Create Imagine Learn opened its doors in Crestwood for the first time in March and enrolments are starting to fill-up at the brand new facility.

The centre caters for children aged from six weeks to six years old, and features qualified preschool teachers on its staff as well as experienced early childhood educators. Centre director Julie Hicks said she was enjoying bringing a new style of childcare to Queanbeyan.

"We're a family-owned childcare centre, and the owners wanted to bring something fresh and new to the Queanbeyan community and fill that shortage gap and bring the waiting lists down in the area," Mrs Hicks said.

"I've been in childcare in Canberra for nearly 16 years and in all that time I'm yet to see a waiting list shorter than around nine months long. So this brings something fresh and new, with no waiting."

Having preschool teachers on staff is one point of difference that Create Imagine Learn is bringing to the market, making it easier for local parents currently balancing their work with their child's preschool and additional child care needs.

Mrs Hicks said the school transition program for preschool-aged children included a tailor-made curriculum designed for Create Imagine Learn, featuring morning and afternoon sessions in general study areas like maths, science and physical development. It's a bonus for parents who have to pick their child up from preschool and then drop them off at after-school care, she said.

"Before and after school care can be very tough to get into, and a lot of places don't actually take the government-aged preschool children," Mrs Hicks said.

"So it can be quite a burden for one primary giver, having to change their working hours to school hours to do that drop-off and pick-up, whereas you might pay a little bit extra coming to a child care centre, but you don't have to pack a lunch, you don't have to sit on a wait list for before and after school care, and you only have one place to drop them off. Plus the teachers here already know them," she said.

The centre takes a similar bridging approach for its older children, forming connections with local primary schools and planning on incorporating regular excursions to 'big school' to ease the transition, as well as training their children in new media via use of ipads and interactive classroom boards.

"We've kind of stepped in to build those relationships with the schools, taking the children on excursions with a packed lunch to show them the primary schools and where they eat and everything. At the moment, they either get just an hour or a one-day orientation before they start formal schooling, so it can be quite a rushed process. Whereas we've got the whole year," she said

As the foundation director for the new childcare centre, Mrs Hicks said she was enjoying forming the relationships and approach that would set the future direction at Create Imagine Learn.

"I'm enjoying it because I get to interview new staff and find people who are as passionate about early childhood education as I am, people who want to step away from being labelled as babysitters. Because in actual fact, we're here to make a difference," she said.

"The importance of early childhood education has been proven, and zero to five years old is the most important time in a child's life to set them up to succeed.

"The way I look at it is that if I provide an environment that's friendly, and able to treat every child differently because they all develop at different stages... when they do go off to school, they have that eagerness to want to keep asking questions."

*To find out more about Create Imagine Learn, phone the centre on 6297 3755 or visit them at 7-9 McKeahnie St, Queanbeyan. The centre is currently offering a four weeks free childcare introductory offer for new enrolments (*Requires two-week bond payment).