling, dramatic play and experimentation all of which introduce new vocabulary as part of everyday conversations.

Throughout the Preschool year, children use their language to share ideas, ask questions, express themselves, and connect with peers and adults in social settings.

Social-emotional skills, including the ability to self-regulate emotions, are supported through group learning experiences. Our team supports each child’s social and emotional development by labelling and talking about emotions and supporting appropriate responses as together, they engage in new and challenging situations. Our goal in the Preschool year is to prepare children and families for a smooth transition to primary school.

Our centre chef prepares and cooks nutritious meals daily, catering to the unique dietary requirements of every child. We believe that by encouraging active participation (such as growing their own fruit and vegetables, preparing, and finally cooking!) children learn to appreciate and understand the importance of healthy eating across a wide variety of food.

Our centre offers seasonal whole food-based menus – created to delight the fussiest eaters.

Hi my name is Carley, and I am the Centre Manager here at Great Beginnings Kariong. I started working in Early Learning in 2006 and started working at Great Beginnings Kariong in 2021. I have a Diploma of Children’s services and currently working towards Early Childhood Teaching degree.

I always had an interest and passion to explore the career path of Early education. Assisting with the development of the young minds of the future was what drove me to pursue this path in life.

In my time working in child care I have learnt that children are all individuals. I view them as capable and confident young learners that should all have the opportunity to feel supported and valued throughout their learning journey. This guides my teaching style as I want every family to feel respected as we deliver a high-quality program for all who attend the service.

Having your child be a part of an Early Education service environment sets them up for lifelong learning. The skills they develop throughout their time at our centre supports their resilience, social and emotional intelligence along with a true sense of self and environmental awareness. They build positive friendships and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be supported by their educators and peers. We aim to provide a great partnership between the home and care environment.

Great Beginnings Kariong team demonstrate a true understanding of children’s needs and abilities. We have embedded practices and a programming that suits all children specifically. The educators have a deep understanding of the Early Years learning framework, and we have this embedded in our curriculum of practice. The children of Great Beginnings Kariong drive the projects of interests and facilitate their own learning through open ended experiences.

We best support our families by beginning with a long orientation period. Families are offered time to spend with their child in our service to ensure they have built a strong connection with their educators and the environment before they are ready to explore on their own. We also offer a transition to school program which begins from our 0-2yrs room. We want every child to eventually move on from our service and go into the next chapter of their lives as Primary school students being the best versions of themselves. We can only achieve this by having a strong partnership with our families and local community.