Pelican Early Learning Cairnlea

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Pelican Early Learning Cairnlea Centre overview
Pelican Early Learning Cairnlea Centre highlights
- Our centre proudly offers the VIC Government-approved Kindergarten program as part of our enhanced learning program. Our Kindergarten program supports your child's learning, development and well-being, to help ensure a successful transition to school.
- Our community engagement program encourages our children to interact with and discover their local community. We often welcome visits from community services and adventure outside the centre on excursions that complement and enhance their learning experiences.
- We have purpose-built indoor learning environments that engage and encourage children's curiosity, offering opportunities to utilise natural resources for learning and development at every age-appropriate stage.
About Pelican Cairnlea Long Daycare and Kindergarten
Welcome to Pelican Cairnlea. We are conveniently located for families in or commuting through Cairnlea, Derrimut, Deer Park, Saint Albans, Albanvale, and Kings Park. Many of our Children go on to attend local schools such as Cairnlea Park Primary, supporting a smooth transition to school.
We offer nurturing care and quality early education for children from 6 weeks to 6 years, with flexible hours (9, 10, 11, and 12-hour sessions) to suit busy families.
Our Learning Environments
Our children benefit from familiar faces as they grow, creating a sense of continuity:
- Nursery (0-2 years): A safe, nurturing environment for babies to explore with tailored sensory and social experiences.
- Toddler (2-3 years): Play-based learning encourages curiosity, confidence, and social skills.
- Kindergarten (3-6 years): A stimulating learning environment that prepares our children for school through our Enhanced Learning Program.
We’re proud to have qualified teachers and educators, supported by a team of national education experts, ensuring the highest quality childcare and early education.
Innovative Early Learning Programs
Our teachers deliver the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF or the national curriculum) through play-based learning that covers language, literacy, numeracy, STEM, social, and emotional development. Our program also includes:
- Rhythm and Movement for Self-Regulation (RAMSR), an evidence-based program developed by Queensland University of Technology to support children’s executive function and self-regulation.
- Environmental and social sustainability learning experiences.
- Personalised learning plans for each child.
- Local school connections.
We focus on strong family partnerships through regular learning and development conversations with your child’s lead educator, learning showcases, and in-centre family events. Our Xplor app provides real-time updates and learning summaries daily to keep you informed on your child’s journey.
Fees & Vacancies
Pelican Early Learning Cairnlea Service features
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Get to know us
Kindergarten/Preschool Programs
Kindergarten/Preschool Programs
Our centre offers the Victorian Government-approved ‘Kinder: Best Start, Best Life’ program for 3–4-year-olds, providing up to 15 hours per week of funded Kindergarten. This program supports children’s learning, development, and well-being, setting them up for future success.
Our Enhanced Learning Program for Kindergarten children focuses on:
- Numeracy & Literacy: Developing key skills for lifelong learning.
- Self-Regulation: Fostering emotional control and resilience.
- Social & Emotional Development: Supporting independence and building healthy relationships.
- Creativity & Problem-Solving: Encouraging curiosity and critical thinking.
With extended hours and a year-round program (excluding public holidays), our Kindergarten program is delivered by qualified Early Childhood Teachers committed to supporting your child’s individual development.
Additional Benefits Include:
- Government subsidy: Further reduces out-of-pocket Kinder fees in addition to your eligible Childcare Subsidy (CCS).
- Personalised Learning Plans: Tailored to your child’s unique needs.
- Rhythm and Resilience Program: Music and movement to improve emotional regulation.
- School Readiness: Preparing your child for a smooth transition to school.
We also engage with local schools and provide transition statements, ensuring your child feels confident and prepared for the next steps in their education journey. Stay connected with your child’s progress via our Xplor platform, which offers regular updates on their learning and development.
About the Curriculum
About the Curriculum
“Let the child be the scriptwriter, director and the actor in their own play” - Magda Gerber
Nursery Space: 6 weeks – 2 years
Learning starts from before birth, and our Educators have created a welcoming and nurturing nursery environment where each baby feels safe to explore and discover new things - through their senses, their communication and cues (body language, facial expression and sounds) and through experimentation. On any given day you can see the nursery children engaging in all types of play including sensory play, music time, story time and more. Every day provides a brand new, exciting adventure for our babies to support their development, learning and wellbeing.
Toddler Space: 2 - 3 years
Our teachers and educators encourage the children to learn through play to help enhance their sensory-motor development. This happens through carefully planned music, dance, games, role playing and reading experiences.
On any given day the Toddlers can be seen developing their numeracy by building a tower, sorting objects, pointing and identifying shapes and patterns and participating in counting songs and games.
Children in our toddler space are encouraged to participate in group play. Group play is important as it helps our toddlers develop important social skills such as, turn-taking, developing self-confidence and emotional self-regulation. Our skilled team helps children through talking, planning and role modelling.
Kindergarten Space: 3 – 6 years
Kindergarten is a unique time for learning with peers and developing skills for later learning including confidence and curiosity, important skills for starting school. Our play-based program has school readiness at its core, encouraging active engagement in learning and supporting a range of positive developmental outcomes including resilience, independence, critical thinking and creativity.
The oral language supports literacy learning and a child’s oral language ability is the best predictor for later success in learning to read and write. Hearing the sounds within a language is the first critical step for all literacy learning. Our team supports our Kindergarten children's literacy development by engaging in rich discussions, reading, storytelling, dramatic play and experimentation all of which introduce new vocabulary as part of everyday conversations.
Throughout the Kindergarten year, children use their language to share ideas, ask questions, express themselves, and connect with peers and adults in social settings.
Social-emotional skills, including the ability to self-regulate emotions, are supported through group learning experiences. Our team supports each child’s social and emotional development by labelling and talking about emotions and supporting appropriate responses as together, they engage in new and challenging situations. Our goal in the Kindergarten year is to prepare children and families for a smooth transition to primary school.
