Swinburne Children’s Centre, Croydon

The Croydon Centre is situated at the gateway to Swinburne University. It is a non profit organization that services University students, staff and the outer community.

The Centre is spacious and caters for 70 children and their families. There are four children’s rooms, a kindergarden room, a two and a half to three room , an 18month to two and a half room and a ‘six weeks’ to 18 months room that has a large separate sleep area, as well as a separate outdoor environment for the children to play safely. The centre is bright and cheery with floor to ceiling windows that allow for natural lighting within the rooms.

The outdoor environment is attractive with wide verandahs, as well as many naturally shaded areas. In 2005 our Centre has a program to work with children, families and staff to create a sensory environment of gardens and spaces for children to explore and enjoy.

Qualified staff program for each age group by gathering extensive background information, making careful observation and documentation of children. The programs are structured by the children’s interests and incorporate the children’s individual learning styles and needs, they are carefully structured to be age appropriate.

We implement an extensive use of natural materials in our programs; this encourages creative thinking on behalf of the adults and the children and creates many possibilities for open-ended and imaginative play. Natural materials offer an enormous array of textures, shapes, smells, colours and size for children to discover and investigate. Through our use of natural materials we can create many possibilities for discussion, care, exploration and wonder of our environment.

We value family involvement in our Centre, family members are welcome to spend time within the centre, we especially encourage a period of orientation for families and children. In 2004 families were surveyed and chose to provide the food for children’s lunches and breaks, keeping the daycare costs low.

Cloth nappies are supplied by the centre. Disposables can be used; however these are supplied by families. The centre uses natural disinfectants or soap and water to clean.