Our philosophy of care

At our early childhood services we provide safe, nurturing, stimulating, fun and educational environments for children, supported by families and quality staff.

We believe that play is a fundamental vehicle through which children can learn, grow and develop. Our child care programs aim to foster the uniqueness and creativity of each child. We believe that children learn best through interactions, active exploration and experimentation, and by representing their learning in a variety of ways.

We provide experiences that foster children’s positive feelings about themselves and others regardless of gender, race, culture, ability or additional needs and recognise the unique contribution of each family’s culture, customs, language and beliefs to each child’s learning journey.

We recognise the crucial role that our educators play in supporting and facilitating children’s early learning through play, and in encouraging children to develop dispositions characterised by perseverance and a willingness to engage in new learning.

We are committed to developing our educators in accordance with our model of care and also to inclusive curriculum decision-making in collaboration with children, families, educators, colleagues, specialist personnel and the community.

Our early childhood program

Early childhood is a vital, foundational stage in a child’s education and learning journey. Each of our service’s early childhood programs encourages children to be active participants in this journey, supporting them to become competent lifelong learners.

Our open learning program, developed by a qualified and experienced team of early childhood professionals, focuses on the following ideas:

• Children learn through play.
• Children learn to explore, problem solve and meet challenges through hands-on experiences.
• Learning and development occur through the collaboration of children, families and staff.
• The cultural and linguistic diversity that the children bring to the environment is valued and becomes part of the program.
• Each child has different skills and abilities to nurture.
• Support will be provided for the transition process for children between home and school.

Our kindergarten program

A kindergarten and preschool program is currently provided for 3-5 year olds based on a play-based curriculum. All of our centre-based services have approval to deliver an approved kindergarten program, delivered by a registered, early childhood teacher who has trained for 4 years.