What Makes a Good Daycare Centre?

This is a question on many young parents’ lips, as they look to introduce their child to society; daycare is the start of a child’s education in some ways, preparing the child for an early learning program and kids from the age of 3 are considered suitable to start daycare.

In this short article, we take a look at what makes a good daycare centre to help you make the right choice.

• Caring & loving environment – Of course, you want your child to enjoy a caring and loving environment, which should be the very core of a daycare centre. The carers would be a blend of experienced and trainees, people who have been screened and have the right temperament and disposition for working with young children. One fine example is the local centre that offers childcare in Ballarat with a team of experienced carers.
• Indoor soft room & suitable exterior play area – There should be a soft room where kids can get active without the fear of injury. Children should spend at least 30 minutes per day exploring their physical boundaries, under the close supervision of carers, of course.
• Parental participation – A good daycare centre would encourage parental participation; the carer would fill in a small notebook daily, which the parents read and through this, a dialogue can occur. If, for example, a child has a minor issue, the carer would enquire with the parents and together, they can work towards a solution. If a parent has any questions, they should feel comfortable about bringing them up with their child’s carers. You would be shown how to play shape games that you can use to teach your child about geometry.
• Excellent management – Of course, an established daycare centre would have top management to ensure that the daily running of the centre is as it should be. The daycare centre would have firm values and a mission statement regarding the early learning program they run.
• Secure facility – The daycare centre should be secure; parents are issued swipe cards that allow access, while CCTV would monitor the perimeters, classrooms and corridors. Any unauthorised person would not be able to enter the facility and must approach the reception area. Parents must inform the centre in the event they nominate another person to collect their child.
• Regular workshops – Parents would be invited to attend these workshops and carers brainstorm new activities to introduce into the program. Many things can be brought up for discussion and dialogue on how to improve learning outcomes is normal.
• Great reputation within the local community – If a daycare centre has been running for a few years, it will have a track record and that could be good or not so good. Use Google’s advanced search features to find feedback about the organisation and this will help you make the right choices.

It is very important that your child has a positive experience when attending a daycare centre, as this will encourage them to look forward to kindergarten and an early learning program.

We hope this article helps you to gain a deeper understanding of what makes a daycare centre special.