Applecross Pre-Kindy and Childcare Programs
Nurturing the Changemakers and Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow
Applecross Pre-Kindy and Childcare runs three programs for children aged 18 months to 6 years, with 80 approved places. Programs run 9:30 am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday, with care available from 7am and until 5:30pm. All programs are approved for the Child Care Subsidy.
How our programs work
Children move up when they are ready — not on their birthday.
We pay close attention to how each child is playing, how they manage themselves, and who they are connecting with. When we see signs of readiness, we begin the conversation with you well before anything changes.
Every child moves through a learning journey shaped by our 10 Guiding Principles — turned into 10 powerful modules that build confidence, emotional intelligence, curiosity, resilience, collaboration, creativity, and environmental responsibility.
Children don’t just “do activities”; they grow the skills that matter in every walk of life. Each year builds on the last, helping children become capable, compassionate changemakers ready for any future they choose.
All groups share our outdoor learning spaces, and each program is shaped around a connection with nature, children’s interests, developmental needs, and the foundational skills that support emotional, social, and physical growth.
A Connected Learning Journey
Across all age groups, children hear the same language, experience the same ten guiding principles, and grow within the same warm, respectful culture. What changes is the complexity of what we invite them to explore.
Our values, community connections, and celebrated events are woven naturally into learning, helping children understand themselves, their place in the community, and their ability to make a difference.
Toddlers, 18 months to 3 years
Where identity, confidence, and emotional foundations begin.
Our toddler program is for children aged 18 months to 3 years, with multiple learning spaces, their own sleep area and an outdoor space sized for the youngest children.
In the Toddler program, children are supported to understand themselves, feel safe in their world, and build the emotional tools that underpin all future learning. Through sensory exploration, simple problem‑solving, nature‑rich play, and warm, responsive relationships, toddlers begin developing:
Emotional vocabulary
Early self‑regulation
Curiosity and wonder
Social confidence
Independence in small, meaningful ways
Parents love this stage because it builds the secure foundations children need to thrive — emotionally, socially, and physically.
Places in this room are limited and usually go to siblings first.
Pre-Kindy, 3 to 4 years
Where curiosity deepens and capability expands.
Our Pre‑Kindy program is designed for children who want to know how everything works — and want to try it themselves. At this age, curiosity takes over, and our educators build the program around what children are genuinely interested in that week. It might be worms, water, shadows, stacking things higher, or what lives under a log. Much of this learning happens outdoors, where discovery feels natural and exciting.
Underneath the play, we are intentionally building the skills that matter. Children learn to use language to express their needs, develop emotional vocabulary so frustration has an alternative to meltdown, and practise early negotiation — the kind that happens when two three‑year‑olds want the same shovel and an educator supports them to sort it out.
Independence is the through‑line. Children pour their own drinks, put on their own hats, and pack away their own things, because doing it imperfectly for themselves is how capability grows.
Across the year, our 10 learning modules evolve into richer experiences that strengthen communication, teamwork, resilience, creativity, and problem‑solving. Children begin asking bigger questions, exploring ideas more deeply, and connecting their learning to the world around them.
Parents value this stage because it builds confident communicators, curious thinkers, and capable young learners — ready for the social and emotional experiences they are beginning to navigate.
Kindy, 4 to 6 years
Where children step into their power as capable, confident changemakers.
By the Kindy year, children are ready for deeper thinking, bigger challenges, and real responsibility. Our program focuses on the foundation skills that matter in every part of a child’s life — confidence, communication, resilience, creativity, collaboration, ethical decision‑making, and care for the natural world.
Kindy children want to do things that matter, so learning is built around real projects and purposeful inquiry. Literacy and numeracy grow naturally through meaningful investigations — writing for a reason, counting with intention, and exploring ideas that stretch across days or weeks.
Across the year, our 10 learning modules reach full complexity, helping children develop:
Confident communication and respectful negotiation
Creative and critical thinking
Resilience, persistence, and emotional intelligence
Leadership, teamwork, and community responsibility
A strong sense of identity and personal capability
Environmental awareness and stewardship
Children also take on genuine responsibility — caring for the garden, helping younger peers, and shaping their learning spaces. These experiences build independence, confidence, and a deep understanding of their ability to influence their world.
Parents value this stage because it grows capable, compassionate, future‑ready children — young people who can think deeply, act kindly, solve problems, and step into any future they choose with confidence.
Perth Zoo Partnership — Launching 2027
In 2027, our Kindy class will take part in a year‑long partnership with Perth Zoo, supporting their wildlife conservation and habitat‑protection learning goals. Children will engage in child‑led inquiry with real impact: working alongside Zoo leaders and educators to redesign parts of our centre to incorporate natural habitats. The program includes zoo excursions, onsite visits from conservation specialists, project showcases, and hands‑on planning, researching, and creating. This is learning with purpose — where children see their ideas shape the world around them.
Parents value this stage because it grows capable, compassionate, future‑ready children — young people who can think deeply, act kindly, solve problems, and step into any future they choose with confidence.
Come and see the rooms
The best way to work out which program suits your child is to stand in the room and watch it running. Book a tour and bring them with you.