Locations
Booking and fees
Things to consider
Long day care centres or 'centre-based care' provide full or part-time care for children from birth to school age. They are usually open weekdays for up to 10 - 12 hours per day (hence the title 'long' day care), for most weeks of the year. Long day care centres can be managed, run and funded in different ways, including:
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Privately as a small business, usually owned or run by individuals as a profit making enterprise. |
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Part of a chain of a large corporate company. There are now a growing number of childcare companies listing on the Australian stock exchange (ASX), run in similar ways to hospital and hotel chains. |
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As community based centres run by local government councils, parent collectives, churches, ethnic or cultural groups or charities. These are non-profit organisations that rely on government grants, fundraising or sponsorship from church or community groups to cover operating expenses (including staff wages) that may not be covered by the parents' fees. |
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By large employers specifically for their staff. |
Long day care centres may also be called 'childcare centres', 'day care centres', 'nurseries' or 'crèches'. To confuse this issue further some long day care centres call themselves 'kindergartens', 'preschools', 'early education centres' or 'early learning centres'. However, these generally relate to services catering for children from 3 to 5 years and are usually open shorter hours (for example, 9am til 3pm). Some long day care centres also provide
occasional care and possibly before and after school care and/or vacation care (during school holidays) for children from 5 to 12 years.