Only About Children Ferny Hills

As a regular casual educator I love the way that the staff are committed to the children. How they go above and beyond with the needs of the children. I enjoy observing how in the younger rooms the children love to follow their educators around the outdoor area. Focusing on the children’s interests at the time be it singing, reading book’s or engaging in sensory activities.

Only About Children is committed to my Daughters development and emerging interests. They communicate very well with me and keep me informed about how her day is going. They have great developmental plans for her and she loves being here. The rooms are always nicely presented and there are so many experiences that she enjoys.

My son started at Kindy garden from when it first opened. The staff are professional, amazing, loving, friendly and engaging with the children and exceptional at what they do.
The staff always had great communication with parents and were willing to accommodate extra days or swaps if available.
Kindy garden Fernyhills is a great learning environment with fun learning activities.
I have never had a problem with this centre and can’t recommend it enough.

Outstanding..... I am a parent of two children who attend Kindy Garden - Ferny Hills in 2 separate rooms, both rooms are always immaculate as is the outside play area, with loads of things to stimulate little minds.
Both my children are thriving in their school environment with their friends and educators and love going to learn new things every time, to the point they don't want to leave, come the afternoon.

The educators of both children's rooms, are absolutely amazing and go above and beyond their requirements I'm sure, I would also like to thank the director of the centre for all her ongoing help, as one of my children has cancer and still requires treatment, I am notified on days prior to my child's day of care of any contagious illness that may be a problem for us. My daughter is also now vision impaired due to her childhood cancer and receives specialist appointments at the centre which the director and educators have all been truly supportive, encouraging and amazing, I can not say enough "thank you" to what is truly governed.

I would and will recommend this centre 100%...

My Wife has been in the Industry 20 years so picking a centre for our child was a huge deal and process. With her experience we were aware of what we were looking for and that was the best care for our daughter. We are more than happy with the care and education our child has recieved and continues to recieve from the staff at Kindy Garden. Our daughter attended another centre and never settled but now she runs to her educators and waves us goodbye. On many occasions I and my wife dropped in during the day and my child is always engaged and staff are sitting interacting and having fun with the children. We have been lucky enough to attend extra curriculum activities for example shows and mothers day morning tea which all the staff have been approachable and friendly. At all times the centre is clean, fresh and inviting. Management have always been readily available they are very friendly and have been extremely helpful with any enquiries we have had. We would highly recommend this centre to anyone that is looking for quality care for their child.

I live in the area and my sister works there so was quick to recommend Kindy Garden to my friends looking for the right centre for their children. They often tell me how lucky they are to have a spot there because their children love going each week and the staff are friendly and caring. If you are looking for a high quality, well run centre that truly cares about their staff, children and families, then I suggest you give them a call to book in for a tour. You won't be disappointed.

We chose to move our daughter to the ‘kindy room’ at KG Ferny Hills from another childcare centre in McDowall – near my work. At the previous centre, my daughter was always sick & was becoming progressively more withdrawn. The difference this move has made, is hard to express in writing.

My daughter has a significant speech delay and earlier this year, I did not think she would be able to start prep in 2017. I was finding it very hard to stay on top of the homework given to us by our speech therapist, so my daughter’s educators asked me to bring it in. They made it a fun daily activity that other kids in the room happily joined in. This helped my daughter to not feel like the odd one out & also helped other children with their speech development.

Not only has my daughter’s speech significantly improved, but her overall confidence and willingness to express herself and interact with other children. She’s now more than ready to start school in the New Year. She is a different child, happier & healthier with far less sickness than previously.

I can’t thank the educators enough for their dedication and professionalism. They’re also just really beautiful people and my daughter adores them. The centre is impeccably clean & I have no doubt that the centre’s Montessori / Emilio resources, toys & teaching practices have fed her natural curiosity and willingness to learn – like never before. She has truly blossomed and for this, I have nothing but the highest praise, respect & gratitude. Thank you ladies – you’re outstanding!!

I work in the Industry and my niece attends this wonderful centre. She is always happy and has lots of stories to tell when I pick her up which only tells me what a great day she has had with her educators and friends. If I need anything the staff are friendly and very helpful.

Cannot fault this daycare. The staff are amazing and are all so caring for the children as well as being very approachable.
The centre itself is always very clean and immaculate. I recommend this centre to everyone.

The staff make this centre ! Warm, kind and passionate staff..my boys have thrived under this centre and Megans leadership !

Beautiful new centre with lovely rooms and outdoor play areas look amazing. Very friendly staff.

The teachers here are useless!! If your child isn’t the favourite they don’t care. My nephew got bitten and he went to the teachers crying and they didn’t care and didn’t do anything about it. Never even told my sister about it then when my sister emailed about it she got no reply. Lucky they are dealing with her and not me. Pathetic!!!

This facility gives the appearance of a quality childcare centre yet my experience with my 3 little ones has been the complete opposite. It is unsanitary, unsafe and lacking effective leadership. I've spent a year fighting for adequate care of my children at this centre and I have been unsuccessful in changing their care for the better. This ultimately lead to removing my children and finding them an alternative facility to attend. I'd caution any other parents from sending their children to Kindy Garden, Ferny Hills.

The outdoor area might look fancy in photos but there is hardly any moveable equipment and all of the toys are broken or missing parts. There are hardly even any sandpit toys. There are two 'mud-kitchens' with inexplicably no access to dirt, water, or utensils of any kind. Other than the two permanent structures there is a lot of bark chips and just pavers, not 'garden' like at all.

The Library looks nice in photos too, but the books are in terrible condition, as are the toys in most rooms. I've been told all the toys for the youngest room were bought second hand from markets! How can a new centre open and not carefully plan and purchase new, appropriate toys for their youngest age group? The youngest room's outside area is terrible too, nothing like the photos on the website. Just a big patch of fake grass with a small garden in the corner, and a whole lot of bessa-brick wall and timber fence. Not a single piece of equipment, no sensory resources, nothing at all to even make it equal to a traditional childcare, let alone a good alternative to one!

Kitchens on the main side are dirty, bathrooms smell and are not cleaned often enough, items belonging to my child are frequently lost. There is a lot of false advertising on the website - there are no chickens or guinea pigs, no family enrichment program, no digital literacy program (ipads, laptops and audiovisual devices are only used by staff). There is no vege garden, craft garden or 'Alpha' garden.

As for the staff, while there are some who are warm, friendly and professional, many others are quite cold and rude, particularly if your child is not one of 'theirs'. It's not unusual to see some staff run off their feet while others stand around or sit together chatting, or sit using laptops instead of interacting with children. I have been informed of poor staff moral and very poor management by the director, not to mention the fact that the so-called 'educational leader', it turns out, is actually the director of the McDowall centre and therefore never at Ferny Hills, which at least explains the complete lack of cohesive curriculum.

Needless to say, my child has been removed from this centre. It in no way lives up to the image it presents. I would have given zero stars if I could have. If you are a parent or educator, give Kindy Garden Ferny Hills a wide berth!

All over the place with very high staff turnover which makes it difficult for the kids to have a relationship with the educators of any decent duration. Also expensive for what it is - with no meals or nappies included and payment required for almost any special event. The fees certainly aren't funding the purchase of new learning and playing materials!