Centre Tours

Centre tour 1: Sunshine Coast tour (Full-day) – SOLD OUT

Embark on an enriching journey through the Sunshine Coast. This tour will explore centres that foster strong partnerships and community connections by integrating local resources into every aspect of education. From beachside discoveries to bush adventures, each centre offers a unique perspective. Join us for an inspiring day and discover innovative approaches to nurturing young minds within a connected and supportive community.

Milford Lodge

Established in 1986, Milford Lodge is the first privately owned early learning centre on the Sunshine Coast. This family-run establishment holds a rich history of nurturing young minds. Their beautiful 100-year-old Queenslander is set back from Gloucester Road, surrounded by 1.5 acres of natural spaces and gardens, as well as unique cottages and buildings that complement the main homestead. The educators at Milford Lodge have a strong connection with their local community, and all age groups at Milford Lodge participate in regular excursions into the ‘village’.

Pelican Waters Golden Beach Kindergarten and Childcare

Pelican Waters Golden Beach Kindergarten and Childcare is a privately owned long day early learning centre that is committed to giving children and adults the opportunity to connect to the natural world. The team believe that children benefit enormously from being immersed in natural learning experiences and venturing ‘beyond the fence’ to embrace the natural spaces in their community. Their commitment to this includes a bush and beach kindy program, where all children attend regular excursions to the bushland at Porter Park or the Pumicestone Passage foreshore. They also offer nature camp—a twice-weekly outdoor nature program for kindergarten-aged children. The centre embraces a shared leadership model where the nature camp coordinator and the bush and beach kindy coordinator support the outdoor programs and encourage deeply enriching, fun and challenging experiences with the children.

Toral Lodge Childcare Centre

Toral Lodge Childcare Centre, nestled in the peaceful surroundings of Buderim on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, has been a cherished place for young children and their families since 1991. Purpose built to provide enriching farmyard experiences, the centre seamlessly integrates an approved childcare and kindergarten program. At Toral Lodge, every child is recognised as a unique individual, and its philosophy emphasises the importance of valuing everyone within the community—educators, children, parents and families. Toral Lodge Childcare Centre’s play-based programs are designed to foster a love for learning, nurture secure friendships and build strong relationships within the wider community.

Bribie Island Kindergarten

Bribie Island Community Kindergarten has been providing the community with high-level kindergarten since 1982. The kindergarten sits among beautiful trees and natural surroundings in Bongaree and is a non-profit affiliate of C&K.
The team at Bribie Island Community Kindergarten believe that all children are unique individuals who learn at their own pace. They recognise children as social beings, full of curiosity and imagination, with the potential and desire to find connections and meaning in all they experience.
Bribie Island Community Kindergarten value their community; First Nations relationships built and maintained over many years; play; and nature. This tour will explore how they embed those values into everyday practice.
The tour of Bribie Island Community Kindergarten will also include a bush-walk that the children attending the service regularly explores.

What to bring: Runners or walking shoes, a rain jacket, a sunhat and a water bottle.

Cost: $175.00
Date: Tuesday 17 September 2024
Depart: 7.30 am
Return: 5.15 pm
Duration: Full-day tour
Max number: 24

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Centre tour 2: Focus on play, pedagogy and praxis (Full-day) – SOLD OUT

ECA is a champion for play and play-based learning, as articulated in the ECA Statement on Play released in 2023 and during our annual celebration—Early Learning Matters Week. The ECA National Conference seeks to advance public understanding of the importance of play and supports the professional skills of educators who teach through play in both early years and school contexts. This tour will also include a focus on workforce development and leadership—we will visit centres staffed by strong teams who demonstrate collaborative and reflective practice and shared leadership.

Goodstart Red Hill

Goodstart Red Hill is a 53-place service for children aged 15 months to five years, surrounded by nature along Ithaca Creek. Influenced by Reggio Emilia, Montessori, RIE and Forest Schools, the centre’s holistic pedagogy and practice is focused on slowing down and deeply connecting with children, colleagues, families and the local community.
Through distributive leadership, the centre’s mini-committees (Reconciliation, Community, Connection, Parent Committee and Children’s Council) are designed to actively involve educators, children and families in decision-making processes to continuously improve practice.
On this tour, visitors will participate in a WNDER (Wonder and Wander), Red Hill’s bush kindy program, along Ithaca Creek to the children’s WNDER creek site. Throughout this WNDER there will be QR codes linking to the children’s projects that amplify the children’s voices.

