Greta - Tillys Play & Development Centre

‘Play provides the most natural and meaningful process by which children can construct knowledge and understandings, practice skills, immerse themselves naturally in a broad range of literacy and numeracy and engage in productive, intrinsically motivating learning environments’ (p.21, Walker, 2007). This is the corner stone of Tillys Play and Develop Centre here at Greta. It is our belief that when children have a natural desire to engage in play they are more motivated to learn and develop positive dispositions towards learning. Our job and responsibility as educators is to create and facilitate an environment that encourages, supports and nurtures the children’s desires through safe and caring relationships that we strive to build with both the children and their families attending our centre.

Every parent wants to know that their child feels safe and supported when leaving them in the care of others and it is through that understanding and empathy that our staff strive to build those strong connections with our community to ensure that each family feels accepted and comfortable with making the choice to allow us to care for, nurture and inspire the most precious people in their lives.

Our centre’s aim to provide your child with everything they need to be comfortable all day, which in turn make their transition from home to day-care much easier. The children are provided with a nutritionally balanced menu prepared fresh at the Centre each day by a qualified cook.

Tillys Play & Development Centre Greta is a purpose built early education and OOSH care service which was established in 2010. Our centre caters for 102 children aged between 0-12 years for 51 weeks of the year from 6.30am – 6.30pm.

Inside the centre; high set ceilings, sky lights and large windows capture the natural light throughout. Our rooms include two nurseries for children aged 0-2 years, one toddler room for children aged 2-3 years, two preschool rooms for children aged 3-6 years, and one Out of School Hours/Vacation Care room for children attending primary school aged 5-12 years. Our two nurseries open up into a generous natural outdoor area, with expansive gardens and grassed areas. The 0-2 yard also includes a sandpit, swing, bike track, slides and climbing walls, large shade umbrellas and a long covered veranda. Our 3-6 outdoor yard embodies large trees for shade and comprises of an outstanding sized sandpit, bike track, climbing forts and slides, swings and a mud pit. Our OOSH yard has a towering climbing web, basketball and handball courts, and a sandpit. Along with all of the permanent provisions available to the children, the centre’s program facilitates spontaneous learning and play, encouraging children to choose their own experiences for the day depending on their individual interests and goals.

We have a close community partnership with the local primary schools, which assists us in delivering the strongest possible Transition to School Program for our preschool children.

At our awards night for 2022, Tillys Greta and it’s educators were nominated as finalists and won a number of awards for their excellence and dedication to Early Childhood Education and Care. These include:

Pedagogy and Practice 2-3 – Finalist – Kristy Ernst

Pedagogy and Practice OOSH – Winner – Ardy Douglas

Programmer of the Year OOSH – Finalist – Ardy Douglas

Room of the Year OOSH – Winner – Greta

Cook of the Year – Finalist – Cheryl Hugget

Service Educator of the Year – Winner – Rachelle Piper

Trainee of the Year Practical – Finalist – Rachelle Piper

Nominated Supervisor of the Year – Finalist – Gillian O’Connell

Educational Leader of the Year – Finalist – Sally Howlett

Outdoor Environment Award – Winner – Greta

Whole Service Commitment to Excellence – Finalist – Greta

Commitment to Critically Reflective Practice – Winner – Greta