BY BENJAMIN BALK, KINDICARE

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022 

Two Queensland early learning centres have been named national runners-up in the 2022 Kindicare Excellence Awards and tied equal first in the State. Ashgrove Memorial Kindergarten and Goodstart Early Learning North Lakes Winn Street both scored a KindiCare rating of 9.9.

The 2022 national winner was Essex Heights Juniors in the outer Melbourne suburb of Mount Waverley which scored 10.0 to take top honours.

The KindiCare app and Childcare Comparison Website, developed by founder and CEO Benjamin Balk to make the process of selecting a quality early learning centre more transparent for parents, has revolutionised the early learning search journey for Australian families.

The KindiCare Excellence Awards recognise the top performing early learning services across the nation based on their Kindicare Rating. The KindiCare Rating provides a unique score for every early learning service that is based on their current and historical assessment and ratings under the National Quality Framework from ACECQA, parent and community feedback and reviews, the stability and length of operation of the service as well as other characteristics known about a service – providing a comprehensive real time picture of quality and value for money that’s easy for parents to understand.

Ashgrove Memorial Kindergarten offers a preschool and after care program where parents are encouraged to be fully involved in their child’s early learning journey. The kindergarten has been in operation since 1949 and its current longest serving staff member has clocked up 18 years.

Mr Balk says that with the early learning sector facing critical workforce shortages, staff retention is key to families’ satisfaction with the quality of education and care.

“Ashgrove Memorial Kindergarten’s previous director had been with the centre for an incredible 37 years and that longevity has continued under its new director,” said Mr Balk.

Co-director Lisa Cranny says the kindergarten’s outdoor classroom is an oasis in Brisbane where children have a large area of real grass to play on.

“Little legs need to run and we also have a lot of upper body strengthening activities in our outdoor area,” said Ms Cranny. “It’s really important to strengthen a child’s core and upper body strength, because this filters down to their fine motor development and helps them to sit and concentrate for longer periods, which prepares them for school.

“There’s a cave where children need to pull themselves up with a rope, a digging patch for big muscle activities, a fort with climbing and balancing features and a tree for children to climb.”

The after care program at the kindergarten is in high demand due to a growing number of double income families in the area.

“The increasing popularity of after care can be put down to the fact that parents are working longer hours, and we have a lot more working parents in our area,” said Ms Cranny.

“Working parents know their children are in good care, with quality staff to help them transition from the day program to afternoon care, and they know we’re flexible. Sometimes, we get a call during the day from a parent asking for after care that afternoon, and we are happy to accommodate.”

Parents are actively encouraged to spend as much time as they can at the kindergarten.  “Sometimes a parent will book in for a day around their child’s birthday or when they have a morning off work,” said Ms Cranny. “We understand that many parents are busy and we encourage them to come for an hour or a morning if they can’t commit to a full day. The quality of engagement with our children and families is what makes our service special.”

Lowood Early Education Centre and Preschool was the Queensland Regional winner with a KindiCare rating of 9.7.

Mr Balk said that the 2022 KindiCare Awards this year recognised just over 2,000 early learning services nationally who achieved a KindiCare Rating of 9.0 or above. About 10% of services nationally were recognised with an Excellent Award with the top 2% of the nation’s best performing early learning services receiving the newly introduced Outstanding Award for achieving a KindiCare Rating of 9.5 or above.

“It is fantastic to be able to recognise the hard work and dedication of the childcare providers, educators and staff at these top performing centres nationally who strive every day to give the best possible start to learning for children across Australia,” said Mr Balk.

View the 2022 KindICare Excellence Awards Queensland Winners and Finalists >>>