Brighton Beach Early Learning Centre

At Brighton ELC, we strongly believe that, as Early Childhood Educators, we need to advocate for all children in our care. We want to build strong relationships with our families so that we can work together, in partnership, to support each child in meeting their fullest potential. 

We acknowledge that children are competent learners and we endeavour to build an engaging learning environment that draws on each child’s unique ability.

At Brighton Beach Early Learning Centre, the children enjoy additional programs with specialist teachers coming into the centre as part of the daily fee. Some of the programs include: 

• Music and movement
• Sport 
• Art 
• Science / STEM  
• Bush & beach kinder
• School readiness program
• Languages including Mandarin
• Mindfulness, yoga and wellbeing. 
• Cooking

The curriculum at Brighton Beach Early Learning Centre is underpinned by the National Early Years Learning Framework and inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach. The Reggio Emilia Approach views young children as curious about the world around them and as capable and confident individuals. 

There are five light filled classrooms and separate sleep rooms for the younger children to rest throughout the day. The natural outdoor playspaces allow children to connect with nature, play with water and sand, climb on rocks, tree stumps and tyres, grow plants for smelling and tasting, observe insects, animals and birds, nurture and observe worm farms and compost areas, hide away in a teepee and much much more.

The children are cared for in the following rooms: 

Bilby room: 5 months - 18 months
The Bilby room partakes in a lot of sensory activities; this age group loves to explore different textures. Artwork is something that is done daily, which they usually incorporate with messy play. The home corner is a permanent and very popular area in the room. The home corner is filled with kitchen toys and food.
Musical instruments, transport and dinosaurs are also out quite often in the Bilby room. The activities/resources that are used daily are usually reliant on which children attend on which day and their current interests. 

Wimbi room: 18 months - 30 months
The Wimbi room enjoys a lot of sensory activities such as playdough, slime, and mud experiences. In this age group, role playing is very common, many different themes are set up with the appropriate resources such as, café/bakery/doctors etc. This age group also partakes in a lot of art and craft activities. They participate in several different artworks for the week, as well as craft that supports fine motor skills.

Barramail room: 2.5 years - 3.5 years
The Barramail room partakes in a lot of construction-based activities such as Lego, Mobilo and magnetics. This room often uses recycled resources such as cardboard boxes, milk bottles, tissue boxes etc. to construct resources and artwork.  The Barramail’s love to get messy during art and craft time, they participate in a lot of hand/finger painting and free form artwork. Imaginary play is popular, with the home corner being the busiest area of the room. They have previously set up ice cream shops and grocery shops, equipped with shopping trollies and baskets. This room participates in cooking experiences on a weekly basis.

Gawa room: 3 years - 4 years pre-kinder
The Pre-kinder room’s most popular area is the home corner and dress up. The children love to role play with all the different costumes that are readily available. The children partake in art and craft activities on a daily basis with both planned artwork and free form artwork. Different kinds of construction experiences are often set up in the room as the children are engaged and focused on this activity. The Gawa room also has at least one problem solving activity present at a time, this would include, but not limited to; puzzles and scavenger hunts. The Gawa children participate in several different external programs such as sports, yoga, music and a computer program.  

Dururu room: 4 years - 5 years kinder

The 4-year-old kinder room has a lot of school readiness embedded into the program. They have a daily activity which consists of them ‘signing’ into the room, teaching them word formation and the use of capital and lower-case letters.  The room always has a literature activity set up in the room, to assist with the school readiness program. The Dururu’s have a lot of construction activities out on the mat which the children enjoy for long periods of time. This includes Lego, Connectors, Magnetics etc. The Dururu children participate in several different external programs such as sports, yoga, music, and a computer program. 

Brighton Beach ELC and its sister centre Brighton ELC are highly regarded in the local community for fostering meaningful long term relationships with the families due to their extremely low staff turnover and for providing a warm nurturing environment.

The centre offers free orientation sessions to new starters,  which are designed to efficiently help a child settle into their new environment.  They also work hard to  prepare children for school entry, liaising with each family’s chosen Primary School to ensure that each child meets or exceeds the school’s prerequisites for entry.  

I feel very lucky to be leading such an amazing centre. The majority of our Educators have been here long term, 5+ years which I believe says a lot about the environment. They all go out of their way to know children not only within their own room, but throughout the centre so that all children feel comfortable with all Educators and have a sense of continuity. The dynamic of the Educators, children and parents is one of a large extended family, and we have received many comments from first time visitors that they sense this feeling. I get a lot of joy seeing the team of Educators celebrate children and their achievements, and making the centre feel like an extension of their home.

Gabriella Brown, Centre Manager, Brighton Beach Early Learning Centre 

Brighton Beach ELC has been my second home since 2016. I have grown so much both professionally and personally since the first day I started. I have been given so many opportunities to extend my skill sets as an Early childhood teacher and an Educational leader. The staff are lovely and we work amazingly well as a team. 

We value strong and positive relationships with the families and communities which we have been building for years through lots of special events, parent-teacher interviews and daily interactions. 

Building secure and positive relationships with the children is essential. I love all the little stories that they share, being able to explore their minds and watch them grow. Being able to make a difference in the most important years of life of the children is truly a gift. 

Marie - Educator

Brighton Beach ELC is a friendly and inviting place to work. I have been employed here for 6 years and couldn’t think of being anywhere else. We have been a childcare centre for over 23 years and still have some employees remain since the day we have opened. The staff have strong relationships with the children and families, always ensuring that families have a voice at BBELC, which is valued and understood. 

Each room has a unique plan designed for their children’s interests and development and documents each child’s personal growth and observations. We understand that each child is different and is in different developmental stages in their lives.

BBELC has been a great learning curve for me, I have gained so many skills and have been given endless opportunities to participate in personal development and training. 

Cassie - Educator

At Brighton Beach Early Learning Centre, the children are provided with fresh, nutritious and creative meals that expose them to the broadest range of flavours, textures, ingredients and cultures.

The centre’s qualified chef uses high-quality, fresh ingredients and a broad range of flavours to create meals that meet and exceed the latest nutritional guidelines for children in care. The menus change every six months and offer a wide selection of fresh fruit and raw vegetables with morning and afternoon tea, as well as steamed, fresh vegetables at lunchtime. As an allergy aware centre, the educators are equipped to accommodate any dietary requirement.

All of the meals on the centre’s menu go through the ‘food checker’ which is a  resource that allows the educators to enter in all the ingredients and quantities, to determine the nutritional value of the meal and whether the children are receiving the right amount of food groups needed. This allows them to then add or remove elements of the meals to ensure they reach the requirements. 

Some of the children’s favorite meals from the menu are beef burritos, minestrone soup, fried rice and salmon patties. The centre invites families to share favourite home recipes which can be tried at the centre and added if it turns out to be a hit with the children (as well as meeting nutritional guidelines).