Our Program

Acknowledging and celebrating each child's uniqueness

Our program is child-focused, providing a holistic play-based approach to learning and teaching.

We follow the National Early Years Learning Framework which guides our educators to extend and enrich children's learning and their transition to school.

We are committed to recognising that all children have the right to participate in inclusive early childhood settings where our environment focuses on the development of the whole child. The indoor and outdoor environments promote exploration, experimentation and challenge, that are responsive to the strengths, cultures, languages, interests and capabilities of each child and reflect aspects of the local community. We reside on Darkinjung Country and value our natural surroundings that we are lucky to engage with every day, acknowledging the Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing in all aspects of our program.

We support children to develop dispositions for learning - curiosity, co-operation, confidence, creativity, enthusiasm, persistence and imagination, through our play-based curriculum. We aim to foster a sense of agency by building on their independence and resilience to support a smooth and effective transition to school.

We support children to be active decision makers in their learning as well as citizens within the preschool by promoting their interests and celebrating their successes. Children and families' cultures and values are acknowledged and supported through collaboration and feedback.

Meaningful co-constructive relationships are encouraged between children to allow them to engage in sustained shared thinking, developing their understanding of teamwork, negotiation and social skills and having the time and space to put these in practice.

Our educators understand the importance of forming meaningful, nurturing relationships with children, families and their community which is the foundation for their learning and development. As a community-based preschool, our connection with the local community is at the forefront of our daily practice as we are guided by a Management Committee made up of parents and community members who have supported the viability of the preschool over the past 40 years.

We value our time spent with the children in their environment as being all consuming, being responsive to their needs and focusing our time and energy on getting to know each child above all else.

We pride ourselves on providing a paper-based documentation style which encompasses portfolios kept on site for parent accessibility and to have as a keepsake at the end of their journey at preschool. Observations of children's learning are added to their individualised portfolio based on collaborative goals between the child, educator and family. Our daily program is displayed in each room for families to review each day and a weekly summary which includes photos is sent out in our newsletter at the end of each week.