‘An integral part of the community for over 40 years!’

Hunter Early Childhood Centre, formerly Six Hats Early Childhood Service is a not-for-profit, community owned and operated long day care centre for over 40years.

Originally established to provide care for children from the community and supply much needed childcare for working women. The service was opened as, ‘The Hunter Women’s Child Care Service’ and has been a vital service within the Newcastle community.

HECC is governed by the Hunter Region Working Women’s Group. The role of the HRWWG is to work in partnership with the HECC Director and educators to ensure:

• Commitment to the philosophy of the service.

• Effective operational management of the service.

• Compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements.

• Continued satisfaction of families and staff.

For more information on Hunter Region Working Women’s Group, please head to the HRWWG tab.

Maddison Grima

Director - Nominated Supervisor

Diploma of Early Education

I started with Hunter Early Childhood Centre in January of 2024.

My name is Maddison and I have been working in Early Childhood for 12 years and have been in various leadership roles for the past 5 years.

I have always had a passion for the ECEC sector and feel a great sense of purpose as I continue in my career.

I believe that having positive and engaging relationships with the families and community is essential for the well-being and development of each child. I value the connection between care and home and love being an integral part of that connection.

We play such an invaluable part of our children’s first years of early education, and I am passionate about supporting our children, families and educators while on this amazing journey with us.

I am so proud of our team here at HECC, their hard work, dedication and personal educational philosophies are what makes them phenomenal educators, recognised by our community as the Winner of the 2019 Hunter Local Business Award - Outstanding Early Childhood Centre!