Piccolos Accelerated Early Learning

My daughter attended Piccolos for 3 years, during this time she developed strong relationships with the staff. Her teachers were wonderful, they thoroughly prepared her for Prep this year, and her transition into Prep was effortless. The staff have always been extremely kind, supportive and caring towards my daughter. The facilities at Piccolos are amazing, and the children have access to a huge variety of Montessori equipment, the equipment and centre is kept spotless. At the end of last year, we were presented with five portfolios filled with her work from the 3 years she attended Piccolos as well as a CD of photos. A great deal of effort was put into creating the portfolios and we appreciate the time that staff put into compiling a record of our daughter’s work and drawings.

Our 3yo son has been attending for approximately a year. In our experience, all the benefits stated on the Piccolos website are true. In particular its helped develop his concentration, love of challenges and he's made friends too. The environment is impeccable, the food is healthy and the staff are great. With extended hours, it's more flexible than family day care and has proven to be better value for money too.

I am so grateful to the staff at Piccolos for the excellent service they provide. I was apprehensive about returning to work after three glorious years off with my baby boy. I was worried about how he would respond to strangers and being left in their care while I disappeared for a very long working day. My apprehensions evaporated quickly as Piccolos proved to be the perfect fit for us. The staff are friendly, enthusiastic and love what they are doing. Piccolos provide a family –like environment and care about the well-being of your child. The program is play based and child centred (Montessori) so it is structured in a way for your child to excel in things they enjoy. It is not a baby sitting club. The environment and facilities are clean, bright and engaging. The Montessori program is well resourced and maintained. The extra effort put in by staff is second to none. We have enjoyed brilliant homemade Mother and Father’s day gifts, cookies with the recipe included, craft and stories from the playground. The 2015 end of year concert was brilliant and I can only imagine the amount of work that went into its preparation! Any concerns that I have had were swiftly dealt with in a professional yet caring manner. We have also attended Piccolos weekend events such as riding on the Mornington Steam Trains and going to Werribee Zoo. Keep in mind, staff give up their weekends to attend these events! I have full confidence in the staff at Piccolos. I strongly believe this is the best place for my child to be both academically and socially. Because of their brilliant skills and dedication, my child is developing a passion for learning. But most importantly he is safe and he is happy.

My son started at Piccolos Accelerated Learning in April 2015. At the time I was working full time and I wasn't thrilled with his care arrangements. I scheduled and apt with Barbara, the owner of Piccolos and I was delighted with her knowledge and enthusiasm. We discussed the Montessori Philosophy and a bit of an overview on how they structure their time with the children. Honestly, I was vaguely familiar with Montessori Child Care Centres. It does not seem to be as well known in Australia, so to find a centre that was/is a stonesthrow away from home was wonderful. I felt like I had hit the jackpot! I love the fact that the Business was/is family owned and operated. The team that work at Piccolos are engaged with the children and possess that same passion for learning. This may sound a bit corny, but I like their uniforms. The staff always look neat and tidy and my son's clothes are always very clean. It is very civilised unlike some of the other places we have been to. There is quite a bit of structure to the learning so you can be rest assured that your child is not going to be playing for endless hours without direction. Next year my son will go to Prep. He is already reading simple readers, learning sight words and writing his name. He is becoming independent, well adjusted, developing bonds with other children and he begs me to go to Piccolos on the days when he is home with me. Growth and development is personalised and the staff are incredibly committed to their craft. I feel that we have a partnership and awesome dialogue. I know what is happening in the classroom and throughout the day. The communication is Key and Dushi has been instrumental in keeping me informed with my son's development. We work together to make each day at Piccolo's positive and to help my son with his development. I have no doubt that Piccolos is the right choice. I can see the growth and development in my son and I am confident that his success can largely be attributed to Piccolos and my partnership with the team at Piccolos. Kind Regards, Stephanie De Graaf

Wow.. absolutely Gobsmacked by the previous review. POSITIVE COMMENTS NEED TO BE POSTED MORE OFTEN! I had my last 2 children attend Piccolos for 3 years each. My eldest son went to 2 other montessori's while we were settling into the local area. This is a unique school. It has EVERY montessori resource available which is unusual as it is expensive to set up these schools. It is government funded which made it affordable. My first child went there after we applied and had a meeting with the owners. It was me interviewing them and they were awesome. My daughter then went there as it was her time to and she was accommodated without hesitation or question as she was the sibling. This is an family owned business. It is filled with mature, experienced and qualified staff. There are processes and procedures and they are strictly kept to for the safety of the children and the peace of mind of the families. I never had an issue with this centre over the last four years. I love Montessori for all the obvious reasons, and Piccolos is the best i have seen operated and my kids absolutely LOVED IT!. No child is the same and it is not one school for all. Go and meet with Piccolos for yourself and do not be put off by previous comments please. I read this while referring the info onto a friend.