We strive to provide an environment that fosters a sense of wonder, curiosity, independence, and resilience. Our intention is to give children the freedom and the space to be who they are, to observe, practice, and achieve.
Our philosophy is underpinned by the National Early Learning Years Framework (ELYF), whose vision for learning is where children experience learning that is engaging and builds success for life. Fundamental to the framework is a view of children’s lives being characterised by areas of belonging, being, becoming. Research tells us that children learn and develop best when they feel safe, secure and connected (belonging), encouraged, supported and trusted (becoming); and have the freedom to explore, experiment and challenge themselves (becoming).
As Educators, we believe it is our role to travel alongside children on their learning journeys, to encourage, support and scaffold these learning experiences, through a variety of interactive, play-based learning activities.
Learning through play is one of the most important ways children learn and develop. Play is an activity where children show their remarkable ability for exploration, imagination and decision making. Play supports children’s development and learning in many ways:
Cognitive Development: Play encourages critical thinking, focus, persistence, problem solving and resilience. Furthermore, play requires interactions, curiosity and exploration of ideas which positively impacts children’s oral language development, essential to foundational literacy (reading and writing) skills.
Social and Emotional Development: Play enhances self-confidence, negotiation and decision making, empathy and emotional regulation skills.
Physical Development: Active play strengthens muscles required for developing critical fine and gross motor skills. Activities such as climbing, running, digging, jumping and dancing as well as building, painting and drawing. not only support motor development but also enhance children’s overall health and sense of wellbeing and helps to fosters independence.
Our Vision for Learning is connected, we learn and grow.
We seek to achieve this by:
- To deliver an integrated, holistic approach to teaching and learning and continue to develop our professional knowledge and expertise
- To support children to become interactive learners, to experiment and develop independent thinking
- To foster curiosity, creativity, resilience and independence
- To inspire, challenge and assist children to build upon their skills, to support them to push through barriers, to think about alternative strategies
- To connect with community, to respect and embrace different cultures and perspectives
- To encourage an appreciation for the natural environment and embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives; ways of seeing, doing and learning
- To develop deep understanding and knowing from a systems-perspective, understanding the interdependence and relationships in systems i.e., conservation and sustainability
- To provide children space and freedom to play; to climb trees if they feel capable, to splash in water if they want to, to experiment with texture with sand and mud etc.
