Fun Fact: There are 13,370 approved childcare services operating in Australia (give or take)*. This makes for a pretty big decision when it comes to selecting the right early learning centre for your little one!
Sure, not all 13,370 childcare centres will make your shortlist, but there’s a pretty good chance you’ll have a few in your area or around your workplace that you’ll want to take a look at.
This is where Space comes in.
Free childcare technology – one-click, multiple choices
Space by Xplor is your daycare-finding dream come true. Think of it as an assistant that wades through all your annoying tasks and only gives you the ones that are important. And makes exceptional coffee too.
This is what Space – Xplor Childcare is. A research assistant but in the daycare space. Childcare technology designed to take the guesswork out of choosing a daycare.
Space is a free site that allows you to find, compare and contact top childcare centres in Australia. Long daycare centres, before school care, after school care, C&K kindergartens – ALL the types of childcare – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, rural, city, anywhere!
Simply put, it’s an invaluable first step when it comes to finding childcare. One that takes out the hassle, the hard work and the hurdles of trying to find the right daycare for your tot.
A research assistant, but for daycares
Space does pretty much all the research for you. Everything you want to know is laid out right in front of you, making it a lot easier to shortlist the daycares you like and enquire with each daycare. So much easier than having to search through multiple childcare websites, make a “Daycare Melbourne” spreadsheet and rely on Google to answer Goodstart Early Learning near me.
Search by postcode, ratings, even fees
It’s incredibly easy to use too. You can filter by where you live, rating, vacancies and soon, fees. Like a Trivago for childcare. In fact, they even have a cool feature where you can access limited offers through certain centres. For example, “enrol and receive two weeks free”.
It even tells you a bit about each centre – such as languages spoken, how many children they can take (so you know if it’s a big space or a smaller space) as well as the full rate fees (before child subsidy) in some instances. The fee feature isn’t available in every centre just yet but it is rolling out quickly.
Check childcare ratings
Not only does it show you which centres are close by, but it also gives you insight into the vacancies, reviews and arguably the most important criteria – national rating.
Not many people know this – I certainly didn’t! – but every approved Australia daycare is rated based on a national standard monitored by the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
There are several different criteria or National Quality Standards (NQS) that the ACECQA looks at including:
- Educational Programs
- Physical Environment
- Relationships with Children
- Governance and Leadership
- Health and Safety
- Staffing
- Partnerships with families
Every childcare centre will receive a rating on each of the criteria:
- Significant Improvement Required
- Working towards Rating
- Meeting Rating
- Exceeding Rating
- Excellent
In general, most parents want to choose a childcare centre that is “Meeting Rating,” “Exceeding Rating” or “Excellent”. The great thing about Space is that this information is front and centre.
HOT TIP: Child already in daycare? Take a look at Space and see what the reviews and ratings say about their current centre.
Read childcare reviews
Another great thing about Space is that you also have access to verified parent reviews which is relevant when searching for something as important as Australia childcare. It’s nice to see what other parents have to say and be aware if there are any underlying problems that aren’t addressed in the general description.
Shortlist your faves, then enquire – easy!
Every childcare centre is different – the look, the feel, the staff, the other kids. Even big names such as Goodstart Early Learning or Headstart Early Learning Centre will have features that make every centre unique, even though they all operate in a similar manner.
That’s why every family should always book a tour of the centres to check out the atmosphere, see how their child interacts with the staff and other students and get a feel of the programs in place.
Space can take care of the ‘on paper’ aspect of finding childcare, including enquiry, so you can focus on the next step.
Find your daycare space
Whether you’re putting your little one in for just one day a week for social purposes or five days a week so you can return to work, choosing the right daycare is a big decision! It’s completely normal to feel a little anxious, overwhelmed, confused, #allthefeels.
This is why Space exists – to help simplify it all for you and hopefully make your pathway to the best daycare for you a little clearer.
Give it a try now and compare childcare in your area – all you have to do is put in your postcode and Space does the rest.
This is a sponsored post for Xplor
* give or take – this number was recorded in 2020 and is the most recent one reported so we’ll go with it.
1 Comment
THis is a wonderful initiative – it would however be even better if it also mentioned ACCS fee relief and any fee relief a service offers – a full fee doesnt tell the whole story