Maiden Gully Early Years Hub

Our belief, supported by current research, is that the first thousand days of a child’s life are critical in determining their future successes. 90% of a child’s brain is developed within the first 5 years of their life. Our educational programs are delivered through intentional play based activities that aim to improve each child’s learning and development in the following key areas:

• Social skills – how to play co-operatively with other children, make new friends and to problem solve and find positive solutions,
• Provides opportunities for language, literacy and numeracy skills in an authentic setting,
• Exposes children to new ideas, concepts and critical thinking,
• Promotes self-awareness and an understanding of their own feelings,
• Develops a respect for others and empathy towards them, and
• Develops a sense of community and respect for all cultures, with a specific focus on embedding Aboriginal perspectives and developing a respect for Aboriginal cultures.

Our aspiration for the Early Years Hub is a journey taken over many years which involved visiting many other services both state and interstate. Shine Bright facility will provide high quality kindergarten and stimulating educational environments within long day care programs for the local community. Each room will be run by a qualified teacher and have an educational program. Our learning environment will inspire wonder, creativity and shared learning.

The Maiden Gully Early Years Hub will offer 2 onsite Maternal and Child Health Nurses, Allied and Medical staff to support the children and families. By having these practitioners on site it is envisaged that early assessment of developmental issues, intervention and support will be offered as a wraparound service model for children and their families. This model of education and health provision is strongly supported by the Victorian Government and identified as best practice by early year’s research. It will allow for synergies in case management where dialogue and information sharing between medical, health and education professionals can easily occur to promote the best outcome for each child and their family. This approach is unique and definitely the first kind within regional Victoria!

The facility is also designed to offer high quality professional development and training opportunities for Shine Bright staff (Bachelor, Diploma & Certificate III) and for non-Shine Bright early years staff. Options to partner with third party training entities such as La Trobe University and TAFE are also expected.

The Maiden Gully Early Years Hub will be open weekdays between 7am to 6pm for children aged between 6 weeks to 5 years old. Kindergarten and long day care services will be provided with a focus on education for all ages.

Download our brochure here or view our Table of Quality here.