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A kindergarten with a long-standing reputation for supporting children's needs.
Contact details
Address: 92 Maud Street
Balwyn North 3104
Phone: (03) 9859 1259
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ecms.org.au/merrell-kindergarten
Visit the kindergarten: Visit Open days for kindergartens for information about the annual open day in May, or contact the kindergarten to arrange a time to visit.
About The Merrell Kindergarten
This kindergarten is well resourced with educational supplies and equipment and has an imaginative and natural outdoor play environment including a cubby house, mud-digging patch, vegetable and herb garden, worm farm, and bird and butterfly-attracting plants.
Communication, collaboration and planning between teachers and families are a focus. The kindergarten also has strong links to neighbouring schools.
The Merrell Kindergarten is managed by Early Childhood Management services (ECMS).
Learn more about the centre's staff, programs, facilities and philosophies on their website.
Wicket, the therapy dog
The Merrell Kindergarten program includes a therapy dog who attends every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The children learn empathy as they begin to care for Wicket and understand that they can help to look after his needs. They learn to be gentle with him. Wicket is happy and very social and loves pats from the children and sitting amongst them to listen to stories and take part in the general program.
There is general agreement that dogs boost positive emotions and reduce anxiety levels in children. Wicket provides unconditional acceptance of the children and always enjoys their attentions.
Wicket is a non-shedding labradoodle and is considered a hypo-allergenic breed. Wicket is fully vaccinated and bathed regularly. Wicket is a fully certified therapy dog and is a popular member of the kindergarten.
2024 and provisional 2025 session times
3-year-old kindergarten program
Echidnas – 28 places
This program offers 15 hours of free kinder per week.
| Day | Free kinder hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8:30 am to 1:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 8:30 am to 1:30 pm |
| Friday | 8:30 am to 1:30 pm |
4-year-old kindergarten program
Wombats – 28 places
This program offers 15 hours of free kinder per week.
| Day | Free kinder hours |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 8:30 am to 4 pm |
| Thursday | 8:30 am to 4 pm |
2024 fees per term
The Victorian Government Free Kinder initiative is available at this kindergarten. Concession rates are not applicable.
- 3-year-old kindergarten program (15 hours per week): Free
- 4-year-old kindergarten program (15 hours per week): Free
Rating against the National Quality Standard
Early childhood education and care services are assessed and rated against the National Quality Standard (NQS) to:
- promote continuous improvement in the provision of quality education and care
- improve knowledge and access to information about the quality of services to help families make informed decisions about their child’s education and care.
See The Merrell Kindergarten Inc.'s rating against the NQS and learn more about the assessment process on the StartingBlocks website.
Note: These details have been provided by The Merrell Kindergarten Inc. For the most up-to-date information, visit the The Merrell Kindergarten Inc. website.