Who are we?

Bilingual By Five Early Learning Centre is an Approved Provider of Long Day Care. We operate childcare centres catering for children from 0-5 years of age.

What are your opening hours?

Please refer to the location tab for the opening times at our different locations.

Are you open over the holidays?

The centre will be closed on Public Holidays and the last week of December between Christmas and New Years. The centre will remain open during all the school holiday periods.

Can I book my child in part time?

Yes, we will offer both part-time and full-time places. Depending on availability, you can choose to enrol your child from a minimum of two (2) days a week.

My child is in Pre-Primary, can they attend your centre during the school holidays?

Yes, we will offer casual spaces during school holidays. This is subject to availability and the discretion of our centre.

How much are the fees?

The fees for our Perth CBD location is $165/day for the Bao Bao Le Le room (0 – 2.5) and $160/day for the Guai Guai and You You room.

Fees include four meals a day (morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, late snack), high-quality learning, and lots of fun!

Additional charges are applicable for short-term/casual bookings (as well being subject to availability).

Are fees still payable for sick day absences?

Yes, fees still apply for sick days. If you are eligible for government rebates, your rebate will still be applicable for 40 absent days a year with no documentation and unlimited sick days if you’re able to provide a medical certificate or similar.

What happens when we go on holidays or if my scheduled day falls on a public holiday?

Normal fees apply for all absences (including Public Holidays) that fall on a usual day of attendance. However, we offer a holiday discount for up to four weeks of care per financial year.

Please note families need to provide written notification two weeks in advance to apply the holiday discount (25% discount on the full fee). Fee payments need to be up-to-date to receive the holiday discount.

Am I entitled to government assistance, rebates and benefits?

The Australian Government may provide financial assistance towards the cost of your child’s care as part of the government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) package. Information about this is available on the Centrelink website (https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/child-care-subsidy) or by phone on 13 61 50 to enquire about your family’s eligibility. If you haven’t previously received CCB/CCR (the government’s previous funding package), you’ll need to register with Centrelink for a Customer Reference Number (CRN), and then link your CRN to your myGov account (https://my.gov.au/).

If you previously received CCB/CCR, you’ll need to complete an Child Care Subsidy Assessment form after linking your CRN to your myGov account.

All fees are paid at the full rate until Centrelink notifies us regarding the % fee reduction.

How do I enrol? Is there an enrolment fee?

We are currently taking expressions of interest which can be done through this link. Once you’ve registered your interest, there’s an opportunity to book a tour to the centre. After your tour, we can send through our online enrolment form to enrol at the centre. Enrolments are for a minimum of two days per week and a one time non-refundable enrolment fee of $150 applies.

How early should I enrol?

We recommend enrolling as early as possible to ensure you get the day/s you want.

What do I need to pack?

At our Perth CBD centre, we provide 4 nutritious meals – morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, late snack, learning materials, craft and lots of fun (although it can sometimes get quite messy!).

We recommend to pack a change of clothes, a water bottle, comfort toys for sleeping (if needed), nappies (if needed), milk bottles and formula (if needed).

My child is new to childcare, what should I expect at the beginning?

Introducing your child to care can be an emotional time. Especially in the early days there may be a few tearful goodbyes. But rest assured, there are many ways to assist your child with this transition. 🙂

We encourage you to allow extra time for the morning drop offs, especially in the initial phase of a child transitioning into the centre. Having that extra time will allow you to ease your child into the room and get them settled. Moreover, it will give you and your family ample time to discuss issues and routines with the educators and form a relationship with them early on. The extra time every morning can help you establish those goodbye routines like reading a book before you leave or helping your child wash their hands before finding an activity to get involved in.

The rhythm of our day usually begins at 9-9.15am. Before we begin the day’s activities, educators will open different play stations to assist with your child’s transitions. These activities encourage social interactions for your child and other children and educators. We encourage parents to do drop offs before 9.15am to ensure your child has enough space to settle in before our learning begins!

What is the Early Years Learning Framework?

The Early Years Learning Framework is a National Early Learning Framework for children from birth to five years. As the early years are a vital time for children to learn and develop, the framework has been developed to ensure your child receives a quality educational program. Educators will use the framework in partnership with families to develop learning programs responsive to children’s ideas, interests, strengths and abilities. We also recognise that children learn through their play. The Early Years Learning Framework describes childhood as a time of belonging, being and becoming.

  • Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationship they have with their family, community, culture and place.
  • Being is about living here and now. Childhood is a special time in life and children need time to just ‘be’ – time to play, try new things and have fun.
  • Becoming is about the learning and development that young children experience.

Children start to form their sense of identity from an early age, which shapes the type of adult they will become. Through the Framework’s five learning goals educators will assist your child to develop:

  • A strong sense of their identity
  • Connections with their world
  • A strong sense of wellbeing
  • Confidence and involvement in their learning; and
  • Effective communication skills

Our centre also offers an extensive School Readiness program and a specialised bilingual (Mandarin) program based on the Framework. The Framework has a strong emphasis on play-based learning as play is the best vehicle for young children’s learning providing the most appropriate stimulus for brain development. We aim to guide your child in becoming an effective learner through creating an environment that is challenging and stimulating. The overall aim of our programs is to help your child in developing all areas necessary for success now and in later years. Our Mandarin learning program is play-based, using music, drama, arts and language used in everyday routines.

Watching Your Child’s Progress

Using the Early Years Learning Framework educators will observe your child’s learning so they can build on it and plan the next steps. They will do this by listening, observing and talking to your child. Each child will have their own portfolio or collection of learning. This may contain photos and children’s work to show what your child is learning. This learning journey is available for you to view at any time on your parents app.

Your child’s room will also show on-going learning through daily journals/books, photographs, project work, learning stories and a program documenting the day’s progress.

