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A new space to grow and flourish

13/11/2018

New FROEBEL Early Learning Centre in Melbourne opened in July 2018

The 2nd of July 2018 marked not only the beginning of the new financial year but also the opening of the second FROEBEL Early Learning Centre in Melbourne, located at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Parkville. Honouring the work of Professor Lynn Corcoran, a mentor for young scientists and advocate for gender equality in science, the centre has been named ‘Professor Lynn Corcoran Early Learning Centre: FROEBEL Parkville’. It offers brand-new and age-appropriate learning environments for 100 children aged 3 months to 6 years over four levels.

At FROEBEL’s new Parkville location, the educators and teachers are trained “Little Scientists” educators. The inquiry-based Little Scientists program for playful early STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) exploration has been brought to Australia by FROEBEL in 2013. It is designed to transform children’s natural curiosity for scientific phenomena into meaningful learning. The program is funded and supported by the Australian Government under the National Innovation and Science Agenda.

In line with the FROEBEL philosophy, the centre also focusses on early language learning with German being introduced as a second community language at the service. A number of early childhood educators are German-speaking and follow the concept of “early language immersion”, speaking with the children in their mother tongue throughout the day.

“Our new centre offers incredible learning environments for young children to grow and flourish. We are excited to open our first workplace childcare in Australia in close collaboration with the reputable Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, in the heart of Melbourne’s biomedical precinct. Through its partnership with FROEBEL, the Institute is maximising opportunities for women in science and makes returning to work easier for its employees.“, says Olde Lorenzen, Managing Director of FROEBEL Australia. “More and more employers are considering such offerings for their staff.”

Professor Lynn Corcoran Early Learning Centre: FROEBEL Parkville is a workplace centre with Priority of Access for employees of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and Melbourne Health, but excess capacities are available to the wider community. The service offers an integrated Kindergarten program and currently has vacancies for its 3 year old and 4 year old Kindergarten program in 2019.