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Valuable insights from our Parent Survey

Thank you to all parents who recently completed our Cire Children’s Services parent survey, where we asked for feedback regarding participant families’ experience using our early learning services.

The feedback has been incredibly insightful and will inform our customer experience strategy at Cire Services.

The survey signifies the launch of our customer experience program and will be administered after each term. We were encouraged by the level of engagement with 30% of parents responding and hope to build on that number by demonstrating our commitment to listening to our families.

What We Measured
In the survey we asked parents how likely they were, on a scale of 1-10, to refer their centre to a friend or colleague. The results were used to calculate a Net Promoter Score (NPS) for each centre based on the percentage of parents who fell into one of three categories:

  • Promoters respond with a score of 9 or 10 and are typically loyal and enthusiastic about the service.
  • Passives respond with a score of 7 or 8. They are satisfied with the service but not happy enough to be considered promoters.
  • Detractors respond with a score of 0 to 6. These are unhappy customers who are unlikely to recommend the service to others.

The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. Additionally, we measured how satisfied parents were for the following experience drivers:

  • Variety of learning
  • Quality of learning
  • Educators/staff
  • Visibility of learning
  • Presentation of facilities
  • Communication

We also asked how happy and comfortable the children have been with attending our service this term and if there was anything parents would like to share about their experience.

Our Results

The NPS across all our services was 46.6, with our top-performing centre scoring 72. An NPS between 30 – 70 is considered great and anything above 70 is excellent and performing well above industry comparisons. The score we have received in this survey will provide us with a benchmark for our customer experience strategy.

Parent Survey

 

 

We were delighted to see that for most experience drivers, over 80% of parents were satisfied with our services in Term 2.

Valuable insights from our Parent Survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And over 80% of the children were happy to attend and were comfortable with our team.

 Valuable insights from our Parent Survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, our educators received 5-star ratings from over half of the parents, which is a testament to their dedication to providing positive learning experiences to the children.

 

 

 

 

 

Improvements
In our commitment to providing positive experiences, parent comments and satisfaction scores have helped us highlight areas of improvement:

  • Increase the visibility of learning across all our services.
  • Improve communication practices in services with lower-than-average scores.
  • Improve on all experience drivers for Vacation Care and Outside Hours School Care.
  • Staff consistency and retention.

Next Steps
A variety of strategies are being planned or are already in place for addressing the areas of concern from parent feedback. Already completed is the Chirnside Park playground upgrade much to the enjoyment of children in kinder and occasional care.

Further, about 70 staff are to be trained in Reggio Emilia early learning practices – a student-centred approach that uses self-directed, experiential learning in relationship-driven environments. The major principles which underpin the approach are an emergent curriculum, in-depth projects, representational development, and collaboration. The adoption of this approach will enhance the visibility of learning and communication between educators and parents.

As the launch of this survey forms part of our organisation-wide customer experience program. The feedback will be input into user dashboards for our services to access and inform how they design experiences. The experience management platform provides our teams with insights into what we are doing well, opportunities for improvements and what experiences are important to our families.

 Valuable insights from our Parent Survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are very grateful for the level of participation in the parent survey and for the positive feedback our educators and staff have received. Early learning is an incredibly important element of child development and something our entire team is passionate about.

Your feedback helps to ensure that we design positive experiences for your family and continue to provide great learning experiences for the children.

Cire hosts inspiring NAIDOC Week program

Cire hosted a rich program of events and activities to mark NAIDOC Week 2021, give voice to First Nations People and contribute to healing country by acknowledging how we can take care of the land, the seas, the people and the Country.

Our core services worked together to present the week-long offerings, commencing with an opening Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony at Chirnside Park Community Hub and concluding with a Didgeridoo performance at Mount Evelyn Children’s Centre. Yarra Junction Community hub showcased an exhibition of Indigenous art work and encouraged visitors to participate in creative activities while other sites incorporated NAIDOC Week and its 2021 theme of Heal Country into their learning programs. Some sites offered refreshments featuring Indigenous-inspired food further encouraging people to connect and reflect, share, learn and heal.

People of all ages and backgrounds participated and supported what was on offer supporting showing respect for the past, present and emerging First Nations People, the oldest continuous civilisation in the world dating back some 60,000 years.

