Long Day Care in Redland Bay
Compare 19 long day care centres in Redland Bay. What long day care covers, what to check before enrolling, and how our ranked guide scores each centre.
Long day care is the full-day, year-round option for kids from six weeks to school age: centres typically open around 6:30am to 6pm, five days a week, so it works alongside a full-time job rather than around a school-term schedule. In Redland Bay there are 19 centres offering this service, ranging from small owner-run operations to larger group-owned sites, so the mix of rooms, staff ratios and daily programs varies a lot from one to the next.
What's included
Most centres split children into age-based rooms (nursery, toddler, kinder/pre-prep) with meals, nappies, and an early learning program built around the national Early Years Learning Framework included in the daily fee. Some also run before/after care links to local primary schools or offer casual and part-time days on top of standard full-time places. What's actually included, and what costs extra (excursions, formula, sunscreen, incidentals), differs by centre, so it's worth checking the fee schedule rather than assuming.
What to look for before you enrol
- Staff-to-child ratios and qualifications: ask what the room ratios are day-to-day, not just the regulatory minimum, and how many staff hold (or are working towards) an early childhood qualification.
- Waitlist and start date: places for babies and toddlers fill up early in Redland Bay, so ask about current wait times against when you actually need care.
- Quality rating: centres are assessed against the National Quality Standard; ask to see the centre's current rating and most recent assessment report.
- Daily routine and outdoor space: visit in person if you can, and look at how much outdoor play, rest time, and food quality actually looks like on a normal day, not just the open day version.
- Fees and the Child Care Subsidy: confirm the daily/weekly rate, gap fee after subsidy, and whether the centre is CCS-approved.
Our ranked guide to childcare centres scores all 19 Redland Bay long day care providers side by side, so you can compare ratios, reputation and value in one place instead of visiting every centre cold. The scoring approach behind that ranking is explained in full on our methodology page.
Find available childcare for long day care
Tell us what you need and we'll connect you with centres that match your requirements. It's free and there's no obligation.
All long day care, ranked by score and relevance
19 businesses. The order weighs each business's overall score by how much of its reviewed work is long day care, so a lower-scored specialist can rank above a higher-scored generalist. Filter and sort below, or open the full map view.
We may share your enquiry with partner providers who can do the work, and we may earn a referral fee. Our rankings are based on our published scoring method only, independent of any referral fees.
Common questions about long day care
- How much does long day care cost in Redland Bay?
- Daily fees for long day care generally run higher than family day care or occasional care because of the hours and staffing involved, and vary by centre and age group (nursery places usually cost more than kinder-age places due to stricter ratios). Most families' out-of-pocket cost drops once the Child Care Subsidy is applied, so ask each centre for both the sticker daily rate and an estimated gap fee based on your CCS percentage.
- How many days a week do most families use?
- It depends on work patterns: some families book two or three days for a mix of work and home time, others book five for full-time work. Many centres require a minimum of two set days per week to hold a place, so check the minimum booking policy before you plan around it.
- What should I expect on a typical day?
- A typical day includes structured meal and rest times, outdoor play, and an early learning program with activities suited to the child's room and age, alongside free play. Most centres run a check-in/check-out system and give parents some form of daily update on meals, sleep and activities.
- How do I judge the quality of a centre before enrolling?
- Check the centre's National Quality Standard rating, ask about staff turnover and qualifications, and visit in person to see real staff-to-child interaction rather than relying on the website alone. Talking to current parents and checking how far ahead you'd need to join the waitlist are also good practical signals.
Guides to choosing long day care
- What to expect when your child starts long day care
A step-by-step look at enrolment paperwork, settling-in visits and the first weeks of long day care, so the start feels less unfamiliar.