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Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

21 Selman Avenue, Ferntree Gully, VIC, 3156 view map
Verified
4.0
(03) 9122 8592

Care Type:

Long Day Care, Pre-school

Hours:

6:30AM to 6:30PM

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Your enquiry will be sent directly to the Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre.

Address:

21 Selman Avenue, Ferntree Gully, VIC, 3156

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4.0

Rating Score

Read our 43 Reviews

We went to 5 different childcares before finding Little Charlie's, so glad we found them! The rest were nice but we didn't get that 'warm' feeling we were hoping for, so we were just going to settle with one, until my husband happened to find Little Charlie's. We had a tour and instantly we felt warm and welcomed. Each and every staff member greated us with a smile, the kids looked so happy and our anxiety with leaving our daughter went straight away. It's been a year of care and my daughter loves it there. Don't usually write Google reviews, but I know I relied on reviews when searching for a daycare, so thought it may be helpful to someone.

- Stephanie Orange

Fantastic centre with a wonderful, supportive and caring team that go the extra mile to ensure everyone is well cared for and bring the community together. My son loved the nursery and toddler room staff and built genuine connections. He loved the daily outdoor activities and during his time in the toddler room his speech and knowledge of songs, colours, letters and numbers progressed. Couldn’t recommend Beth and the team more.

- Andrea Ingham

Our grand children have been here for a while now. Our daughter is very happy with the friendly staff and environment. Recently I had the pleasure of dealing with the Centre Director Beth Hopper. She is incredibly easy to deal with , kind and willing to help. Thanks Beth for helping us out.

- Daniel Nelson

About Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre is a family-owned boutique child care centre in Ferntree Gully that is staffed with experienced and enthusiastic educators. Building strong relationships with families is their number one priority, to help children feel secure enough to reach their full potential.

Outside in the natural and inviting play areas, the children love the wooden climbing frames, slides, basket swing and bikes. The children also enjoy extracurricular activities such as Bush Kindy where they can explore the natural environment.

The centre cares for children from 6 weeks to school age and is open from 6.30 am to 6.30 pm. It is minutes away from Ferntree Gully train station and local primary schools, and offers easy access to the Burwood Highway and the M1.

Programs:

Bush Kindy program - children have the opportunity to explore the natural environment in their local community and take their learning outside.

Regular incursions - about topics such as sustainability, or from emergency services including police, fire and ambulance.

About the curriculum:

The educators at Little Charlies Early Learning Centre believe that children learn best through play and strive to provide opportunities for children to explore, discover, create and imagine.

They value and understand each child as an individual and recognise that they all have unique capabilities and interests. Educators believe in getting to know each child to be able to provide an inclusive program that supports the learning and developmental needs of all children.

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Services Provided by Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

State Government Approved Programs

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Get To Know Us

What the parents say

What the parents say

As a new mother, I was very worried about leaving my baby at childcare. But from the moment I stepped into Little Charlie's I felt a sense of ease. The staff are incredibly warm, caring and supportive.

I cannot recommend Little Charlie's enough, for parents wanting a safe, calm and caring environment for their children.

Dilini - parent 

Really good environment for your little ones! The educators are super attentive, caring and just overall nice people. My daughter is always so excited when she hears she's going to kindy the next day. Would highly recommend Little Charlie's to all parents.

Dylan - parent 

Little Charlie's is such an inviting and beautiful place for our one year old to be. The team are so loving and caring and take pride in their commitment to care. The nursery team are respectful of our personal family values, and cater to our daughters cues, needs, wants and interest.

She is always provided with high value activities and stimulation that provokes her learning and development. I cannot speak more highly of the whole team at Little Charlie's and their wonderful and thoughtful care they provide. 

