Handprints St Ives was the first Handprints centre and opened in November 2014. It opened after many months of searching for the perfect property. It is a purpose built centre close to the local school and opposite the local sports field. Handprints St Ives was the long-awaited dream of our Managing Director Julia and where the philosophy and vision of our company began. St ives Preschool

Handprints St Ives has since been operating at a high standard and the children, families and educators are very much at home. In June of 2015, Handprints St Ives received the highest rating by the Department of Education of Exceeding the National Quality Framework. This was a wonderful achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Handprints educators. More recently, in January 2020, St Ives once again received the highest rating of Exceeding in all seven quality standards! An outstanding achievement.

Handprints St Ives is a thirty-place centre with low numbers across each of the three classrooms and a focus on caring for every individual child. It is a beautiful place for children to begin their learning journey. The centre places a strong value on excursion and community connections. Children of all ages go on excursions and our Preschool room engage in bush school once per week, whereby they spend the whole day down at Cowan Creek reserve. The centre has a strong philosophy based around being one with nature and believe that children learn values of respect, patience and interconnectedness through their time spent exploring the natural landscapes of the local area. St ives Childcare

Handprints Childcare Centre Nursery Program

Our Nursery spaces are based on secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships. Our educators are attuned to children’s individual thoughts and feelings and it is their mission to get to know each of our youngest children as individuals as well as a part of their own family units. We respect parents, as their child’s first teacher and we want to create cohesive relationships with families to ensure that children’s individual family culture’s are represented in the classroom. Through secure relationships between educators and family’s children develop confidence, while feeling respected and valued. The children in the Nursery classrooms learn to appreciate connectedness and interdependence as learners, and to value collaboration and teamwork. 

We believe that it is our holistic approaches that make our Nursery rooms different. Our educators pay close attention to children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive learning as they plan experiences for children based on their interest and needs. Educators meet with parents regularly so that parents can have input into their children’s goals and developmental focuses in the classroom. While educators may plan for children toward a specific outcome, they see learning as open ended and flexible and allow children to find a love for creativity and self-assurance in their own ideas as they work towards these outcomes or goals. There is no right or wrong in our Nursery spaces, just integrated, holistic and connected learning that enhances children’s capacity to understand and make sense of the world around them.