What about transport?

Public transport

Our locations are accessible by public transport, we’ll send you some photos and instructions about accessing the building when you book your tour. We also have some pram storage at the centre for CBD locations.

Car pick up / drop off

There are pick up and drop off car bays for parents to utilise in each location. We’ll send you some photos and instructions about accessing the building when you book your tour.

BILINGUAL-RELATED FAQs

Bilingual Related Questions

Is Bilingual By Five a childcare/daycare?

Yes, Bilingual By Five is an approved long day care centre provider. Our first centre (in Perth CBD) opened in August 2018.

Is Bilingual by Five just for Chinese/Mandarin speaking families?

Families of any language backgrounds are welcome. The centre caters for any parents who would like their child to have access to a bilingual environment growing up, with a particular focus on children from non-Chinese speaking families.

Our specialised bilingual syllabus supports both Mandarin and English language development simultaneously. It’s also beneficial for children with a Mandarin background to be at the centre as they will naturally communicate their home language with other children from English speaking backgrounds and vice versa.

Will my child be distressed because of being in a bilingual environment?

Children in many places around the world grow in bilingual environments without any distress because of the language environment. We don’t expect the bilingual environment to be the reason for distress as our educators strive to make our bilingual program as natural as possible and build both languages into everyday routines.

There are however various reasons as to why a child might be distressed in an early learning center. For example, transitions between the home environment to a new kindergarten environment might be stressful for most children – especially those who are more reserved. They might feel confused or lonely.

Our staff understand that while transitions are generally stressful, children also possess resilience and also the importance of good relationships and building trust with both the child and their families in minimising every party’s distress during these transitions.

Will my child cling to English speaking educators (if they are unable to speak Mandarin)?

It is natural for children to have a preference in interacting with particular educator (especially when distressed). We do expect that children will initially draw to educators that speak their home language, however this is usually only for a short transitional period.

Our environment will be such where communicating in both languages is natural and commonplace for all involved. The varying levels of mandarin used, will be catered to each child’s language proficiency as well as their developmental age.

How long will it take my child to be bilingual?

Research has shown that there are at least 3 factors that may influence the progress that a child makes in the second-language acquisition process.

  1. Motivation: The best motivation for learning is having a use or need for the learning content. An environment in which a second language is used creates that need and will be a motivating factor to be children to learn. Our Mandarin syllabus is also interactive, fun and tailored for young children. However, as with all learning, different children will have different motivation levels and come to enjoy learning at different times and in different ways.
  2. Exposure: Generally, the more a child is exposed to a language environment, the faster the child will acquire the language. Active engagement is also beneficial to language acquisition. At Bilingual by Five, your child will be exposed and actively engaged in a second language environment all day, each day they are at the centre.
  3. Personality: Researchers studying young childrens second-language-learning acquisition have observed that there seems to be a personality continuum stretching from shy and reserved at one end to outgoing and socially tuned in at the other end. Where a child’s personality can be located along this continuum may have an impact on how quickly that child learns a second language. This is because a child that is more reserved and shy is more likely to approach the second language with more caution, or take a long time to go public with their newly acquired language skills.

To summarise, every child acquires languages at different rates and stages. However at our centre, children will be given the best opportunity to acquire another language as best they can before they start school.

My child has learning difficulties, is it appropriate for my child to attend the centre?

We welcome all children regardless of their learning abilities, prior experience or background. Our program and syllabus is designed to take into account all children’s social, cultural and linguistic diversity (including learning styles, abilities, disabilities, gender, family circumstances and geographic location) in decision-making processes.

We are intentional in ensuring that children have equitable access to resources, participation, and opportunities to demonstrate their learning. If your child has learning difficulties, or should you have any concerns, please contact us and we can arrange for an appointment to discuss how we can support your child’s holistic development and learning.

Will my child get confused?

Research has shown that even infants are able to hear and distinct the patterns and rhythms of different languages that they are exposed to. Furthermore, many studies have shown that the early years (0-8) is considered to be an optimal language acquisition period for children, as they have the biologically innate capability to acquire and develop language. Children are able to acquire up to 7 or more language easily given the environment they are exposed to.

Confusion is a normal part of all learning processes, including learning two languages. However, children’s cognitive functioning is especially quick and flexible during the early years. With the support of the educators and caregivers, these confusions are quickly dissolved and further strengthen the child’s second language acquisition.

We speak a different language at home other than English and Mandarin.

Children grow up in all kinds of bilingual or multilingual settings. It doesn’t matter if they hear the same parent speaking several languages (that’s normal life). It doesn’t matter if people begin a sentence in one language and end in another, because language is a part of every day life not a subject to be taught.

Will my child retain their bilingual abilities after they start school?

Children that are bilingual before starting school have the best foundation for being bilingual for life. However as with most skills, we can lose what we don’t use. As such, we encourage parents to keep their kids speaking a second language after starting school.

Do I need to try and speak a second language at home with my kids?

No, speak whatever language with your kids you feel most comfortable. However if you’d like to encourage your kids in their learning journey, learning alongside your kids with our ‘Learn with your kids’ program will help and it’s lots of fun!

What dialect of Chinese is spoken?

We speak Chinese Mandarin (often referred as just Chinese). Mandarin is the official language/dialect in China, Taiwan and is also the formal language of instruction for overseas Chinese. We think that learning any second language is great for kids, but Chinese will be especially useful because of the below reasons:

  • artistic & fun language, made up of pictorial characters
  • plenty of people to practice with (over 1.2 billion speakers worldwide)
  • the language of Australia’s largest trading partner
  • the language of the world’s 2nd largest economy, expected to be the largest by 2030

Don’t miss out!

Register your interest to attend Perth’s first English-Mandarin Early Learning Centre.
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