The Top 3 Childcare Centres in Reservoir, VIC (3073)

Oakhill Family Centre sits on North Road and is run by Early Childhood Management Services, a not-for-profit that manages community early learning centres across Melbourne. It is approved for 117 places and opens 7:00am to 6:00pm on weekdays. The operator describes its centres as offering education and care for children from birth to five; the centre's own page could not be loaded for this guide, so confirm age groups directly.

Its May 2026 assessment kept the Exceeding rating it also held at its November 2022 assessment, with four of the seven quality areas above the standard. The regulator's April 2026 visit led to no enforcement action, and there are no conditions on the approval.

The full-day rate is $172.00 at every age. The register lists no inclusions against it, so ask what meals and nappies the rate covers before comparing it with centres that itemise theirs. Places are allocated through Darebin City Council's central registration rather than by the centre itself.

Oakhill leads because its Exceeding rating is the newest of the three in Reservoir: May 2026, 15 months after Goodstart's and almost three years after Starfish's. At the same level, a gap of more than a year decides the order under our method, so fees and fit did not come into it. Two things to check: the register shows no inclusions for its $172.00 rate, and its Google figure, 4.0 from 10 reviews, is the thinnest of the three. Enrolment runs through the council, which is open to any family.

Goodstart Early Learning Reservoir is on Gertz Avenue, approved for 60 places and open 7:00am to 6:00pm on weekdays. It is operated by Goodstart Early Learning, the national not-for-profit. Its centre page was not captured for this guide, so confirm the age groups it takes directly with the centre.

The February 2025 assessment lifted it from Meeting to Exceeding, with four quality areas above the standard. There are no conditions on the approval, and the past two years show no enforcement action.

Starting Blocks lists $183.00 a day up to 35 months and $176.27 from 36 months, with five inclusions named against the rate.

Goodstart Reservoir is second on the date of its rating. Its February 2025 Exceeding result is 15 months older than Oakhill's, which places it behind, and 18 months newer than Starfish's, which places it ahead. Its fee is the highest of the three up to 35 months, and at 60 places it is about half the size of the other two, but neither factor applies once the rating dates are more than a year apart. It has the deepest Google base of the three, 4.6 from 38.

Starfish Early Learning Centre is on Rosenthal Crescent, about 500 metres from Keon Park station, and is independently operated. It is approved for 116 places and opens 7:00am to 6:00pm on weekdays, with seven learning spaces: two nursery rooms, three toddler rooms and one each for three- and four-year-olds.

Its August 2023 assessment moved it from Meeting to Exceeding, with six of the seven quality areas above the standard and only children's health and safety at Meeting. A regulatory visit in September 2026 found no grounds for enforcement action, and the approval carries no conditions.

The full-day rate is $170.00 at every age, with six inclusions listed on Starting Blocks; the centre notes that breakfast is not part of the standard fee. A play-based program is supported by incursions from physical education, dance and Aboriginal culture specialists.

Starfish is third because its Exceeding rating, from August 2023, is the oldest of the three; the two centres above it were assessed more recently at the same level, and under our method that decides the order. On its own terms it has the most quality areas above the standard of the three, six of seven, charges $170.00 at every age, and carries 4.8 on Google from 19 reviews.