30 km from Melbourne CBD in the City of Whittlesea. 2,318 children under five.
More about Doreen →
Laurimar Child Care and Early Learning (Meeting NQS, $157.00/day), Story House Early Learning Doreen II (Meeting NQS, $168.50/day) and Laurimar Township Childcare and Kindergarten (Meeting NQS, $157.00/day under three) lead Doreen 3754 for 2026.
Postcode 3754City of Whittlesea✓ Verified 23 October 2026
How we chose: we weigh five things together: NQS rating and how recently it was issued, parent reviews, program and environment, fees and inclusions, and practical fit including hours and Free Kinder access. We do not accept payment from any centre to appear on this list, and we do not rank by who owns a centre. Read how we rank.How NQS ratings work, and what Meeting and Exceeding mean →
No.1 PICK
Laurimar Child Care and Early Learning
35 Flaxen Hills Road, Doreen VIC 3754
Meeting NQS · December 2025★ Google 5.0/5 · 15 reviews
Google reviews, captured 22 October 2026
All 7 quality areas: Meeting
Regulatory detail and operational conditions
Meeting NQS issued December 2025 in all seven quality areas, as at its November 2022 assessment, both under the current operator.
Regulatory visit November 2025: No conditions on the service approval and no enforcement actions in the past two years. Source: Starting Blocks, read 22 October 2026; approved places from the ACECQA register.
Daily fee
$157.00
Hours
Monday to Friday, 6:30am to 6:30pm
Ages
Babies to kinder age (operator programs run from 0 to 2 years through 3- and 4-year-old kinder)
CCS approved
Yes
Capacity
120 children
Laurimar Child Care and Early Learning sits on Flaxen Hills Road and is run by Little Flyers, the early learning arm of The Eltham College Foundation, which has operated it since 2015. It is approved for 120 places and opens 6:30am to 6:30pm on weekdays.
Its centre page describes rooms that each open onto their own outdoor yard, nature play such as a mud kitchen, bush kinder in nearby parks, and links with local primary schools for the move to school. The Little Flyers group runs programs from babies through 3- and 4-year-old kinder; the centre page itself does not state an age range, so confirm the youngest age with the centre.
The December 2025 assessment rated all seven quality areas Meeting, matching the November 2022 result. There are no conditions on its approval and no enforcement actions in the past two years. The fee is $157.00 a day at every age, with eight inclusions on the register.
Our take
Laurimar leads a field where every service holds Meeting. Its December 2025 rating sits within a year of Story House Doreen II, so the rating ties the pair, and fees decide: $157.00 with eight listed inclusions against $168.50 with none listed, while capacity (120 against 110) and hours are level. Against everything else on the page its rating is more than a year newer. Google shows 5.0, though from only 15 reviews. Permanent places showed across the week; casual days did not.
Best for: Parents after a recently assessed, leafy Laurimar centre with its own yard for every room, bush kinder outings and a single daily rate.
Meeting NQS issued August 2026 in all seven quality areas. This is the service’s first assessment; it was approved in August 2025.
Regulatory visit July 2026: No conditions on the service approval and no enforcement actions in the past two years. Source: Starting Blocks, read 22 October 2026; approved places from the ACECQA register.
Daily fee
$168.50
Hours
Monday to Friday, 6:30am to 6:30pm
CCS approved
Yes
Capacity
110 children
Story House Early Learning Doreen II is the newer of the group’s two campuses on Whitford Way, approved in August 2025 for 110 places and open 6:30am to 6:30pm on weekdays. Starting Blocks lists no website for it, so its age range and programs could not be confirmed from its own material; ask the centre.
Its first assessment, in August 2026, rated all seven quality areas Meeting. There are no conditions on its approval and no enforcement actions. The rate is $168.50 a day at every age, and the register lists no inclusions against it.
Google did not return a place listing for this campus in our controlled reading, so it has no verified review figure here. No casual or permanent places showed for the week of 19 October 2026.