Morning
Imogen is 11 months old and enjoys sensory play outside in the sandpit with her friends. She sits near her educator who helps teach her how to scoop the sand into the bucket. Imogen is learning how to dig, carry, and move the sand. She is also exploring texture and learning what happens to the sand when she adds water!
Lunch
Imogen has finished her lunch and is preparing to take a nap. Her educator changes her nappy, prepares a bottle and reads Imogen a story before her afternoon sleep.
Afternoon
Imogen and some of her nursery friends enjoy some story time and songs outside in the shaded garden. They read ‘Peepo’ which is Imogen’s favourite book.
Morning
Lazurus is two and a half years old and loves to start his day at the centre outside on the climbing equipment. His friends join him, and together they pretend to be pirates on a ship looking for treasure. Through this exciting dramatic play, Lazurus is learning about himself and the world around him. Dramatic play is helping Lazurus identify his interests, abilities, likes and dislikes.
Lunch
Lazurus is watering the vegetables in the garden. By doing this, Lazurus is learning the importance of growing and caring for the veggies in the garden. Lazurus picks a tomato from the garden, which the Chef will use to help make Lazurus and his friend’s lunch - Spaghetti Bolognese!
Afternoon
Lazurus enjoys art, and today he is painting a beach scene from a recent family holiday. He adds the finishing touches and sets the painting aside to dry; so that he can take it home to share with his family.
While painting, Lazurus is learning how to express himself creatively and how to convey his ideas and emotions. Painting is also helping develop Lazurus’s hand eye coordination, finger, wrist and hand strength. Making marks on paper is important for self expression as well as later learning.
Morning
Indiana is almost five years old and can’t wait for today’s carpentry experience - she loves building things! Carpentry experiences allow Indiana and her friends to extend their learning through real-life experiences. While participating in carpentry, Indiana is learning to problem solve, experiment and predict. She is also improving her hand eye coordination, manipulative skills and muscular strength.
Lunch
Before Indiana sits down for lunch with her friends and educators, Indiana takes part in the centre’s sports program. Indiana loves sports. Sports helps Indiana improve her flexibility and strength (perfect for growing bodies!). Sports also allows her to practice different skills in a fun and engaging way.
Afternoon
Indiana is off to ‘big school’ next year and she can't wait to start! Indiana and her friends will be visiting the local primary school next week. In preparation for the visit, the class is creating a list of questions to ask the Principal and school children.
Health and Nutrition
Health and Nutrition
Our centre chef prepares and cooks nutritious meals daily, catering to the unique dietary requirements of every child. We believe that by encouraging active participation (such as growing their own fruit and vegetables, preparing, and finally cooking!) children learn to appreciate and understand the importance of healthy eating across a wide variety of food.
Our centre offers seasonal whole food-based menus – created to delight the fussiest eaters.
Meet the team
Meet the team
Hi my name is Stephanie, and I am the Centre Manager here at Stephanie. I have been working in the early learning sector since 2019 and have been at Pelican Early Learning Cairnlea since 2021. I hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care and a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. My experience includes being a Nursery Lead Educator and an Educational Leader.
What inspired me to become an early childhood professional, is the role you play in shaping the lives of young children is enormous! The early years (0 – 5 years) are so important for the cognitive and emotional development of children, and often they’ll be spending a lot of that time with you. Through the relationships, you create with these children you can inspire their love of learning and help them develop those ever-important social skills.
I have enjoyed having an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young children by providing quality experiences that encourage positive outcomes for children’s health, well-being, and learning. I have learnt that all children are uniquely different from personality to developmental stages, observing and planning for everyone provides a challenge but a highly rewarding outcome seeing their growth and development. Children will develop good habits, they will develop literacy and numeracy skills, they will develop emotional resilience, they will develop a lifelong love for learning.
Our team is extremely passionate about creating a centre that is a home away from home for both families and children where our team celebrates the diversity of all cultures. We’re fortunate to have educators who speak a variety of languages including Vietnamese, Macedonian and Hindi, to name just a few. The centre really is an extension of the home environment, and we work in partnership with families to ensure this is the case, understanding each child’s individual needs.
Building good relationships with families involves valuing each other’s knowledge of their child, valuing each other’s roles in their child’s life, trusting each other, communicating freely and respectfully with each other, sharing insights and perspectives about their child and engaging in shared decision making.

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282 Station RoadCairnlea, VIC, 3023

Centre Reviews

The educators made me and my family feel very welcome and always informed me on my childrens day. Both my children were always... The educators made me and my family feel very welcome and always informed me on my childrens day. Both my children were always happy and excited to go running down the hall way into their rooms. Couldn’t recommend them enough. Read more
Thank you for all the wonderful support & care for my two children, it's nice to have someone you can trust with your... Thank you for all the wonderful support & care for my two children, it's nice to have someone you can trust with your kids, while studying and working. Read more
Dear Raquel, thanks for leaving us such a wonderful review. We are thrilled that you loved your experience; our staff will definitely be happy to read what you wrote. We put customer experience and satisfaction as our priority, and your review reaffirms the hard work we put in every day. Kind regards, The Pelican Childcare Team.
I love this place and so does my child. It’s very nice to know that he is in a caring environment while he... I love this place and so does my child. It’s very nice to know that he is in a caring environment while he isn’t home. Read more
Dear Carl, thanks for leaving us such a wonderful review. We are thrilled that you loved your experience; our staff will definitely be happy to read what you wrote. We put customer experience and satisfaction as our priority, and your review reaffirms the hard work we put in every day. Kind regards, The Pelican Childcare Team.