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Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

200 Smith Street, Thornbury, VIC, 3071 view map
Verified
5.0
(03) 9126 0330

Care Type:

Long Day Care

Hours:

6:00am to 6:00pm

Vacancies

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Your enquiry will be sent directly to the Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury.

Address:

200 Smith Street, Thornbury, VIC, 3071

5.0

Rating Score

Read our 28 Reviews

About Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

Welcome to Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury, a spacious and inviting centre, with childhood education programs focused on play-based learning. With a strong focus on safety and wellbeing, we’re proud to be a trusted choice for safe childcare. 

Our Thornbury childcare centre offers:

  • Guardian’s exclusive To BE Me program creates a unique learning adventure for every child. It demonstrates clearly how play connects to learning and development, offering families new insights and a lifelong record of these important years. 
  • Nursery Rooms are our specialty. Our experienced Baby Ambassador and Nursery team take the time to really know your baby’s routines and personality, supporting them to feel safe and settled. Our Nursery rooms are calm, nurturing spaces that feel like a home away from home.
  • By focusing on Nutrition for Life, Guardian gives families peace of mind, knowing their children are developing habits that can set them up for a future of exposure to different foods, good eating patterns and healthy eating. Our qualified cook / chef provides 5 healthy foods every day from our in-house kitchen.  

The Victorian Government offers funding to provide families up to 15 hours of Free Kindergarten a week, in addition to the Childcare Subsidy. The funding offsets the fees for three and four-year-old children that are part of the centre’s long day care Kindergarten program. Families will save up to $2,101 a year for children aged three-years-old and above in eligible long day cares in 2026.

We’re proud to provide the best local childcare in Thornbury, where every child is supported to thrive.  

Begin the adventure at Guardian Thornbury today by booking a tour. 

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Services Provided by Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

State Government Approved Programs

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Get To Know Us

About the Curriculum

About the Curriculum

To BE Me is Guardian’s exclusive learning program specifically designed for each age and stage of your child’s early years.

The program includes resources and tools that support learning and make it easy to see your child’s progress along Learning and Development Pathways.

It groups your child’s learning into seven areas to help you see this progress clearly.
Each of these areas has behaviours or skills that are generally linked to each age and stage.

Children receive their own My Learning and Development Book, which is updated regularly with their progress.

To BE Me is underpinned by Guardian’s world class teaching program that has been developed over many years of research and thousands of hours observing how children develop. 

Programs

Programs

Our Nursery Program is a partnership with your family to ensure every detail of your child’s care supports a healthy, happy baby. 

  • Baby Welcome when you first start. This touches every aspect of their first 12 months in a Centre. 
  • Familiarity with the rhythm of day provides a sense of security and builds self-confidence. 
  • Safe sleep supports physical and cognitive development and emotional wellbeing. 
  • Our Baby Ambassador is your go to person for your baby's first 12 months with us. They will know every detail about your baby. 
  • Specialist Nursery teams are baby specialists and have been trained in Safe Sleep practices for young children. 
  • Nourishing baby menu prepared by our experience Chef / Cook.  
  • Our Nurseries are specially curated environments with age-appropriate resources and a home away from home feel. Dedicated cot areas support sleep time. 
Kindergarten/Preschool Programs

Kindergarten/Preschool Programs

Our bespoke To BE Me program has a two-year Kindergarten/Preschool program that meets the National Quality Standard and the National Quality Framework. It offers the support, structure, and inspiration your child needs to thrive. It is called Flying Start to School.

Our unique program for children aged 3-4 and 4-5 years old ensures they are supported to develop the important emotional, social, and thinking skills they need to make A Flying Start to School.  

Our structured educational program across 7 areas of learning has been carefully designed to meet your child’s individual needs and we use our Development Pathways to ensure it is relevant to your child’s age and stage of development. 

A Flying Start to School is implemented by our University-qualified Early Childhood Teachers in a way that is fun and engaging for your child and includes specific. learning experiences in carefully curated environments that inspire curiosity, collaboration and critical thinking.   

Speak to us about state-based government funding in participating states.  

Health and Nutrition

Health and Nutrition

We believe in nutrition for life, supporting children to develop healthy eating habits from an early age. Qualified Chefs and Cooks in our centres create fresh and nutritious meals each day, using seasonal, high-quality ingredients that align with Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Meals are designed to be delicious, introduce children to diverse flavours, and make eating healthy food a positive experience.

Managing allergies and intolerances is part of how we keep mealtimes safe and enjoyable. Every child’s needs are carefully tracked, meals are supervised by permanent educators, and allergens are strictly controlled.

Beyond providing wholesome food, we use mealtimes as learning opportunities. Children practice independence by serving themselves and engaging in conversations about food, building confidence and understanding of healthy choices.

