Montessori Beginnings Maribyrnong

I’ve waited a few years to write this review, as I wanted to give a really informed opinion. My son has been here since he was 9 months old and I have mixed feelings. First of all, it’s worth knowing that this isn’t an accredited Montessori centre (which was why I chose it, despite it being a long drive for us). I feel this isn’t adequately communicated and I only found this out through my own research. Communication has always been relatively poor; there is no app, no child folders, no personalised updates, and not even any verbal updates about your child unless you really press the staff for info. There were newsletters that came out every 2 months, which had a handful of blurry photos and a high-level summary of room activities, but these aren’t even emailed anymore, just taped to the doors. There are also parent/teacher interviews once or twice a year. But there have been a number of times where I learnt about something my child had been struggling with only AFTER the issue/behaviour had been resolved, e.g. “He’s finally speaking at childcare” or, “he’s more confident now in playing with other children”, to which I’d think, “I didn’t even know that was happening! Why did no one tell me?” My son also took a very long time to settle in here, and staff turnover is high. We’ve had 4 centre manager in 2 years. Friends of ours have removed their children due to them never settling in properly… although perhaps this happens at every childcare centre. The space, however, is beautiful. Everything is very well looked after, clean, and new. My son has learnt a lot and has beautiful manners, which I know he’s learnt from the educators as we speak a different language at home. He puts toys away, takes his shoes off indoors, has learnt his colours and other basics. The chef here, Will, is amazing, and I’m pretty sure my son eats better at childcare than at home. Overall, it’s difficult for me to recommend Montessori Beginnings for the key reason that there’s a lack of communication about my child. It’s hard enough having to leave such a young child with other people, but I feel like I’ve lost even more precious time as I know almost nothing about what he does for 8 hours each day. I think this could be a great centre, but right now it lacks warmth and connection with families. It’s a well run business, but I think most parents of little children need more than that.