In all our rooms we program for each child individually. We do this by observing each child, noting their actions and abilities, their strengths and what challenges they are ready for. The activities we plan are developmentally appropriate.
Each day we communicate with parents about what has happened in our room. We share the highlights of each day by writing comments for parents to read. Educators will communicate with families about some of the meaningful activities and interactions of the day.
Babies Room
6 Weeks to 2 years – 1 educator: 4 infants ratio to a maximum of 12 infants
Care is provided by a familiar carer, who familiarises themselves with your baby and with whom your child can relate to and learn to trust while feeling safe and secure in their new environment. The childcare professionals take many opportunities for one-to-one interactions with your child, including during care routines such as nappy changes, toileting, dressing, eating and sleeping/rest times. These times are used to talk with your child and to build positive, trusting relations with them.
There is a lot of comforting physical contact between the child care professionals and your baby, such as being cuddled and being held while having a bottle. Your baby’s distress signals such as crying or becoming frustrated are responded to by the child care professionals in ways that are timely, comforting and appropriate.
You will need to bring bottles made up and labelled, and any special food your baby may require in a bag. A spare set of clothes and summer hat are also needed. We supply nappies, food and sunscreen.
Toddler Room
2 years – 3 years – 1 educator: 4 toddlers ratio to a maximum of 12 toddlers.
Activities such as outdoor play, ball games, riding bike and climbing on equipment all extend the toddlers gross motor skills.
Pegboards, painting, play dough, drawing with crayons and puzzles are all planned for refining and developing fine motor skills.
Language and listening skills are planned for group times – stories, songs, reading books, puppets, finger plays and creative transitions between activities.
Of course, we will also share important information about the children’s food intake, toileting and rest time.
It is important to us that you feel comfortable coming to us to ask questions about your child and their day and how they are feeling. Please let us know if there is something that may affect your child‘s behaviour during the day like teething, lack of sleep etc.
Pre School Room
3 years – 6 years – 1 educator: 11 pre-school ratios to a maximum of 30 Pre-schoolers.
We provide education and care by a professional educator, who is familiar with your child/ren and with whom your child/ren can relate to and trust while feeling safe and secure in their new environment. The early years professionals take many opportunities for one-to-one interactions with your child/ren, including during transitions and routines such as nappy changes, toileting, dressing, eating and sleeping/rest times. These times are used to engage with your child and to build positive, trusting relationships.
There is a lot of comforting physical contact between the child/ren and the educator professionals, such as being cuddled and being held while having a bottle. Your child’s distress signals, such as crying or becoming frustrated, are responded to by the educator in ways that are timely, comforting and appropriate.
In all three rooms educational program enhances each child’s learning and development. The educators follow the approved learning framework – The Victorian Early Years Learning Framework. We utilise the curriculum framework to guide our practice in relation to each child’s learning and development outcomes, in the key areas of identity, connection with community, wellbeing, confidence as learners, and effectiveness as communicators.
Our programs are child-centred by using each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities, and interests to form the program. The program provides learning opportunities throughout all aspects of the program, including routines, and are organised in ways that maximise opportunities for each child’s learning.
The educators facilitate and extend each individual child’s learning and development, through intentional teaching, responsive teaching and scaffolding, child directed learning, and assessment and planning. Educators and co-ordinators take a planned and reflective approach to implementing the program for each child.
Our assessment and planning cycle for each child’s learning and development is assessed or evaluated as part of an ongoing cycle of observation, analysing learning, documentation, planning, implementation, and reflection.
We critically reflect on children’s learning and development, both as individuals and in groups, which drives our program planning and implementation.
We encourage families to engage and inform us about the program and their child’s progress, and welcome regular feedback.
We provide experiences such as outdoor play, ball games, riding bikes, and climbing on equipment to extend each child’s confidence and physical development.
Pegboards, painting, play dough, drawing with crayons and puzzles are all planned for refining and developing learning skills.
Language and communication skills are planned for at group time, where we share stories, songs, books, puppets, and finger plays. Creative transitions between activities also extending and teaching communication skills, alongside incidental, spontaneous opportunities throughout the day. We engage in rich, investigative conversation and discussion with all children, fostering a sense of curiosity and wonder.
We like to share information with our families on a daily basis. We write a daily reflection (Snap Shot of My Day) and display it for families to read, which details important information about the child’s food intake, toileting, rest time, and a brief description of their day. We believe children learn through play, and activities are presented for pre-writing, pre-reading and early math that children will find fun and stimulating. All their favourite activities are available to the children – sand and water play, shape sorting, painting, play dough and gluing activities, which all increase physical and cognitive development.
Community interaction occurs through play. We focus on offering activities that help develop resilience, emotional regulation and pro-social choices. By the age of four children are beginning to develop friendships and are very social, they enjoy role playing and imaginative play. Home corner is a busy part of the room!
You are always very welcome to join in the activities in the room or come in and spend time with us- you may like to share a skill with us, like cooking, storytelling, or music. We appreciate your input to the program and you are welcome to make suggestions at any time. Our goal is open, robust partnerships and communication with families, and we believe wholeheartedly in the positive impact that this relationship provides for all involved
Outdoor Play Area
We have two outdoor play spaces; we boast a large play area shared between both the pre-school and toddler children. This area allows multi-age grouping, and children relish the opportunity to play with siblings or children of different ages. The other area is the infants play space. This is a fenced off area that allows the infants the safety to practise their skills the busyness of the older yard. Both yards are specifically designed for children and have lots of beautiful natural spaces for children to engage all their senses in learning.
We like to explore our surrounding campus by engaging in excursions in the grounds. We often see local wild life on these excursions!
We engage in play in all kinds of weather, so don’t forget to pack changes of clothes and wet weather gear, or beautiful sun shining attire. This allows the children to learn about the environment that they live in, and to explore though their senses. We are a SunSmart centre which means we apply sunscreen according to the UV levels though out the year. We also require hats to be provided during the warmer months.
We have climbing frames for exercising your child’s gross motors skills. Our large sandpit fosters collaborative construction and sensory play, and water play is encouraged. There are a large variety of bikes, trikes, scooters and cars for your children to exercise their larger muscles.
Having a large outdoor play area comes with a bit of work! There are many different ways to get involved. We are in constant need of helpers in our garden and for minor repairs. Play equipment is purchased through our fundraising activities and your support is always appreciated. Please speak with our centre director if you would like to help!