What are your opening hours and how do I book a tour?

We’re open Monday to Friday; call (08) 6119 3716 or email admin@read2growdayton.com.au to confirm current hours and book a tour. You can also use the “Book a tour” button on our website to arrange a convenient visit.

Where is Read 2 Grow — Dayton located and which areas do you serve?

Our centre is at 158 Coast Road, Dayton, WA 6055. Families commonly come from Dayton and nearby suburbs including Aveley, Ellenbrook, Midland, Guildford, The Vines and surrounding Swan Valley areas.

What age groups and programs do you offer?

We offer tailored programs for Babies (Babies 1 & 2), Toddlers (Toddlers 1 & 2), Pre-Kindy and Kindy. Each room follows an age-appropriate routine that balances play-based learning, multi-sensory activities and early-literacy development.

What is your curriculum and do you teach phonics?

Our structured curriculum focuses on early literacy, social-emotional development and school readiness delivered through play. We use a Jolly Phonics–aligned approach with daily multisensory phonics activities, songs and small-group learning to build strong foundations in reading and language.

How do I enrol and what documents are required?

To enrol, contact admin@read2growdayton.com.au or call (08) 6119 3716 to check availability and receive enrolment forms. Typical documents include completed enrolment form, immunisation history statement, emergency contacts, medical action plans (if applicable) and proof of identity/address.

How do you manage health, allergies and safety?

We follow the Education and Care Services National Regulations and maintain detailed health, hygiene and emergency policies. For children with allergies or medical needs we create individual medical action plans, train staff in response procedures, and enforce strict medication and food-safety protocols. Policies are available to read at reception.

Are you eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and how can you help with fees?

Families may be eligible for the Australian Government Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Provide your CCS details during enrolment; our admin team can guide you through claiming processes and paperwork but families should confirm eligibility and entitlements with Services Australia.

Dandruff in Younger Children

17 February 2025

Posted by: Read2Grow

Contrary to what some people believe, dandruff isn’t only a condition of teenagers and pubescent children. It can be seen in childcare centre aged children too.

Spotting dandruff in a childcare centre

The symptoms of dandruff are usually pretty straightforward to spot. Typically, a child will have small whitish-coloured loose patches of flaky material in their hair, often most visible along a parting line. It can be seen sometimes on the shoulders of darker-coloured jumpers and shirts or blouses.

As the condition can be itchy, it’s also not unusual to see that the surrounding scalp is reddish in colour, usually as a result of scratching. Where a child has darker skin, that scalp discolouration may be more brown or purple in appearance.

Many children are totally unaware they have the condition. Some may notice that their head is constantly itchy though others may have no irritation at all.

Causes

Dandruff is a generic ‘catch-all’ description. It is essentially just dry and dead skin (scalp) that has naturally flaked off or been scratched off due to irritation.

There may be several causes. Some, such as seborrhoeic dermatitis, are linked to oily skin and over-production of oil from glands. Other causes might include psoriasis, overly dry skin, fungal or bacteriological infections and several other conditions that are rarer but which may produce broadly similar symptoms.

In babies, dandruff is typically called ‘cradle cap’. It also, for unclear reasons, tends to be more frequent in male children. Although fairly often seen in babies, it tends to become much less common in the childcare centre age ranges though it is still fairy regularly seen. As previously mentioned, it commonly flares up again around puberty and through the teenage years.

Myths

As always with children’s conditions, certain myths have arisen which can be debunked:

in the vast majority of cases, it is not directly infectious;
it is not related to eating certain foodstuffs (though a balanced diet may play a role in reducing the oiliness of the scalp);
for the most part, it is not caused by dirty hair – however, keeping the hair clean can help to reduce oiliness and also reduce the unsightliness of the scalp particles in a child’s hair. Note though that standard shampooing, while possibly improving appearances short-term, doesn’t usually remedy the underlying causes.

Treatment

For the vast majority of children, a quick diagnostic look from a pharmacist is all that’s required. They’ll look at the scalp and recommend an appropriate special medicated shampoo. If they believe the cause is psoriasis or something a little more complex, they may recommend a visit to your doctor.

There are off-the-shelf medicated shampoos that might also be worth a try.

The efficacy of a shampoo may be directly related to how appropriate it is. For example, some may be specially formulated to deal with fungal causes whereas others may be more effective where the cause is simply unduly oily skin.

Once the correct shampoo is identified, they’re often very successful in treating the problem.

Escalation

You should consult your doctor directly if the dandruff is accompanied by;

intense scratching, irritation, inflammation and bleeding of the affected areas on the scalp;
other outbreaks of skin irritation or discolouration at the same time on other parts of the body;
scalp irritation that is particularly inflamed;
the child running a temperature at the same time;
where after 2-3 weeks using a recommended shampoo, the condition is not improving.

In the vast majority of cases, dandruff is a mild and easily treated condition.