Mitchelton Pre-Schooling Centre

Mitchelton Pre-Schooling Centre (MPC) is a dedicated community kindergarten affiliated with The Gowrie (Queensland). This independent not-for-profit centre is located in a leafy natural environment in Brisbane City. The centre is operated by an enthusiastic and long-standing team of staff members and a Management Committee, which is elected annually and consists of parents whose children attend the centre.
MPC views children as individuals and social learners. The fundamental focus for all decision-making revolves around a philosophy that highlights the importance of play, wellbeing and children’s relationships. In the learning environment, play is valued as a significant means for learning and allows opportunities for children to co-create the curriculum. Play can provide insights into children’s interests, skills, beliefs, joys and challenges. MPC encourages healthy, sustainable practices and values the daily incidental and intentional experiences.

Guardian Childcare & Education Sunnybank

Guardian Childcare & Education Sunnybank is 23-year-old centre catering for 128 children across eight rooms. Our practice, pedagogy and ways of being are underpinned by our three core elements within our centre philosophy: meaningful connections, respect and nurturing curiosity.
The cornerstone of best practice at Guardian Sunnybank is a collaborative community of over 30 early childhood practitioners. With most educators dedicating over 10 years to the Guardian Sunnybank centre community, each daily decision reflects an authentic commitment to honouring the value of each team member’s voice.
We emphasise strong partnerships with our families, recognising them as the first teachers of their children. By working alongside them, we create a sense of security and a deep connection to culture, helping children belong to their many communities.
At Guardian Sunnybank we strive to create a space for children to be themselves, belong to their many communities and become capable, confident individuals.

Camp Hill Outside School Hours Care

Camp Hill Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) fosters learning through a stimulating loose parts environment that is underpinned by Playwork theories and pedagogies. Through implementing Playwork practices, the centre aims to provide a space for children that encourages freely chosen, intrinsically motivated and personally directed play mixed with observationally derived play-based activities. They aim to enrich the children’s lives by introducing them to life skills, knowledge and experiences that go beyond their school learning. They value nature, community, sustainable practices and above all, play. The team at Camp Hill OSHC aim to impart a strong sense of self-assessed boundaries and responsibility, and foster appropriate emotional behaviours in the children they work with. Healthy living and all things pertaining to it is fundamental to much of their programming and practice.

What to bring: Runners or walking shoes, a rain jacket, a sunhat and a water bottle.

Cost: $169.00
Date: Tuesday 17 September 2024
Depart: 8.30 am
Return: 4.00 pm
Duration: Full-day tour
Max number: 24

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Centre tour 3: Exploring intergenerational programs (Full-day)

The Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice defines intergenerational programs as ‘planned, ongoing activities that purposefully bring together non-familiar generations under the supervision of formally trained caregivers’. This tour will visit centres where such programs have been successfully incorporated into their practice.

Winston Glades Early Education Centre

Winston Glades Early Education Centre is committed to the implementation of the national Early Years Learning Framework (V2.0) and operates an emergent curriculum. They participate in an intergenerational program, which helps to bridge generational gaps by fostering understanding and building respect between generations. Winston Glades Early Education Centre is proudly partnered with the local Bolton Clarke Nursing Home. Once a month the children visit residents at the nursing home where they participate in a range of activities including singing, arts and crafts, and gardening. Tour participants will have the opportunity to join the children on one of these excursions to Bolton Clarke Milford Grange.

Prince Charles Hospital Early Education Centre

The Prince Charles Hospital Early Education Centre (TPCH) emphasises a holistic approach to education that integrates intergenerational connections and community involvement. This philosophy, influenced by the Reggio Emilia approach, views children as active participants in their learning journey and values their interaction with the broader community.

By fostering intergenerational programs such as their Grandfriends program, TPCH enriches the educational experiences of children and promotes social inclusion and respect for their Grandfriends involved in their program. This approach benefits both generations by creating opportunities for meaningful interactions and learning from each other’s experiences.

Integrating children into community activities and real-life experiences helps them develop a deeper understanding of their surroundings and their role within the community. This sense of belonging and involvement can contribute significantly to their overall development and wellbeing. The Grandfriends program reflects a forward-thinking approach to early childhood education that aims to create a better quality of life for all involved, regardless of age.

