Background

Castlemaine Childcare Co-operative Limited has it’s foundations with a group of parents whose children attended Castlemaine Child Care, an occasional child care service officially first opened in July 1978. As part of the former Castlemaine Education Centre, it was co-located in the old high school buildings in Mostyn Street. The facade of the old high school (and later home of the education centre), was retained in the development of the existing supermarket.

The demand for formal care for longer hours grew and Castlemaine Childcare Co-operative was formed in November 1979 with the aim of purchasing a house that could be converted to a fit-for-purpose building to house a child care centre.  Funding was sought, the building purchased, renovated and altered, qualified staff employed and in September 1981, Castlemaine Child Care Centre opened at 17 Templeton Street Castlemaine with places for up to 32 children each day.

In 1996 the decision was made to expand the centre to 60 places.  The co-operative purchased the building next door and refurbished both buildings (winning a design award) to meet current standards.  At the same time Family Day Care joined the co-operative and the two services have been operating in a complementary fashion ever since.

In both our long day care centre and family day care, we aim to offer children a home or home-like atmosphere where they feel they belong.  Peer groups are kept together as they move through the centre to allow friendships to develop naturally and having consistent staffing means that children can develop close trusting relationships with the adults around them.  The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) takes a holistic view of children’s early experiences based on the principles of Belonging, Being and Becoming and this fits in well with the ideals that the Co-operative has promoted for many years.

The Co-operative has been an integral part of the Castlemaine community since its beginning and we continue to be involved in community events taking an active role in various community issues and groups.