2025 Enrolments Open
Local Early Learning Since 2008
‘More than a Kindergarten, it’s a lifestyle for the whole family”
Padua Kindergarten is a unique early childhood service that offers Peninsula families an alternative to large, corporate-owned centers taking over the Early Childhood space. Where parents make a conscious choice for their children, and everyone is welcome.
Our Victorian Kindergarten Funded natural play-based program is designed to foster creativity, artistic expression, and imaginative play, while building a positive sense of self in young children.
We've been an integral part of the community since 2008, and we're proud of it. As a locally-owned and operated business, our passionate, experienced & qualified owner is hands-on and committed to providing the best possible experience for our students and building personable and relatable relationships with families.
At Padua Kindergarten, we believe in the value of holistic development and love for learning. Our program is tailored to help children build resilience, independence, responsibility, respect, and perseverance. We follow an inclusive vision that emphasise engaging learning experiences for all children, and operate under the Victorian Early Years Frame Work.
Our teaching methods and curriculum are inspired by both modern and traditional theorists, such as Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Kathy Walker.
We adopt a multi-age learning method, fostering children to take charge of their own learning and enhance hands-on skills. Small groups facilitate a more personalised and hands-on tailored learning experience for each child and family. In a time where large group sizes overshadow early childhood, potentially missing crucial developmental milestones years in our children's lives, PAdua is dedicated to establishing and maintaining Kindergarten Programs that will create childhood memories akin to those cherished by many parents today. While it may seem like an old-school approach, when combined with contemporary teaching philosophies, it creates a calm oasis in a chaotic world, allowing children to experience the pure magic that Kindergarten should embody.
We provide a minimum of two days, with the option to choose up to five days (7:00 am to 5:30 pm), along with a structured funded kindergarten program for both 3 and 4-year-olds every day. Our Pre-Kindergarten program complements our learning initiatives and accommodates children from 12 months old.
The Kindergarten program follows a structured schedule Monday to Friday, operating 50 weeks a year. There are no changes in rooms, teaching staff, or disruptions to the children's routines, kindergarten space, or environment. Our program is consistently delivered with care every day.
At Padua Kindergarten, we strive to provide our students with life-long skills that will stay with them through their journey in life. We aim to nurture creativity, thoughtfulness, self-esteem, and a love of nature, so that our students can continue to grow and thrive.
We believe in a holistic approach that emphasises natural play, love, and respect for one another and the world we live in. Our up-to-date curriculum ensures that each child's blossoming life skills and school readiness are second to none. We work alongside parents, believing them to be as much a part of Padua's journey as their children.
Rather than competing, Padua offers a high-quality alternative that stands out from the rest. Our growing community and equally passionate team make Padua a haven for positive growth in all the right directions.
Being a small community, we place high importance on cultivating close relationships. Our enthusiastic team is dedicated to building strong and meaningful connections with the children, parents, caregivers, and the local community, including primary schools in the area.
3 Year Old Kindergarten
4 Year Old Kindergarten
Pre Kindergarten
Padua: A Safe and Nurturing Early Childhood Education Environment
At Padua, we take pride in partnering with the best in the industry. Our teachers are highly skilled in early childhood education and share our vision of providing a safe and nurturing environment that promotes your child's growth. With over a decade of service experience, our educators are dedicated to delivering top-quality programs. What sets Padua apart is our teachers' passion and commitment. We focus on building strong community ties and value our community. As one of the last privately owned and operated services on the Mornington Peninsula, we aim to provide a solid foundation for the people in our community.
We pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve, never settling for the status quo or competing with others. Our mission is to provide a space where children can embrace their uniqueness and explore their own interests and aspirations. We value locals in business and work to attract the same like-mindedness within the local community.
Catering to families seeking the best for their children, Padua offers tailored offerings, from a Pre-Kinder program to a School Readiness program, delivered by Qualified Teachers and Educators under the approved Victorian Government Kindergarten Program.
Our diverse range of enrichment activities & specialist programs, including gardening, music, dance, cooking, & yoga, are conducted in house by our multi skilled teaching staff.
Padua ensures a comprehensive educational journey for our local children, with dedicated staff, an experienced & passionate owner, built on 17 years of community involvement fostering a nurturing environment.
Free from corporate influences, Padua focuses on simplicity and aims to provide a wholesome experience reminiscent of the upbringing their parents had.
Founder + Operator
With a background that spans over two decades in the early childhood sector, our dedicated founder spent her childhood collecting shells and surfing the waves of the local back beaches.
Setting out on foot on Main Street Mornington to establish Padua more than 17 years ago, armed with only flyers to announce its inception, she had no idea that Padua would become a community staple, surpassing all her initial aspirations and dreams of starting her own Kindergarten. Our owner established Padua 17 years ago with a vision to create a community-centered Kindergarten. Striving to move away from corporate offerings, she aims to integrate a holistic, natural approach into early education, focusing on outdoor play and healthy living. Padua emphasises nurturing in-person relationships and a fulfilling environment for children and families, encouraging them to slow down and appreciate life's small joys.
As a dedicated vitalistic professional and mother this has been a solid foundation of knowledge and experience that she prides herself on sharing within the community. Her values around nature based hands-on learning and a healthy lifestyle are the foundation of Padua's philosophy and ethos, providing a consistent and congruent approach.
She has provided guidance to local businesses during their start-up phase and alongside Padua has owned and operated successful health and wellness businesses across Victoria. Though her experience is vast, her true passion lies in empowering others to realise their full potential and achieve success in life, with a holistic life as foundation. Whether that be in business, parenting, relationships or health.
Despite the heavily commercialised early childhood landscape, Padua remains committed to it's core values since 2008 and has pioneered quality ECE on the Peninsula for many years, offering a wholesome play-based program for families on the Peninsula.
Paduas foundational mission is to create a peaceful, community-oriented space for families during their children's formative years, emphasising "Community over Competition."
"My life's purpose is to create a space free from commercial influence, a place of peace and tranquility, surrounded by natural and magical surroundings. Reflective of our own childhood memories, to offer a place for like-minded families to gather in a community during the most precious years of their child's life. A space where it's about quality early learning, not competition”