Edge Early Learning North Harbour

The ‘Paper Planes’ intergenerational play program came about through a professional conversation between Comlink Australia and Edge Early Learning, and has evolved into a weekly event and program. Following a successful pilot, the program has been rolled out at three Edge Early Learning Centres, including North Harbour. The ‘Paper Planes’ program aims to connect older Australians living in their own homes with their communities. Once a week the Comlink participants are picked up from home and transported to Edge Early Learning, where they engage with the children to thrive and learn. Notably, there has been a marked improvement in the physical health of Comlink participants; many who initially used walking frames now participate in active play, some even sliding with the children. Beyond the programs, families have also maintained relationships with their older friends after the children have left the service and transitioned to school. This showcases the holistic benefits of intergenerational engagement, nurturing social bonds and enhanced wellbeing.

What to bring: Runners or walking shoes, a rain jacket, a sunhat and a water bottle.

Cost: $169.00
Date: Tuesday 17 September 2024
Depart: 9.00 am
Return: 5.15 pm
Duration: Full-day tour
Max number: 24

Centre tour 4: Walking tour exploring inner-city centres (Half-day) – SOLD OUT

The inner-city tour provides a glimpse of the diverse range of early childhood education and care environments within inner-city Brisbane.

Guardian Childcare & Education Queen Street

Guardian Childcare & Education Queen Street is a spacious, open-plan early learning centre in Brisbane’s CBD, with easy access to public transport and extended opening hours to support working families. Located on Level 5 in a Queen Street high-rise, it provides an engaging outdoor area with city views, water play and sandstone play areas, as well as a Rainforest sensory space where children are encouraged to explore and learn.
The centre’s multicultural team supports each child through the incredible learning programs including community incursions.

The Learning Sanctuary Mary Street

The Learning Sanctuary Mary Street in Brisbane City is a purpose-built centre that emphasises engaging learning experiences. Their resource-rich environments have been carefully designed to immerse children into a world of exploration, curiosity and learning.
The centre’s ‘sky garden’ is one of the few open air playgrounds in Brisbane City and features space for children to run, play and climb in the fresh air. It also includes a climbing house, rock-climbing wall, mud kitchen, tepee, sandpits, veggie gardens and much more. The Learning Sanctuary’s outdoor learning program focuses on the development of children’s strength, balance and self-confidence. They also have a massive fort and an unique undercover outdoor space for all-weather play.

C&K QUT Gardens Point Community Childcare Centre

C&K QUT Gardens Point Community Childcare Centre offers a safe, warm and flexible education and care environment.
C&K is exploring new approaches for the educators that care for and educate our littlest people. C&K’s ‘infant and toddler approach’ is all about being in the moment with children, and its philosophy is to slow down and be in the moment with every child to allow them the opportunity to learn and discover at their own pace. C&K staff are focused on spending one-on-one time with babies and toddlers and developing deep and trusting relationships with each individual child.
C&K QUT Gardens Point’s teaching team tailor each day’s learning around the interests of the children in the group. The spacious environment is thoughtfully planned and well resourced. There is a focus on music, drama, literature, visual arts and time spent discovering the natural environment outdoors.
Community spirit is important to C&K QUT Gardens Point. Staff foster their strong ties to the local community by encouraging parent involvement in the daily operations of the kindergarten. They often hold and partake in community events and love connecting with local businesses and groups around them.

At the conclusion of this tour, delegates can choose to return to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre or spend the afternoon exploring the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens.

What to bring: Runners or walking shoes, a rain jacket, a sunhat and a water bottle.

Cost: $89.00
Date: Tuesday 17 September 2024
Depart: 7.45 am
Return: 1.00 pm
Duration: Half-day tour
Max number: 18

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Centre tour 5: Queensland Cultural Precinct early childhood programs (South Bank, half-day walking tour)

The Cultural Precinct, the centrepiece of Queensland’s arts portfolio, occupies a prime location on Brisbane’s South Bank adjacent to the CBD. It is home to the State’s leading arts and cultural institutions including the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Queensland Museum and Sciencentre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre and the State Library of Queensland (SLQ).

This walking tour will start at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, where delegates will have the chance to delve into the ‘History of Early Childhood in Queensland’ exhibition, curated from the SLQ archive especially for the ECA National Conference.

Delegates will then move on to QACOMA and explore the Children’s Art Centre to experience exhibitions and activities created in collaboration with artists.

The tour will conclude at The Corner—a creative space at the SLQ, created for children aged under eight and their families. Delegates will also learn more about ‘first5forever’, a play-based program supporting Queensland families to talk, read, sing and play with their babies and young children in the first five years.

What to bring: Runners or walking shoes, a rain jacket, a sunhat and a water bottle.

Cost: $89.00
Date: Tuesday 17 September 2024
Depart: 12.30 pm
Return: 5.00 pm
Duration: Half-day tour
Max number: 24