Your child’s first day

Our Early Learning Services team are here to support you and your child through the settling-in period for your child’s first day and weeks to follow at our child care and early education centres. 

All children react differently; some easily adapt to new environments, while others are unsure. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to make the settling-in period easier on yourself and your child.

How to prepare

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your child’s first day. 

Familiarise your child with their new centre.

Prior to your child’s start date, drive past the early education and child care centre wherever possible and show your child where they will be attending. Talk about the experiences they will have and the new educators and friends they will meet, along with the new learning resources and toys they will be able to enjoy.

Buy a bag and label it.

Let your child help to pack it and teach them to recognise their ‘own’ bag. Label all clothing, hat, and shoes (this helps both us and your child).

Stay and Play.

To ease your child in to the centre and familiarise them with the new environment, you and your child may also like to visit the centre for short periods before the actual starting date.

What to bring on your child’s first day

Here is a list of items you will need to bring to our child care and early education centres so that your little one is ready to go from day one:

Backpack 
Water bottle
Hat
Spare change of clothes, including socks and underwear 
Comfort item, child’s favourite toy or blanket

Our Family Support Team are just a phone call away to help answer any questions you have about your Early Learning Services centre.

Let us help you

Our educators will work in collaboration with you to learn as much as possible about your child and their routine. This includes understanding who is in their family, their interests, sleep times, eating habits, and further information so we can extend your home environment into our child care and early education centre to make it a seamless transition for your child.

Settling in your child

The first days and weeks transitioning into a new education and care environment can be exciting and enjoyable, yet also worrying and stressful for both children and parents. Building relationships with educators and adapting to a new environment can take some time, however there are some simple strategies to assist with a smooth transition.

How to prepare

Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your child’s first day:

A positive, consistent morning routine assists children to feel relaxed, prepared and ready for their day ahead. Establishing a predictable daily pattern of eating breakfast, adding comfort items to their bag, brushing hair and cleaning teeth assists young children to recognise they are preparing to attend the centre. Speaking positively about what is new and exciting at the centre is reassuring for your child through this transition time and beyond.

In the first few days, spend some extra minutes with your child in their room to show them you are comfortable and confident in the environment. Read a book or engage in an activity together with your child to help them feel comfortable and secure. Share information with educators to provide consistency between home and care routines.

Let your child know you are leaving and will be coming back. A consistent approach to saying goodbye is helpful for your child to learn to predict when you will be leaving. You may choose a special place with your child where they settle before you leave.

We recognise this can be an emotional time for both children and parents, and we will provide the support required for your child to settle into our centre. While some children will embrace their new environment with eagerness and enthusiasm, some will be more apprehensive, which is common.

We encourage parents to contact our team at any time during the day to ease any concerns. As your child begins to feel more confident and comfortable in their new surroundings, a more efficient and confident drop-off routine will soon emerge.

We look forward to welcoming your family at one of our centres to see how we can work with you and settle your child into their new routine.

We are proud of our reviews

"My daughter has been attending this service Full time for the past year and I cannot thank the Educators and Management enough. I’m overwhelmed with level of education and care my daughter receives each day. I travel 30 minutes each day just to bring my daughter to this service and although it would be easier to move closer to home I just cannot imagine finding high quality care like this else where."

Rose Garden Epping Early Learning Centre

Ethan Cox

"We recently moved to this suburb and enrolled our daughter in this centre for 3 days. Totally impressed by the amount of care given to each child. Several activities planned out for each week and my daughter had a smooth transition. The carers are warm, caring and friendly."

Earth Kids Early Learning Centre

Sicily Debnath

"Lovely educators, in-depth learning program and lovely environments- inside and outside. My little boys’ loves being in the cub’s room."

Fraser Avenue Early Learning Centre

Maddison Richardson

"My daughter loves Conder ELC. She is always smiles at drop off and pick up and loves the educators and all the fun things she gets to do throughout the day. I love getting the news and photos each day and the staff are always very caring and friendly."

Conder Early Learning Centre

Bec J

"My children have been going to Little Angels since a very young age and they love it! All the educators and staff are fantastic and truly love their job."

Little Angels Early Learning Centre

Flor Levy

"Great centre very professional staff my daughter always has a ball."

Welly Road Early Learning Centre

Peter Angrove

"Our daughter has been at Zebra for almost 12 months and she absolutely loves it. The staff build great relationships with the kids and are always striving to teach them new things. My daughter is excited from time we walk in to drop her off right through to when we pick her up. The team do a great job."

Zebra Early Learning Centre

Rosalie Liston

"Very friendly, fantastic management and staff. Always helping hand and amazing with the kids. Kids love to go to daycare. Also very clean and girls very friendly, real good communication with staff members and management."

Mount Sheridan Early Education Centre

Patronella Tas

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