About Us

The Castlemaine Childcare Co-operative, also known as “Carinya” which is the name of the building where our long day care centre is located, has a long history of service to the Castlemaine community.  We have been operating since 1982 and many of our current parents came to the centre as children themselves.

Our long day care centre caters for 65 children a day, with about 150 families accessing the service over a week.  Most of our parents are working or studying, but many families bring children in for socialisation and the chance to learn in a group situation.  We also operate a Family Day Care scheme and children learn and are cared for in a small group situation in a home environment. Some children access both services on different days of the week.