Our Program

Relationships are prioritised and are the first thing we focus on when welcoming a new child and family into our centre. Time spent together helps to forge bonds which foster confidence and connection. A child who feels vulnerable, scared, or unsettled cannot fully learn or thrive. A child needs to first feel confident, happy and well connected to the adults caring for them and with the peers they are surrounded by to be their best self. Our educators prioritise being present with children, intentionally building strong bonds that nurture belonging, identity, and self-worth.

Social Constructivism is a concept based around people learning better collectively instead of isolation. Children are taught to work together as a group and appreciate each other for their unique perspectives and varied strengths. In learning to work together as a collective children develop appreciation for individual differences and the varied perspectives that each person brings with them. Through this lens they learn to celebrate differences of perspectives, culture and abilities.

Aboriginal Perspectives are deeply embedded in our practices and thoughtfully woven into everyday learning. Our garden includes a range of bush tucker plants, with our Lilly Pilly trees providing a much-loved seasonal harvest. We have worked alongside Garry Purchase, a respected Australian Aboriginal artist, for many years. Through his ongoing collaboration with our team and children, we continue to deepen our understanding of culture, history, and the importance of authentic inclusion.

Sustainability and connecting with nature is important to us. We keep our yard as natural as possible so the children have opportunity to connect with nature every day and are very conscious of our environmental footprint.
Our worm farm, frog pond, vegetable garden, wooden and recycled toys are some of the examples you might see while touring the centre. We are always reflecting on our environmental footprint with the children and as an educational team.
“Give children a chance to love the earth before we ask them to save it.” David Sobel.

The Environment as the Third Teacher is a proponent of Reggio Philosophy where the environment’s offerings are just as important as that of a teacher. The environment is carefully curated through collaboration with all educators and in consultation with children. The spark the environment can create and the deeper investigations that it can provide, offer enormous enrichment to the children. The environment will be reflective of each child’s and educator’s voice. Creating familiar and calm play spaces will nurture each child’s sense of well-being, providing opportunities for continual in-depth investigation and innovative challenges. Inviting the children to engage with open-ended and natural resources will allow for the expression of personality and uniqueness.

Loose Parts are a huge part of our everyday encounters. The creativity offered and open-minded thinking patterns that are promoted are unsurpassed. If you give a child a doll or a car, they will only ever be a doll or a car.  If they have a pinecone or a rock, one child may see a hairbrush and another child may see a dinosaur. Two different perspectives are offered and neither is wrong, they are just viewing the world differently to each other.

“In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity, and the possibility of discovery, are directly proportional to the number and kinds of variables in it.” Simon Nicholson.

Nutrition is something we feel very strongly about. The fuel our bodies need to grow, learn and play is carefully planned and thought out. Our menu is carefully planned out to optimise munch and move guidelines (NSW Health initiative). Everything is made from scratch in house using fresh ingredients. We are very allergy conscious, in addition to the required training our chef’s have additional training in regards to Anaphylaxis and cross contamination. We are able to cater to different dietary preferences including vegetarian, no beef/pork, Halal etc.

Emotional Intelligence is intentionally taught and modelled throughout each day, both in everyday interactions and during planned learning experiences. We are passionate about helping to develop well rounded children that will one day grow into well rounded adults. People who are in touch with their emotions but not ruled by them. Developing foundational skills around helping children label, understand and regulate their emotions is a vital skill that we help children develop. We have done lots of professional development around this area, most recently, our team completed professional development with Steph Pinto, a Sydney-based Emotional Intelligence coach specialising in parenting and child anxiety.

Children’s agency is the right and capacity of children to make choices, influence decisions, and impact their own learning and environment. This foundational belief that we all share really shapes the way we interact and work with children. We see children as whole people who deserve to be listened to, understood and seen as the unique individuals that they are. We ask their thoughts, opinions and what they think carries great weight and often influences decision making and outcomes for the service as a whole.

Children’s Safety and wellbeing is taken with enormous seriousness. Children’s safety and wellbeing is our highest priority. We have implemented stringent safeguarding practices to ensure every child is protected, respected, and supported at all times. Some of our safety protocols that are in place include but are not limited to; children are never alone with a single Educator. New Educators are not to change any nappies well into their time with us and only after a very thorough induction process has been completed. We no longer use any identifiable images of children (faces) unless the photos are only viewed by that child’s family.

Physical Movement is important for our bodies wellbeing and incorporated into the every day. Our outdoor spaces are used every day and are set up for growing bodies that need to be challenged. We prefer a natural outdoor space as it connects us to the natural world but also because of the challenge it brings to our bodies. Having ground that is perfectly flat and covered in soft fall doesn’t teach your body how to overcome obstacles, learning to watch where you are going and how to manoeuvre yourself around a challenging space that has rocks and logs teaches your body how to move, watch where you are going climb, jump and bend. We encourage lots of physical movement everyday for optimal health and wellbeing.

Learning Under 5 really matters; the core values that you learn and develop during these years stay with you for a lifetime. Many people don’t remember their early years but it is proven that the skills you learn, the values you uphold and the neuropathways you strengthen are what stay with you for life. This is why we take what we do so very seriously, The early years are foundational. During this time, children develop the values, neural pathways, and dispositions that shape who they become.

Reggio Emilia is a place in Italy that has long been cited as having best practice in Early Childhood Education, we have been heavily inspired by their practices. We have been working in consultation with Kirsty Liljegren for over 8 years, the expertise she has gained through many visits to Reggio, and leading study tours there has been integral to our understanding and development of our own inquiry based pedagogy. Developing problem solving skills and open minded thinking patterns and emotional intelligence is our primary focus.

If you would like to know more about Reggio we would suggest going to REAIE for their latest professional development opportunities.