Kids Academy Springfield

I agree with some of the other negative reviews about Kids Academy Springfield. While staff turnover is common in the childcare industry, the level of change here felt particularly high. There also seemed to be frequent changes in centre management, which can make it difficult to maintain consistency. After Briony (a previous centre manager) left, the overall experience at the centre seemed to decline. To be fair, there are some wonderful educators there and the cook Fran is also lovely. However, there was a period where I felt my child was being viewed as a “problem” or “naughty,” which was upsetting as a parent. My child has additional needs and may require extra support at times, but he is not a problematic or naughty child. Prior to attending this centre he spent three years at another childcare service without any issues, and we only changed due to relocating. There were also repeated incidents where the same child was biting him, and it did not feel like the situation was being effectively addressed. Communication was also inconsistent. For example, when our grandmother passed away I emailed the centre to let them know, in case my child mentioned anything or needed a little extra understanding that week. The email was completely ignored. I did not expect sympathy, but it would have been appropriate to at least acknowledge that the message had been received. This was just one of several occasions where communication felt lacking. At the time we were experiencing these issues we felt somewhat stuck. Places at other centres were limited and, with my child already close to school age, moving him again would have meant another major adjustment so close to starting school. For that reason we tried to make it work for as long as possible. We have now finally received the refund that was owed to us, however it took considerable effort and follow up to resolve. Unfortunately the experience here did not reflect the level of care and communication we had previously experienced at our former childcare centre. Based on our experience, I would not recommend this centre to other families.