I couldn’t be happier with our experience at Canopy Early Education. From the moment we enrolled, the staff made us feel so welcome and supported. The educators are incredibly kind, patient, and genuinely care about each child’s development and wellbeing. What really stands out is the strong focus on play-based learning, which has helped my child grow in confidence, social skills, and independence. The daily activities are engaging and thoughtfully planned, and I love how they tailor learning to each child’s interests and needs. Communication is also excellent – I receive regular updates, photos, and feedback throughout the day, which gives me peace of mind knowing my child is happy and thriving. It’s clear the centre values strong relationships with families and creates a real sense of community. The environment is safe, clean, and nurturing, and the facilities are fantastic, especially the outdoor play areas. My child is always excited to go in the morning, which says everything. I would highly recommend Canopy Early Education to any parent looking for a caring, high-quality daycare.

Our family had a wonderful experience at this centre before the Canopy takeover. When it was Play & Learn. Cassie and her staff always made the children feel welcomed and cared for. Unfortunately, after the transition, our experience changed dramatically. Major concerns were: • My son was bitten three times within the first week of transition, yet incident reports were not always provided. • When incident reports were eventually provided, some contained information that I believed was inaccurate, including dates that did not align with when incidents occurred and one report appearing to show it had been signed before I received it. • My son’s dietary requirements were not consistently followed despite concerns being raised multiple times. He returned home with stomach issues on several occasions. • I regularly entered and exited the centre without seeing any staff at reception or monitoring access to the building, which raised serious concerns about safety and security. • There were occasions where I could not locate educators or easily obtain information about where my children were. • My son being on the spectrum required consistent support and supervision, however there were multiple occasions where he appeared to be left to play alone for extended periods. He often came home distressed and overwhelmed, and I was concerned that a lack of supervision contributed to him becoming vulnerable to negative interactions with other children. • I collected my children multiple times with heavily soiled nappies that should have been changed earlier. • Bags containing soiled clothing were left sitting in the change room alongside other children’s belongings. • Communication from management was poor and often only improved after I advised the centre that I would be withdrawing my children. • When concerns were raised, I often left conversations feeling unheard and not reassured that appropriate action would be taken. • During this period, many familiar educators and families were no longer at the centre, which further contributed to my concerns. Despite our experience, there was one very positive outcome. We withdrew our children from Canopy and enrolled them at Guardian Childcare & Education Underwood, and it has been the best decision we could have made. The difference was obvious from day one. We went from constantly chasing communication, raising concerns and worrying about our children’s wellbeing to feeling completely confident in the people caring for them. The educators are engaged, the management is visible, communication is excellent and our children are genuinely excited to go to daycare every day. Our son is now supported, understood and included instead of being overlooked. He comes home happy, settled and engaged rather than stressed and overwhelmed. The level of care, supervision and professionalism has been night and day compared to what we experienced previously. In all honesty, I am grateful that our experience at Canopy pushed us to look elsewhere because otherwise we may never have found our children’s new happy place. What initially felt like a stressful decision turned out to be one of the best decisions we have ever made for our family. If you’re a parent questioning whether your concerns are valid, trust your instincts. We did, and our children are far happier because of it.

I had 2 children enrolled in Canopy. They were great when they “Play and Learn, Underwood” until new management took over. Majority of the original staff left and the quality of care dropped to an all time low. My son is also ASD and going from loving daycare to being so scared to enter the doors. Short staff is a common occurrence and multiple times on pick up they had all the children from babies to pre-kindy ages in the one room. I sent a formal complaint regarding my children’s care and got no response until I sent another email stating I’m withdrawing my children due to my concerns. On my exit they then presented me with numerous incident reports they needed signed.

We had a fantastic experience when this centre was run by Play & Learn. The staff were caring, communication was excellent, and we always felt confident leaving our child in their care. We’re very grateful to Cassie and all of the original staff, and a special thank you to Miss Mel for consistently going above and beyond. In the entire year our son attended Play & Learn, we had no concerns at all. Unfortunately, after Canopy took over in February, our experience changed significantly. Within just one month we encountered multiple issues that led us to withdraw our son. Based on reviews of other centres taken over by Canopy, this does not appear to be an isolated experience. Canopy’s communication was very poor, with emails often going unanswered. Each invoice we received contained errors, and there was no effort to investigate or resolve our concerns. A whole month after our son had left the centre, we were contacted by the Area Manager claiming we owed two weeks of fees. We had carefully tracked all payments and knew this was incorrect, yet we still had to spend considerable time providing proof and explaining transactions in detail, despite having raised invoicing issues multiple times since the takeover. We have now finally received confirmation that the mistake was on their end and that no money is owing. It has been incredibly frustrating for this issue to drag on for so long when it should’ve been addressed the first time we raised it. Our biggest concern however, was a serious safety incident where Canopy’s new chef had served our son one of his allergens. The situation was handled poorly by the manager, Ugbaad, who did not seem to understand the seriousness of the incident. We were only notified of the incident on pick up, and as it occurred on a Friday she advised that the incident report would be completed the following week, which showed extreme lack of care. We also received an email from her referring to his EpiPens as “epilepsy medication.” There were too many instances of poor communication, administrative errors, and lack of care around safety for us to feel confident continuing at the centre.

My partner and I are so happy we chose this daycare for our daughter. She is almost 1 and has been going here since she was 6 months old. I was so nervous to go back to work but knowing she is taken care of and having fun here puts all my worries at ease. Special mention to Miss Mel and Miss Tuti, they are so lovely and caring. The new director Ugbaad is nice too, very quick to get back to you and solve any issues.

Great staff, great environment. Definitely recommend.

We’ve had such a lovely experience so far. From the moment we walked in, the team made us feel incredibly welcome and at home. It really put me at ease knowing my daughter is going into such a caring and supportive environment. The staff are kind, approachable, and genuinely invested in the children. We’re really looking forward to starting our journey here!

Absolutely amazing centre, the centre director Ugbad has been nothing but great to my family and I since commencing in February. My nieces love attending this centre!!

Awesome centre. My daughter loved going here before she went to prep. Staff are very professional and ethical. I would recommend you send you child here.