Page Text: Ruth Landau Harp Early Learning
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Our curriculum teaches and brings to life the values, traditions, and appreciation of Judaism at a level the children can understand. The play-based curriculum seamlessly integrates the Jewish Holidays and topics with all areas of the Early Years Learning Framework. We are a community of people committed to the care and development of young children, helping them to flourish and bloom as they reach their true potential and take their place in the world as kind and compassionate global citizens.
Children are recognised as active, capable, competent and valued members of our community. The children are at the centre of all that we do, allowing them to take an active role in the construction, acquisition and direction of their learning. Through listening to their ideas, seeking their opinions and observing their actions, we are able to plan according to what interests the child and ensure their voice is represented by our programs and visually in our service. We work in partnership to make decisions affecting their individual learning journey. By recognising the ‘rights of the child’ (UN Conventions), we empower them with a sense of agency over their learning and environment.
We provide a space that is supportive, welcoming and inclusive, recognising each child as unique and individual. We recognise the value of equity and strive to provide every child with the tools and experiences that they need to succeed and to thrive. In accepting and embracing our differences, we acknowledge each child, each family and each member of staff for who they are. We respect the diverse range of backgrounds our families and staff derive from and encourage them to share this diversity within the practices of our service.
We recognise and acknowledge individuals for their strengths and use this as a way of supporting children and staff to always do and be their best and give them opportunities to mentor others. This may be achieved through mixed age groupings with the children and leadership opportunities for staff. We highly regard experience and skills among our Educators and actively encourage ongoing professional development, thus ensuring ongoing professional standards in our service delivery.
Each of our Educators have a thorough knowledge of child development whilst also staying abreast of current trends and developments in Early Years pedagogy. Our program delivery actively fosters consistency across the whole service, with a focus on developing the whole child as they progress through different ages and stages of development within the service. The use of ‘room readiness checks’, developmental milestone profiles and close communication between rooms, ensures that children are transitioned according to individual readiness, giving them the best chance of success in their new environment.
Resources and equipment are age appropriate but carefully selected to allow the children opportunities to challenge themselves and to take risks in a safe way that encourages persistence and develops resilience.
We place a great deal of importance on the natural world and allow our children many opportunities throughout the day to access the outdoors (in all seasons). Nature play is an integral part of our pedagogical practice and we encourage the use of naturally sourced materials for experimentation and exploration. All children are actively involved in the care and maintenance of our outdoor environments and gardens, including our edible community garden. We have a strong focus on sustainable practices and look for opportunities, throughout our programming, to engage in up-cycling, recycling and conservation of water.
Mindful and thorough enrolment procedures allow time to establish relationships between families and educators and ensure a happy and successful transition between home and our service., Staff will ensure that children from all cultures and backgrounds are represented in their environments including those of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander heritage.
We recognise young children as ‘whole body’ learners and provide many opportunities for them to fully immerse and get ‘messy’ in their play. This may include but is not limited to paint, water, mud and clay. This multi-sensory learning is a valued part of our curriculum.
Parents are recognised as the child’s first teacher and their input is actively sought and highly valued. Families are provided many opportunities to engage with the service and contribute to our continuing improvement. Our centre app, access to centre policies, regular group and individual meetings, emails and phone calls provide multiple ways for our parents to keep informed every day.
Relationships between staff, children and families are warm and genuine, evidenced through respectful words, actions and engagement. Children are always greeted with affection and love, creating a sense of belonging.