Our Vision
Excellence is rooted in our connections: to the community, to the land, and to each other. 

Honouring the Whole Child
Our child-centred program focuses on honouring the whole child: we view children as capable, confident and curious, supporting them to live authentically through their passions and interests, thriving as active members of our community. We prioritise children's sense of belonging, being and becoming by creating spaces where children can holistically engage in uninterrupted deep play, have agency over their environment and take pride in their creativity and work.

Belonging to our Community
It takes a village to raise a child, and we believe, as active members of the community, it is our role to support that village. We want to create a community where families feel valued, seen, supported and safe. Through our open-door policy, our home-like environment and acknowledgement of families as every child’s first teacher, we pride ourselves in providing resources, time and space for every family to contribute to Cressy Road Early Learning, sharing their unique skillsets and passions with the children and educators.

Being the Change
We acknowledge the Wallumadegal People as the traditional owners of this land and consistently embed their knowledge and ways of teaching to guide our own practice. We teach children the First Nations perspective of only taking what we need (and giving more than we take), from our environment and the world, as we work towards reconciliation through our actions. 

Becoming a Beacon for Early Childhood Education
We want to be the lighthouse for early childhood education, guiding the way as we share our passion and practices with families and educators across Australia. Through our actions, we aim to promote inclusivity and respect, give back to our local, and broader community and modelling sustainability be the positive change we wish to see in the world. 

Respecting our Environment
We utilise our environment as a child’s third teacher, combining our natural outdoor environment with a passion for stimulating experiences: promoting safe choices and decision-making, measured risks and independence through play-based learning, empowering children to explore and learn from their environment. 

Building Purposeful Practices
We believe that every educator that steps in to Cressy Road Early Learning is powerful and has the potential to change children’s lives for the better. We share our strengths and collaborate to improve our practice as we strive for excellence. We support our team of passionate educators to have agency over their work, embedding their passions within our program, celebrating professional growth and engaging in purposeful reflective and professional development sessions.

My child attended Cressy Road Early Learning three days per week. It is the only centre in the area that I would recommend. It's very discreet from the front, but wow! It has an unrivaled back garden with chickens, veggie patches, enormous sandpit, amphitheatre and fishing bridge! The play-based programs are fantastic with many extra-curricular programs included in the daily price. Ratios are very low and the preschool program is awesome.

Fiona, parent

Great centre. Caring and clever educators. A beautiful place to send your baby or child. We are grateful to have found Cressy road xx

Terese, parent 

My daughter is now 8 and went to Cressy Rd. One thing I always loved was how immersive the learning was. Whether it was building a habitat, recreating the surface of the moon or just being inspired by nature. She still has the same approach to learning today which was inspired early on.

Tina, parent

Our son has been with Cressy for 2.5 years now. We couldn’t speak more highly of the centre and staff. The centre is a warm, homely environment – exactly the kind of place you’d be comfortable leaving your child. It’s devoid of the tacky flashiness seen in a number of new centres, opting for a more natural and organic environment; lots of lovely spaces to play & an enormous leafy backyard. The staff are warm, professional & importantly treat the children with respect. Cressy embraces play-based learning in its truest sense. Our son loves his Cressy family; we highly recommend it.

Jenna, parent,,

We’ve been at Cressy Road for 4.5 years and when we compared it to other options we preferred the large outdoor spaces and friendly and accessible staff. Our son has thrived at Cressy Road. The support team are always on top of whats going on and respond immediately to any queries which gives us peace of mind.

Christian, Parent

The teachers are incredible and we have been so lucky for our child to make such strong connections. The space is fantastic and the learning was exciting for her. My child has grown in confidence and compassion, developing her conceptual understanding of the world and her place within it. We love the community feel and authentic learning with real world applications.

Elizabeth, parent

Our children have attended this long day care centre since they were 10 months, and the care provided has been consistently excellent year after year. It is a wonderful environment for growth and development with generous indoor + outdoor spaces, including a veggie and herb garden. We have always felt confident leaving our children in such a nurturing setting and would highly recommend this centre to anyone

Neil, Parent

The team at Cressy Road Early Learning was hand-picked to ensure all children build secure, strong attachments with the people caring for them. Many of the educators have been with the centre for a number of years, sharing their diverse cultures and language skills. The team does their best to place children with educators who speak the same home language to support bilingual children and their families. There is a balance of female and male educators at the centre at all times.

Nesha owns and runs the service. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and in English, a Master’s Degree in Psychology, a Post Graduate Certificate in Counselling, a Post Graduate Certificate in Special Education - Inclusive Support, a Diploma in Children’s Services and a Cert IV in Training and Assessment. Nesha is a registered senior supervising psychologist, a longstanding Member of the Australian Psychological Society, and a Justice of the Peace. She is the Vice President of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) and works tirelessly to promote high quality education and care.

Morning

James is two and a half years old and likes to play outside when he first arrives. He and his friends head for the sandpit and start making some big sand dunes for the toy trucks to drive over. They move on to the gross motor play equipment and pretend to drive a big truck to the mud kitchen. In the mud kitchen they dig and scoop using all their muscles and make a muddy stew with bark and leaves, mud and water.... having a wonderful time and learning all the while.

Lunchtime

After a lovely group time with some stories and games, James enjoys a freshly homemade meal with his friends and educators. They help to clean up and love the opportunities to be responsible and part of a team. It's time for a rest where he may sleep or enjoy a quiet creative visualization or some quiet activities.  Recharged, James and his friend Hannah work on some puzzles together. Their educator is on hand if they need some help.

Afternoon

James helps the educators weed the vegetable garden. He pulls some of the weeds out of the raspberry bushes, before picking a few sweet berries to taste test. James heads off to find his friends and they role play a wonderful game over the bridge.