Welcome to Little Learners,
Port Macquarie
From specialist studios to our expansive sports arena, we offer a warm, heart-led early learning centre for your little one.
Opening Late 2026
About Us
The Little Learners Experience
"Imagine a warm, heart-led coastal sanctuary where world-class sporting, performing arts, and specialist studios empower your child’s natural curiosity and joy, forming the foundation for a lifelong love of learning."
Where big imaginations soar and active minds & bodies thrive
Opening in late 2026, our Port Macquarie early learning centre is custom-designed for children to stretch their limits through active play, movement, scientific discovery and the creative arts.. Purpose-built to embrace our coastal surroundings, our centre moves far beyond traditional childcare - offering expansive, world-class spaces where physical development, creativity and academic exploration go hand-in-hand.
Guided by our pillars of Nurture, Inspire and Achieve, our child-led learning approach draws on Reggio Emilia principles, honoring your child as an active, capable researcher of their world. We view our environment as the "third teacher"—from our stage-ready performing arts centre and instrument-filled music studio to our science lab and creative art studio, all guided by passionate specialist educators.
Our Port Macquarie coastal home ensures your child feels safe, deeply valued and inspired to flourish.
All-Inclusive Activities + Learning
Where Coastal Sanctuary Meets World-Class Learning
While we exceed all NSW Educational Standards and National Quality Framework (NQF) guidelines, our facilities and signature I-N-S-P-I-R-E curriculum takes early education to the next level. Little Learners Port Macquarie features world-class discovery spaces and a breathtaking outdoor landscape that go far beyond the standard curriculum.
We are proud to offer your family:
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Elite Specialist Studios
Dedicated, custom-built wings for Creative Art, Science (STEM), and Performing Arts, alongside a separate, resource-rich Music Studio packed with real instruments.
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Extensive Sports Arenas & Athletics
A multi-sport court (tennis & pickleball), handball zones, basketball hoop, rubber bike track, cricket pitch and an athletics running track with a soft-landing long jump sandpit.
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Indoor Gymnasium & Movement Studio
A purpose-built, climate-controlled space for gross-motor play, yoga, emotional regulation, and specialist-led movement classes.
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Nourishing Meals
5 x seasonal meals prepared daily by our on-site resident chefs using fresh harvests from our community veggie gardens and native Bush Tucker plantings.
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School Readiness & Local Connections
A comprehensive preschool program working closely with local schools and sports teams to build confident "big school" transitions.
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Sensory Playgrounds & Yarning Circle
Wooden activity forts, mound slides, rubber-rimmed sandpits, covered outdoor learning areas, and dedicated outdoor education spaces embedding local Aboriginal culture and perspectives.
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Specialised Age-Specific Rooms
3 Nursery, 3 Toddler and 3 Preschool rooms designed for seamless progression, complete with private baby yards and calm, spacious cot rooms for resting infants.
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Specialist Teachers
Qualified external music, sports and art teachers facilitate hands-on learning activities.
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INSPIRE Curriculum
Our signature, heart-led framework designed to cultivate positive mental health, mindfulness, and active joy.
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Expansive Community Garden
Our “classroom” for our hands-on Garden-to-Plate program where children plant, care for and harvest fresh produce!
Come and see how
beautiful the everyday can be.
We will soon be offering private tours for our impressive Port Macquarie Centre.
Why Choose Little Learners, Early Learning Centre?
Family-Owned & Heart-Led: You’re not a number on a roll here; you’re part of our family, led by owners who are present and invested every day.
Commitment to Child Safety: Child safety isn’t a checklist or a policy tucked away in a binder. It is the absolute foundation of everything we do. We believe that for a child to innovate, explore and let their imagination run wild, they must first feel completely safe, protected and secure. Learn more
Absolute Safety & Low Ratios: Guided by the National Quality Framework (NQF), our centres are secure, heart-led spaces. We prioritise quality over quantity at every level, maintaining low child-to-educator ratios. This means more individual attention, deeper protective bonds, and a calmer environment where your child has the trust they need to blossom.
