Goodstart Gawler South

Five spacious, age-based rooms from nursery to preschool

Large natural yards with veggie garden and worm farm.

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37 Twelfth Street, GAWLER SOUTH, 5118, SA

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

Nursery, Toddler, Preschool

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Welcome to Goodstart Gawler South!

Our early learning centre creates a warm and welcoming environment where children thrive from nursery to preschool.

Nestled in a calm, natural setting, we’re in a convenient location just a short walk from Gawler Railway Station and Main Street.

With five spacious learning rooms and expansive outdoor play areas, children have every opportunity to explore, learn and grow.

Our dedicated, longstanding educators build strong, supportive partnerships with families and the community to ensure every child feels secure and inspired.

We invite you to take a tour, see our centre in action and meet the team.

Why families choose us:

Five age-based rooms for child-led play and learning from nursery to preschool
Large natural outdoor spaces with new veggie garden and worm farm
Monthly visits from local aged care residents providing enriching intergenerational learning
School-ready preschool program led by a degree-qualified early childhood teacher
Longstanding educators – some with 10+ years' experience at Goodstart
Multilingual team, speaking Cantonese, Mandarin, Indonesian, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian
Convenient location close to schools, Gawler Railway Station and Northern Expressway

Our centre is more than a place for early learning – it's a community where children form meaningful connections with peers, educators, and the wider Gawler community.

Families value our large outdoor areas, sustainability programs, and the continuity of care provided by our experienced team.

With a strong focus on school readiness, we tailor learning to each child's stage of development, ensuring they feel confident and capable as they grow.

Ready to take the next step? Simply book a tour to meet our educators, explore our learning environments, and see firsthand how we support every child's journey.

If our scheduled tour times don't suit, please contact us to arrange a visit at a time that works for your family. We can’t wait to welcome you and your family to Goodstart Gawler South.

Learn more about Goodstart Gawler South

At Goodstart Gawler South, 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 Gawler South 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 preschool program, so children can be well on their way to excellent learning outcomes by the time they start reception. 
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  
- Discounted shorter 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.

I am extremely pleased with the childcare provided for my son. The staff at Goodstart Gawler South are incredibly attentive, ensuring that every child's needs are met with care and professionalism. The playground area is fantastic, offering a safe and fun environment that encourages learning and exploration. I also love how the educators and the director of the centre, Ms. Janine Ludwig, genuinely listen to parents' concerns and provide valuable guidance and support. It’s clear that they are committed to creating a nurturing and engaging environment for all children. I highly recommend this childcare centre for anyone looking for a place where their child will thrive

Marina
We’ve had a great experience at Goodstart Gawler South this last year, moving from interstate the Team here made our child so welcome, helped immensely with transitions and support while we adjusted geographically and emotionally. Management and Teachers always lead with great communication and the best intentions, keeping parents updated quickly to benefit the running of the facility. And the Educators and Teachers always had fantastic activities and play learning lessons out ready for the kids each day. We’re thankful for finding our place here and thank everyone who has been a part of our journey this last year.

Ashlee
My son attended this centre since he was a baby until he started school. Reception was always there for us when we needed help. The outdoor playing area is brilliant. It is a natural play area with real dirt, plants etc unlike other centre's that have fake grass and plastic which harbors bad bacteria! My son enjoyed childcare and made strong friendships and still see's his mates even though he has now started school. Thankyou Janine for everything over the years and of course everyone else who was in Jackson's life

Joanna

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When every moment counts, make them Goodstart moments.

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Hi there. I’m Janine and I am the Centre Director at Goodstart Early Learning Child Care Centre Gawler South.

I have worked in the in the early learning industry for more than 29 years, starting my career with this company in 1995. I have a Diploma of Children’s Services, and I have been the Centre Director at Gawler South since 2007. My time in the industry has given me the chance to work across all early learning age groups and it has led me to develop a philosophy where we aim to be an early learning environment that values and respects all children, families and educators.

It’s where there is a clear line of communication and a solid relationship that a child is given the best opportunity to grow and develop as a lifelong learner.

I believe the first five years are the most important in any child’s development, and I have great pleasure in helping today's young children to develop the skills to become the strong, independent leaders of our future. I encourage the families at this centre to have a voice, share their ideas and join in the learning with their child.

Come in and be heard. I’d love to meet you and your child and explore how we can give your child a great start in learning.

I would be happy to discuss what our centre can do to support you and your children. Call us on 8523 1488, or click the 'Book a tour' button above to arrange a personalised tour. If you’d like a tour outside of the offered tour times please contact me so that we can organise this for you.

Structured Preschool Program

At Gawler South, you and your child can enjoy the best of both worlds. Our centre offers a preschool program and long day care under the one roof. Our preschool 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

Preschool

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.