Elder Street Early Childhood Centre

Today we said a big ‘see you soon’ and good luck to our beautiful Paula on her last day of work before she heads off on maternity leave.
We can’t wait to welcome her little girl to our Elder Street ECHC family soon 🎀✨

To all our little friends who are starting Kindergarten this week........we wish you joy in learning, fun in making new friends, resilience in tricky times and big, big love and hugs to you and all the mums and dads - you have all got this!!! xox

Why is it important for early learning and care communities to have a Statement of Commitment to Child Safety?

Well, because not only does this opportunity for collaborative thinking involving children, families and educators set a foundation for preventing, identifying and responding to abuse, it also formally establishes a child safe culture.

We want everyone involved in our community to understand their responsibilities and to prioritise child safety in our centre. Child safe culture is not just for leadership, but for everyone involved in our organisation. We all commit to the actions of this statement to ensure regular review and continuous improvement in safety policies and procedures. Most importantly we commit to the daily actions of child safety that are embedded in our Statement.

We celebrate and thank all those involved for their input of words, ideas, images and creativity in this important work.

We will have the document on display in our foyer very soon ❤️

Design: Jasmine Craciun and the children of Elder St ECHC

This would be a fabulous exhibition for the whole family to see if you are in Sydney. My favourite Pamela Allen books are the Mr McGee stories ❤️

What’s your favourite Pamela Allen book? 🥰 Be sure to add The Curious World of Pamela Allen to your school holidays bucket list. Come and see Pamela’s much-loved stories come to life in this playful exhibition for the whole family. Free exhibition, on show now. #StateLibrary #StateLibraryNSW #PamelaAllen #SchoolHolidays WhatsOn

2026 here we go!!!

Today our team hit the ground running with a fabulous professional development course that revived our vision of creating balanced learning environments with the wonderful Ella de la Motte.

We later marvelled and reflected over our learning environments being a third teacher through critical reflection… (with the addition of some yummy treats from Crumb and delicious lunch from Soul Origin) before diving into our spaces.

We can’t wait to welcome our Elder Street families into our learning environments over the coming weeks and to see where this next year will take us 🤗

It’s been a big week at Elder St since the storm on Sunday. Lots of cleaning 😩Today the guys from Hunter Water came and craned out our sewer vent line, more affectionately known by us as the “poo pipe”. Over the last 21 years we have had many discussions with the children about the big pipe that sticks up. Many years ago Charlie, Amelie, Aidan and myself spent time lying on a rug in the playground looking up, pondering what it could be for. For Possums to climb down; for water to shoot out if there’s a fire; to catch water when it rains, were their great ideas. When I introduced the concept of sewers and waste gas, Aidan announced, “it’s a poo pipe for the stinky poos!” And from that day it was christened. I stood in the playground this morning to say goodbye to the poo pipe. The storm knocked it over into our pergola and it was no longer safe to stay. I took lots of photos and videos to remember it. The children would have loved watching the big crane today. I wonder who will notice it is missing next week when they all came back to play?
Mel ❤️

To our Elder Street ECHC community, here we are… at the end of another incredible year of learning, laughing, exploring, trying new things, caring for others, and connecting.

As the team have been refreshing the rooms to begin a new year of learning, we have been sharing many memories and reflections from the year. One of the most prominent was the sense of privilege we feel to walk alongside our children and the special connections we have with our Elder Street families.

We can’t wait to welcome our returning and new families in 2026! Our doors will be open and new learning environments will be ready from January the 13th.

But for now… from our team to your family, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

❤️🎓🎄🌻🌈

Update - power restored overnight 👏

⚠️POWER OUTAGE⚠️

We are experiencing a power outage due to the storms. Ausgrid is reporting a complex issue with an estimated restore time of 2.30am 😬

Let’s hope it is fixed soon.

Our phones are currently down so please use our emergency number to make contact. It is 0494 144 414.

Everyone is safe and well. If you are considering finishing work early due to similar circumstances, an early mark would be a great idea for everyone.

Stay safe
Mel and the Elder St teamjt

Please join us in wishing our beautiful Lauren a huge congratulations after her wedding on the weekend.
Lauren celebrated her love for Luke at a stunning venue in the Hunter Valley, with our team witnessing this incredible moment and Bree standing by her side.

We are beyond happy for you Lauren, and wish yourself and Luke a lifetime of happiness.

💍🤍👰‍♀️

FABULOUS TRAINEESHIP EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Come join the wonderful world of early years teaching in Newcastle, NSW!!

Elder Street ECHC is looking for that special person to be our next trainee to complete their Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care qualification.

We are interested in people with a genuine desire to learn, a solid work ethic and fantastic energy and can do attitude. You will be supported, loved, educated, inspired, engaged and mentored by a fantastic long term team.

Are you our next trainee? Do you know this person? We would love to hear from you!

Please email Kate and Paula - [email protected] or give them a call on 02 49539300.

Please share :)

TRAINEESHIP: CERTIFICATE III IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE Job in Lambton, Newcastle, Maitland & Hunter NSW - SEEK Traineeship Certificate III position within a supportive long term early childhood team. Our service is highly regarded, offering team consistency.

Excellent tips for grandparents and parents ❤️

✨ 5 (well… actually 6) ways grandparents can help keep their grandkids safe. Grandparents play such a huge role in shaping a child’s world - the cuddles, the stories, the love that’s unconditional - but the world looks different now. What kept kids “safe enough” back then, isn’t always enough today. That’s not a criticism - it’s an evolution. 💛 Respect boundaries. 💛 Avoid forced affection. 💛 No secrets, only surprises. 💛 Use the correct names for body parts. 💛 Believe them when they say “no.” 💛 And please don’t forget digital safety. Even a few taps on a smartphone can open doors we never meant to. These small shifts make a massive difference. They teach kids that their voice, body and instincts matter. 👇 Read the full post on my blog - “6 Ways Grandparents Can Help Keep Their Grandchildren Safe” — and share it with the grandparents in your life. And if you want a simple way to start those conversations at home, check out the Conversations with Kids Body Safety Cards - the tool every family needs for calm, confident safety chats. 🔗 Link in bio or via my website www.cape-au.com Kristi x #ParentingSupport #ChildSafety #BodySafety #KidSafe #ConversationsWithKids