Childcare centres in North Queensland Ranked

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With parents across North Queensland attending childcare/preschool orientations this week ahead of 2022 enrolments, we have compiled a list of childcare centres that have been rated by national quality standards.

The C and K Ayr Community Kindergarten is one of the many childcare centres/preschools in North Queensland that have been given an “exceeding rating” by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.

The body assesses childcare centres on seven criteria – education, health and safety, physical environment, staffing, relationships with children, partnerships with families and communities, and governance and leadership.

Amaya Raitelli, Tait Parker and Adelyn Goggie. Picture: Satria Dyer-Darmawan

The categories are marked as either “significant improvement required”, “working towards national quality standards (NQS)”, “meeting NQS”, “exceeding NQS” or “excellent”. Each centre is graded an overall rating.

Director of C and K Ayr Community Kindergarten, Wanda Guy, said it was affirming to know that they are on the right track.

The community kindergarten, which has an emphasis on outdoor play, believes learning is a partnership between teachers, children, parents and communities.

“We’re a centre that always strives to keep looking for new ways of doing stuff with the children,” Ms Guy said.

“Our educators are always doing professional development, so they know the latest research and the latest trends in early childhood education because it does change.

“We embed learning into their play rather than having us come in with our ideas and push them on the children.

Adelyn Goggie, Tait Parker and Amaya Raitelli. Picture: Satria Dyer-Darmawan

“Nature play builds in all the dispositions for learning, we are educating children for a new 21st century way of learning,

“We’re looking at building the dispositions for learning. So it’s being able to collaborate, teamwork, resilience to actually try again, if something doesn’t work, to problem solve, and be a divergent thinker.

“When we take them outside of the fence, and we do a nature play program, all of those things are being built into it.

“It’s all about building in that self resilience, that reliance and responsibility,” she said.

Ms Guy said the feedback from parents has been supportive and said they were amazed at what their kids can do.

“We haven’t had any parents pushing us to be more directed or structured in our learning, they’re actually quite happy, and they can see the growth in their children,” she said.

Of the eight childcare centres in the Burdekin given a NQS rating, two were given a “meeting” rank, three were awarded with “working towards” and three were ranked as “exceeding”.

SEE THE FULL LIST OF CHILDCARE CENTRES BELOW>>>

Originally published as Childcare centres in North Queensland Ranked