2–3 years
Pre-Kindy
Settling in, routines, language and lots of sensory play. Our youngest group has the most predictable rhythm of the day and the most cuddles built into it.
What a day looks like
Early learning & kindergarten · West End, Brisbane
A small centre where children get to be children.
Rachel’s Place is an independent, owner-operated early learning centre and kindergarten on Vulture Street for children aged 2–5. Mixed-age family groupings, a weekly Forest School program, and educators who know every child by name.
- Meeting the National Quality Standard
- Kindy-approved program
- Child Care Subsidy approved
- Ages 2–5
- 111 Vulture Street, West End
Owner-operated since 2017
Not a chain. Just one centre, run by the person you’ll meet at the door.
Rachel McLaren opened Rachel’s Place in 2017 because she wanted a centre small enough to feel like a second home, and grounded enough to take learning seriously. She is still here every week — as owner, educational leader, and the person who knows which child is working up the courage to climb the big log.
We hold around 32 children a day across three mixed-age family groups. That size is deliberate. It means siblings see each other, older children help younger ones, and educators have time to notice the small things that matter.
- Open-door culture — families are welcome any time of day
- Emergent, play-based curriculum guided by the Early Years Learning Framework
- A dedicated qualified teacher for the kindergarten program
- Weekly Forest School sessions in real bushland, in all weather
Our groups
Three groups, one community
Children move up when they’re ready, not on their birthday. Groups share the yard, the garden and the routine, so moving on never feels like starting again.
3–4 years
Junior Kindy
Friendships, projects and big imaginative play. Children start joining Forest School excursions and take more responsibility for their own space.
Explore Junior Kindy
4–5 years
Kindergarten
Our kindy-approved program, led by a qualified early childhood teacher. School readiness the useful way: persistence, self-help, curiosity and voice.
Inside the kindy year
Forest School
One morning a week, the classroom is a creek bed.
Forest School isn’t a nature-themed craft table. It’s a regular, repeated visit to the same patch of bush, where children set their own challenges and we hold the boundaries while they work them out.
Over a term you can watch it happen: the child who wouldn’t step off the path is balancing along a log; the one who wanted a job for everyone is negotiating a shared plan. Risk assessed, weather included, mud guaranteed.
Children who are trusted with real challenges learn to trust themselves.Rachel McLaren, Centre Owner & Educational Leader
Our team
The same familiar faces, year after year
Nine educators, most of whom have been with us for years. Every group has a lead educator who stays with those children through the year, so the person greeting your child in November is the one who greeted them in January.
Rachel
Owner & Educational Leader
Kate
Director & Kindy Teacher
Orawan
Assistant Director
Zoe
Lead Educator, Pre-Kindy
What families tell us
Parents say
Themes that come up again and again in our conversations, enrolment surveys and public reviews — summarised in our words, not put in anyone’s mouth.
“They actually know my child”
Families consistently mention how quickly educators learn their child’s temperament, fears and favourite things — and how specific the daily handover is.
“She comes home filthy and happy”
The outdoor program and Forest School mornings are the most talked-about part of the week. Parents tell us their children sleep better and take more risks.
“We never feel like we’re interrupting”
The open-door culture matters to families — walking in mid-morning, staying for a story, or catching Rachel at the gate to talk something through.
Come and see if we feel like the right fit
Tours run during session times so you can see the centre as it really is — busy, muddy and happy. Rachel or Kate will show you around and answer every question you have.