Types of child care services

Little girl holding a ball standing outside next to a spinny thing

There are a range of options for parents to choose the right type of childcare service that suits their needs.

Types of childcare

Childcare, Early Childhood Education and Care Services or Long Day Care Centres. For children whose families are working or studying and need extended hours of care.
Occasional care. For children whose families that need casual care, for example needing 2 hours of care for an appointment.
Family day care. Based in a carer's home with a very small number of other children.
In-home care. A carer or nanny cares for your child in your own home.

Who runs childcare

Childcare services are set up by different kinds of organisations, such as:

a committee of volunteer parents
workplaces or universities
community organisations or local councils
private businesses.
gyms or aquatic centres, community facilities and some retailers offer care while parents are using their facilities

Location of childcare services

The Federal Government's Starting Blocks website will assist you with finding vacancies in childcare, occasional care and family day care.

View all childcare, kindergartens, occasional care and family day care services in Darebin(DOCX, 50KB)

View all childcare services participating in the Darebin Registration System(DOCX, 23KB)

How do I choose a childcare service?

Choosing the right childcare service can be difficult. Your decision will depend on your family’s needs and the environment where you and your child feel most comfortable.

Find out about:

Once you find a childcare service that meets your family needs, the next step is to enrol your child. There are more than 50 childcare services within Darebin to choose from.

We recommend families make contact and visit individual services, prior to registration and talk about their enrolment process

Darebin registration system

Darebin operates a central registration system for eight participating community-managed services. These services are operated by either a committee of management or early years management organisation.

See below for a list of these services that are part of our registration system.

Childcare	6 months—2 years childcare	2—3 years childcare	3—4 years childcare/kinder	3—5 years childcare/kinder	4—5 years childcare/kinder
Reservoir Darebin Child Care & Kindergarten 6—8 Kenilworth Street, Reservoir	16 places	16 places	3 years kinder 22 places	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 33 places	4 years kinder 44 places
Reservoir Merrilands United Early Learning 23—25 Ryans Road, Reservoir	12 places	8 places	N/A	3—5 years childcare 22 places	3 years kinder 4 years kinder 28 places
Reservoir Oakhill Children’s Centre 91 North Road, Reservoir	12 places	20 places	N/A	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 22 places	N/A
Preston Nara Community Early Learning Centre 77—91 St Georges Road, Preston	12 places	12 places	N/A	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 22 places	4—5 years childcare 4 years kinder 22 places
Preston Darebin Child Care & Kindergarten 260 Gower Street, Preston	12 places	16 places	N/A	3—5 years childcare 4 years kinder 33 places	N/A
Northcote Annie Dennis Children's Centre 2 Oldis Avenue, Northcote	11 places 6—15 months 9 places	15 places	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 18 places	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 4 years kinder 16 places	4—5 years childcare 4 years kinder 20 places
Thornbury Merri Community Child Care Centre and Kindergarten 313 St Georges Road, Thornbury	6—15 months 11 places	16 months—3 years 11 places	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 11 places	3—5 years childcare 4 years kinder 16 places	N/A
Thornbury Raleigh Street Community Children's Centre 28 Raleigh Street, Thornbury	6 months—3 years 10 places	10 places	N/A	3—5 years childcare 3 years kinder 4 years kinder 17 places	N/A

Making a complaint

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in the City of Darebin are managed by a diverse range of providers, including parent Committees of Management, Commercial operators and Early Years Management Services.

If you are concerned about your child's education, care, or licensed children's service, you should raise your concerns with the service first.

All early childhood services must have a written policy and procedure that states who you need to speak to about your complaint, how they will respond, and which complaints must be notified to the department.
The name and the telephone number of the person who deals with complaints must also be displayed at the entrance to the service. For family day care, these details will be located in the service's principal office. If your complaint cannot be resolved by the service, you should then raise it with the department.

Give feedback or make a complaint to the Department of Education