Established in 1975, Shaw St Children's Centre Inc is an independent, community-based, non-for-profit centre providing a homely, safe, loving and caring environment which aims to foster each child's growth and development. Family grouping is the name given in child care to groups of children of mixed ages, and is so named as its composition more closely resembles that of a family. We believe that
the family grouped environment provides an appropriate setting for us to foster all areas of your child's development. In mixed age groups, children can make friends and enjoy experiences at the right level for each individual. Research suggests that this model offers significant benefits for children in terms of social and emotional development, language development, physical and intellectual development, less aggression and more nurturing behaviour than the more common grouping children in care by age. Children have the opportunity to develop positive relationships with each staff member at the centre, and staff and children can relate in different ways depending on the situation and age and stage of the child. Another benefit of family grouping is that there is no beginning or ending to each year - the evolving nature of family grouping and the continuous booking system that we have in place ensures that our programs operate smoothly all year round.
