My children have been attending Gowrie Thebarton for over 6 years and I love this centre. The primary carer - child relationships that are built are second to none. Also the indoor - outdoor play policy all day is fantastic to keep your little ones fit and getting plenty of fresh air.
Don't expect a sterile Montessori looking facility, Gowries philosophy is to learn through play and all rooms are very well played in. You also won't find plastic toys, instead more materials children can use to create their own games.
Sally in Frangipani is #1!

I have 2 children who have attended this service for the last 2 years. Our experience of both the infant and toddler program and kindergarten program has been outstanding. All educators, but particularly my children's primary care givers have worked hard to build secure and meaningful relationships with my children and us as parents. Our children have a real sense of belonging in their rooms and are always excited to head off to child care in the morning.

We had a very bad time at this child care. It does not deserve the reputation it has. We had a little girl with special needs and we were not listened to or supported. Our children's behavior went downhill while they were there and I feel it took a long long time to repair the damage, for our children, & for us. We went to another local childcare after and things were so much better for us and the children- much more caring and supportive. Gowrie also always had very dirty toilets compared to another childcare we went to afterwards. There seemed to be insufficient staff, poor communication with the parents, and they did not do the little things - there was supposed to be a folder with our child's work at the end of the time there- but this was handed to us empty at the end. Their methods are also debatable, e.g. they stood by while a child kicked my child in front of me and did nothing- it was chaos a lot of the time. We tried very hard to work with the staff there for our child's sake, but senior staff were dismissive, and some carers were rude and unhelpful. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE-THERE ARE MANY MUCH BETTER CHILDCARE CENTRE'S.

I went to theberton center to put my daughter on the waiting list. The receptionist was not nice and patient. She kept telling me that it is impossible to get a vacancy because their center is popular. I really do not like their service.

I had come from another childcare center where we were not at all happy. There is quite a wait but most of the good ones do. The staff have been wonderful and they spend alot of time setting up and doing activities with them. Both the bubby/toddler room and kindy rooms have big outdoor areas that they get to explore all day long. All rooms have a sandpit which both my kids enjoyed. The staff are well trained and genuinely care. I would recommend to anyone even if it isn't that close. We go out of our way to go here but I know they are in safe hands. Cost varies for everyone as it is dependent on the household income.

I am dissapointed with this childcare centre as I found them very unfriendly and disinterested in providing me a service. I was on their waiting list for over 1 year and periodically showed interest in using their centre. In return they gave me no assurance of a place in their centre. They are also sending me email messages whick look like SPAM messages i.e their subject title is very ambiguosa nd they don't state the business name. They were one of the least inviting centres I came across.

I have two grand daughters who attend this childcare centre, one who has now progressed to the Kindy. All staff are professional and caring of the children in their care.

Approximate cost: $25 oer session