Our centre offers the South Australian Government-approved Preschool Program, providing subsidy up to 15 hours per week for 40 weeks per year for 4-year-old children. Your child will benefit from our enhanced learning program in Preschool, combined with our play-based learning approach, supporting their development and school readiness.

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 daily 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 Jessica, and I am the Centre Manager here at Community Kids Montebello. I started working in early learning in 2010. I joined the team at Community Kids Montebello in 2022. I hold a Diploma in Community Services and have worked throughout the sector in many roles over two states.

I was drawn to this role by my passion for the early years learning and being able to guide our children through their learning. I am very much guided by child led learning and ensuring that I am an active participant throughout the service in children's learning. I strongly believe it takes a village to raise a child and that the community and myself are a big part of each individual child's learning and growth. I am inspired by Reggio Emilia's approach and have followed this teaching style for several years.

At Community Kids Montebello, we believe the best way for children to learn is through play, which is why our indoor and outdoor environments promote discovery, exploration, investigation and imagination with hands-on experiences for children to engage in and enjoy as they develop lifelong skills. With access to a range of age-appropriate learning resources, trained educators, and new experiences among friends, we set children up to thrive in an environment that is dedicated to learning.

We have an experienced and multicultural team with low staff turnover, which enables us to deliver our children's ambitious plans successfully. That is why many of our families stay with us from nursery to preschool years. The team are extremely passionate about creating a child care centre that is truly a home away from home.

We believe we have a real opportunity to shape all the young people we educate and care for daily, which motivates me to do better. We understand that starting at a new centre can be overwhelming and that is why from the first enquiry, we make sure that we address all your questions one by one. We walk families through all the forms and administration that need to be done. These include enrolment forms, Child Care Subsidy (CCS), explaining subsidies, government caps, centre schedules, our centre menu and more.

Welcome to Community Kids Montebello!