Our centre is open 50 weeks per year. Our hours of operation are 7.00am – 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. We are closed on public holidays and for the two week period between Christmas and New Year

Through the implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework we further children’s interests and understandings as individuals and in groups.

The Curriculum is a mixture of both planned and spontaneous activities, with individual children’s interests and developmental levels taken into account, to ensure interests are converted into “teachable moments”.

At our service we have experienced and qualified educators who are dedicated to caring for young children and providing educational programs that are suitable for their overall development.

The educators create daily educational programs that cover all areas of development including:

• Concentration and problem solving- thinking skills
• Art and expression- creative skills
• Language, communication and literacy skills
• Social skills
• Construction and manipulative skills
• Science and mathematics skills
• Gross motor skills
• Fine motor skills
• Music, singing and movement- expressive skills
• Individual and group work

These programs cater for indoor and outdoor environments, as well as small group work.  Our educators develop these programs by taking into account your child’s individual development, family input, children’s interests, questions and conversations. Educators evaluate these experiences daily, and therefore determine their success, making adjustments to ensure they are more beneficial for your child.

We have a large focus on each child’s transition into formal schooling. We work closely with local schools and the Education Department in covering all guidelines for children who will be transitioning to school. The curriculum in this room takes into consideration the importance social, emotional and academic aspects which help children have the best start to school.

We have meetings with families to support them in making the decision if children are ready for school based on our professional opinion and how their child learns in a group setting. School readiness is so much more than just knowing ABC’s and 123’s. We focus on supporting your child to develop all the skills necessary to succeed in future learning. With your support this year these are just some of the things we will be working on:

• Self help skills/independence
  • Hand washing
  • Toileting
  • Caring for their own belongings
  • Packing away
  • Confidence in making choices
  • Serving food and pouring water
• Expressive and receptive language skills
  • Expressing themselves verbally
  • Finding confidence to speak in front of groups
  • Respectful listening
• Social/emotional
  • Building and maintaining friendships
  • Confidently resolving conflicts
  • Building resilience
  • Knowing how and when to approach a teacher for assistance
  • Separating easily at drop off time
• Fine motor development
  • Correct pencil grip
  • Correct use of scissors
  • Strength in opening and closing packets
• Literacy
  • Identifying letters
  • Understanding phonics
  • Developing correct letter formation
• Numeracy
  • Number identification
  • Addition and subtraction of objects
  • Exploring mathematical concepts like volume, space
• Cognitive
  • Developing greater focus and attention span
  • Matching, sorting and identifying
  • Science concepts like exploring, investigating and hypothesising

This is not a complete list, just an idea of some of the things our School Readiness program will be based on. Our children also engage in group projects throughout the year and themes based on current interests. Through these interests we are able to incorporate learning and development.

We also plan our experiences each day to help children to achieve the five Early Years Learning Framework Outcomes. You will receive a midyear report assessing your child’s learning against these outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
• Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
• Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
• Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
• Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators

These learning outcomes have been designed to ensure children are prepared for a future of successful learning.

All educators are trained in interpreting and extending children’s development, and do so for every child. Educators observe each child’s development regularly, and develop long and short term objectives for each child which they aim to achieve or improve on through planned activities and experiences. Families have the opportunity to review their child’s development through the use of online educational portfolios on Kinderloop, which can also be discussed in further detail through family meetings. Families are also encouraged to create a strong link between the home and the care environment by completing family input sheets and sharing information from home with educators throughout the year.

Educators document children’s work and interests and then research experiences to further stimulate the children’s thinking and learning.

Each play space has learning centres where children can explore and create through a variety of activities that are accessible to them. These may include:

• Exploration centre – where children can create and explore through hands-on discovery.
• Sensory centre – particularly valuable in the younger rooms, where children can create and explore through messy play and use their senses.
• Construction centre – is available for children to build, create and problem solve with a variety of equipment.
• Writing/literacy centre – where the focus is on providing opportunities for children to draw and extend their use of small muscle control and learning to draw and develop pre-writing skills. This area provides activities such as drawing, tracing, writing, name writing, copying letters and alphabet recognition.
• Book/reading centre – is provided for children to relax and take part in quiet activities such as books and felt board stories.
• Thinking centre – provides opportunities for children to expand their concentration and problem solving skills. Experiences include puzzles, sequencing, matching games and cause and effect equipment.
• Dramatic centre – is provided to allow children the opportunity to make believe, role play and interact with their peers whilst developing their social skills and social confidence through their interaction with others and self-expression.
• Creative centre – is provided to allow children to create and express themselves through art/craft activities, such as painting, pasting, threading, cutting and play dough.
• Technology – is also incorporated through the use of laptops, iPads and an interactive smart board, allowing children to research, write, draw, and explore activities through educational programs. These are incorporated into daily routines to expand children’s skills and abilities.

We have two large outdoor playgrounds which connect directly to our indoor classrooms allowing smaller groups of children to safely interact with children of a similar age. This allows connection between the indoors and outdoors. In our outdoor environment we encourage connection to land and exploration of nature, as well as gross motor activities such as obstacle courses, open running spaces, balancing activities, sand play and water play.

Our centre provides all meals cooked fresh daily. Our menu’s are evaluated by Munch and Move to ensure that they meet the nutritional requirements for early childhood centres and meet children’s recommended daily intake.

All meals are served in our dining room where children discuss nutrition and healthy eating, as well as etiquette and manners.

Our menu rotates over a six-week period and can be changed to cater for changes in the seasons. We cater for allergies, dietary requirements and encourage family input to provide an inclusive environment for all families regardless of cultural background.

Meals provided include:

• Breakfast until 7:30am
• Morning tea
• Lunch
• Dessert – fresh fruit
• Afternoon tea
• Late snack – fresh fruit and vegetable sticks

Our service is able to receive the Child Care Subsidy on behalf of eligible families to help reduce the cost of childcare. Families will need to contact Centrelink to have their eligibility assessed. Family CRN numbers will then need to be provided to the centre upon enrolment.

We do not charge fees for public holidays or the Christmas close down period.