In Person Tour

Want to see the centre first hand? Book a tour with Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury below.

Fees & Vacancies

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1-2 years

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Pre-Kindy

2-3 years

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Kindy

3-5 years

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Your enquiry will be sent directly to the Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury.

Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury Reviews (28)

5.0

Rating Score

Chelsea Gokcay image

Chelsea Gokcay

Nov, 2025

A really fantastic place where my kid has grown and developed into his own little self. The managers and educators are really sweet and have built a lovely community. I can’t recommend them all enough!

Response from the owner 13 Nov 2025

Thank you, Chelsea, for your lovely review. We’re delighted to hear your child has grown and developed in such a positive environment and that you value the warmth and care of the managers and educators. Building a strong sense of community is so important to us, and we’re thrilled this has been your experience. Thank you for your recommendation!

Tegan Larin image

Tegan Larin

Apr, 2025

We recently withdrew our child from this centre after two years due to serious concerns about decline in quality. Over the past 12 months, a large number of educators, many of them senior and highly experienced, resigned. It felt like every few weeks another familiar face was gone, and turnover became the norm rather than the exception. Despite families raising concerns directly with management on several occasions, little meaningful action was taken. While centre management appeared to listen, it often felt performative, with no real commitment to addressing the issues raised. Although we were fortunate that our child had some truly wonderful educators, the instability caused by constant staff changes and our concerns with centre management made us increasingly uneasy. The centre appears to prioritise cost-cutting measures above the wellbeing of children and staff. The advertised educator-to-child ratio 1:4 (the legal minimum requirement) was rarely seen to be met during morning drop-offs before 9am. It was common to see very few staff struggling to care for large groups of children, making drop-offs particularly stressful. Fees are high, with additional charges still applying for public holidays and centre closures, including Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The swap day policy is so restrictive it is almost impossible to use, yet opportunities to pay for extra days are heavily promoted. Sick day discounts are available but only if you know to ask, nothing is automatically offered. In our view, the centre now operates with a clear focus on maximising revenue, often at the expense of quality care. The vibe is corporate and profit-driven. The mass resignation of experienced educators should be a major red flag for any prospective parent. When staff leave en masse, it raises serious questions about the internal environment. While the centre has brought in new staff, many are very young and inexperienced, and unfortunately, we felt that the overall quality of care has suffered as a result. We no longer felt confident that our child was receiving the care and attention they deserved, and we ultimately made the decision to leave for their safety and wellbeing. I would encourage prospective families to look very carefully before enrolling here.

Response from the owner 13 Jun 2025

Hi Tegan, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re genuinely sorry to hear that your experience at Guardian Thornbury didn’t meet your expectations, especially after being part of our community for two years. We are sorry we were not aware of your concerns regarding staff turnover during your time with us. We’ve consistently shared updates and staffing information with families through emails and Storypark posts, and we continue to have several long-standing educators, including three who have been with us for over 15 years. Our aim has always been to provide a stable and nurturing environment for every child. The team have always made an effort to adjust educator schedules to ensure a familiar face was present at drop-off and personally assisting with morning transitions. We have further investigated rostering at the centre to ensure that we are in line with the ratio regulations at all times. We understand that trust and communication are vital in early education, and we appreciate your feedback as it helps us continue to grow. We wish your family all the best on your journey and hope your child is thriving in their new environment. If you would like to further discuss any of your concerns we welcome you to contact us on 138 230.

Patrick McKenna image

Patrick McKenna

Feb, 2025

We've had 2 children attend Guardian Thornbury over 7 years, and we couldn't be happier with their approach. The centre is well-run and the staff are lovely, but the most amazing thing is that our kids just loved going there! It makes everything 10 times easier when the kids are excited to go and almost want you to leave, so they can get on with having fun :)

Response from the owner 11 Feb 2025

Thank you for such a wonderful review! It sounds like you've had an incredible experience over the years at our centre. The fact that both of your children loved going there really speaks to how special the learning environment is, and how passionate and dedicated the staff are. It makes such a difference knowing your little ones are excited to head off and start their day without hesitation! What amazing peace of mind you must have had! Thank you again, Patrick, for your great feedback!

How Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury Compares

with Thornbury, 3071

Reviews

Above average

Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

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5/5

Suburb Average

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4.6/5

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Price

Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

Contact Centre

Suburb Average

$146

NQS

The National Quality Standard is an industry benchmark defined by the government.

Guardian Childcare & Education Thornbury

Meeting

Suburb Average

Meeting

NQS Rating Breakdown

Overall

Meeting

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Educational Program and Practice Meeting
Children's Health and Safety Meeting
Physical environment Meeting
Staffing Arrangements Meeting
Relationships with children Meeting
Collaborative partnerships with families and communities Meeting
Governance and leadership Meeting

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