Our centre offers the VIC Government-approved ‘Best Start, Best Life’ Kindergarten Program.

Our centre offers the Victorian Government-approved ‘Kinder: Best Start, Best Life’ program for 3–4-year-olds, providing up to 15 hours per week of funded Kindergarten. This program supports children’s learning, development, and well-being, setting them up for future success.

Our Enhanced Learning Program for Kindergarten 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 Kindergarten 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 Kinder 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 regular 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.

Kindergarten Space: 3 – 6 years

Kindergarten 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 Kindergarten 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 Kindergarten 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 kindergarten 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 Rachael, and I am the Centre Manager here at Nurture One Cowes. I began my career in early childhood education and care in 2019 and started working at Nurture One Cowes in 2019. I hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care and I’m trained in First aid and Anaphylaxis; I also have a Diploma in Nursing with over 8 years’ of experience.

Completing my diploma and starting work in early childhood increased my knowledge in childhood experiences, stages and development and the important role educators play to support and enhance children’s learning. As a parent myself, it is very rewarding to be a part of a child’s and their families support network.

I believe that children thrive when they feel safe, secure and supported to learn through play, have fun, be inquisitive and express themselves. Each child is unique, with that in mind we aim to support children as they learn about their strengths and continue taking on new challenges by providing a rich environment and activities that are interest based as part of our program.

Some of life’s hardest challenges, give the greatest reward. As educators we are lucky enough to see children face challenges nearly every day, support them and share in their achievements. Some children are with us from as little as six weeks right up until they are ready to start school. Those first years go so fast, it is a privilege to be a part of it.

Our passionate and trained team of educators work closely with each other and families to provide engaging experiences that are carefully chosen to be fun for play based learning. Our programming has a collaborative approach to incorporate the Early Years Learning Framework and Learning Outcomes. Most of all, children are building friendships and learning together in a safe and supportive environment.

Each member of our team brings something different, with their diverse backgrounds, links to our local community and creative ideas but together we have a shared vision and philosophy to support the children in our care through their journey to belonging, being and becoming.

We aim to form close relationships with children in our care and their families. We do this through open, honest communication, listening to concerns, seeking feedback and working together to achieve the best outcomes possible.