At the Y Early Learning, we want the very best for you and your child. We work closely with families to support, nurture and guide your child’s development throughout their early years.
With 17 centres across Victoria and one in New South Wales, we’re proud to be a trusted choice for families seeking exceptional early education and care for their child.
Our early learning philosophy
At Y Victoria, our early learning philosophy focuses on learning through play. This allows young children to explore, identify, negotiate, take risks and create meaning, which brings many intellectual and cognitive benefits.
We believe in:
- Developing the whole child
- Striving for the highest quality education and care, assisting children to maximise their learning outcomes
- Providing high-quality, evidence-informed practice
- Empowering children to identify their own learning interests and needs, and supporting them as they develop and grow
- Creating an inclusive community for all children and families
Play-based learning curriculum
Children learn best when they explore, play and try new things. We encourage this at our early learning centres through a play-based approach to learning.
Play based learning is a way for children to take control of how they learn, get involved in messy play, safely take risks and get outdoors.
Play-based learning benefits:
- Helps children learn new concepts and skills
- Makes learning fun and enjoyable
- Encourages children to explore and discover together and on their own
- Allows children to extend their learning
- Enables children to experiment and take risks
- Encourages collaborative learning with adults and peers
- Allows children to practice acquired and new skills
Our early learning social impact
At Y Victoria, we measure our social impact against five social outcomes known as the '5 Ys'. The above statistics are taken from our 2025 social impact report.
Inclusion
We believe in an inclusive society for all children and families and we're committed to developing an inclusive environment that celebrates and respects all aspects of diversity.
We aim to support the diverse needs of all children, young people and their families including those who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, are from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds, have a cognitive or physical disability or identify as LGBTQIA+.
If you are looking to join our early learning programs and your child has specific needs, please contact us.
We're part of the Y
Y Early Learning is run by Y Victoria, a not-for-profit organisation that has been supporting Victorian communities since 1853. We reinvest all profits into improving our services and supporting local communities, with a focus on sustainability and nature-based learning. We even run programs for young people and families in need.
Y Victoria also offers Outside School Hours Care and School Holiday Programs, ensuring we’re there for your child at every stage of their journey. Beyond our programs for children, Y Victoria provide leisure management services, swimming lessons, camps, youth programs and more. Together, we're building brighter futures for children, families and communities across Victoria!
The Y (formerly YMCA) is one of the oldest and largest youth-focused movements in the world, reaching up to 65 million people in 120 countries. As part of the Y movement, we share a mission with Ys around the globe to inspire and empower young people and communities to thrive.
