Buzz for newly renovated early education centre as local demand grows 

A heritage-listed property in Lane Cove has unveiled a new look as Busy Bees Early Learning’s renovated centre, with a 120-place long day care (LDC) now open to help meet the growing demand for early education in Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

Between 2011 and 2021, Lane Cove recorded a 37 per cent increase in families, further heightening the need for quality early learning services. Busy Bees at Lane Cove is now the largest of the suburb’s seven long day care centres and account for more than one-fifth of all local LDC places.

The refurbished building offers learning environments from nursery through to preschool, with brand new playgrounds and purpose-built spaces designed to foster positive learning experiences for every age group.

Busy Bees Operations Director Trish Keeler said the Lane Cove centre reflects the organisation’s commitment to child-centred and play-based learning.

“At our Lane Cove centre, we embrace a philosophy that places children’s interests, strengths, and developmental needs at the heart of our curriculum,” Ms Keeler said.
“Our environments are intentionally designed to reflect the children within them, creating spaces rich in opportunities for exploration, discovery, and growth. Strong relationships between educators and children allow us to identify individual interests and strengths, which then inform the creation of diverse, engaging experiences.”

The centre follows Busy Bees’ three-tiered programming model:

• Tier 1: Big ideas driven by children’s interests and developmental milestones
• Tier 2: Intentional teaching moments informed by collaboration with families and communities
• Tier 3: Individualised goals tailored to each child’s unique learning experiences

Ms Keeler said Lane Cove also offers distinctive practices that enrich daily experiences.

“We implement schema-informed pedagogy, where educators recognise and respond to children’s play patterns such as trajectory, rotation and enclosure and adapt activities to align with these natural learning behaviours,” she said.

Other features include:

• Integrated indoor and outdoor learning, where outdoor environments extend the curriculum and support children who thrive in nature-based play
• Flexible routines, enabling children to remain immersed in meaningful play without unnecessary interruptions
• Respectful caregiving, with educators engaging children during mealtimes, sleep and care routines in ways that promote autonomy and dignity.

Busy Bees Lane Cove also offers extra-curricular experiences to enrich children’s learning, including cooking classes with the centre chef, weekly yoga with a professional instructor, and fortnightly incursions from Cheeky Tunes.

“Each activity is intentionally linked to a child’s individual goals and developmental trajectory, ensuring learning is meaningful, relevant and deeply engaging,” Ms Keeler said.