The Top 3 Childcare Centres in Fitzroy, VIC (3065)

Connie Benn Early Learning Centre at 160 Brunswick Street achieved Exceeding NQS in November 2024. Of the 7 quality areas, 6 are individually rated Exceeding NQS: educational program and practice, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and governance and leadership. Children's health and safety is rated Meeting NQS. Last regulatory visit: October 2024. Zero current conditions. Zero enforcement actions.

Operated by Yarra City Council, Connie Benn Early Learning Centre is a high-quality council service embedded in one of Melbourne's most community-minded inner-city suburbs. The centre's name honours Connie Benn, a pioneering Fitzroy community welfare worker whose legacy helped shape the suburb's social services for generations.

With 109 approved places for children from 6 weeks to school age, Connie Benn is an Exceeding NQS option in Fitzroy for infant families.

In November 2025, Connie Benn Early Learning Centre was named winner of the Victorian Early Years Awards 2025 in the category of Promoting Children's Health and Wellbeing, an independent state government award presented by the Department of Education.

Note on contact details: Starting Blocks lists a typo in the centre's email address ("FitrzoyEYP@yarracity.vic.gov.au"). The correct email confirmed via ACECQA is FitzroyEYP@yarracity.vic.gov.au.

Connie Benn ranks first on its rating: Exceeding from November 2024, with six of seven quality areas above the standard, sixteen months newer than East West's result. It also costs the least of the three, $156.98/day whatever the child's age, takes children from 6 weeks and is council-operated. It was a 2025 Victorian Early Years Award winner. Limited vacancies. Contact early.

East West Childcare at 138 George Street holds an Exceeding NQS rating issued July 2023 by Starting Blocks (ACECQA). The centre previously achieved Exceeding NQS in December 2017. All 7 quality areas are individually rated Exceeding NQS, reflective of sustained excellence across educational program and practice, children's health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities, and governance and leadership. The centre was last visited by the regulatory authority in July 2025. Zero current conditions. Zero enforcement actions in the past two years.

East West Childcare is a non-profit community centre with deep roots in Fitzroy's multicultural community. The centre's name reflects its founding commitment to welcoming children and families from both Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds, a philosophy that has shaped its culture for decades. The centre is small by design: 25 approved places for children from 13 months to school age. This boutique scale enables highly personalised care, strong educator continuity, and a genuine sense of belonging for families.

Important: East West Childcare does not offer care for children aged 0–12 months. Families with infants should enquire at Connie Benn Early Learning Centre or Fitzroy Early Learning Centre. The centre also closes at 5:45pm, which families with later pickups should factor in when choosing.

The educational program is inquiry-based and play-led, grounded in the Early Years Learning Framework. Approved 3-year-old and 4-year-old kindergarten programs are integrated into the daily program. Weekly community excursions, a signature feature of the centre, take children into Fitzroy's parks, cultural spaces and local environment as part of their learning.

East West Childcare is second. It holds Exceeding NQS in all seven quality areas, from July 2023, but Connie Benn's Exceeding rating is sixteen months newer, and at the same rating level a gap of more than twelve months decides the order. It is a 25-place non-profit community centre with weekly excursions, at $166.00 a day from 13 months. It takes no children under 13 months, and its day runs 7:45am to 5:45pm.

Fitzroy Early Learning Centre at 300-302 Nicholson Street holds a Meeting NQS rating issued December 2025, the most recently assessed NQS date of any centre in this top 3. The centre previously held Meeting NQS in August 2022: consecutive results, no downgrade. All 7 quality areas are individually rated Meeting NQS. Last regulatory visit: November 2025. Zero enforcement actions in the past two years.

Conditions on approval: ACECQA records a condition requiring the approved provider to ensure the internal glass fence along the Rose Street boundary of Level 1 is free from objects or equipment that could increase risk. This is an operational safety condition on the premises, not an enforcement action. Families can view current conditions directly on Starting Blocks.

Fitzroy Early Learning Centre opened in February 2020, purpose-built. Owned and operated by Fitzroy Childcare.

At $192.50 per day whatever the age, Fitzroy ELC charges the most of the three ranked here. The 6:30am–6:30pm operating day suits parents with early starts, late finishes, or longer commutes.

Fitzroy ELC ranks third because it holds Meeting where both centres above it hold Exceeding. It offers the longest hours of the three (6:30am–6:30pm), the largest capacity (150 places) and current vacancies across all age groups. Its $192.50 daily rate, unchanged across the age bands, is the highest of the three. Conditions on approval exist (Level 1 glass fence). View on Starting Blocks.