OUR PHILOSOPHY

 

Children

We believe that every child is unique and deserves the right to high quality education and care.

 

We believe every child has the right to grow and develop to his or her full potential.

 

We believe that every child in our care has the right to feel safe and secure in a well-supervised environment. We believe that children have the right to warm and nurturing relationships with family, peers and educators.

We believe all children need to be treated as equals and respected, regardless of gender, culture, or religious beliefs.

 

Environment

We believe that children have a right to access the natural environment. We provide access to natural and recycled items in both our indoor and outdoor environments, fostering an appreciation and respect for the natural environment.

We believe that children have the right to an environment that stimulates learning. We endeavour to provide an environment and daily routine that provides opportunities for creativity and self-expression, problem solving, interactions with others, language development, and cultural competence.

We believe meal times need to be a healthy and social experience. We will provide meals which are nutritious, varied and well-balanced. All special allergies and diets will be catered for.

We believe that it is extremely important to maintain a high level of cleanliness and hygiene. We will aim to greatly minimise the spread of infection and disease.

 

Learning

We believe that children are capable and competent learners. We will provide opportunities for children to be independent, make decisions, collaborate, and build confidence and self-esteem.

We believe play is the best vehicle for children’s learning as it engages the whole child. We will provide a variety of interesting, age-appropriate, challenging, and culturally diverse play experiences.

We believe our curriculum should be based on children’s strengths, needs, development, and interests – both as individuals and in groups. We will use a variety of observation styles, and interactions with children and families to plan experiences and our curriculum.

We believe that children need to be a part of a happy and safe environment where they have reasonable, realistic limits, consistency and a good understanding of acceptable behaviour.

We believe in supporting continuity of learning. We will build and maintain strong relationships between home and pre-school, support transitions throughout the day, between rooms. We will provide information and support to families and children transitioning from Pre-school to primary school.

 

Educators

We believe that Educators are critical to the quality of care provided for children. We will employ qualified, experienced and caring educators from diverse backgrounds to work with our children. We will encourage educators to work as a team and build strong relationships with children and families.

We believe that reflective practise is important for growing in their skills and knowledge of teaching. We will encourage educators to reflect on their teaching practises individually, as a team, and in the light of current research and theories about Early Childhood Education and Care.

We believe that there are many role of the educator in guiding children’s learning. These roles may include but are not limited to: observing and documenting, provisioning the environment, intentional teaching, modelling, directing, questioning, encouraging, and scaffolding.

 

Families

We believe that families play a major role in their children’s lives and therefore we will aim to work together as a team and one family. We will endeavour to incorporate family experiences, child rearing practises and goals for their children into our program. We will support families to feel confident and relaxed in the quality of care provided to their child or children by providing a nurturing environment and providing various avenues of communication between home and pre-school.

We believe in an association of trust and support for families. We will be sensitive and respectful of all people, including people with disabilities, multicultural/cross-cultural, religious and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

 

Community

We believe children belong to both families and communities. We will endeavour to support connections with the local community including local schools, emergency services, community services, and family support networks.

 

We will invite members of community to visit our Pre-School and share with our children about different roles, cultures and perspectives in our community.

 

We will provide information about community services available to family members who may be interested or need support.