Beth - parent

Programs

Programs

  • ​​​​​Bush Kindy program – children have the opportunity to explore the natural environment in their local community and take their learning outside. 
  • Regular incursions - about topics such as sustainability, or from emergency services including police, fire and ambulance.
  • Yoga Classes - children practice mindfulness and moving their bodies during our weekly yoga classes.
  • Little Sporty Legends - children learn about various team sports i.e hockey, football, soccer, basketball.
  • Pram Kindy - Nursery and Toddlers - coming soon!
About the curriculum

About the curriculum

The educators at Little Charlie’s Early Learning Centre believe that children learn best through play and strive to provide opportunities for children to explore, discover, create and imagine. 

They value and understand each child as an individual and recognise that they all have unique capabilities and interests. Educators believe in getting to know each child to be able to provide an inclusive program that supports the learning and developmental needs of all children.

There are four rooms at the centre covering the following age groups:

  • Butterflies - Nursery: 6 weeks – 2 years
  • Wombats - Toddler: 2 years – 3 years
  • Possums - Pre-Kinder: 3 years – 4 years
  • Koalas - Kindergarten: 4 years – school age
Meet the team

Meet the team

All of the educators at Little Charlie’s Early Learning Centre are local professionals who are focused on supporting each child’s emotional, social, academic and physical development.

This service provides a safe, welcoming and friendly environment, and offers a comprehensive orientation process to ensure a smooth transition into care.

The centre encourages and welcomes families to participate in their child’s learning programs and progress within the centre curriculum and events. Being a smaller centre, they’re able to offer personalised service - which means you’re treated as an extension of the Little Charlie’s Family.

Little Charlie’s Early Learning Centre has such a welcoming and community feel to it. Being a small boutique centre the educators know all families and children and have developed trusting and networking relationships that allow us to be able to work together to meet each child’s and families individual care needs. 

The educators here at Little Charlie’s put so much time, care, and appreciation into the work they do every day. They are passionate, dedicated and caring and are focused on providing the best possible education and care for the children.

Programs

Programs

Morning

Stephanie is ten months old and sits down with her friends to enjoy some breakfast. After her cereal she is ready to head outside to play in the sandpit. 

Lunchtime

Stephanie has had her lunch and is now sitting with her educator to read a few books. Soon it will be time to head to the sleeping area for a nap. 

Afternoon

The educators are blowing bubbles for the nursery children outside in the playground. Stephanie catches one on her hand and squeals as it pops.

Fees & Vacancies

Infant

0-1 years

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Friday

$159.7 /day

Toddler

1-2 years

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Tuesday

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Friday

$159.7 /day

Pre-Kindy

2-3 years

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Friday

$159.7 /day

Kindy

3-5 years

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Thursday

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Friday

$159.7 /day

Your enquiry will be sent directly to the Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre.

Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre Reviews (43)

4.0

Rating Score

Runnermum C21 image

Runnermum C21

Nov, 2025

I’m really disappointed with how much this centre has changed especially in the last couple of years. Worse this year still. Many great educators who made it such a positive place have left, and now there seem to be a lot of agency or temporary staff in amongst the regular ones. Management feels absent and unapproachable, and communication with families has really dropped off. Love the educators and you can see how hard they work, often manning the kitchen, cleaning it and cooking meals on top of everything else! Overall, the management comes across as quite unprofessional, and it doesn’t feel like anyone is really on top of things. From my perspective, my child isn’t happy or engaged like they used to be, and the overall care and professionalism have declined. It feels like the focus has shifted away from genuine education and care. We’re over it, the kids seem over it, and honestly, so are many families, including us. We’re now looking elsewhere. They seem completely out of touch with how they are running things and trying to impress there’s “nothing to see here” and “nothing to worry about” but it’s not something I trust anymore just based on everything I’m seeing. The reassurance doesn’t match what we see going on. Edit: I’m also curious to know how existing parents are aware about the Google review- not many parents would be actively on Google reading reviews of a centre they already attend. That’s interesting that “supporting parents” are coming out of the woodwork. I am KIND and I’m also HONEST. If I felt happy, comfortable and confident, I’d say it and give a great review. This supportive parent review reads more like a defence from management than feedback from a parent, which makes it hard to take at face value. Authentic reviews usually focus on the children’s experiences and day-to-day care rather than management’s workload. Edit#2: The use of long dashes in your response highly suggests use of chat gpt (a very common tell tail sign) to write a response for you🤦 which further amplifies distrust. It’s just sad. Nothing pointed out in the response negates the poor service I’ve observed and experienced or excuses it in my opinion. Putting your ex employees in a negative light doesn’t make you shine either. It’s rather pathetic really. Your reasons for staff leaving are different here than in the parent posts which fuels distrust 🤔 -It would be so great if managers had the ability to self reflect and really take on constructive feedback instead of deflecting and excusing every single negative feedback received. There’s just zero accountability with real concerns being raised in my opinion. Lastly, most parents are pretty clued in with what a genuine review reads like and what a disingenuous review looks like. Understandably, a business is going to do what it needs to do but parents are also smart. I genuinely hope that Little Charlie’s decides to take the feedback on board.