NAIDOC Week 2021 was held from 4 to 7 July, during the school holidays and fortunately between lock downs in Victoria. Some of our activities were made possible by special NAIDOC Week funding through the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)

At Chirnside Park,  Uncle Dave performed a traditional Welcome to Country and Smoking ceremony, Emmy from Warrack Yambo told dream time stories and helped create little echidnas out of sticks and clay, and local Indigenous woman Sandy Mayberry organised a display of beautiful hand-made artwork. Those present then worked together to create a map of Australia with their handprints in the colours of the aboriginal flag to signify unity. The children also played a traditional aboriginal game called Koolchi. Children from Cire’s Out of School Hours Care vacation program also joined in as they were fortunate to attend the Chirnside Park opening event as an excursion.

Yarra Junction Community Hub was transformed into a gallery for the week featuring informative, cultural posters and Indigenous First Nations artwork. Other activities included a display of living native plants that could be touched and researched to see how Indigenous people’s use/d them, colouring activities and worksheets, map and location scouting activities, translation sheets, and a published Indigenous book about our local area. More than 35 people enjoyed a morning tea of wattle seed damper, lemon myrtle biscuits, lemon shortbread, and dairy free/gluten free shortbread.

Mount Evelyn Children’s Centre hosted a special day on the Friday to conclude Cire’s official NAIDOC Week activities. The program included a Welcome to Country by Aunty Kim Wandin, a descendent of the Wurundjeri Tribe, born and raised nearby at Healesville, and with family links to the Corranderk Aboriginal Station in Healesville. Aunty Kim shared her story and pathways to heal her Country and also her history. It was a moving Welcome, in which she shared a gum leaf and by accepting the leaf those present promised to be positive advocates and allies for the First Nations Peoples and help care for their Country.

The Kookaburra children performed their Acknowledgement to Country which they do every day in the Kookaburra Room, but it was a particular honour to do so for Aunty Kim and visiting guests from other Traditional Lands around Australia.

Ganga Giri from Didgeridoo Australia entertained everyone with the Yidaki, (didgeridoo), had everyone up and dancing and creating animals and movements and guessing the sounds he was creating. The children were particularly excited to listen to the vibrations of the Yidaki.

To show Cire’s ongoing commitment to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, Children’s Services Executive Director, Diletta Lanciana, explained Cire’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) which will focus on inclusive and educational programs and practice and building capacity and understanding among educators.

Cire supports many events throughout the year, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram find out what’s on.

 

Cire kids excitedly repurpose office furniture

Cire Children’s Service and Kindergarten Chirnside Park has quickly put to good and creative use a generous donation of office furniture from Board Chair Julian Carle.

The items were part of a larger “consignment” that was surplus to Julian’s needs after an office relocation. The very generous donation included storage unit cubes and office furniture which is being shared across Cire’s core operations

Children’s Services was particularly thrilled to receive the cubes for its kinder and occasional care rooms at Chirnside Park.

One of the cubes is being used in the kinder room to showcase some of the children’s projects, both finished and underway, and also to make toys more accessible and easier for children to choose in which type of play they will engage.

Two others cubes in occasional care are being used as dividers to section parts of the room, and also for storage of toys.

Making toys more accessible and to provide easier selection assists with children’s agency – a term used in Early Childhood that highlights the importance of being able to make choices and decisions to influence events and to have an impact on one’s world. Supporting children’s agency is about recognising that children have a right to make choices and decisions, and are capable of initiating their own learning.

For further information on Cire’s Children’s Services click here.

Magic of giving adds to kinder graduation excitement

Thanks to the generosity of Cire’s Sue West, the inspiring magic of giving added to the excitement of the first group of four-year-olds to graduate from Cire Children’s Service and Kindergarten at Chirnside Park.

Proudly dressed in graduation robes and caps, the nine children were thrilled to welcome Sue, who sponsored their academic regalia, to their graduation ceremony on 17 December.

The group was the first to graduate, ready for school next year, with Cire commencing the Children’s Service and Kindergarten at Chirnside Park at the start of 2020.

Aware that the service didn’t have any graduation gowns, Sue generously covered the cost with part of her prize money as a finalist in the 2020 Learn Local Awards. Sue, a trainer with Cire Training, together with student Haylee Mackintosh, were among the top three finalists in the state for the coveted awards in their respective categories.

Executive Manager, Cire Children’s Services Diletta Lanciana said Sue’s generosity was overwhelming yet very much in character. Sue is a dedicated member of Cire Training’s team and always helping others to achieve their best. She is particularly passionate about First Impressions Clothing Exchange (FICE) for women who are long-term unemployed and/or needed extra support, and empowering women to be financially literate and secure.