Our take
Doreen II is second on the date of its rating: August 2026 is more than a year newer than every service below it at the same level. It sits behind Laurimar because their ratings are eight months apart and Laurimar is cheaper with eight listed inclusions. Two things to weigh: this is a first assessment, with no earlier result to compare, and the register showed no vacancies in the week we read it.
Best for: Families who want the most recent assessment in Doreen at a new Story House campus, and who are happy to join a waitlist.
Meeting NQS issued October 2024 in all seven quality areas, as at its November 2019 assessment, both under the current operator.
Regulatory visit July 2026: No conditions on the service approval and no enforcement actions in the past two years. Source: Starting Blocks, read 22 October 2026; approved places (126, long day care only) from the ACECQA register.
Daily fee
$157.00
Hours
Monday to Friday, 6:30am to 6:30pm
CCS approved
Yes
Capacity
126 children
Laurimar Township Childcare and Kindergarten is the second Little Flyers centre in Doreen, operated by the same foundation since 2016. The register gives its address as 9 Bulimba Drive; its own page and Google Maps give 12 Laurimar Boulevard. Both are in Doreen. It is approved for 126 long day care places and opens 6:30am to 6:30pm.
Its own page describes full-day kindergarten programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, bush kinder and community walks, a Reggio Emilia-inspired program and meals prepared on site each day. It does not state a youngest age; the register prices all four age bands, but confirm with the centre.
The October 2024 assessment rated every area Meeting, as the November 2019 one did. There are no conditions on its approval and no enforcement actions. It charges $157.00 a day to 35 months and $152.00 from 36 months, with eight inclusions listed.
Our take
Township takes third from a close group. Orchard Road, Guardian Laurimar and Township each beat one of the others: Township and Orchard Road come out level on fees, hours and reviews, and Orchard Road's 168 places also cover kinder and school-age care, so capacity is not compared; Orchard Road beats Guardian on fees; Guardian beats Township on parent reviews after a split. Our published tie-break gives the place to the newest rating in the circle, Township's October 2024. We could not verify a Google figure, because its listing sits at its Laurimar Boulevard address rather than the register's.
Best for: Parents wanting full-day 3- and 4-year-old kinder inside long day care in the Laurimar town centre, with a lower rate from age three.
Full-day rates from Starting Blocks, read 22 October 2026. Laurimar and Story House Doreen II charge one rate at every age; Laurimar Township drops to $152.00 from 36 months. Average across these three centres: $160.83 a day up to 35 months and $159.17 from 36 months, before subsidy. All three are CCS approved; confirm current fees directly.
Childcare fees vary by age group. The rates shown may reflect different age bands at different centres, so confirm the rate for your child's age directly with each centre.
Unlike the estates still rising around it, Doreen is largely built out. The Laurimar township anchors this established family pocket of the City of Whittlesea, roughly 30 kilometres north of central Melbourne.
Every long day care service in Doreen holds a Meeting rating, so the date of each assessment does much of the sorting. Two services were assessed within the past year, Laurimar Child Care and Early Learning in December 2025 and the second Story House campus in August 2026, and they take the first two places. Below them the field is close, and third place came out of a three-way circle that our published tie-break settles on the newest rating.
We read eight services on 22 October 2026: ratings, fees and inclusions, hours, conditions and enforcement history from Starting Blocks, approved places from the ACECQA register, and parent reviews from a controlled Google Maps reading. One family-owned service is not ranked because only one source could place it in Doreen; it is listed below with the reason.
Looking wider? Our Northern Suburbs guide lists every suburb we rank across the area, with each one's top centres.
Doreen is an established family suburb in the City of Whittlesea, anchored by the Laurimar township, roughly 30 kilometres north of central Melbourne. All eight long day care services read for this page hold Meeting.
Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
All three ranked centres are approved for the Child Care Subsidy. It is income-tested and depends on your activity hours, and for most families it covers up to 90 per cent of the fee.
Free Kinder
Funded kindergarten for three and four-year-olds is available across Victoria, often run inside long day care. Laurimar Township describes full-day 3- and 4-year-old kinder on its own page; ask each centre about funded hours.
