This service located 40km north east of Melbourne in Whittlesea, is this year’s regional winner for Victoria with a KindiCare Rating of 9.7 and an Exceeding Rating from ACECQA.

Journey Early Learning Centre Whittlesea provides a nurturing education and care environment for children from six weeks to six years old. Facilities include water play zones, sensory pathways and a rock-climbing wall. The service also has an outdoor nursery room and an outdoor eating space as well as a performance stage. Centre manager Sheri Barker says connection, communication and consideration are the core values they live by at Journey Whittlesea and that this is what contributes to making the service such a special place for children, families and educators. “Our team are passionate, supportive, caring educators who always go above and beyond for the children and families within our service. “We understand how difficult it can be for families to leave their children with anyone else, we make the effort to get to know the whole family, to form strong connections so that the family feel supported each day.” Sheri says communication with families is key to the centre’s success and that parents appreciate the efforts made by staff to keep them updated on children’s activities throughout the day. “We ensure our communication with families is strong, we ensure families know what their child has been doing during their time at the centre so that they can have conversations with their children at home, creating a strong connection between the centre and the home environment.” “We genuinely care about our children and their families. We aim to create experiences for children to learn and develop their skills, setting strong foundations in life. We are not just here for the children we are here for the whole family to support in any way we can.” Journey Early Learning Whittlesea receives amazing reviews from families, who appreciate the regular updates, wide variety of activities and highly inclusive approach taken by staff. One family said they appreciated the centre’s openness to modifying practices to accommodate considerations of their faith: “We also love that you have taken on board any suggestion we have had to celebrate and educate about Ramadan as my son will be raised as a Muslim. We’ve always felt totally welcomed and included regarding our culture.”