Welcome! My name is Natalie and I am one of the centre directors at Smartie Pants.

As a child, my parents relied on child care and I found it to be an extremely positive experience. I have very fond memories of my carers and the crèche owner, who I met up with since and found to be still running the centre. Being so happy for her and the families that she cared for, I longed for my daughter to experience the feeling of such an extended family.

So, in early 2003, after extensive research and business planning, I said goodbye to my career as an engineer, to open a child care centre. Living in rural Victoria and commuting long hours to work everyday, my husband and I investigated opening in Yarra Glen, but were beaten to the punch by a large developer.

This was however to be a very good thing, because the idea of Smartie Pants was realised soon after, when I teamed up with Sharon, who had the same ambition. In the years spent turning our ideas into a reality, our families have spent almost every spare moment together; to the extent that our children are convinced they're brother and sister!

Smartie Pants is committed to providing the best childcare possible. Every aspect of our centre has been carefully thought out, from the layout, toys, and educational equipment we offer, to the facilities which assist our team to do the best job they can. The food we offer is exceptional. Our budget for food is 3-5 times that of many other centres in Melbourne. We offer only wholesome food, cooked fresh on the premises, and challenge anyone to provide a more scrumptious and healthy menu!

We are excited that our family is growing, and look forward to giving more children a wonderful experience that they will carry for the rest of their lives. 

Hi. My name is Sharon and I am the other Centre Director.

As Natalie explained in her profile, in March 2003, we set out on a journey to build and operate a child care centre which didn’t just meet the needs of our children and families, but excelled in it. From the moment we made this decision, my life took a whole new direction and I haven’t looked back.

My desire to build such a centre was driven from a very personal place which I would like to share with you. In August 2002, I had a son who was still born due to brain damage. I was advised about his condition during my 19 week ultrasound. For obvious reasons, I was absolutely devastated but knew that I had to find a way to maintain as “normal” a life (for all of us) as we could. I therefore started investigating options for child care during working hours and discovered that there wasn’t a service for children with such extensive disabilities. My son, Christian, didn’t survive. I was told by many people that everything happens for a reason. I struggled to find a reason why I had lost my child. I decided that if I could not find a reason for my loss, I would make one. I reviewed my life and truly believe that I had to endure this loss in order for me to have a fraction of the understanding of what families with children who have additional needs face everyday of their life. It was then that I decided to build a child care centre which integrated children with additional needs. Eventually my dream is to have a non-profit centre primarily focused on assisting these families. I hope to take my experience from Smartie Pants and build on it to fulfil my dream one day!

Since our journey commenced, I have had another little boy, Jarrod, who was born in April 2004. Jarrod also attended Smartie Pants. 

My name is Emma and i am the Assistant Co-ordinator . 

My role at SP is to manage all the centres bookings and work with the families to make sure both they are getting the best experience possible whilst at  Smartie Pants. I also assist with Staff development .I started my childcare career in 2003 working at DHS in residential care looking after children with special needs.

I loved working with children so much that when i was relocated to Canberra in 2004, I started working with a community centre running out of hours care programs, holiday programs and mother's playgroup sessions. I also studied Cert IV Out of School Hours Care.

Working with the mother's play groups, I soon realised I absolutely loved watching the babies grow and explore their world for the very first time.

Once I completed my course I applied for a job as an assistant in the babies room at the local university day care.

I moved back to Melbourne and started work here at Smartie Pants when it opened in 2005. I studied and completed Cert III and Diploma in Children's Services,Cert IV Workplace Training and Assessment and Room lead the Babies room for 4 years. I am very lucky to be one of the original team members that has seen Smartie Pants grow into the amazing centre it is now. 

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