The Top 3 Childcare Centres in St Kilda, VIC (3182)

Bubup Nairm runs from Carlisle Street with 153 approved places, the largest service in St Kilda, and is operated by the City of Port Phillip. It takes children from birth through to preschool age and opens 7:30am to 6:15pm on weekdays, closing on public holidays and over the Christmas and New Year period.

Its March 2025 assessment returned Exceeding overall, with five of the seven quality areas above the standard: educational program and practice, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships, and governance and leadership. Children's health and safety and the physical environment sit at Meeting. The March 2021 assessment before it also returned Exceeding.

From January 2026 this centre took on the children aged nought to three who had attended North St Kilda Children's Centre, which now runs for four-year-olds only.

Its approval carries one condition: the provider must ensure objects are not placed where a child could climb over a barrier or fence, and that outdoor play equipment is maintained and positioned to meet the Australian Playground Standards, AS 4685. It is a design and maintenance requirement. The regulator last visited in September 2026, and there have been no enforcement actions in the past two years.

Bubup Nairm ranks first on its rating: it is the only service open to children under four in St Kilda that holds Exceeding, and the two centres below it are both at Meeting, so the comparison ends at criterion 1. The result is also a repeat, Exceeding in 2021 and again in 2025, with five of seven areas above the standard. At $168.50 at every age, its four inclusions cover every meal but not nappies or excursions, so budget for those. Two practical points to weigh: 153 places is a large setting, which suits some children more than others, and a council service closes over Christmas and New Year. No casual places showed on the register for the week of 19 October 2026.

Little Lane St Kilda is on Brighton Road, approved for 149 places, and open 6:30am to 6:30pm on weekdays, the longest day of any service ranked here. Its centre page lists care from six weeks to six years across nursery and kindergarten rooms, with a centre chef on site.

A family-owned group has run the service since January 2025. Its September 2026 assessment, the first under that operator, returned Meeting in each of the seven quality areas; the February 2023 result before the change was also Meeting. There are no conditions on the approval and no enforcement actions in the past two years.

The fee is $176.00 a day up to 35 months and $168.00 from 36 months. The register lists no inclusions against it, so ask what the rate covers before comparing it with Bubup Nairm's, which names four meals.

Little Lane takes second on the currency of its rating. It and Headland both sit at Meeting, and its September 2026 assessment is 21 months newer than Headland's, a gap the published rule treats as decisive at the same level. That assessment is the first under the operator that took over in January 2025, so it describes the centre as it is run now. On practical fit it has the longest hours here, 6:30am to 6:30pm, and 149 places, and the register showed casual days across the week. The trade-off is price and paperwork: $176.00 up to 35 months is the highest baby rate of the three, and no inclusions are listed, so confirm what the fee covers.

Headland Montessori operates from Alma Road with 60 approved places, opening 7:30am to 6:00pm on weekdays, and delivers a Montessori curriculum. Its December 2024 assessment returned Meeting across all seven quality areas, matching the June 2021 result. A February 2026 regulatory visit found no conditions on the approval and no enforcement actions in the preceding two years.

It charges $142.00 a day under 13 months, $172.00 from 13 to 24 months and $153.50 from 25 months to preschool. The register lists no inclusions against those rates, an empty field rather than a short list, so ask what the fee covers.

Two things we could not confirm. The group's website gives no age range for this centre, and a childcare directory lists it as taking children from 18 months rather than from birth; the register records no minimum age. If your child is under 18 months, ask before you plan around a place here.

On the address: the centre has been listed in St Kilda East 3183, while ACECQA, Starting Blocks and Google Maps all give St Kilda 3182. Alma Road runs along the boundary, and we follow the register.

Headland takes third from a tie with Kinderclub. Their ratings are four months apart at Meeting, so the rating does not separate them, and the fees come out level: Headland is cheaper for babies, from 25 months and from 36 months, but $2.31 dearer from 13 to 24 months. Practical fit decides it, because Headland's 60 places are a quarter more than Kinderclub's 45, with hours the same. Weigh what we could not check: the age floor is a directory claim, and the register lists no inclusions against a rate that is the lowest here for a baby.