Response from the owner 25 Nov 2025

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are sorry to hear that your recent experience hasn’t reflected the standard we work hard to maintain, and we appreciate the opportunity to respond. Because our management team is highly hands-on, we have a strong connection with the children and families and are able to work with families on an individual and personal level. This approach is intentional—we want to be present where support is needed, to strengthen relationships, and to understand the day-to-day rhythm of the centre first hand . While this can sometimes mean we are not always immediately visible in the office, please be assured that all administrative and operational responsibilities are well managed, and we remain fully on top of our office work. Regarding changes in staffing, we have maintained a steady and dedicated team for more than three years. Any educators who have moved on recently were not the right fit for our centre’s values and philosophy, and our priority has always been to ensure that the team working with children reflects the standards and culture we uphold. We understand how important consistency is and we are confident in the strength and commitment of our current team. We are truly sorry to hear that your child has not seemed as happy or engaged as they once were. This is something we take very seriously and we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you privately to better understand your child’s experience and see how we can support them more effectively. In regard to reviews, we want to reassure you that all feedback—positive or negative—is genuine. We have a diverse community of families, and it is natural that some choose to share their own experiences when they see concerns being raised. We do not write or influence reviews, and we value each authentic perspective because it helps us continue to grow and improve. We understand that your trust has been affected, and we never want any family to feel this way. If you are open to it, we would very much appreciate the chance to meet with you, listen in more detail, and work together to restore the confidence and positive connection you once had with our service. Thank you again for sharing your concerns with us. Your honesty helps us reflect, communicate more clearly, and continually strive for the best outcomes for children and families. Beth Hopper Centre Director

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Supportive Parent

Nov, 2025

I couldn't disagree more with these recent negative comments. Management have tirelessly supported the team, families and service at their own cost of time and effort, we have seen that time and time again. We have found that whilst in recent time the industry has taken a blow, the continuity from LC's has provided us with ongoing trust and support in the team. I can imagine it would be hard for management to spread themselves across all needed areas and it is no wonder you have not seen them at the front desk as often as they are hands on supporting their team. I know I can always sort out management when needed, even if that means popping my head in another room from my child to see them. If anything the service has gotten better and better of the years we have been there with our child. Cut them some slack and be kind. If you have an issue chat to them directly as they are very approachable, understanding and proactive.

Anon Mum image

Anon Mum

Nov, 2025

Disappointing. Lack of professionalism from directors. Frustratingly slow to respond to inquiries or they don’t at all. They are rarely ever at the reception desk anymore opting to remain upstairs in the staff only space talking about things that probably shouldn’t be discussed in open spaces. It’s very difficult to find someone to speak to when you need to. So frustrating! I’ve heard disappointing conversations being had up there. It has really gone downhill. Decrease in quality of care in every aspect. Parents do talk to each other. Won’t be re-enrolling or recommending.

How Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre Compares

with Ferntree Gully, 3156

Reviews

Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

Gold starGold starGold starGold starGold star

4/5

Suburb Average

Gold starGold starGold starGold starGold star

4.9/5

View Reviews

Price

Above average

Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

$160

Suburb Average

$142

NQS

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

Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre

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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Little Charlie's Early Learning Centre