About Lead Early Learning Centres
This is the story behind the centre on Killeaton Street. About Lead Early Learning Centres, in short: we are an all-inclusive long day care centre and preschool in St Ives, led by people with more than 20 years of early education experience, guided by four values and a Reggio Emilia inspired approach, and rated Exceeding the National Quality Standard. Below, meet the thinking, the people and the place.
If you are choosing a centre, you want to know who runs it, what they believe and whether the claims hold up. This page answers those questions and links to the detail on each: our approach, our educators, our quality rating, what families say, the centre itself and our community events. For rooms, fees and enrolment, head to our home page.
Who we are
Lead Early Learning Centres is a 76-place long day care centre and preschool at 75 Killeaton Street, St Ives, caring for children from 0 to 12 years: long day care and preschool from six weeks to six years, and before and after school care and vacation care for school-age children up to 12. The team brings more than 20 years of experience in early education, and everything in the centre starts from a simple belief: purposeful, well-planned play is how young children learn most.
We are open from 7:00am to 6:00pm on weekdays, all year, and our daily fee includes meals, nappies and every program, so families have one clear price.
The company operating the centre, Lead Early Learning Centres Pty Ltd, has run this St Ives service since March 2025, as shown on the national StartingBlocks register.
We are approved for the Child Care Subsidy and follow the national Early Years Learning Framework in every room.
Families come to us from across Ku-ring-gai and the Upper North Shore, and a child can stay with us from the Nursery right through to the preschool year, so we often know children, and their families, over several years.
Lead at a glance
- Where
- 75 Killeaton Street, St Ives
- Ages
- 0 to 12 years
- Places
- 76
- Hours
- 7:00am to 6:00pm, all year
St Ives, since 2025Our values: Learn, Explore, Achieve, Develop
Our four values, Learn, Explore, Achieve and Develop, spell out what we want every child to experience here. They shape how rooms are set up, how educators respond to children and how we work with families, and they sit on our logo as a daily reminder.
Learn
Every day holds real learning, planned by educators and shaped by what children are curious about.
Explore
Children investigate with their hands and questions, indoors and out, rather than being told the answers.
Achieve
Small wins are noticed and celebrated, from a first step to writing a name, so children feel capable.
Develop
We look at the whole child: friendships, feelings, bodies and minds, growing at their own pace.
Our Reggio Emilia approach
Our teaching draws on Reggio Emilia, an Italian approach that trusts children as capable researchers and counts the environment as a third teacher alongside educators and parents. Here, you will see natural materials, open-ended resources and projects that grow from children's questions, with educators documenting children's thinking so families can see it.
That sits alongside the national Early Years Learning Framework, which guides planning in all four rooms.
See what it looks like on an ordinary day in our Reggio Emilia guide.
Our educators and qualifications
From Certificate III through to a teaching degree, the people in our rooms are qualified in early childhood education, as the national regulations require. First aid, CPR, allergy and child protection training is kept current across the whole team, and educators stay based in their own rooms so children see familiar faces.
Three of our people were named individual finalists in 2026. Natelie Guerin was shortlisted three times, including for her work as our director and educational leader, Jessica Seong was recognised for her work with children, and Brooklyn Lee was a finalist at the local business awards for Hornsby and Ku-ring-gai.
Under the national regulations, at least half of a centre's educators must hold or be working toward a diploma-level qualification, and early childhood teachers must be in attendance. Our roster meets these requirements and the NSW ratios at every point of the day.
Meet more of the team on our educators page.
Our quality rating
We are rated Exceeding the National Quality Standard, the rating given in May 2026 after assessment by the NSW regulator. Of the standard's seven areas, four earned an Exceeding result: the health and safety of children, the physical setting, our work with families and the community, and the way the service is led and governed.
The other three areas, educational program, staffing and relationships with children, were rated Meeting, which means the centre meets the national standard in those areas.
The same public record lists no conditions on our approval, and no compliance action has been taken against the service in the last two years.
The full breakdown is on our quality rating page.
Rated Exceeding in
- Children's health and safety
- Physical environment
- Partnerships with families
- Governance and leadership
From StartingBlocks.gov.au.
Exceeding, 2026Our centre and learning environment
The centre has four rooms, one for each age group, plus shaded outdoor play areas used every day. Rooms are set up with natural materials, wooden resources and spaces for quiet reading, building, art and pretend play, while babies in the Nursery sleep in their own quiet cot room.
Meals are prepared on site, and outdoor areas have climbing equipment and space to run and dig.
Our physical environment was one of the four areas rated Exceeding in our 2026 assessment.
See photos on our inside our centre page, or better still, visit on a tour. Call (02) 7238 8668 to arrange a time.
Our place in the St Ives community
We see the centre as part of St Ives, not just located in it. Children meet community visitors, take part in excursions, and families join events and celebrations through the year, and our educators turn up at local events as well.
Our partnerships with families and communities were rated Exceeding in 2026, which reflects how closely we work with parents and local services.
We were also featured by Ryde District Mums, on their website and Instagram, for our welcoming spaces and community spirit.
What's coming up is listed on our events page, and what families say is on our testimonials page.
Community in action
- Community visitors
- Excursions and incursions
- Family events and celebrations
- Local events with our team
Awards and recognition
In 2026, Lead was nominated in ten service categories of the Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards and named a finalist in the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Local Business Awards and in the Early Childhood Services category of the Australian Women's Small Business Champion Awards. Three team members were individual finalists.
| Category | Category |
|---|---|
| Medium Metropolitan Service Excellence | Team Excellence |
| Children's Safety Excellence | Employer Excellence |
| Food, Nutrition and Menu Design Excellence | Wellbeing Excellence |
| Australian History and Culture Excellence | Children's Outcomes Excellence, Birth to 3 Years |
| Training Excellence | Children's Outcomes Excellence, Preschool |
About Lead, answered
How long have you been operating?+
Our team brings more than 20 years of experience in early childhood education. Lead Early Learning Centres Pty Ltd has operated this St Ives centre since March 2025, as the national StartingBlocks register shows, and in May 2026 it received an Exceeding quality rating.
What qualifications do your educators hold?+
Each role carries its own requirement, so qualifications run from Certificate III to a four-year teaching degree. Training in first aid, allergy response and child protection is renewed on schedule, and our Meet Our Educators page covers each requirement in full.
What is your NQS rating?+
Our rating is Exceeding the National Quality Standard, issued in May 2026. Four quality areas came out as Exceeding, among them child health and safety and family partnerships, and the remaining three as Meeting. The full result is public on StartingBlocks.gov.au.
See Lead for yourself
Meet the team, see the rooms and ask anything on a weekday morning tour.