The Early Years

Early Learning Centre was established in 1974 by John Beale, whose vision was born out of personal frustration – he simply couldn’t find sufficiently inspiring toys for his own children. This was his aspiration: to create a toy business that would inspire and stimulate children to develop as they played.

Early Learning Centre today

In March 2019, Early Learning Centre was acquired by The Entertainer with a clear purpose; to support parents with their child’s early years learning and development through play.

We are committed to creating quality products that bring excitement into learning, delivering innovation through new product design, as well as continuing to make timeless, trusted toys we all know and love.

Following on from John Beale’s original vision, we will bring the true essence of the Early Learning Centre brand into the present day.

Our purpose

Creating innovative, thoughtfully designed toys to support children’s learning and development through play

Our promises

Every child learns and develops in their own special way; this is what makes them so remarkable.

We exist to make every child’s play adventure extraordinary and we promise to create unique and timeless toys, capturing their imaginations for generations to come; shaping the grown-ups of tomorrow.

Whoever they grow up to be, we’ll instil a lifelong love of learning to help them bring their stories to life.

We carve our own path, never compromising on what we believe in and always caring about our impact on the future of their planet.

We are proud of our heritage and as a leading specialist of children’s development and we promise to always strive to be that little bit better, and that little bit different.