About Us

Real teachers, a real love of learning

The Learning Nest Co. was created by qualified teachers who believe children thrive through play, and that families do their best when they feel supported. Here's who we are, why we started, and how we keep the quality high.

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Our Story

Why we created The Learning Nest

The Learning Nest Co. began with a simple observation: families are juggling more than ever, and there was nowhere in Tuggeranong offering genuine high-quality, teacher-led care with the flexibility parents actually need.

Leonie and Shannon are qualified early childhood educators and primary school teachers, and mums with seven kids between them. They know children learn best through intentional, play-based experiences, and that parents do their best when they have a little time and support, too. So they built The Learning Nest Co., a warm, nurturing space at South.Point where children are cared for and gently challenged by real teachers, while parents work, study, run errands, or simply take a breath, knowing their child is learning and thriving right next door.

Leonie and Shannon, founders of The Learning Nest Co.

Meet the Founders

Leonie & Shannon

Leonie and Shannon each bring around twenty years of experience across early childhood and primary classrooms, close to forty years between them, so your child is supported by educators who understand how young children grow, and what sets them up to flourish at school and beyond.

Leonie also lectures in Early Childhood Education and has managed early learning centres, bringing deep sector experience to how everything runs. As directors, they're hands-on in the space every day, and they set the warm, high-standards culture the whole team shares.

Their roles & qualifications

Leonie Head of Learning & Child Development · Bachelor of Education (Primary) · Master of Education (Early Childhood Teaching)
Shannon Operations Manager · Bachelor of Education (Primary)

What We Believe

The values behind everything we do

Learning through play

Play is how young children make sense of the world. Every session is built around intentional, play-based learning.

Every child belongs

All ages, all stages, all the ways of being a child (including neurodivergent children) are welcome here.

Families supported

When parents feel supported, whole families do better. We give you quality care and a little time back.

Quality You Can Trust

How we keep the bar high

Every child in our care is with qualified, vetted educators in a safe, well-supervised space. Here's what that means in practice.

Qualified educators

Every session is led by qualified early childhood educators and primary school teachers. Our wider team hold qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care.

First Aid & CPR

All educators hold current First Aid and CPR qualifications, so your child is in capable, prepared hands.

WWVP-checked staff

All staff hold current Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) registration and are bound by our Code of Conduct.

Low, safe ratios

Small groups and close supervision: 1:4 for under-2s, 1:5 for ages 2–3, and 1:11 for ages 3 and up. No session ever exceeds 10 children.

Child-safe standards

We embed the National Child Safe Principles and Child Safe Standards, along with the ACT Child Safe Standards, with zero tolerance for child abuse. See our Safeguarding page.