Goodstart Maleny

Exceeding-rated, nurturing care and early learning on Jinibara Country

Where strong relationships and community connection help children thrive.

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4 Walkers Drive, MALENY, 4552, QLD

7:00am to 6:30pm, Monday to Friday
Open every weekday of the year, except public holidays

Nursery, Toddler, Kindergarten

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Quality Childcare and Early Learning in Maleny

Set in the beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Goodstart Maleny offers a warm, community-focused environment where children feel safe, supported and inspired to learn.

Located on Jinibara Country in a quiet residential street next to a local church and close to Maleny High School, our centre has been part of the community for more than 20 years.

With five welcoming rooms from nursery to kindergarten, our longstanding, experienced educators create a stable and nurturing space for every child to grow and thrive.

Come take a tour and see the difference at our centre – our team would love to show you around.

What makes Goodstart Maleny special:

Proudly rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard – we go above and beyond
Experienced, long-term educators with up to 17+ years of service offering stability and genuine relationships
Deep community connections with local schools, community groups and organisations
Weekly dance classes and engaging incursions on recycling, sustainability, and wellbeing
Individualised play-based learning programs guided by the Early Years Learning Framework
Inclusive environment celebrating cultural and language diversity, including French, Chinese and sign language
Large, nature-inspired outdoor areas with sandpits, vegetable gardens, composting and worm farms
Strong family partnerships with open communication through Storypark and family events.

Families love our genuine connections, the sense of belonging we foster, and the supportive, small-town community feel that defines Goodstart Maleny.

Our qualified teachers and passionate educators are dedicated to helping each child build confidence, creativity and a lifelong love of learning.

We offer exciting and educational incursions at the centre, including weekly dance lessons, body safety sessions led by a clinical psychologist for older children, and visits from the Sunshine Coast Council on topics such as recycling, pet care, and worm farms.

Whether you're seeking nurturing care for your baby or a quality kindergarten program led by bachelor-qualified teachers, we're here to help your child shine.

Book a tour today and discover how we can give your child the best start in life – right here in Maleny.

Learn more about Goodstart Maleny

At Goodstart Maleny, our philosophy centres around the belief that every child is a unique individual with their own interests and strengths. We embrace a play-based learning approach that nurtures curiosity and creativity, allowing children to explore their world in meaningful ways. 
We prioritise: 
1. Holistic Development: Supporting cognitive, emotional, social, and physical growth through engaging and developmentally appropriate activities. 
2. Family and Community Engagement: Building strong partnerships with families and the community to create a supportive network for each child. 
3. Inclusive Environment: Celebrating diversity and ensuring that all children feel valued, respected, and included. 
4. Lifelong Learning: Instilling a love of learning by encouraging exploration, problem-solving, and critical thinking. 
Through our philosophy, we aim to create a safe, nurturing environment where children can thrive and become confident, capable learners. 
Children need to feel safe and supported to learn and grow, so we promote key educator relationships between our educators and children. Your child will have at least one educator (their key educator) who takes them under their wing and really gets to know them. 
Our Key Educator relationships help children form secure attachments. Educators work closely with smaller groups and individual children to better understand each child. These relationships lead to improved outcomes for children as we foster more communication between families and educators. 
We inform families regularly about their child's progress and welcome family involvement in our centre events and activities.  
At our Maleny centre, we're proud to inspire your child's love of learning with the support of our passionate and qualified early childhood experts. Teachers with bachelor's degrees run our three and four-year-old kindergarten program, so children can be well on their way to excellent learning outcomes by the time they start school. 
At Goodstart, we believe all children deserve the best possible start in life, which includes access to high-quality early childhood education and care. We offer:  
- Discounts on multiple days  
- All day sessions   
- Fee assistance programs for families that need support
We work closely with parents to ensure the individual needs, interests and strengths of children are considered, and our learning goals reflect them. Using Storypark, a wonderful communication platform, we stay in close touch with families and ensure you're well informed about your child's development and achievements. 
Click here to book your tour or call our Family Services team to find out more on 1800 222 543.

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When every moment counts, make them Goodstart moments.

Enquire now

Hi there! My name is Jemma and I am the Centre Director at Goodstart Early Learning Child Care Centre Maleny.

I have been in the child care and early learning sector since 2003 and I was appointed director of this centre in 2011. I have an Advanced Diploma of Children's Services and during my career I have had the opportunity to work with different age groups and across the variety of areas in the industry.

I am passionate about providing high quality education and care in an environment that ensures inclusion for all. I place a particular focus on helping children build secure attachments with their educators, as this provides them with the confidence to embrace their environment.

The team I am fortunate to work with shares my passion for seeing children meet their potential. They are dedicated, professional, experienced and highly qualified.

I have lived in the Maleny area since I was a child, and love the culturally-rich community and beautiful surrounds.

I look forward to working with you all and exploring how we can navigate through the early learning adventure.

Structured Kindergarten Program

At Maleny, you and your child can enjoy the best of both worlds. Our centre offers a kindergarten program and long day care under the one roof. Our kindergarten teachers are University qualified and provide a play-based learning program that will support your child in learning the skills for school and life.

Fees and inclusions

Nursery & Toddler

Kindergarten

Use our Calculator to see your real out-of-pocket cost

The above fees are effective from 7 July 2025 and are based on a 10 hour session, for attendance between 2 and 4 days per week. 5 day bookings receive a generous discount per day. Note that different combinations of sessions times and number of days can increase or decrease the daily rate.