About Bindook
Located in the quiet suburb of Terrey Hills, Bindook Cottage was established in June 2001 to meet the area’s growing needs for long day care.
Bindook Cottage is a family-owned and operated early education centre providing high-quality care for your child and your family. We strive to create a “home away from home” environment that is stimulating, encouraging, and inspiring where your child can grow, learn and develop.
Our Story
Rita Totino is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Peacock Street Long Day Care Pty Ltd. Rita has been involved in early childhood education since 1988. Her formal education includes a Certificate in Child Care, a Diploma in Children’s Services, and a Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Education).
Over the past 35 years, Rita has gained experience working in all aspects of the early childhood sector, gaining vast knowledge and valuable experience.
In 1996, after working for a small service in Seaforth for four years, she decided to take the opportunity to take over this small Service, starting what is now known as Peacock Street Early Education and Care. This boutique ‘home-away-from-home’ centre successfully grew to establish Bindook Cottage in Terrey Hills in 2001 and Peek-A-Boo Cottage in Seaforth in 2008. These services were based on her philosophy of providing a “home away from home” environment where children and families can feel safe and secure, allowing your child to have a safe space while encouraging their development.
Rita is committed to upholding the highest quality standards for her company, employing highly trained, exceptional educators who become an integral part of each service. Many of these employees have been with Rita for over 15 years whilst remaining affordable for families.
Our Educators and Staff
At Bindook, our highly experienced team of professional educators are committed to and passionate about early childhood education and care. Our educators promote the human rights, safety, and well-being of all children and consider and respect the diverse backgrounds and needs of children.
We create an environment that promotes and enables children’s participation and is welcoming, culturally safe, and inclusive for all children and their families.
When planning and implementing learning programs, our educators consider children’s learning styles, abilities, interests, linguistic and cultural diversity, and family circumstances. We support and respect the history and backgrounds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and aim to foster each child’s sense of identity.
Our Philosophy
Bindook Cottage provides a stimulating environment that is conducive to learning. We pride ourselves on being a home away from home with an environment focused on the child to engage in play-based learning, where children feel free to play, explore, investigate, create, learn, make friends, and most importantly, feel safe and secure.
We value collaboration with the community, families, children, and support services to provide quality care and individual learning opportunities. We believe open communication fosters relationships that enhance each child’s learning and well-being. Through this partnership with families, we aim to provide a rich learning environment with opportunities to encourage the development of each child’s identity and contentedness to others.
Kinderloop
Bindook Cottage uses an online parent information service called Kinderloop. Kinderloop provides a secure way for educators to share information with parents on a daily basis. Each Kinderloop is a private closed loop, so photos and accompanying documentation are only shared with invited family members or staff and cannot be shared across the web. (Content is owned by Bindook Cottage).
Kinderloop alerts families via emails or phone app, that new information about their child’s day has been posted. Kinderloop allows educators to communicate to families about planned activities and upcoming events. Families also have the option to comment on what they have read, giving immediate parent input. Kinderloop can also be used for families to share their child’s home life with the centre via photos and anecdotes. Kinderloop provides Bindook Cottage with a unique communication system that allows us to develop partnerships with families to have continuity between the centre and home environments.
Please feel free to look at the website >>> Kinderloop