Bushfire-risk closures
Some Doreen services are on the state bushfire-risk list and must close on declared Catastrophic Fire Danger days. Orchard Road carries that condition; none of the three ranked centres has a condition on its approval.
Approved places that include school-age care
Orchard Road and Eden Academy hold approvals that also cover outside school hours care, so their place counts include children a long day care family cannot use. We do not compare those figures with long day care capacity.
Other services in Doreen worth knowing about
Orchard Road Community and Early Learning Centre
120 Orchard Road, run by the YMCA. Meeting NQS (July 2024). $100.00 a day to 12 months (Starting Blocks, 23 October 2026) and $156.10 from 13 months (an earlier October capture), no inclusions listed; 168 approved places covering long day care, kinder and outside school hours care; carries a bushfire-day closure condition. Ranked second on the previous version of this page. It is level with Laurimar Township on every criterion we compare and sits in a three-way circle with Township and Guardian; the newest rating, Township's, breaks it.
Guardian Childcare & Education Laurimar
59 Painted Hills Road. Meeting NQS (February 2024), 152 approved places, $178.09 a day to 35 months and $160.14 from 36 months, 4.8 on Google from 84 reviews; play-equipment and fence conditions on its approval. Ranked third on the previous version of this page. It loses to Orchard Road on fees and sits in the circle that Township's newer rating breaks.
Story House Early Learning Doreen
1 Whitford Way, the group's first Doreen campus. Meeting NQS (March 2023), 125 approved places, $168.50 a day, 4.9 on Google from 112 reviews. Ranked first on the previous version of this page. Its rating is more than 12 months older than all three ranked centres'.
Butterflies Childcare & Early Learning Centre
20b Yellow Brick Road. Meeting NQS (April 2026), $158.00 a day to 35 months and $154.00 from 36 months. Not ranked: its name gives no suburb, and three controlled Google Maps reads returned only a sponsored listing, which we do not count, so only the register places it in Doreen. The centre also advertises a site at 2-4 Orchard Road that does not appear on the current register.
Eden Academy Doreen
11 Aspect Drive. Meeting NQS (May 2023), $177.10 a day. Its rating is more than 12 months older than all three ranked centres', and its approved places also cover outside school hours care.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best childcare centre in Doreen VIC?
On our published criteria, Laurimar Child Care and Early Learning on Flaxen Hills Road ranks first. Every Doreen service holds Meeting, and its December 2025 rating is within a year of only one other, Story House Doreen II, which it beats on fees: $157.00 a day with eight listed inclusions against $168.50 with none listed. Story House Doreen II is second and Laurimar Township third.
How much does childcare cost in Doreen?
As listed on Starting Blocks on 22 October 2026, Laurimar charges $157.00 a day at every age, Story House Doreen II $168.50, and Laurimar Township $157.00 to 35 months and $152.00 from 36 months. Most families receive the Child Care Subsidy, which can cover up to 90 per cent of the fee depending on income and activity hours.
Which Doreen childcare centre has the highest NQS rating?
All eight long day care services in Doreen hold Meeting National Quality Standard. Exceeding is the highest rating awarded through standard assessment; Excellent is a separate designation that ACECQA awards on application. With every service at the same level, the date of the rating and then fees, practical fit and reviews decide our order.
Why is Butterflies not ranked?
Our locality rule needs two of three sources (the trading name, the Google Maps listing and the ACECQA register) to agree on the suburb. Butterflies' name gives no suburb and Google returned only a sponsored listing, which we do not count, so only the register places it in Doreen.
Are the top 3 Doreen centres CCS approved?
Yes. Laurimar Child Care and Early Learning, Story House Early Learning Doreen II and Laurimar Township Childcare and Kindergarten are all approved for the Child Care Subsidy.
Data sources: Starting Blocks (NQS ratings, fees, inclusions, hours, vacancies, conditions), ACECQA (Approved places, approval history), Google Maps (Parent review figures, controlled reading). Information on this page was last verified 23 October 2026. top3elc.com.au does not receive referral fees.