Things That Made Parents Say ‘WOW’ On ECEC Tour | Careforkids.com.au

8 parents share what made them say ‘WOW’ at their childcare centre tour

A tour of your early childhood education and care (ECEC) service gives you the opportunity to showcase staff, facilities, services and programs to a captive and engaged audience of parents. They are a very effective forum for converting lookers into bookers and it’s worthwhile spending a bit of time and thought planning them out.

Parents often say that they make up their mind on which ECEC service to enrol their little one from the ‘gut feel’ they get at the tour. Here we share feedback from 8 parents who the old saying ‘when you know, you know’ definitely rings true. We’ve outlined what made them say ‘WOW’ and decide to enrol their child after the centre tour. 

1. The centre has an outdoor water splash park

‘I’d seen the photos on Care for Kids, but nothing prepared me for seeing the splash park for the first time,’ shares Kate about her visit to Little Giants Oran Park in Sydney. ‘It gets so hot out here, so when I saw that I just knew this was the centre for us.’

2. The centre offers take home family meals for parents

‘I had already fallen in love with the facilities at Little Scholars George Street,’ says Adam about this centre in the heart of the Brisbane CBD. ‘Then they mentioned that they make take home meals for the families and I was sold! It’s such a big help on those crazy nights.’

3. The centre has a whole room dedicated to LEGO play

‘I’d been to a couple of centres and they were starting to blur into one,’ shares Ashley. ‘Then I walked into ToBeMe Five Dock and the director was showing me the LEGO room, the construction room, the gym, the library, the art space…I couldn’t believe my eyes. I wish I could go there instead of my kids!’

4. The centre has native speakers teaching the children Japanese

‘My partner is Japanese so when we walked into Kool Kids Isle of Capri and heard about their Genki Japanese program run by a native speaker, we knew we had found the centre for our girls,’ shares Evelyn. This centre in Surfers Paradise teaches the children all about the culture, food and language of Japan.

5. The centre has a full size rock climbing wall

‘My little boy is absolutely mad for rock climbing, we go to a local indoor place all the time,’ shares Alice. ‘So when I walked into Paisley Park Early Learning Centre Randwick and saw that they had a full sized rock climbing wall I was gobsmacked. I knew my son would be so happy there, and he is!’

6. The centre offers swimming lessons to children

‘We live near the water and for me it’s essential that my children learn to swim,’ shares Will. ‘When my partner and I went to tour Bluebird Early Education Roseville they explained that they offer swimming classes for the older children. That was it for me, I thought that was fantastic and we signed up right away.’

7. The centre has interactive sandbox technology

‘Most child care centres have a sandpit, but this is different,’ explains Lachlan. ‘We walked into Community Kids Caboolture and a couple of kids were standing around a big table covered in sand. But the sand looked like it had moving water and flowing lava from mountains on it. It’s called iSandbox and it’s really interesting technology that they use to teach the kids about ecosystems and changing environments.’

8. The centre has pets for the children to help look after

‘My boys are animal-mad,’ explains Nell. ‘I had seen on Care for Kids that Jenny’s Kindergarten in Stanmore had centre pets so we wanted to go and check it out.  The rest of the facilities were perfect for us, but when our boys got to hold and cuddle a rabbit, we just fell in love with the place.’ 

Before you next take a family on a tour of your ECEC service, consider the feedback above and how you can showcase your service’s unique ‘WOW’ factor.

Names have been changed for privacy.