REVEALED: Top childcare centres on the Mid North Coast, as recommended by readers

From Thrumster to Laurieton, Port Macquarie and Wauchope – here are the best childcare centres on the Mid North Coast.

Finding the perfect childcare centre for your little ones isn’t always easy. There are many factors to consider before handing over the care of your kids

But don’t fret — there are a whole range of great options on the Mid North Coast, and when we put the call out to name your favourite, there were no shortage of replies.

We spoke with 12 of the centres you recommended in the local area, and delved into their National Quality Standard (NQS) ratings.

The NQS sets a national benchmark for childcare services in Australia, with four different ranks: red (significant improvement required), yellow (working towards NQS), green (meeting NQS) and blue (exceeding NQS).

The NQS assigns a rating based on seven different areas:

• Educational program and practice
• Children’s health and safety
• Physical environment
• Staffing arrangements
• Relationships with children
• Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
• Governance and leadership

If we’ve missed a childcare centre you think should be on the list, get in touch at [e-mail] and we’ll check it out.

Here are the 12 centres that received praise from our readers:

Laurieton Early Education Centre

In operation for a decade, Laurieton Early Education Centre’s main priority is holistic child development.

“Each child develops at their own individual rate and, as educators, we get to work with them and their families on reaching milestones as we build relationships,” Approved Provider/Director/Educator, Julie Davis, said.

“The relationships we make with the children and their families, as we work together to help children as they grow and develop new skills.

“We have so many amazing places to explore, and are lucky to have the support from our families to do this with our children.”

The centre “loves going on excursions”, which they say builds connection with the local community, local landmarks and the natural environment, which is evident in their green ratings for meeting NQS in the categories of relationships with children and collaborative partnerships with families and communities.

Discovery Early Education and Care Centre

Discovery Early Education and Care Centre goes a step above, with a blue rating for exceeding all of the National Quality Standards, including education, health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, family/community collaboration, and leadership.

The facility can be found at 2 Menzies St, Thrumster, and has been in operation since 2016.

“Our centre has a lovely outlook into bushland, meaning that we see many native animals like kangaroos and birds daily,” Educational Leader and Early Childhood Teacher, Aimee Moy, said.

“We have a wonderful relationship with the local Bunyah Land Council and educate the children on caring for our country in all parts of the curriculum.”

Ms Moy said the educators at Discovery are passionate about providing children with the best start to life by making them feel loved, welcomed and valued.

“We create a welcoming environment where all children and families are respected and actively encouraged to collaborate with educators about curriculum decisions in order to ensure that learning experiences are meaningful,” she said.

Smartland Early Learning Port Macquarie

Tony Kee, centre manager of Smartland Early Learning in Port Macquarie, was born into a family of early childhood teachers. He says “the importance of childcare and education was well ingrained early on”.

“From my own experience and training I have always loved tapping into the research around early childhood that shows that outdoor learning (nature play) and quality relationships (attachment) are so beneficial,” he said.

“Early childhood is such a critical stage in our brain’s development that the environment we are in and the people who are around us really shape a time when 90 per cent of brain growth occurs before children start primary school.”

Perhaps it’s this passion to thank for Smartland’s impressive NQS ratings: exceeding overall, and blue in the areas of educational programs and practice, staffing arrangements, relationships with children and collaborative partnerships with families/communities.

Although the centre only opened in February 2020, Smartland has already built a strong support group of what they call “amazing families”.

“The Mid North Coast has always had high-quality early childhood services and we are incredibly lucky to have had such a high calibre team of educators that helped to see us through start-up, accreditation and the ongoing pandemic,” Mr Kee said.

Day Care on Lincoln

The appropriately-named Day Care on Lincoln can be found at 21 Lincoln Rd, Port Macquarie.

The 11-strong team just celebrated their eleventh anniversary on the Mid North Coast.

Strong relationships with the families of the children attending Day Care on Lincoln is the team’s top priority.

“We find good relationships between educators and parents is the best way to help with the kids and it’s something we’re really proud of,” a spokesperson for the business said.

“We’re very open with families with discussions every day, lots of follow-ups, and priority-setting between educators and parents/caregivers at the beginning of each year.”

It’s for this reason the day care has been awarded a green star, meeting the NQS across the board.

Kindilan Early Childhood Centre

This institution was the first community-based long daycare in the Great Lakes area when it opened its doors in 1986.

The Capel St (Tuncurry) centre has remained a local favourite, with their hard work earning them a green NQS rating overall, and a blue rating in the educational program and practice category specifically.

“Our passion is motivated by the desire to make a real difference in the lives of children,” said Dianne Miller, Kindilan’s co-director.

