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10 year celebrations for Little Scholars
Article Freya Lucas
Nov 18, 2024
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Early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider Little Scholars is celebrating ten years of operation this year, a milestone which has great significance for founder Jae Fraser.
Shortly before founding the business, Mr Fraser was working as a General Manager for a large ASX listed approved provider, a position he had ended up in following a long career working directly with children, starting as a trainee educator.Speaking in an interview piece he described “a constant push and pull” between his role and his vision for what early learning could be.
“As a passionate teacher, I never thought I would find myself in a corporate role as a general manager of a company,” he said, “but I loved every moment of it, especially the people I had the pleasure of working alongside.”
“I’d always felt a deep conviction about early learning. It’s absolutely more than a career, it’s my calling. I was incredibly proud of the work we did in my previous role, but I kept dreaming of something that could be even more child-centered, community-focused, and creatively enriching.”
“I wanted to create something different, something that families and educators hadn’t seen before. I had a vision to create an early learning centre unlike anything in the market—an elevated, high-quality experience where every environment is thoughtfully designed to inspire wonder, nurture growth, and offer a truly exceptional foundation for young learners.”
Little Scholars, he continued, was born from that vision.
“I didn’t leave (his management role) because anything was missing per se, but rather because I knew there was something special we could create that could go beyond the traditional expectations in early childhood education. Little Scholars was my chance to bring that vision to life fully.”
Starting with a centre in Yatala in 2014, the Little Scholars network has grown and evolved since that time, establishing a reputation within communities of the Gold Coast and Brisbane, and becoming a large employer on the Gold Coast, with 14 services currently operating, and another three in the pipeline.
Little Scholars Karalee campus is scheduled for completion in April 2025, Deception Bay North in January 2025, and an as yet unannounced new Gold Coast location in early January 2025.“Opening the Yatala campus was exhilarating but incredibly intense (and so so stressful),” Mr Fraser shared.
“In those first few months, I was wrapping up my role as general manager, while putting everything I had into Little Scholars at Yatala. It was chaotic, but the kind of chaos where every long day, every sleepless night, felt like it had real purpose. There were times when I felt that I had taken on too much and wondered if I was I ever going to get there.”
“When I eventually stepped away from my GM role to focus solely on Little Scholars, it was already showing the spark of what it could become. People were resonating with what we were building.”
Looking back on the past decade, he continued, is something incredible to consider.
“Five campuses once felt like a dream, and now, with over 17, we’re just getting started.”
"As we celebrate this milestone, our focus remains the same—providing exceptional early education. Our goal is to deepen our connections with families and communities, staying true to our heart-driven purpose to create spaces where each child feels seen, heard, and genuinely valued. It’s about holding onto what makes Little Scholars special and continually raising the bar in early learning."
Learn more about Little Scholars here.
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