Aspire Childcare Centre - Werribee, Riverwalk

"We have been using this service since inception, 2 years on now and a lot has changed. There has been a number of staff turnover and they have lost some really good managers and educators. However some great educators like Kim, Kushani, Tipika remain. Saving grace being Pallavi hired into the centre manager role, an MVP for Aspire for sure. She shows her experience in early educational center management and has turned things around. Nice to see Aspire being in some real talent. Cheryl continues to be awesome and bring a quirk to the entire team. Love this place and would highly recommend."

"I’m very happy with the management of this Childcare Center. All my requests, suggestions and questions have always been resolved quickly. I felt very well looked after when discussing the multilingual background of my son with Pallavi who is the manager and with Sharon who is the group manager of Wetlands. There hasn’t been a single day where the management has not greeted me with a big smile in the morning. Extremely friendly staff!"

"I highly recommend Aspire Riverwalk Center for anyone in need of exceptional childcare services. The center is well-managed by Pallavi, the manager, who has been incredibly helpful throughout our experience. Pallavi actively listens to our concerns, needs, and suggestions, ensuring that the center meets our expectations. My child attends the Lagoon room, and I must say that the educators there are outstanding. They have created a nurturing and stimulating environment for the children. My son adores all the educators, but he has a special fondness for Ashiya. Her caring and patient nature have made a significant impact on my child, and he often talks about her at home. Overall, I am extremely pleased with Aspire Riverwalk Center and the exceptional care provided to my child. I wholeheartedly give this childcare center a well-deserved 5-star rating. Thank you, Aspire, for creating a nurturing and educational environment for our little ones."

"My son attended Aspire Riverwalk from shortly after it opened in 2021 and he ceased his care with them this week. I was very happy with the centre when it opened. Great management and it felt like a family environment. Everyone learned my sons name quickly and treated him so well. After their fantastic managers Simone and Nicole left I also noticed that a lot of the good staff begin to leave. While there are still some people there that my son loves they seemed to be dwindling month after month. But that’s not my issue with Aspire Riverwalk. My issue was with the fees and unjustified direct debits. Since my son started at Aspire I have paid nearly $15,000 out of pocket in fees and never missed a payment in that time. Last month I received a rather rude email stating that I missed a payment and that they would have to reduce my care if it happened again. I was very confused because the money did in fact come out of my account. They harassed me for the money for about a week before they discovered that they misplaced my payment. No apology was given and they still charged me double the following week plus a $15 late fee. They somewhat rectified this by not charging me for one week but continued to misplace my payments and charged me another $15 late fee despite paying. I just cannot believe that they would threaten to reduce my care after missing one payment (which wasn’t my fault to begin with). Even if it was I think it’s incredibly unjustified to threaten my care after one missed payment. Which was due to an error on their end. We are currently in a cost of living crisis and I’m sure many parents would struggle to pay their childcare fees occasionally and I would hope that they would be treated with compassion rather than threatening to cease their care. No one asked if I was okay or if I needed a payment plan. This really made me feel like they do not care about the children. They are a business after all and simply care about money. I have chosen to send my son to a centre that treats him as family, knows his name and treats him well. Be warned that Aspire takes money via a company known as Debit Success. I highly suggest that Aspire no longer work with Debit Success. Debit Success is known for mishandling payments. I don’t know why they would work with this company. There are still some educators there I like and believe cared about my son but management simply did not care and barely knew who he was. I wish those educators the best. As for management I suggest not threatening to cease families care over a single missed payment. Especially when a large portion of their revenue is from government subsidies and especially when you don’t know the reason or if the family is having financial difficulties. It is no way to run a business, and shouldn’t be allowed. I should also mention that I overheard a member of management saying “you’re fired” to a member of staff loudly in the morning at the reception desk of all places at a time when many parents were arriving. Other parents also could have heard. That’s very unprofessional. Considering their high staff turnover that was a big turnoff for me.that was the day I finally decided to leave aspire. I don’t want my son going somewhere where the staff change constantly and tensions between management and educators is high."

"This centre is my son's first childcare and the educators handled his admission and settling in really well. The educators are very professional and skilled and the dietary requirements for kids are also met. The kids also enjoy being outdoors with a lot of play areas and fun events. Regular updates on happenings inside the room to gauge what your kid is upto. Ample car parking space is also available. Overall an excellent care centre in the community."