Service Philosophy
The service staff ensures quality, commitment to Child Safe Standards and continual improvement by adhering to the Education and Care Services National Law, the Education and Care Services National Regulations and National Quality Standards. Educators plan the curriculum in accordance with the learning outcomes outlined in “The Early Years Learning Framework”
When providing education and care for the children in our setting our approach is holistic and inclusive. Our aim is to develop each child’s understanding of the world in which they live by developing the skills, knowledge and attitudes to prepare them for a life time of learning. We aim to develop a child’s ability across all developmental areas.
We view each child as creative, capable and naturally inquisitive. Children are eager to explore and discover the world around them and may use more than “100 languages” (Loris Maluguzzi).We acknowledge that children learn through play and recognise children’s agency from the early years.
We provide a safe home away from home like environment and operate as a family grouping centre. We, believe that with the current trend of smaller families and children spending more time in out of home care means many children have little contact with children across a range of ages. Mixed age grouping gives children opportunities to be part of a diverse group and, with educator support, develop empathy and become tolerant of others. We believe that mixed-age grouping has the potential to support children’s social and emotional learning. Children who are settled and older often take on leadership roles and support those who are less capable and competent than they are, while at the same time building their own self-confidence and self-esteem. They model language, turn taking and sharing. Mixed-age grouping allows less confident pre-schoolers to mix with younger children and over time build their confidence in mixing with same age and older peers. Educators adapt the curriculum and their teaching strategies to support children’s development and maximise the educational benefits for the whole group.
We understand the importance of connecting children to the natural world in order to develop their respect for maintaining the health and beauty of the environment. We are committed to teaching children to care and respect the land on which we live and work. We teach the children to acknowledge that we are indeed on Wangal land and are passionate about embedding an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander curriculum. We value the pedagogy of outdoor learning and are inspired by theory that the environment is the third teacher. We believe our outdoor environment encourages exploration and inspires creative play.
We believe in encouraging children to express themselves, their view and encourage them to engage in experiences that develop self-reliance, self-esteem and self-regulation. Our educators actively listen to each child throughout the day in order to genuinely understand their needs and strive to create an environment of culturally rich and stimulating activities and quiet times where each child feels safe to seek comfort and reassurance.
We believe in fostering a team approach where all our educators are equally respected and valued for their contribution. We employ highly qualified educators and empower all educators to continually upgrade their qualifications to foster continuity of staff.
Educators view every child as a unique individual with their own interests, needs and strengths. Educators understand that children mature at different rates and have preferred styles of learning and our educators aim is to provide an enriched, flexible program. We understand that children learn best when the program reflects their interests and has meaning for them personally and plan our program based on careful observations of each child’s individual knowledge, ideas, culture, abilities and interests. We foster project-based collaborative learning, initiated by children, families, educators or involvement in the wider community to support creative thinking and problem solving. Our educators are in tuned in grasping teachable moments. They are aware of and embrace the fact that every moment maybe an opportunity for learning.
A major influencing factor on the development of children is their family: both the way they interact with their family, the way they see their family interact with others, and others with them. The centre endeavours to continually promote a collaborative partnership with families and communities. The educators believe that effective relationships between educators and families are fundamental to the quality of education and care that children receive. It is true that each child comes to this service with different funds of knowledge and we do embrace that. Kiddies on First recognizes that all families are different and the educators aim to achieve this partnership by establishing and maintaining positive trusting relationships, valuing family backgrounds, experiences and child rearing practices.
Kiddies on First is operating a service for the local community and endeavours to work in cooperation with and develop an understanding of its ever changing needs. Our service practise does reflect the community context in which we operate. Educators value the process of continuous improvement by reviewing, reflecting and evaluating service policies and quality care practices. Kiddies on First is committed to involving the local community in all aspects of the service including programming, planning and celebrating with us at our events as they indeed can have a direct and positive influence on the child’s wellbeing.