“The outdoor environment is a large part of our curriculum, not only through our ‘Beyond the Gate’ program, but in our large, natural playgrounds where children can adventure, explore and learn.

“We are open to learning new ways of teaching and being with children, advocating on their behalf for the best outcomes for them and their world.

“You also get to encourage, nurture and support positive outcomes in children’s health, wellbeing and learning.”

River Street Early Learning Centre

River Street Early Learning Centre’s Katherine Wilson says the facility has been under their ownership for eight years, but ran as a daycare under different owners for 10 years prior to that.

The centre performed well in their NQS assessment, achieving green across the board.

“Early childhood is where we have the opportunity to show children their worth!” Ms Wilson said.

“To teach them that there is no limit to their abilities, we set them up to be confident in the classroom so that they believe in themselves.”

Relationships are the focal point for River Street Early Learning, closely followed by natural pedagogy.

“We believe children and their families cannot feel comfortable and learn until they have formed a strong relationship with educators,” Ms Wilson explained.

Lilly Pilly South Early Learning Centre

Lilly Pilly South Early Learning Centre meets all of the National Quality Standards, including education, health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, family/community collaboration, and leadership.

The centre is located in Toormina at 42 Amaroo Cres.

“The children are what drives my passion for early childhood – to watch them achieve, grow, develop their own personalities and their ability to learn so quickly,” director Moira Pratt said.

“To provide them with a stimulating and educational yet caring environment to ensure that the children are safe, secure and learn to the best of their ability.

“And it’s all done alongside educators that also have the same drive, respect and values as I do.

“We are not just a centre, we are the village that families can rely on for their child’s health, safety and wellbeing.”

Joey's House Early Education Centre

Joey‘s House Early Education Centre was also awarded the highest rating, a blue star, overall.

The Centre is located in Port Macquarie on Warlters St.

The facility scored top marks in six of seven categories including education, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, family/community collaboration and leadership.

For the children’s health and safety category, they received a green for meeting NQS.

The team at Joey’s House also pride themselves on offering innovative, inclusive and responsive early education and care services.

TG's Child Care and Preschool

TG’s established their first childcare centre in Wauchope in 1998 and have since grown to have multiple centres in the town as well as one in Armidale, one in Harvey Bay and one in Uralla.

The High Street facility offers above-standard care, with a blue star overall rating.

Education, relationships with children, community/family collaboration, and leadership are the four areas TG’s performed exceptionally in.

Gayle Kee, the owner and approved provider, said the team is very focused on making the children feel included.

“We have a beautiful, inclusive playground, creating an inviting environment, and then we support that by ensuring our team feels empowered,” Ms Kee said.

“Everyone we employ wants to be involved in making a significant, positive difference in the lives of young children.”

Lake Cathie Little Learners

Lake Cathie Little Learners only opened their doors about six months ago, so haven’t received a NQS rating yet.

They were approved to open, but have not been assessed at this stage.

However, that doesn’t make the centre any less valuable to the local community.

“I’d love to give a big well done to the incredible team at Lake Cathie Little Learners,” commented one Mid North Coast reader.

The business is very proud of their outdoor playground, in which every feature is a learning tool for the natural environment.

This encourages the children to learn and explore the world through their five senses.

Kempsey Children’s Services

This facility met all the NQS, earning them a green star overall.

However, they especially excelled in staffing arrangements, for which they were awarded a blue rating.

Robyn Edwards, the centre’s director, said this is the result of an exceptional staffing system.

“Communication is a big part of it, but we also employ above-ratio numbers of staff,” Ms Edwards said.

“For example, in our preschool houses, regulations state there needs to be three staff in every room – we have four in each, which also means the ratio is maintained at all times, even when people leave for lunch or any other reason.

“We also try to have another person on wherever possible, so there’s someone there to help out if any of the children need extra support.”

Goodstart Early Learning

Goodstart has three centres on the Mid North Coast, — Kempsey, Taree and Port Macquarie.

All establishments are performing at, or above, the National Quality Standard expectations.

Taree, located at 24 Robusta Prd, received a blue star overall; Kempsey, situated on 14-16 Kemp St, met NQS and was awarded a green star overall and Port Macquarie, on 10 Emerald Dr, also received a green star overall, with blue ratings in education and staffing.

“It is an honour to see children grow and develop throughout their time at our centre and then to continue to see them in our community when they move into formal schooling,” Goodstart Early Learning Port Macquarie director Rebecca Webb said.

“Our centre’s main priorities are inclusion and developing strong relationships between children, educators and families – we continually focus on each child’s individual needs and work on developing a strong, secure relationships.

“We implement a key educator model in all rooms of the centre, which ensures children settled quickly and families feel supported in their child’s early learning journey.”