ECMS to expand in 2025 opening six new Victorian services

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider ECMS will expand in 2025, adding six new services across Greater Melbourne in line with the Victorian Government’s Best Start, Best Life reforms which aim to position more early learning services on or near school sites. 

ECMS will open kindergartens in Casey (Topirum Primary School Kindergarten), Wyndham (Barayip Primary School Kindergarten and Hoppers Crossing Family Centre), Cardinia (Boollam Boollam Child and Family Centre),  Hobsons Bay (Sutton Avenue Kindergarten) and an as yet unnamed service in Darebin on the site of Thornbury High School.

Once online the new services will bring the number of offerings by ECMS to 75. 

With its focus on a place-based approach to teaching and learning and community-responsive recruitment practices, ensuring children are supported in their first languages, ECMS Director of Early Childhood Education Rebecca Hand said the organisation is excited about developing and working with new communities of families in both established and growth areas.

ECMS continues to invest in multi-disciplinary and academic partnerships with the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, Melbourne City Mission, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne University’s First Nation’s Ngarrngga project, acclaimed educational leader in infant and toddler practice, Dr Katherine Bussey and an Anti-Bias Approach with Dr Red Ruby Scarlet.

The focus of the provider on equity, social justice, and inclusion saw ECMS awarded the 2024 Anti-bias award at the 2024 Social Justice in Early Childhood Conference.

“We began this adventure back in 2022. Together with our new ways of working we set upon creating the threshold conditions to open the hearts and minds of ECMS. We wanted to bring about change at scale towards our ongoing journey – in the words of Taylor & Giugni – ‘learning how to live well and flourish with difference’, ” Ms Hand explained.

“We’ll continue strengthening partnerships and celebrating our culture of collaboration. Investment in anti-bias training, professional learning opportunities, and new partnerships will support our teaching teams, maintain drive and passion, and keep children and educators at the heart of everything we do.”

Learn more about ECMS here.