Shine Preschool Carlingford

Summary: This centre prioritises staff convenience over children’s needs, with disengaging routines, questionable discipline methods, management dishonesty, and a lack of stimulating, child-centred activities. The overall atmosphere is cold and uninspiring, with policies that work against best practice in early childhood education. Key Concerns: 1. Convenience Over Children’s Needs o Nap times enforced for all children, regardless of individual needs, to give staff uninterrupted paperwork time. o No quiet play options offered for toddlers. KIDS FORCED TO SLEEP, and you wont see a single toddler out of 15 awake which is strange. We were promised by Jesica (manager) that my daughter could have a quiet play which was never delivered. The best she could get was sitting at a table in a completely dark room, while the educators doing paperwork on computers. (Jesica promised that my daughter woud be taken to another room with other kids to play, but then she refused) 2. Dishonest Management Practices o Management may assure parents of certain approaches or accommodations but then do the opposite once the child is enrolled. For example, we called Jesica asking for something, but our messages never got to the room educators, so many lies in this centre. 3. Unhealthy Discipline Practices o Staff use threats such as “We’ll send you to Miss Jessica’s office” towards toddlers. o Educators shouting at children, with management justifying it instead of addressing concerns. Example: when we brough the matter to the manager, she said some kids not like your kids and don’t listen, so we have to!!!!! Yes this is Shine’s manager attitude. 4. Disengaging and Unstimulating Environment o Children often left to wander aimlessly with minimal organised activities. o Group activities lack creativity or developmental value. 5. Poor Sensory Play and Hygiene Standards o Sandpit unclean and poorly maintained. o Children not allowed to remove shoes in the sandpit, contrary to Australian early childhood guidelines for sensory play. Again because Shine prioritises the staff convenience. Taking off shoes means they have to help kids to wear shoes, so they don’t want to bother. 6. Inappropriate Screen Use o Educational content shown on a small computer monitor (the same use for paperwork) rather than a suitable large display or projector. Again, because kids not important there. Just imagine 25 kids sitting and putting pressure on their eyes to see what is happening. HONESTLY: SHIN, HOW YOU CAN BE THAT IRRESPONSIBLE TOWARDS KIDS??? o Only one exception there and that is Miss Rebeca who is a very kind, passionate and professional educator, however she also has to follow the meaningless routines of Shine. Recommendation for Prospective Parents: Spend 20 minutes observing the centre before enrolling. You are unlikely to see passion, warmth, or genuine engagement from educators, but you will see a rigid, convenience-driven environment where promises to parents are not honoured and children’s development is not the priority. While all other centres in the area running full capacity and so hard to get an spot, no wonder why Shine is operating half capacity; having said that even half capacity is too much for what Shine offers!!