Child care centres

Wendouree Children’s Centre, Girrabanya Children’s Centre and Family Day Care

Centre-based childcare is available for children up to school age, with family day care (offering low educator to child ratios in a home-based environment) is available for children aged up to 12. For more information, contact us on childcare@ballarat.vic.gov.au or 5320 5500.

Our vision is for trusting, inclusive, interconnected relationships between children, families, educators and communities that support children to be happy, safe and to reach their full potential.

Our mission is to provide the children of Ballarat with learning opportunities that provide the best possible start in life through:

• responsive interactions that contribute to healthy brain development
• equitable and inclusive practices that support all children and families to participate
• welcoming and inviting learning environments that excite children towards learning
• programs with a long-standing reputation for quality, delivered by dedicated, knowledgeable professionals
• reciprocal relationships with families that recognise their expertise and their roles as children’s first and most important educators
• meaningful connections with our community as contributing citizens
• planned curriculums that enrich and extend each child’s learning and development.

Steps our services are taking to keep families and educators safe

We continue to review and change the safety steps we have to keep our services running and to reduce the risk of infection. Our daily cleaning includes all inside and outside spaces, toys and equipment, we have more handwashing times for children, increased social distancing where possible, and changes to dropping off and picking up your child. For the latest safety procedures, please speak to the Service Coordinator.

Phone: 5329 1626 (please note this is a temporary number until our regular phone number 5320 8200 is re-instated)
Email: childcare@ballarat.vic.gov.au
Address: 1188 Norman Street, Wendouree (Corner of Hastings and Norman Streets)
Hours of operation: 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)

Wendouree Children’s Centre offers long day care, funded sessional kindergarten, and maternal child health services. The centre is guided by the Early Years Learning Framework and we are driven by our respectful relationships with the children and their families.

The centre has 75 places. Our learning rooms offer personalised care for your child and flexible routines to ensure your child’s needs are met. We respect that all children are unique and have a voice, and that parents are the first educator of their child. We encourage children to learn cooperatively as a community and we actively engage in the learning process.

At Wendouree Children’s Centre, we strive for Excellence in the National Quality Standards.

We provide:

• long-day care with the choice of two session times
• a government-funded sessional kindergarten program with the option of attending before and after kindergarten care
• access to additional parent and child support through on-site maternal and child health services
• excursions and regular outings in our local community including visits to the library and a local nursing home
• a Japanese language program funded by the Victorian Government's Little Languages initiative
• nutritious and delicious breakfasts, lunches, and morning and afternoon snacks
• nappies and sunscreen
• a newly upgraded playground with a mix of natural and purchased play-based elements that encourage children to explore and care for their environment.

We are an active participant in the Achievement Program aimed at creating healthy places for working, learning and living. We have the Smiles for Miles and SunSmart awards.

Phone: 5320 5720
Email: childcare@ballarat.vic.gov.au
Address: 11B Steinfeld Street, Ballarat
Hours of operation: 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)

Girrabanya Integrated Children’s Service provides an integrated kindergarten, long day care service, and an occasional care program.

At Girrabanya, we create a home-like atmosphere where children learn and develop new skills through exploration of learning spaces through open-ended play. Our play-based curriculum is guided by the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the National Quality Standards.

We value flexible routines to promote an unhurried learning environment for our children. We value the many different cultures and backgrounds of our families. We promote a greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with our play spaces, experiences for children, and through our daily acknowledgement to the traditional custodians of the land.

Our aim is to give children the skills and knowledge needed to be enthusiastic and independent learners to enhance their future education.

We provide:

• the flexibility of causal occasional care bookings for morning, afternoon or full day sessions
• a government-funded sessional kindergarten program with the option of attending before and after kindergarten care
• access to support through on-site Maternal and Child Health services
• excursions and regular outings in our local community including nature walks, visits to local fire station, shops to purchase any centre pet supplies, and local schools
• nutritious and delicious breakfasts, lunches (long day care only), and morning and afternoon snacks
• nappies (long-day care program only) and sunscreen
• a playground with a mix of natural and purchased play-based elements that encourage children to explore and care for their environment
• a family-friendly atmosphere with special person’s evenings, grandparents' afternoon teas, and picnic days.

Phone: 5320 5720
Email: childcare@ballarat.vic.gov.au
Address: 11b Steinfeld Street, Ballarat
Hours of operation: 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday

Our Occasional Child Care model offers morning, afternoon, or full day of care:

• morning sessions: between 7am and 12.30pm
• afternoon sessions: between 12:30pm and 6pm
• full day of care: choose up to 10 or 11 hours of care

Running from Girrabanya Integrated Children's Centre, we have a flexible booking system to support parents to meet family needs such as taking a break from the demands of parenting, studying, shopping, keeping appointments, recreation, part-time/casual work hours, socialisation for children and family, leisure pursuits, and voluntary and community work.