I have had a child at Red Apple for the last 7 years and in that time I have been so happy. Both my girls have thrived and learnt so much. The careers treat the children with kindness and love, more like a family environment than a Childcare centre. The kinder teacher Jenny, is great and really knows her stuff. The food served to the children is also excellent and my daughters eat things at Red Apple that they won't eat at home! Before I found Red apple I had my oldest son in a different Childcare centre that was big and too impersonal, Different staff all the time, no continuity for the children. Red apple is not like that, you can see the staff enjoy working there and there is minimal staff turnover, usually only for them to go off and have there own babies. I would definitely recommend it.

Red Apple, where l ended up choosing, is certainly of a high standard with great staff, a great kinder program and lots of other happy children and parents.

I called this centre late 2010 and was told that there was a vacancy. I mentioned the days needed and got an okay and was asked to come to see the centre and meet the carer. I carried my girl, she hid her face on my shoulder and everybody was very nice, I was showed the playground, introduced to the carer, shown the facility, and told that I needed to attend an orientation then we could start care. I told the director that she could see from one eye only (she looked pretty but she had vision impairment). My girl looked up from hiding her face, and everybody could see that she had one smaller eye, and her seeing eye was not too normal looking either (but she is very brainy, she mastered all letters, shapes, color and she had photographic memory etc by the age of 13 months when others her age could barely talk!). Upon leaving the centre, a little girl tried to approach her and her mother looked at my girl, and grabbed her girl asked her to stay away from my girl. The director saw this, and maybe she thought admitting her into the centre would be bad for business. Even then I was told that I would be called to arrange orientation. I waited for the call but I had never been called so I rang them up, and was told that : there is no vacancy at the moment, I could put her in the waiting list if I wish (I guess this is just a "polite tactic"), and there was nobody there who are capable in handling children with disability and asking for support from government is temporarily they are not going to pursue". Little that they know that I used to be a kindergarten teacher and a school principal abroad. If there is nobody there capable on handling a kid with mild disability (she could see up to 4 metres and she watches tv, and reads books !), if they can't handle my girl, then their carers are not good enough for her, or to any other children, and maybe should repeat their certificate III and diploma course. Personally I think a child with Anaphylaxis is harder to be accomodated than my girl as the risk of death is greater with a child with Anaphylaxis than a child with vision impairment ( who can actually see). But of course a child with Anaphylaxis will look like any other child but not mine. I called a second centre and the same thing happened, so yes, that second centre will get the same review too. I called the 3rd one, Maple Street daycare centre and once they said they had a vacancy and asked me to come to tour the centre, I told them : dont bother wasting my time touring your centre, my child is intelectually normal but she does not have normal looking eyes and could only see from one eye, if this is unacceptable in your centre just say so now so I dont have to come there and then told there was no vacancy later on (as Red Apple and ABC centre in Vermont had both said there were vacancy, and changed their words into no vacancy after seeing my girl in person). I asked them whether my girl was too hard to be handled etc, they said no, she is just like anybody else. Thumb up to Maple Street, thumb down to Red Apple. My girl has impressed many people, she was the youngest child ever been tested reading an eye chart at the age of 2 (the youngest one before her was a 4 yrs old boy) and she could swim just with 3 lessons (she is the youngest at her swimming class, being 2 yrs old while others are 3 and 4 yrs old), etc. Sure children get stunted at first seeing her, but she usually then lead the pack, and children often asked their moms to play with her as she usually teaches them new things (like climbing the stool, read a book, etc).