Family: 5 Things To Know When Choosing An Early Learning Centre

early learning centre

If you’re thinking about enrolling your child in an early learning centre, you’ll need to do some research. You’ll want to find the best one for your child and your family, and this means considering a range of factors.

From curriculum and teaching quality to hours and location, here are five things you’ll need to check before making your decision.

#1 – The curriculum is important, but only if it’s the right fit for your child

When you think about enrolling your child in an Early Learning Centre (ELC), you probably consider the curriculum and the activities the centre offers. These are really important factors, but there are also some other things to think about such as:

1. Safety: You need to be confident that your child is safe and secure. The centre should have a sound child safety policy and should ensure that all staff members are properly screened and trained.

2. Qualifications: The qualifications of the staff at the centre should be appropriate for the ages of the children they are working with.

3. Curriculum: It’s important that the curriculum at the centre is appropriate for your child.

4. Communication: You want to ensure that you and the staff at the centre communicate effectively and that they listen to your concerns and suggestions.

5. Environment: You need to feel comfortable and confident that the environment at the centre is safe and nurturing for your child.

#2 – Consider the teaching style of teachers at different centres

There are dozens of early learning centres around Australia each with their own style. Therefore, it’s important to consider the style of teaching at the centre before proceeding further.

For instance, if the teachers are merely reading out from textbooks, then you should reconsider. Given that the entire purpose of enrolling your child in an early learning centre is to give them a head start, if they are not getting personal attention from teachers, it’s probably not worth it. On the other hand, if the teachers are using an interactive approach, it could be a great sign.

When you first start looking for childcare, one of the first questions you’re going to ask is: “What does the centre do to develop kids?” It goes without saying that you want them to learn as much as possible. In the early years, this is incredibly important as they’re developing new skills and learning how to communicate.

The teachers at the centre should be able to explain what they do to engage children and how they stimulate development. Some children may prefer listening more than reading, while others may have more of an interest in physical activities. It is extremely important that your child’s early learning centre has a variety of activities and a variety of teachers to cater to the needs of your child.

#3 – Find out about hours and location 

It’s not easy to find the right early learning centre. Not only do you need to make sure they are providing the best environment for development, you need to make sure the centre is the right fit for your family. From hours to location, there are several things you need to check before enrollment.

#4 – Do you have a backup option in case something doesn’t work out?

As a parent, you always want the best for your child. However, not all early learning centres are created equal, and you may end up with a less than ideal experience that could have been avoided. Make sure to do plenty of research from personal observation and speaking to other parents before make the big decision.

2 Comments

  • Reply paperplane__x Wednesday 22nd August, 2012 at 8:08 pm

    niceee

  • Reply lovelovelove Tuesday 8th November, 2011 at 7:47 am

    Hot shoes!!

  • Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published.