Graduation is an important milestone for children and even more so this year with all the disruptions and challenges of 2020.   When asked how they wanted to mark this special event, the children said they wanted a graduation ceremony, explained Diletta. They subsequently worked together to plan the ceremony with the gowns being a big part of the celebration.  The celebration featured a Yarning Circle with the children presenting a song and dance for their families about what they want to do when they grow up. The children were very excited to wear their gowns and hats and to receive their certificates.

In addition to Chirnside, 14 children have graduated from the Yarra Junction service ready for school in 2021 and three from Mount Evelyn.

“Due to COVID and the financial challenges that 2020 brought Chirnside didn’t have is own set of graduation gowns and hats,” Diletta explained.

“We have a set of gowns at Yarra Junction that we would normally share with all services but this year we needed each service to have their own to allay any fears about COVID and to ensure we are COVID-safe.  Thanks to Sue this was possible.”

Sue said she decided to donate because COVID restrictions and lockdowns have been so hard for everyone. She believed such a gesture would bed a real boost for the children and their families.

”I was overwhelmed to be nominated by Cire Training and named a finalist in this year’s Learn Local Awards. It seemed right to share this achievement with another Cire service.”

Sue said that it was incredibly rewarding to work for Cire, especially at FICE where women are able to work towards reaching their own personal goals through friendship, mentoring and training. Every day she feels blessed to be able to help other women reach their true potential.

FICE has quickly gained momentum, recognition and support since its establishment mid last year. In addition to the hundreds of women it has assisted, including Zoom sessions throughout COVID restrictions, it received a CommBank Staff Foundation Community Grant through the Mooroolbark branch to cover operation costs in 2021, a Yarra Ranges Council for Community Grant to launch a pop-up shop in 2021, and a council small grant for a fashion show on 12 February 2021.

Of significance, Sue recently became a grandmother for the first time.

“It will be so exciting to watch my beautiful granddaughter Ainsley grow and achieve many milestones through life including graduating from kinder to ‘big school’.

If you would like to know more about our early childhood education programs click here.

A note from Cire Children’s Service at Chirnside Park

Sessional Kindergarten

We are now taking enrolments for our three-year-old and four-year-old kindergarten programs for 2021. (We also still have limited vacancies for 2020)

Kindergarten is a significant step for young children, with research showing that two years is better than one, highlighting the importance of both three-year-old and four-year-old kindergarten in a child’s preparation for school. The Department of Education and Training states that “Children who go to a kindergarten program are more independent and confident and are more likely to make a smooth transition to primary school (prep).”

Our kindergarten programs offer the opportunity for excursions to our Yarra Junction bush block providing a bush kinder program where children are able to explore natural environments.  We also visit the local library, CFA and other places based on the program.  These experiences, along with a wide range of incursions including Dental Health, Pet Care, dancing, yoga and music, enhance our curriculum which is based on the Early Years Learning Framework.

Through play and intentional teaching, children learn to explore, discover, negotiate, take risks, problem solve and develop a broader understanding and curiosity of the world around them.

Both our three-year-old and four-year-old kinder programs also offer after kinder care in our Occasional Care room providing flexible options for families.

Occasional Care

Our Occasional Care program offers families flexible childcare opportunities with several different session times available.  You can make a permanent or casual booking – it is up to you.

This allows you the flexibility to attend appointments, work, study or just have some time for yourself while your child enjoys interacting with other children and learning through play.

In Occasional Care, we also follow the Early Years Framework and create learning environments that allow children to explore, create, imagine and discover.

We welcome you to come and take a tour of our children services at Chirnside Park Community Hub.

Diletta Lanciana – Executive Manager – Cire Children’s Services

Cire Kids Hub is a Hit

Lights, camera, action

Cire Children’s Services has gone virtual in a big way in response to COVID-19 restrictions, as well as remaining open to continue to deliver long day care, occasional care, kinder and outside school hours care, particularly for essential services workers and other parents needing support.

The new virtual persona of Children’s Services has topped the charts, unexpectedly showcasing some amazing extra-curricula talents among our educators and staff, as well as keeping engaged and connected, youngsters unable to physically attend our sites at Chirnside Park, Mount Evelyn and Yarra Junction, Badger Creek and Woori Yallock.

Drawing on their previously untapped talents, and taking the plunge for some, the educators have been extremely creative and resourceful in using Facebook posts and videos and creating our own YouTube playlist to deliver a raft of exciting initiatives.

