Nursery
0–12 months, guideThe first year is about feeling safe with someone who knows you. Unhurried days, familiar arms, and a room that follows your baby's own rhythm of feeding, sleeping and waking curiosity.
Lead Educator, Sarah Allen
← Our centres
Open · Emerald, Central Highlands QLD
First5Years Emerald
Built in Emerald. With Emerald.
- Hours
- 6:30am – 6:00pm, Monday to Friday
- Ages
- 0–6 years
- Address
- 42 Retro Street, Emerald QLD 4720
- Phone
- (07) 4805 6003
At a glance
- Rooms
- Six, from Nursery to Kindy
- Kindy
- Queensland Government-approved program, five days a week
- Meals
- Prepared on site, from scratch
- Child Care Subsidy
- Approved service
- Days
- Monday to Friday
- Tours
- Arranged directly with the centre, (07) 4805 6003
Fees are set out in full further down this page.
Welcome
Emerald is where we started, and it set the standard for everything after it.
We came to Emerald, spent time with the town and listened before we drew anything. What we heard shaped what we built: a centre with a genuine welcome, environments worth spending a childhood in, and space for the people who work here.
Our environments
We believe the environment is the third teacher.
Interiors of natural light and timber, significant landscaping, and a playscape made for real play, climbing, digging, water, height, hiding and returning to an idea the next day.
Beautiful environments and playscapes aren’t aesthetic indulgences. They’re part of how children explore, imagine, take appropriate risks, develop independence and learn.
Learning here
What our approach looks like on an ordinary Tuesday in Emerald.
- Children treated as capable, curious and worth listening to.
- Educators who observe, document and extend a child's thinking.
- Relationships first, with children, and with the families behind them.
- Inquiry and projects that follow real interests, sometimes for weeks.
- Environments and materials chosen for what they make possible.
- Real play, including risky play, with appropriate support.
Our people
There is a real person leading this centre, and you will know her.
Billie-Jean Howe
Centre Director
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Laura Cerff
Administration Manager
You will meet our Lead Educators in the rooms below, they are introduced alongside the children they spend their days with.
The rhythm of a day
Days here follow children, not a timetable.
These are the moments a day is usually made of. They are not a fixed sequence, a day bends around the children in it, their relationships, their interests and the weather outside.
Arriving and reconnecting
A familiar face at the door, a moment with a parent, and time to settle in without being hurried.
Play and inquiry
Long stretches where children choose, build, test and return to what they were working on yesterday.
Time outdoors
The playscape, most of the day, in most weather. Climbing, digging, water and space to move.
Meals together
Food made here, eaten together, with children serving themselves as they are able.
Quieter moments and rest
Sleep for those who need it, and calm alternatives for those who don't.
Projects and conversations
Ideas revisited with educators, documented, and taken further.
Reconnecting at the end of the day
What happened, what mattered, and what your child wants to show you before you leave.
Rooms
Six rooms, each built around a stage of childhood.
Age ranges are a guide. We carefully consider each child’s individual development, relationships, needs and stage when determining which room will best support them.
Toddlers
12–24 months, guideEverything becomes reachable. Walking, climbing, carrying, tipping out and starting again, with educators close by so a child can be brave and still feel held.
Lead Educator, Rei Huynh
Junior Toddlers
2–3 years, guideLanguage arrives quickly, and so does the wish to do it yourself. Days are built around choice, routine children can predict, and the beginnings of friendship.
Lead Educator, Monique Hughes
Senior Toddlers
2–3 years, guidePlay grows longer and more imaginative. Children negotiate, take on roles, revisit an idea across days and start to see themselves as part of a group.
Lead Educator, Jessa Rebucan
Pre Kindy
3–4 years, guideA year of questions. Children plan, test, argue their case and follow an interest wherever it takes them, with educators extending the thinking rather than ending it.
