Recreating a family home atmosphere was exactly what Little Characters Early Learning Centre owner and Director, Kerry Hanson had in mind when she designed her Woombye childcare centre. “I wanted a day at our centre to be like a day at Grandma’s house,” she said. “Our centre is extremely family focused.”

Kerry has a Bachelor of Education, Early Childhood under her belt, as well as a career in childcare, primary and special education. “With  25 years experience in the industry, I knew exactly what I wanted to do in my centre,” Kerry said. 

“To me, childcare is about the carer’s relationship with the whole family. My husband was in the military and worked away from home a great deal of the time, which meant that I needed to establish other support systems while raising our four children. It made me appreciate the importance of support for families.

“I have spent a lot of time researching best practice when it comes to the care of children, with a particular focus on very young babies and infants,” Kerry said. “I was particularly fascinated by the work of Hungarian Pediatrician, Dr Emmi Pikler, who studied the ways parents spoke to their children and the environment children grew up in. She documented 10 core principles required for children to grow in an optimum environment. With respect to childcare, that means that it should be an extension of the family.”

Kerry and her staff are all trained in the Pikler approach to respectful care for infants, and the Circle of Security parenting course.

“We follow the Key Educator model,” Kerry said. “Every new family gets taken under our wing and each educator starts with a child, and remains with them throughout their time at our centre until they reach the Kindergarten group.”

At that point, a qualified Kindergarten teacher takes them through the Kindy year. This continuity is critical, says Kerry, because caregiving tasks like changing nappies and feeding babies establishes an important connection between carer and child.

“Relationships are definitely our biggest focus,” said Kerry. “There is less emphasis on paperwork because it is far more important that our educators talk to parents every single day. We know that when parents are comfortable, the kids are too. I have an amazing and very stable team of educators here. They are all committed to our model of care because they can see how it enriches the lives of our children and their families.”

In its life before Little Characters, the building had been a restaurant called Characters which was gutted and converted into a purpose-built childcare centre,

“When we were considering the physical setup of our rooms and learning areas we were true to the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, that the physical environment is the third teacher. The environment is an extension of our program. It is a place where children grow and learn through play. “At the end of the day, I wanted this place to feel like a family home so that I could provide the exact kind of care I would want for my own children.”

• Little Characters Early Learning Centre, 46 Schubert Road Woombye. Phone 5442 2387.