Little Scholars School of Early Learning
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Little Scholars School of Early Learning is a family-owned early childhood education provider operating 17 purpose-built campuses throughout South East Queensland, with locations across the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich, and Redland Bay. Founded by Jae Fraser in 2014, the organisation started with the acquisition of one campus on the northern Gold Coast. It has since expanded into one of the region's largest independent early learning networks, currently supporting over 7,000 children and employing more than 500 staff across its centres.
With more than 20 years of experience in early childhood education and care, Jae Fraser has developed a career encompassing teaching, centre operations, and executive leadership in both Australia and internationally. He holds university qualifications in education, early childhood, and business management. In addition to founding Little Scholars, Fraser has been involved in the growth of some of Australia's largest early learning organisations. He continues to contribute to the early childhood sector through leadership involvement with the Australian Childcare Alliance and The Fraser Foundation, an initiative dedicated to supporting early childhood educators nationally.
The educational program at Little Scholars is known internally as "The Collective." Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, the curriculum uses play-based and holistic learning for children from six weeks through to school age. Its philosophy places emphasis on curiosity, creativity, exploration, and independent discovery rather than rote instruction. Each campus is designed as a "Learn & Play Studio" that caters to children's different developmental stages, with programs including Nursery & Infant Care, Toddler Programs, Junior & Senior Kindy, Kindergarten, and Before/After-School and Vacation Care.
Little Scholars also offers a range of distinctive programs designed to broaden children's learning experiences beyond conventional childcare. These include the Stingless Bees program, which introduces children to nature-based beekeeping; an Intergenerational Program that brings children together with elderly community members known as "Grandfriends"; Outdoor Explorers (Bush Kinder); Wondernest VR; and the Family Time Program, which provides additional assistance to families through on-campus services and take-home meals. The organisation also uses the Abecedarian Reading approach as a structured early literacy method and incorporates an ongoing Environment and Sustainability focus across its campuses.
Little Scholars operates within The Scholars Group corporate structure and differentiates its model from larger corporate childcare chains such as Goodstart, G8 Education, and Guardian Childcare. The organisation places particular emphasis on its independent, family-owned identity and its capacity to make decisions at the individual centre level without corporate bureaucracy. Its future direction is outlined through the "2036 Vision," a stated benchmark for the organisation's continued growth and focus on quality.
The organisation maintains an active digital presence through its website and social media channels. Little Scholars publishes parenting and early-education content through its blog and regularly engages with audiences on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. All 17 campuses also maintain their own claimed Google Business Profile, reflecting the organisation's location-focused approach to providing early childhood education and care throughout South East Queensland.