Lead Educator, Jade Funnell
Kindy
4–5 years, guideThe Queensland Government-approved Kindergarten year, projects that run for weeks, growing independence, and children who leave sure of themselves.
Early Childhood Teacher, Anna Nguyen
Food and nutrition
Made here, with care.
Meals at First5Years Emerald are prepared on site and made from scratch, nutritious, wholesome food created with children in mind.
Meet Tracey.
Tracey is the heart of our Emerald kitchen, although anyone at the centre will tell you her contribution reaches well beyond it.
Our meals are prepared from scratch on site, with a focus on nutritious, wholesome food children genuinely enjoy.
Tracey knows the children, knows their favourites and is one of those people who is always ready with a helping hand or a smile. She’s our chef, a problem-solver and one of those special people who helps make a centre feel like home.
Still to come
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Kindergarten
Kindy at First5Years Emerald
Kindy happens here five days a week.
Our Queensland Government-approved Kindergarten program is led by Early Childhood Teacher Anna Nguyen and our Kindy team.
Through play, inquiry, relationships and meaningful projects, children are encouraged to ask questions, explore ideas, develop independence and build confidence.
At First5Years, Kindy isn’t simply preparation for school. It is an important year of childhood in its own right.
Anna Nguyen
Early Childhood Teacher
Free Kindy in Queensland
- The Queensland Government funds a kindergarten program in the year before school, delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher.
- Under Free Kindy, the Queensland Government funds 15 hours a week of an approved kindergarten program for eligible children.
- Children are generally eligible for kindergarten if they turn four by 30 June in the year they attend.
Eligibility and funding are set by the Queensland Government and can change. Please check the official information above for current details.
Families and communication
You should never have to wonder how the day went.
- Daily updates, photographs and learning documentation shared with you.
- Educators who know your child, and who you can speak with at drop-off and pick-up.
- An open door, you are welcome in the centre, not just at the entrance.
- Families invited into projects, celebrations and the life of the centre.
Fees and Child Care Subsidy
What a day here costs, and what it includes.
We know the cost of early learning is an important consideration for families. Our fees reflect the people, environments, meals, programs and experiences that make up a First5Years day.
Current fees
- 0–3 years
- $187.50 per day
- 3–5 years
- $179.50 per day
What the fee includes
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What might care cost your family?
First5Years Emerald is approved for the Australian Government Child Care Subsidy (CCS). CCS can significantly reduce the amount eligible families pay for early learning. How much you receive depends on your family income, activity and the type of care you use.
Estimates are provided by the Australian Government Starting Blocks calculator.
Reserved, First5Years CCS Estimator
This position is designed for our own estimator, so families can see a likely out-of-pocket cost rather than a gross daily fee. Not active: the calculation must be developed and verified against current Australian Government rules and our session structure first.
Enrolling
Join the waitlist online, or call the centre and we will walk you through it. Laura Cerff, our Administration Manager, can help with enrolment paperwork and CCS questions.
Questions
The things families usually ask.
What are your hours?
6:30am – 6:00pm, Monday to Friday. Children attend for a full day.
What ages do you care for?
Children from birth to six years, across six rooms from Nursery to Kindy.
How do I book a tour?
Call the centre on (07) 4805 6003 and we will find a time that suits you, ideally while the children are here, so you see the centre as it really is.
How do I join the waitlist?
Complete the online waitlist form, or call us and we will help.
Do you provide meals?
Yes. All meals are prepared on site from scratch by our chef, Tracey.
Do you offer a Kindy program?
Yes, a Queensland Government-approved Kindergarten program, five days a week, led by an Early Childhood Teacher.
What do I need to bring?
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How do you handle allergies and dietary requirements?
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Come and see us
The best way to understand this centre is to stand in it.
- Address
- 42 Retro Street, Emerald QLD 4720
- Hours
- 6:30am – 6:00pm, Monday to Friday
- Phone
- (07) 4805 6003
- contact@first5years.com.au
