About us

The origin of what has become ‘Dinky Di’ began back in 2004, when our Founding Director, Ty Blanch laid the first stone of his brand new, ‘state of the art’ Child Care facility in Morisset. The brand was in part inspired by the legendary Steve Irwin, and whilst the name ‘Dinky Di’ is synonymous with Australia and all things honest and genuine about our amazing country, the fact that ‘Dinky’ is an anagram of ‘Kindy’, made the name all the more appropriate.

About Us. We provide premium quality Early Education and Care at an affordable price, and pride ourselves on ensuring we stay the best, not necessarily the biggest. At Dinky Di Learning, we believe we are big enough to know, and small enough to care.

In 2009, Ty partnered with fellow Directors Michael and Darren to operate a second centre By keeping our focus on the care and education of the children entrusted to us and driven by a group of highly qualified, caring and motivated Educators, Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centres now delivers premium Early Education and Care to the communities of Morisset, Tumbi Umbi, and Terrigal.

It is definitely all about the people at Dinky Di! Our team of Early Education and Care professionals are the driving force behind our brand, and are supported by a Management team of Industry leaders to deliver Premium Early Education and Care.

Animals, plants, our environment and a deep respect for all life in general are part of our philosophy and are embedded within our daily practices.

Music also holds a special place in our hearts at Dinky Di. Not only because it is fun for the children to experiment and learn through music and movement, but because we embrace the research that shows how the brains of young children develop differently when they are immersed in music as often as possible from a young age.

At Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centres our team of Educators, alongside our children and families, continually reflect, analyse and develop our programs. Drawing on a range of different Early Childhood developmental theorists, they create and facilitate rich learning environments that connect the emotional and logical sides of our children’s brains so that they will be able to combine critical thinking and learning skills as they navigate their life journey.

Children’s early learning influences their life chances. Wellbeing and a strong sense of connection, optimism and engagement enable children to develop a positive attitude to learning.

We look forward to welcoming your family into the Dinky Di family as we work together to help facilitate your child’s Early Learning Journey.

OUR LOCATIONS

Looking for a child care centre on the Central Coast? We offer three locations.

TUMBI UMBI

MORISSET

TERRIGAL BEACH

Our Educators

At Dinky Di Children’s Learning Centre, we have the knowledge and the depth of experience to ensure your child has the best possible start in life! We feel that our staff are our the most valuable asset and that when our staff are happy, the children and their families are happy too. Our Early Childhood professionals are genuinely dedicated to the development of every child. They bring their skills and experiences to the classroom enhancing their teaching style. We work together as a team; respecting, fostering and utilising the expertise of each.

They are all experienced in the industry and possess varying qualifications which may include:

Bachelor of Education (University Degree)
Diploma of Teaching (University Degree)
Diploma of Child Studies (Through TAFE and various colleges)
Child Care Certificate II and III (Through TAFE, various colleges and traineeships
Accredited Child Care Certificates (Through TAFE and various colleges)

All primary caregivers possess Senior First Aid qualifications, with trainees acquiring them through the course of their training.

Additional staff skills and areas of expertise include:

Additional Needs
Multiculturalism and Accreditation Systems

Furthermore, at Dinky Di, the centre offers ongoing staff development opportunities to enhance staff expertise and therefore the quality and diversity. Subjects that are covered in the above qualifications will often include:

Early Childhood Development
Child Psychology
Technology
Literature and expressive language
Developing Learning Programs
Creative Arts
Music and Movement
Behaviour and guidance
Nutrition
Daily Care
Health Science
Communications
Family and society
Special education
Professional development

Child Care Subsidy Eligibility

Some basic requirements must be satisfied for an individual to be eligible to receive Child Care Subsidy for a child. These include:

the age of the child (must be aged 13 or under and not attending secondary school, except in certain circumstances where an individual may be eligible for a child who does not meet this criteria, such as children with a disability or medical condition in certain circumstances)
the child meeting immunisation requirements
the individual, or their partner, meeting the residency requirements listed in the legislation.

In addition, to be eligible for Child Care Subsidy the individual must be liable to pay for care provided, the care must be delivered in Australia by an approved child care provider, and not be part of a compulsory education program.

There are three factors that determine a family’s level of Child Care Subsidy. These are:

Combined annual family income
Activity – the activity level of both parents
Service type – type of child care service and whether the child attends
The Child Care Subsidy is generally paid directly to service providers to be passed on to families as a fee reduction. Families make a co-contribution to their child care fees and pay to the provider the difference between the fee charged and the subsidy amount.

There is also targeted additional fee assistance for vulnerable families through the Child Care Safety Net. Families can get an estimate of what they may be entitled to by entering their details into the Department of Human Services Payment and Service. Alternatively, please call one of our friendly Centre Directors, to assist you in understanding the CCS, your eligibility and how to calculate your daily gap.