Cire Kids Hub is a HitThe virtual initiatives include our recently launched Cire Kids Hub featuring videos of educators presenting a range of activities such as storytime, with a special session on the significance of Anzac Day and making playdough with rosemary; singing; Spanish and Japanese lessons; and craft projects for children and parents to do together including making worry dolls to help children identify and manage any concerns. Educators have even combined their culinary expertise for a cooking session focusing on healthy lunch box ideas and eating habits that would have sent high profile master chefs into a frenzy of envy. Since the launch of Cire Kids Hub, our Facebook engagement has increased by over 60% so we know video is the best way to engage through social media.

 

Executive Manager of Children’s Services, Diletta Lanciana, said she was extremely proud of how the Children’s Services team has risen to the challenges of COVID-19 restrictions to keep young children engaged and connected.

“They have provided invaluable support to children, their parents and their families at a time of great need,” she said.

“Our centres have remained open positioning our staff as frontline workers providing an essential service during the pandemic. They have been extremely professional and have followed closely all recommended practices to ensure the safety of children, families and educators.”

For those children unable to physically attend the centres, the fact the directors have been delivering online helps provides a reassuring level of normality.

Children’s Services Compliance Director Mel Saaghy-Walsh has herself become a fan.

“We know we have lots of clever and talented educators but when they step out of their comfort zones and become involved in something like this, that’s when you really see them shine even more,” Mel said.

“I enjoy watching everyone’s clips and can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Meanwhile, one mum said:

It is so exciting for our child to see her educator, Anna on Facebook. She really enjoyed the story of the apple and couldn’t wait for me to cut the apple in to show a star pattern.”

Other Children’s Services initiatives have included:

  • contacting families who aren’t attending to see how they can be best supported while they areCire Children's Services Apple Week 2020 at home
  • supporting families with resources and referrals
  • offering extra days of care for families who are essential workers or vulnerable
  • craft packs for families who may not have access to craft items at home
  • Just before the COLVID-19 restrictions, Finger’s Orchard at Launching Place donated apples to Children’s Services to distribute and whet the learning appetites of youngsters for a special program focusing on healthy eating and fresh fruit production. In learning where the apples came, the children were introduced to a broad range of other topics including an appreciation of other cultures with the orchard employing a team of pickers from Vanuatu.

Mother's Day gift - thanks to Good360Other benefits to families experiencing extra challenges due to COVID-19 have included items from Good360 which distributes new and surplus goods donated by its network of Australian manufacturers and businesses.

Children’s Services educators made up ‘Little Cups of Care’ with a range of items from Good360 for children to give to their mums/carers on Mother’s Day.  A large donation of Quilton toilet paper was also distributed to families across

Click here for further information on Cire Children’s Services and to book a tour.

Little Cups of Care overflow with Mother’s Day joy

‘Little Cups of Care’ gave local mums momentous pleasure on Mother’s Day, as well as great joy for the children delivering the surprise packs, thanks to an initiative by Cire Children’s Services.

With donations from the Good360 network, Cire staff made up almost 200 care packs so childcare services and Out of School Hours Care children could give their mums some unexpected ‘thank you’ treats for Mother’s Day.

‘Many of our mums are doing it tougher this year because of COVID-19. We made up the packs because we wanted to do something special for them and show our care and support,’ said Diletta Lanciana, Executive Manager, Cire Children’s Services.

‘Also, with the majority of children remote learning, many of the traditional Mother’s Day stalls were not held at schools, or the children were unable to attend.’

Many families in the Yarra Ranges have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and some of the goods in the care packs were a small way of helping to reduce financial pressures.

Little Cups of Care overflow with Mother’s Day joyThe packs included an assortment of make-up from NYX, Argan and L’Oreal; often the last items on a shopping list. The ‘Little Cups of Care’ was overflowing with blush, eyeliner, anti-ageing eye cream, lipsticks and glosses, Colgate toothpaste, Banana Boat sunscreen, a Jamie Oliver cup, and beautiful ribbon.

Good 360 is a not-for-profit initiative that helps match make surplus new goods with Australians facing challenging life circumstances. The goods are donated to Good360 by socially responsible companies and distributed by registered NFPs like Cire.

Cire has received a diverse range of items valued at several hundred thousands of dollars that benefit those who access services and programs through our core operations: Cire Children’s Services, Cire Community School, and Cire Training and Hubs.

