ABOUT US
Learn all about Dinky Di Early Learning Centres Located on the Central Coast of NSW
ABOUT US
WHY FIT IN WHEN YOU WERE BORN TO STAND OUT
The origin of what has become ‘Dinky Di’ began back in 2004, when our Founding Director, Ty Blanch laid the first stone of his brand new, ‘state of the art’ Child Care facility in Morisset. The brand was in part inspired by the legendary Steve Irwin, and whilst the name ‘Dinky Di’ is synonymous with Australia and all things honest and genuine about our amazing country, the fact that ‘Dinky’ is an anagram of ‘Kindy’, made the name all the more appropriate. We provide premium quality care at an affordable price, and pride ourselves on ensuring we stay the best provider of learning spaces and care in each area, (not necessarily the biggest).
In 2009, Ty partnered with fellow Directors Michael and Darren to operate a second centre ‘down the road’ at Lake Haven. By keeping our focus on the care and education of the children entrusted to us from our wonderful families and driven by a group of highly qualified, caring and motivated Nominated Supervisors and Educators, Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centres now offers care and education to the communities of Morisset, Lake Haven, Tumbi Umbi, Terrigal and surrounding suburbs.
It is definitely all about the people at Dinky Di! We cannot speak more highly of our wonderful and talented group of Educators and Nominated Supervisors. These ladies (and a couple of gents!) have been ‘hand picked’ by our senior management team and are the most important ingredient in creating the perfect loving-learning environment for your children.
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales”
We can all dance when we find music we love
Animals, plants and reverence for all life in general are important to us. Music also holds a special place in our hearts at Dinky Di. Not only because it is amazing and fun for the children to learn with music in the centres, but because we embrace the research that shows how the brains of little children develop differently when they are surrounded and enveloped by music as often as possible at a young age. At Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centres our ECT’s continually develop and revise the learning programs to connect the emotional and logical sides of our children’s brains so that they will be able to ‘learn everything in a better way’ as they grow and enter the world.
Please read – click here
Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centres are proudly owned and operated by local families, for our local families. Each of our unique and beautiful centres are not part of an enormous corporate machine being driven by a distant group of people for company profits. Our Management Team comprises 11 local families who have 20 children combined between them – and growing! That is an important reason why we understand children and what they need to fully develop into the little souls they already are!
Children must be taught how to think not what to think
BE SILLY BE KIND BE HONEST
It is our mission to create the best environment and most wonderful opportunities for all of the children entrusted to us within beautiful spaces. We strive every day to develop their natural abilities, talents and fuel their burning little desires in partnership with you. We constantly and continually improve every aspect of each centre, our programs and the equipment and resources we provide for the children. We also never lose sight of the fact that a child’s early years are a ‘wonder – ful’ time, and so whilst we are preparing them for ‘big school’, we realise that we must provide the safest and most magical environment possible to enable the children to experience as much joy, laughter and fun as possible… and to really let them just be kids!
OUR LOCATIONS
Looking for a child care centre on the Central Coast? We offer four locations.
Get in touch
Tumbi Umbi – click here
Lake Heaven – click here
Morisset – click here
Terrigal Beach – click here
Our Educators
At Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centre, we have the knowledge and the depth of experience to ensure your child has the best possible start in life!
We feel that our staff are our the most valuable asset and that when our staff are happy, the children and their families are happy too. Our Early Childhood professionals are genuinely dedicated to the development of every child. They bring their skills and experiences to the classroom enhancing their teaching style. We work together as a team; respecting, fostering and utilising the expertise of each.
At Dinky Di, the staff are trained to reflect on the needs and interests of each child and provide extensions to their knowledge and abilities through discovery, guidance and encouragement.
The staff in children’s rooms work weekly rotating shifts, with regular casual staff employed to cover staff absences, ensuring familiarity and stability for you and your child. Pictures, names and shift times are displayed in each of the rooms to inform families as to daily caregivers. By regulatory requirements, all staff on the Dinky Di team are approved through a ‘Working With Children Check’.
All early childhood personnel at Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centre are highly motivated and dedicated to delivering quality care.
They are all experienced in the industry and possess varying qualifications which may include:
- Bachelor of Education (University Degree)
- Diploma of Teaching (University Degree)
- Diploma of Child Studies (Through TAFE and various colleges)
- Child Care Certificate II and III (Through TAFE, various colleges and traineeships)
- Accredited Child Care Certificates (Through TAFE and various colleges)
All primary caregivers possess Senior First Aid qualifications, with trainees acquiring them through the course of their training.
Additional staff skills and areas of expertise include:
- Additional Needs
- Multiculturalism and Accreditation Systems
Furthermore, at Dinky Di, the centre offers ongoing staff development opportunities to enhance staff expertise and therefore the quality and diversity. Subjects that are covered in the above qualifications will often include:
- Early Childhood Development
- Child Psychology
- Technology
- Literature and expressive language
- Developing Learning Programs
- Creative Arts
- Music and Movement
- Behaviour and guidance
- Nutrition
- Daily Care
- Health Science
- Communications
- Family and society
- Special education
- Professional development
Child Care Subsidy Eligibility
Some basic requirements must be satisfied for an individual to be eligible to receive Child Care Subsidy for a child. These include:
- the age of the child (must be aged 13 or under and not attending secondary school, except in certain circumstances where an individual may be eligible for a child who does not meet this criteria, such as children with a disability or medical condition in certain circumstances)
- the child meeting immunisation requirements
- the individual, or their partner, meeting the residency requirements listed in the legislation.
In addition, to be eligible for Child Care Subsidy the individual must be liable to pay for care provided, the care must be delivered in Australia by an approved child care provider, and not be part of a compulsory education program.
Child Care Subsidy entitlement
There are three factors that determine a family’s level of Child Care Subsidy. These are:
- Combined annual family income
- Activity test – the activity level of both parents
- Service type – type of child care service and whether the child attends school
The Child Care Subsidy is generally paid directly to service providers to be passed on to families as a fee reduction. Families make a co-contribution to their child care fees and pay to the provider the difference between the fee charged and the subsidy amount.
There is also targeted additional fee assistance for vulnerable families through the Child Care Safety Net.
Families can get an estimate of what they may be entitled to by entering their details into the Department of Human Services Payment and Service Finder.
Alternatively, please call one of our friendly Centre Directors, to assist you in understanding the CCS, your eligibility and how to calculate your daily gap.
Refer a Friend
If you refer a friend that leads to a permanent enrolment, you will receive a $100 visa gift card or Credit!
