Events and Community Connection
This page lists our childcare community events St Ives families can join, from parent masterclasses with visiting experts to free family nights that are open to the whole neighbourhood. It also explains how excursions, community visitors and local partnerships fit into your child's week at Lead. Check the calendar below for what is coming up next.
Some events are for children, some are for parents, and some are simply a chance for families to meet each other outside drop-off. All of them are part of how we connect with the suburb around us. To learn more about the centre and the people who run it, visit our About Lead page.
Why community connection matters
Children learn who they are partly through the people and places around them. When a centre opens its doors to families and neighbours, and takes children out to meet their community, those childcare community events St Ives children attend become part of their sense of belonging.
Belonging is the first idea in the Early Years Learning Framework, and it is built through relationships, not lessons.
Parents benefit too. A family night is often where two parents first swap numbers, and friendships between families tend to carry into primary school.
The national quality standard looks for this. Community partnerships sit within the families area where the regulator rated our centre Exceeding in 2026.
Read what that rating covers on our NQS rating page.
Ways we connect
- Family nights open to neighbours
- Parent masterclasses with experts
- Visitors and incursions at the centre
- Outings into the local area
- Stalls at local community events
Excursions in and around St Ives
Excursions take learning beyond the gate and into the community. Before any outing, the national regulations require a written risk assessment and a parent's signed authorisation, and educators keep ratios and regular headcounts from departure to return. You always hear about an excursion well before the day.
Plan
Educators choose an outing that links to what children are exploring in the room.
Assess
A written risk assessment covers transport, the venue, supervision and first aid.
Authorise
Parents receive the details and give written permission first.
Go
Ratios, headcounts and a first aid kit travel with the group.
St Ives offers plenty close to home for young explorers. Bushland reserves, the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden, the local library and the village shops are the kinds of places a group outing can use to bring a project to life.
Short outings suit little legs. A walk to see a building site or a visit to the shops for cooking ingredients can teach as much as a long trip.
Program outings carry no extra charge; they sit inside the daily fee. See everything the fee includes on what our daily fee covers.
Community visitors and incursions
An incursion brings a special experience into the centre instead of taking children out. Visitors add something the room cannot offer on its own, and children meet them on familiar ground, which suits the youngest ones especially well.
Face painters have joined our celebrations, and our holiday program has included a keyring-making incursion.
Experts visit for parents too. Paediatric sleep consultant Anna Baker of SleepBaker Australia has led a masterclass here, and she returns in October with speech pathologist Jen Whiteway.
Want to know what visitors are planned for your child's room? Ask us on a tour or call (02) 7238 8668.
Visitors we have welcomed
- Face painters
- At family celebrations
- Craft incursion
- Keyring making in the spring holidays
- Sleep consultant
- Parent masterclass, September 2026
Family events
Family events are evenings and afternoons when parents, grandparents and siblings come in together. They are relaxed, often free, and some are open to families who are not enrolled yet, which makes them an easy way to meet educators before you commit to anything.
Our May evening event welcomed families with free gift bags, a sausage sizzle and popcorn.
This Halloween, the centre hosts a free disco and movie night with costumes, dancing, games and treats, open to the wider community.
Birthdays and celebrations inside the rooms are inclusive, so every child is part of the fun. Because we are Nut Aware, outside food is only brought in when arranged with us first.
Families are also invited to share their own cultural traditions, which often turn into celebrations the whole room enjoys.
Local partnerships
Our local partnerships connect the centre with people who support children beyond our walls: schools, health professionals, other local businesses and parenting groups. Each one gives families access to knowledge or help they might otherwise have to find on their own.
We work with local schools on the move into Kindergarten, so children arrive knowing what to expect.
Speech therapists, occupational therapists and early intervention teams work alongside our educators when a child needs extra support.
Local parenting group Ryde District Mums has featured the centre, and local business judges shortlisted Lead as a 2026 finalist for our area.
Anna Baker, founder of SleepBaker Australia, has presented our parent masterclasses. For the sessions children enjoy each week, see our extracurricular program page.
Who we work with
- Local primary schools
- Speech and occupational therapists
- Early intervention services
- SleepBaker Australia
- Ryde District Mums
Growing togetherWhat is coming up
Two events are on the calendar for spring 2026: a speech and language masterclass for parents on 14 October, and a free Halloween disco and movie night on 30 October. Both are booked through Eventbrite, so you can reserve a place in a minute and receive a reminder closer to the day.
Upcoming
Speech and Language Parent Masterclass
Wednesday, 11am
Anna Baker of SleepBaker Australia and speech pathologist Jen Whiteway explain how sleep supports speech, language and communication, and what helps at home.
Halloween Disco and Movie Night Free
Friday, 6pm to 8pm
Costumes, music, dancing, games, a sausage sizzle, treats and a child-friendly movie. Bring friends; the whole community is welcome.
Recent
Sleep Masterclass for Parents
Wednesday, 11am
Anna Baker shared practical, evidence-based sleep strategies for babies and the whole family.
Evening event for families
Wednesday, 6:30pm to 7:30pm
An early evening get-together at the centre.
Family evening
Saturday, from 6pm
Free gift bags, a sausage sizzle, popcorn and plenty more.
New events are added here as soon as they are confirmed. Enrolled families also hear about them through the KinderM8 app and our newsletters.
Events, answered
Do excursions cost extra?+
No, excursions that form part of our program are included in the daily fee, along with meals, nappies and extracurricular sessions. Before any outing you receive the details and an authorisation form to sign. Separate community events, such as parent masterclasses, are booked on their own through Eventbrite.
Can parents attend events?+
Yes, most of our events are designed for parents and whole families to attend together. Family nights such as our Halloween disco are open to the wider community, and parent masterclasses are held for mums, dads and carers. Reserve a place through the Eventbrite link on this page.
New to Lead? Start at our St Ives childcare centre home page.
Come to an event, or come for a tour
Either way, you will meet our educators and see the centre for yourself.