Little Cups of Care overflow with Mother’s Day joy

Amanda Quilty (Director of our OSHC programs) putting the packs together

A bit of history about Mother’s day

Mother’s Day is an occasion which is celebrated in various parts of the world to express respect, honour, and love towards mothers. The day is an event to honour the contribution of mothers, acknowledge the efforts of maternal bonds and the role of mothers in our society

Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honour of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as ‘Mothering Sunday’.

American Anna Jarvis is also credited for a designated day to celebrate Mother’s Day. In 1908, she held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. … In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honour mothers.

Brooke shares spirit of NAIDOC and beyond

Wurundjeri educator, Brooke Wandin, recently injected special meaning into 2019 NAIDOC Week at Cire Children’s Services with an engaging session that captured the hearts of her young audience and staff.

Brooke is from the Woiwurrung speaking Wurundjeri-Wilam clan. Her family has been living in the area we now know as the Yarra Ranges for countless generations. Brooke introduced herself and greeted us in Woiwurrung and then shared some family photographs.

The children were particularly enthused when Brooke taught us a welcome rhyme and a wonderful Wurundjeri song which we are using to start our daily mat time. We have continued to share them with their inclusion at the end of this article.

Brooke read a beautiful story, “Wilam – A Birrarung Story”, which is illustrated by Indigenous artist Lisa Kennedy and written by respected Elder Aunty Joy Murphy and Yarra Riverkeeper Andrew Kelly.

The book captured the story of Birrarung (also known as the Yarra River), its history, the flora and fauna that live alongside it, from its source to the function it performs as a part of modern-day life. The following excerpt highlights the spirit of the book:

As ngua rises, Bunjil soars over mountain ash, flying higher and higher as the wind warms. Below, Birrarung begins its long winding path down to palem warreen. Wilam – home. 

As part of her engaging session, Brooke also taught the children a fun “traffic light” game, where each colour was written in Woiwurrung. Red meant stop, yellow meant slow and green meant go. To finish off her visit, Brooke showed the children some fantastic Woiwurrung language cards of Australian animals, such as bunjil the eagle, waa the crow, ngarrert the frog, gurrng-gurrng the kookaburra, and marram the kangaroo.

Links to the Early Years Learning Framework
Brooke’s visit was particularly relevant in the context of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), as well as respecting our rich Indigenous heritage:

EYLF Outcome 2– Community:
Children discover and explore some connections amongst people and explore the diversity of culture, heritage, background and tradition and that diversity presents opportunities for choices and new understandings

Children become aware of connections, similarities and differences between people and listen to the ideas of others and respect different ways of being and doing. Children notice and react in positive ways to similarities and differences among people

EYLF Principles: Respect for Diversity
Educators recognise that diversity contributes to the richness of our society and provides a valid evidence base about ways of knowing. For Australia, it also includes promoting a greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being.

EYLF Practices: Cultural competence
Educators who are culturally competent respect multiple cultural ways of knowing, seeing and living, celebrate the benefits of diversity and have an ability to understand and honour differences. This is evident in everyday practice when educators demonstrate an ongoing commitment to developing their own cultural competence in a two-way process with families and communities. Educators also seek to promote children’s cultural competence.

The following are Brooke’s welcome and Wurundjeri song:

Brooke’s welcome:
Hello land (touch floor)
Hello sky (hands up)
Hello me (hug self)
Hello you and I (stretch arms out to greet friends).

Wurundjeri song:
We live on Wurundjeri land,
We live on Wurundjeri land,
Thank you Wurundjeri people
For taking care of our land!

We play on Wurundjeri land,
We play on Wurundjeri land,
Thank you Wurundjeri people
For taking care of our land!

Cire Children’s Services is one of the four core operations of Cire Services Inc.

We proudly operate a range of quality children’s services at multiple sites across the Yarra Ranges in order to meet the needs of the diverse communities we serve.

We program include long day care incorporating a funded kindergarten program, occasional care, outside school hours care, vacation care and playgroups.

We provide opportunities, skills and support for both children and families.  We believe in the individuality of each child and promote a holistic approach to education and care which encompasses the overall health and wellbeing of every child who attends our services.

Muddy puddle fun to help children worldwide

Yarra Junction Children’s Centre recently participated in the “Peppa Pig’s Muddy Puddle Walk”, a virtual event for children, families and organisations to help children worldwide caught up in the horrors of war and natural disasters.

The annual Save the Children Fund initiative gives our children the opportunity to experience the joy of giving to others while also learning about children around the world and their challenges.

