New South Wales Central Coast families have had their patience rewarded with the much-anticipated opening of Kids Academy Wyong, a 90-place centre offering the Lifelong Learning Curriculum and quality early education and childcare for babies, toddlers and Preschoolers.
CEO Tim Hickey congratulated the team including Operations Manager Carlye Taylor and Centre Manager Kandas Brown, who previously worked at Kids Academy Warnervale and has been promoted to lead the new centre.
“Kandas has done an incredible job stepping up through the ranks at Affinity and working with us as we developed this site, we could not be more confident in her ability to build an incredible team who will make the most of this beautiful new centre for local families,” Mr Hickey said.
The Kids Academy Wyong team proudly boast more than 30 years early education experience with a full team in place including four Bachelor Qualified Early Childhood Teachers.
“Our families have been incredibly patient as we built the centre and then went through the service approval process, and we could not be more excited to start their children’s lifelong learning journey now,” Kandas said.
Owned and operated by Affinity Education Group, Kids Academy Wyong is the 35th centre in the brand to open nationally, and will be the 16th centre to operate under the brand in New South Wales. It brings the total of centres owned and operated by Affinity Education Group to 240 nationally.
“Parents have been willing to wait with their children at home until they could start at a Kids Academy, that’s how loved our brand is, and we are very focused on delivering the very best early education possible here on the Central Coast,” Kandas said.
In the lead up to the opening families have been introduced to the centre via the Kids Academy Wyong Facebook page, where snapshots of the playground with exciting fort, friendly team and Affinity Safety Commitment initiatives such as the ‘Safety Bear’ have been shared. A waitlist for 2025 and 2026 is already open to families considering care.
Attracting a new team of quality educators and teachers to the centre has been easier says Kandas, because of the support, career opportunities and training offered by Affinity.
“We’re driven by the Affinity Values including Living The Team Spirit and Having Serious Fun, so we’re starting off with an incredible vibe and energy in our team which families really appreciate,” she said.
“The best childcare jobs on the Central Coast are with Affinity Education Group, for sure.”
Unique points of difference
Kids Academy Wyong will offer families seeking high quality care the Lifelong Learning Curriculum – Australia’s most progressive approach to early years education for children aged birth to five years created by Affinity Education Group.
“Our nursery, toddler and Preschool rooms have been designed in collaboration with Affinity’s Quality and Education teams to reflect the most progressive thinking around what children learn, how children learn, and where they learn,” explained Kandas.
“The children will absolutely love the indoor and outdoor learning environments which will feature both play-based and intentional teaching practices.
Featured in the Lifelong Learning Curriculum and included in daily fees are:
- Big Thinkers STEM program building early skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts.
- Positive Living Skills program endorsed by Beyond Blue to support educators with training and resources to develop emotional resilience and wellbeing in children.
- Aussie Wildlife Champions conservation education program created in partnership with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
- Wandana Aboriginal Education bringing reconciliation and cultural awareness to our educators and children.
- Early Years Toolbox digital assessment program support literacy, numeracy and working memory for children aged 4-5 years.
The centre uses an app called Storypark to keep families connected to their child’s daily learning and fun.
Kids Academy Wyong is located at 27-31 Howarth Street, Wyong. Employment and family waitlist opportunities can be made here.