Child Care
There are a range of child care options in the Yarra Ranges, please click on the links for more detailed information
Council’s newest building in Upwey houses leading edge childcare and Maternal and Child Health services for the community. Stage 1 of the new Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Centre opened early this year.
The centre operates 50 weeks per year and is open from 7am to 6pm on weekdays. Childcare Benefit and Childcare Cash Rebate are both available as fee reductions for this service.
Fees include
- snacks
- a cooked lunch
- nappies
For more information about Sherbrooke Family and Children’s Centre or other Family & Children's Services hubs, click here.
Other centres are located throughout the shire, please click here for details.
Family Day Care is a childcare service that provides small group care for children birth to 12 years of age in the safe, comfortable home environment of registered Educators. Yarra Ranges Council Family Day Care Educators work in partnership with trained council staff through the Co-ordination Unit which supports and monitors care placements throughout the Shire.
Placements are made through the Co-ordination Unit where a Resource Officer will discuss your care requirements with you, contact suitable Educators where there is a match between the needs of your child, your family expectations and the skills of the Educator, and where there is a suitable vacancy. You will then need to contact the Educators and make an appointment to visit them with your child/children. Yarra Ranges Council FDC Educators are independent contractors and set their own fees. While Council and the Coordination Unit monitors care, arranges placements and administers the service, families make payments directly to Educators. Childcare Benefit and Childcare Cash Rebate are both available as fee reductions for this service.
The Family Day Care scheme is available to families (dads, mums, grandparents or carers) who are living, working or studying within the Shire of Yarra Ranges. The program is sponsored by the Yarra Ranges Council.
Family Day Care aims to provide quality childcare. The following list describes some of the characteristics of quality care:
- Care which encourages stimulation and allows children to develop individually at their own pace, emotionally, physically, intellectually, and socially.
- Care which gives children security and happiness in a relaxed atmosphere.
- Care which provides a safe, comfortable and hygienic environment.
- Care in which parent involvement is welcomed and actively encouraged.
To find out more about the service or if you are interested in becoming a Family Day Care Educator, please call 1300 368 333 and ask for Family Day Care or alternatively, email familydaycare@yarraranges.vic.gov.au.