Member Spotlight: Bumblebee Early Education Centre, Goonellabah

Bumblebee Early Education Centre has been operating for 15 years as a long day care centre and preschool. It is privately owned and operated with three experienced managers/operators who combined have over 70 years’ experience together in Early Childhood Education.

Bumblebee is known for its strong partnerships with families and connections within the community such as local TAFE, working with the local university sharing early childhood knowledge and working with TAFE as a registered training provider, to provide a chance for people to gain their Certificate 111 in Early Childhood and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care through a traineeship while working.

At Bumblebee we pride ourselves on our staffing consistency with our team working full time to part time and majority of our staff have been here long term, maintaining happy, motivated and settled staff who actively seek to continually upgrade their skills while caring for our families children.

We do not have the constraints that corporate and non-profit community-based centres have. This allows us to fashion our business to the wants and needs of our clients who are always on the lookout for the best for their children.

As owners who work in our centre each day, we have the ability to connect with all our families and gain their feedback through face to face conversations daily. “it’s so lovely I feel so supported here with my child, I know he is always cared for and loved here” was a review left by one of our families recently.

Our families and the local community know our centre to have one of the highest quality outdoor environments with 2 large natural play spaces that use our environment as a third teacher for the children. We have received feedback from families who tour our centre that “our 3-6yr old environment looks like a beautiful park”, “it always looks inviting to play in” and the “children always seem to be engaged”.

Bumblebee has a no screen policy which is something our families really like. We feel that it is a parent’s choice what they want their child to watch and for how long and with recommendations for screen time being under 1.5 hours per day we understand parents want to use this at times to help them at home.

Bumblebee has engaged with other centres and supported them with their programming using our vast knowledge. Bumblebee has been recognised as an exceeding program for our extensive training and development with Semann and Slattery, our commitment to always making change to reflect the current needs of the families and making the program about the child and our strong critical reflective practice as a team. Our Prep room also runs a School Readiness Program supporting the children transitioning to school focusing on social and emotional readiness and working with schools, and holding open nights for families to come and have a chance to learn more about school and how important it is to be ready.

Bumblebee has also been rated an inclusive service for over 5 years in a row apart of KU Services working with families going above and beyond with Paula one of the managers experience with getting children identified for behavioural concerns and getting support through the ECIC NDIS children under 7 years with additional needs but no diagnosis or working with families from diagnosis to strategies, to creating their NDIS goals with them consultaing.

Our goal at Bumblebee is making our early childhood centre and preschool feel like a second home for our families. A place where they can come and always feel heard and supported in all aspects of their child’s development and as a whole family.

PUBLISHED: 10 AUGUST 2021