Muddy puddle fun to help children wordwideCire’s whole centre, from the nursery room to the kindergarten program, participated in the fund raiser through an engaging program at our bush block organised by our wonderful educators. From water play, to muddy puddles to exploring our world with curiosity, wonder and interest, Peppa’s Muddy Puddle Walk was a great way for our children to be active and to connect and experience with their natural environment.

The children were really engaged and had a great time playing and discovering new things in their surrounds such as insects, plants, leaves and branches.

The Save the Children Fund runs programs in Australia and around the world dedicated to helping children access education and reach their full potential. Whether in a remote part of the world, in a refugee camp or after a natural disaster, the organisation ensures children can continue to learn in a safe and positive environment.

In recognising how education in the early years impacts on how a child learns and develops, the fund’s key priorities focus on strong literacy and numeracy skills.

The fund facilitates training of teachers and offers support and professional development to ensure children receive the best education possible:

“We believe every child deserves a healthy start to life, an education and the chance at a better future. But millions of children around the world are missing out through no fault of their own.”

Apart from the fun of being involved, supporting the Muddy Puddles Walk helps provide education and opportunities for better outcomes to children who may be experiencing turmoil in their lives from crisis such as war and natural disasters.

As Save the Children states, “Education can be a powerful catalyst for change. It brings hope and a sense of normalcy, even in the most unusual circumstances”.  At Cire, this is something we really believe in and this supports our vision “to enhance the lives, capabilities and opportunities in our community”.

For further information about this fantastic cause, visit Muddy Puddle Walk

If you would like to know more about Cire Children’s Services click here or call 1300 835 235

Cire’s Gumboots Playgroup now available in Healesville

Thanks to a grant through FRRR’s (Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal) Grants for Resilience and Wellness Program (GR&W), families with pre-schoolers in the greater Healesville area are connecting with and supporting each other through the Badger Creek Playgroup.

The supported playgroup aims to engage and promote inclusiveness and connectedness among local families. The much-needed initiative, funded by FRRR over a two-year period, is part of Cire’s very successful Gumboots playgroup program across several sites in the Yarra Ranges.

Badger Creek facilitator Sarah Anastasio said that some participants, particularly those who live in more rural areas, have benefitted noticeably since the playgroup was launched at the Badger Creek Primary School earlier this year.

‘Some parents said previously their children did not socialise much due to where they lived.  At Badger Creek Playgroup, they have become more confident in their interactions with other children and adults,’ Sarah said.

Badger Creek is a great addition to Cire’s popular Gumboots Program and overall mission to meet the needs of children and their families within our reach.

Cire’s playgroups include:

  • Gumboots at the Upper Yarra Family Centre at Yarra Junction and at Little Apples Playgroup at Gladysdale Primary School, as well as Badger Creek
  • an unstructured playgroup at the Cire’s Yarra Junction Community Hub
  • a Parent-Child Mother Goose Program to commence in July. Funded by the Helen Macpherson-Smith Trust, the program will be delivered at Millwarra Primary School campuses at Millgrove and East Warburton and at the Yarra Junction Community Hub. Parent-Child Mother Goose is a particularly engaging program which strengthens attachment and interaction between parents, carers, and youngsters through the pleasure and power of thymes, songs and stories.

For further information about our playgroups, please contact Cire on 1300 835 235.

Having access to playgroup is vital to building and strengthening communities.

For children, it provides them with the opportunity to learn, experience a, investigate and interact with their environment. It offers them experiences to think, plan and create, do and find out. In a playgroup context, quality early relationships are fostered with trusted adults, providing the framework for early years’ development and learning.

Supported playgroups in particular offer parents and carers valuable support and resources and a source of information when facing parenting challenges and related issues and isolation.

Playgroup empowers and encourages parents to recognise the role they play in their child’s development. It allows them to take time out of a busy, to slow down and enjoy playing with their child, to watch and delight in the amazing steps their child takes while making sense of the world around them.

Cire Children’s Services is one of the core operations of Cire Services, one of the largest not-for-profit organisations serving the Yarra Ranges and beyond.

Cire Services core operations are:

  • Cire Children’s Services delivering long day care including integrated kindergarten programs; occasional care; outside school hours care as well as other services including playgroups.
  • Cire Community School, a positive alternative to mainstream education for secondary school students.
  • Cire Training, our Registered Training Organisation (RTO) offering accredited/pre accredited short courses.
  • Cire Community Hubs offer a diverse range of programs and services.