At Catholic Early EdCare our aim is to help your child grow and blossom. We do this by incorporating the latest early education research and practice into our programs and creating spaces where children can connect, grow and discover.

The early years of education and care are the foundation for every child’s future. At Catholic Early EdCare, we see the early years as an opportunity to instil in children a love of learning and self-discovery that will continue to grow through our prep and primary school partnerships and their further education. In this way we share the aspirations of all families to watch their children grow.

A child's growth in the first five years

In the first five years of your child’s life, you will watch them grow and develop faster than at any other time. In fact, more than one million neural connections per second will be made in a child’s brain up to the age of six, creating the foundation for all future behaviour, health and learning.

During these early years children learn most about their world through their relationships with others. So our educators are committed to building strong relationships with all children so they can extend them and put them at ease in their environment.

We believe play is the most important work of a child and it is also critical to children’s development, helping them build critical thinking, problem solving, self-awareness and relationship skills. So during play our educators will feed your child’s natural curiosity, providing opportunities for them to explore something new everyday.

We understand that your child’s time in our care is critical to their development and our educators are committed to helping them learn and grow during this time.

Discovery

Our teaching and learning philosophy, program and practices give children endless opportunities for discovery. In our natural outdoor play spaces children can create something new every day, from a race track to a fairy garden.

With resources kept at a child-friendly height, they have the freedom to discover new ways to use things while learning to care for and use them well. Our educators will support your child in the discovery process, showing them how to mix paints – while letting them choose the colours, or if they wish to paint with sticks rather than brushes, helping them find the perfect stick. In doing so our educators help children discover new things both collectively and individually every day.

"I'm so grateful to have found St Cecilia’s in Hamilton. As soon as I arrived for a tour I knew it was the right fit for my two year old son. My son is so excited at the mention of going to ‘school’ – he adores his carers and has grown in every aspect of his development since starting at St Cecilia’s."

Simone, St Cecilia's Long Day Care + Kindergarten

Community

Through our school, parish and community partnerships your child will develop a sense of belonging as part of something bigger.

Their regular visits to our local schools and participation in community activities including sports carnivals, book week celebrations and liturgies allow them to form relationships with children of all ages and build confidence in different settings.

These connections also provide unique values-based opportunities for children to grow as they learn about service to the community and the importance of education and care for those in need.