Childcare
The Farmhouse has a backbone of traditional values holding honesty, friendship, teamwork and community central to our way of life. We simultaneously provide a ‘modern’ service presenting quality kind-hearted care by passionate educationalists, and excellent facilities complemented by age-appropriate resources.
Available 6.45am-6pm weekdays, 50 weeks of the year
(two week break over Christmas and New Year).
Room to Roam
Australian legislation stipulates that outdoor play spaces provide 7 square metres per child. And most centres provide only this. Bah-humbug to that!
Our children have over 60 square metres per child in the main garden – and yes, all our children can play together at the same time. Why? Because that’s what a community is all about.
Our research to date shows these are the largest outdoor play spaces provided in a childcare environment in the world! Larger than anywhere in Canada, USA, NZ, UK and Europe (we were pretty surprised by that too!).
Oh, and we can see the changing seasons on Mt Buller from our yards too.
Forest School
A Forest School is essentially a wonderfully expansive, natural physical environment where children can experience and learn essentials for life through their proactive interaction, child-initiated discovery, within the realms of a nature-orientated program. There is a growing body of evidence linking the lack of nature in childrens’ lives and the rise in obesity, attention disorders and depression.
The Farmhouse places the children’s well-being first and foremost, both as the child and the evolving adult that they are. We consequently provide and allow children every opportunity to enjoy and incorporate nature into their every day.
Reggio Emilia
The Reggio Emilia approach allows children with opportunities and time to freely experiment, explore, and play, and in turn encourage them to master the many tools and skills of communication, not only through the spoken word but also through other potent languages.
These include expressive languages such as drawing, sculpture, sound, drama and movement; but also metaphorical, symbolic, communicative and cognitive languages. Reggio Emilia values individuality and personal development, and encourages creativity.
Government rebates
The Government provides a Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and is available to all families – the amount you get depends on your circumstances.
Your CCS is determined by the Government and the amount of subsidised care you can access per fortnight applies to each child. The process takes into account your income, the type of care you use, the age of your children and how many hours of ‘recognised activities’ you do.
For more information, and to get an estimate of how much Child Care Subsidy you may get, call Services Australia on 13 61 50 (Monday-Friday 8am-8pm) or visit this link.
