Welcome to Mirambeena's web site
- where children come first!

Welcome to the Mirambeena Children' s Centre. We endeavour to ensure your child's time with us is happy and rewarding.

The Mirambeena Children's Centre is a community Children's Centre funded by the charging of fees to cover operating expenditure. The Centre operates as a not for profit centre. It was built in 1987 with a Commonwealth Government Grant and continues to provide support to University of Southern Queensland staff, students and the general community. It is managed by the Mirambeena Children's Centre Association (Toowoomba) Inc., a non-profit organisation whose members are the parents of children enrolled at the centre and University representatives. Since February 2002 the centre has been affiliated with the Creche & Kindergarten Association of Queensland.

Community based child care allows parents to be involved in decisions about the type of care provided at the centre and other relevant issues. Parents are consulted on policy formulation and changes that will impact on centre clients. Interested parents can become involved through participation on the Management Committee where decisions are made after consultation. Any formal request made to the Management Committee in writing will be considered at the next meeting. All parents are welcome to attend Committee meetings.

Our not for profit status means that all fees paid by parents go directly to providing the best possible care and employing highly qualified, professional staff.

The centre provides care for children from 3 months to school age in four groups.

Gumnuts               - 3 months to 2 years old
Possums               - 2 to 3 years or older
Butterflies             - Pre-prep children 3 to 4.5 years or older
Raindrops             - Pre-prep children 3.5 years to school aged

 

Our Program Philosophy

At Mirambeena, our philosophy reflects the partnership between parents and staff providing care and learning opportunities for the children of our centre.


We believe that childhood is a time of enjoyment, wonder and learning. Through their play, children make discoveries, construct knowledge and express themselves providing the foundations of learning for the future. Our Play-based curriculum provides a dynamic environment, which encourages exploration, enquiry and creativity; and gives children the time and opportunity to have control over their learning.



We look upon each child as an individual, and draw upon aspects of life at home to cater for varying needs, cultural backgrounds and family structures. Staff communicate with each other, parents and children to be able to work together as a team to provide the appropriate resources to meet the special needs of all children.


We provide an environment which is safe, supportive and caring, where the children form secure attachments with caregivers. This facilitates the development of positive self esteem, where children learn to value their own and each other's strengths and weaknesses. With this confidence the children are able to participate fully in the outdoor and indoor program, which aims to promote each child's development to their full potential.


As Mirambeena is a community-based centre, we encourage parents to play a large part in the management and decision making in order to meet the needs of the community which we serve. We welcome the participation of parents and other community members in our program. We like to draw on their knowledge, skills and interests to extend the children's awareness of the world around them.