A Natural Way of Learning: From our community gardens to our on-site chef, we teach children where food comes from and how to care for our planet.
Supporting Your Family's Rhythm: We understand the juggle of life and shift work, which is why we offer extended hours from 7am to 6pm at select centres to ensure we are here when you need us most.
Calm & Coastal Spaces: Thoughtfully designed, home-like environments that trade bright plastics for natural tones and peaceful play.
Mid-North Coast Local Commitment: By focusing our centres right here in our own backyard, we can truly pour our hearts into supporting local families and neighbourhoods.
Guided by the National Quality Framework (NQF): Our centres are heart-led spaces where every child is safe, supported, and encouraged to grow through play and discovery.
Little Learners,
Port Macquarie
Centre Information
14 Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444
Mon-Fri: 7am to 6pm
Nursery, Toddler, Preschool. Ages 6 weeks to 6 years
Our Commitment to Child Safety
Child safety is the absolute foundation of everything we do.
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Come on our journey and become part of our village
FAQs
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Opening late 2026, we are a family-owned Early Learning Academy that seamlessly blends a warm, community heart with world-class facilities. Our centre features 4 specialist studios (Art, STEM, Performing Arts, and a Music studio packed with real instruments), an expansive Outdoor Athletics Complex (multi-sport tennis/pickleball court, rubber bike track, cricket pitch, and long jump sandpit), and an indoor gymnasium. Our signature Garden-to-Plate program connects children to nutrition through our community gardens, providing fresh ingredients for our on-site resident chef to craft 5 wholesome daily meals.
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Because our Port Macquarie centre is currently under construction, we invite families to Register Their Interest via our online form. By registering, you join our VIP village list to receive progress updates, event invitations, and priority access to official enrollment releasing ahead of the general public.
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Absolutely! We believe that early learning is a beautiful partnership, and keeping you connected to your child's day gives you total peace of mind. We use the OWNA digital app (accessible on mobile or desktop). With OWNA you’ll never miss a moment—it offers precise, live tracking of health metrics including meals eaten, toilet moments, sleep times, photos throughout the day, educator learning notes, and important centre announcements.
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We’ve designed our nurseries to be a gentle, home-like sanctuary where your littlest love can safely find their own rhythm. To give your family a calm, unhurried morning, our nursery care is 100% all-inclusive - we provide premium nappies, wipes, fresh linen, cow's milk and formula.
We are also proudly a breastfeeding-supportive academy and will happily feed and safely store your supplied breast milk. Because safety and wellbeing form our foundation, our nursery rooms feature lower educator ratios, spacious private cot rooms for undisturbed sleep, and a dedicated, separate baby yard reserved exclusively for crawlers and non-walkers.
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Positive mental health and a deep sense of belonging form the very heartbeat of our everyday life. We believe a happy child is one who feels secure, heard, and valued. Through our signature I-N-S-P-I-R-E curriculum, low educator-to-child ratios, and small room sizes for our under-threes, we provide a stable, emotionally supportive environment where children can confidently form lifelong friendships and regulate at their own natural pace.
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We believe that preparing for the big adventure of school should be an unhurried journey full of heart. For our older learners (ages 3 to 6), our dedicated academy wings - including our science, creative art, performing arts, and instrument-filled music studio, foster collaboration, critical thinking, and early problem-solving.
The school readiness programme, backed by government Start Strong funding ensures our Preschool Program seamlessly embeds key cognitive, physical, and social-emotional milestones while working hand-in-hand with local Port Macquarie primary schools and sports teams to ensure a confident transition.
“Our Port Macquarie academy is designed to comfort and nurture children - build their confidence and empower them to explore and embrace new experiences for a positive start to learning. Working closely with our local schools and sporting teams, we strengthen each child's unique capabilities so they grow into capable, resilient, and confident lifelong learners.”
- Bec Walton
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live, learn and play, the Birpai People, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to creating welcoming and inclusive environments where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and perspectives are valued, celebrated and meaningfully woven into everyday learning.