coolamon early childhood centre · web viewcoolamon early childhood centre provides quality...

Coolamon Early Childhood Centre

ContentsStatement of Philosophy.................................................................3

MEET OUR EDUCATORS......................................................4Renae Robertson.....................................................................4Jamie Angove..........................................................................4Courtney Carroll......................................................................4

ROOM INFORMATION.........................................................5Communication/Parent Involvement.........................................5Meal Times..............................................................................5Sleep/Rest Time......................................................................5Toilet Training.........................................................................5What to Pack...........................................................................5Hats........................................................................................5Labelling Belongings...............................................................5Toys and Treasures from Home................................................5

LEARNING PROGRAMS AND CENTRE PRACTICES..................6Key Educator Approach............................................................6Early Years Learning Framework..............................................6Early Learning Languages Australia Program............................7

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS AND FAMILY INTERVEIWS.........7Half Yearly Summative Assessments........................................7Family Interviews....................................................................7

PRESCHOOL ROOM DAILY FLEXIBLE ROUTINE......................8

Coolamon Early Childhood Centre – Family Handbook

Statement of Philosophy

Coolamon Early Childhood Centre provides quality education and care for young children as we believe early childhood is a time of rapid growth and development. We pride ourselves on creating a welcoming environment for families and children. We advocate that families are the first educators of their children. Our educators provide nurturing, stimulating environments that incorporate collaborative learning between educators, children, families, the wider community and specialist support agencies.Therefore, we aim to provide an environment which supports children’s emotional, spiritual, social, cognitive and physical development. Through implementing the Early Years Learning Framework we strive for children to feel confident with their identity and develop a sense of “Being, Belonging and Becoming” (DEEWR, 2009). Children, families and the community will experience an environment that is rich and reflects home cultures and beliefs of our children’s families. This builds a foundation for children for their future learning and development. Children’s needs are supported through the principles and learning outcomes identified in the Early Years Learning Framework.

We believe Children:Are unique and develop their own knowledge, beliefs, culture, learning style and values. Educators promote cultural competence and in the process a shared culture is developed where everyone feels safe, included, respected and valued. Children are provided with opportunities to build connections and relationships within their communities through regular excursions for all ages. Children are encouraged to express ideas and be active participants in their learning. Through experiencing joy, achievement and considering a variety of theories children will develop confidence and resilience.

We believe our families:Our educators aim to build trusting and respectful relationships where families are encouraged to participate in their child’s learning and feel a sense of belonging within our Centre. Our educators work in partnership with families to meet their child’s needs and beliefs of their home culture.

We believe our educators:Our educators pride themselves as active team members and as working professionals ensuring Centre policies and procedures are adhered to accordingly. We advocate that through supporting our colleagues and extending professional development, educators are able to provide an educational environment based on the changes of modern society. As early childhood professionals, our educators believe learning is on-going and promote reflective practices to critically review and enhance our knowledge and teaching practices. Educators aim to honour cultural differences including languages, cultures, tradition and family lifestyle choices. By respecting diversity among families and the wider community, educators aim for children to see themselves as competent learners.

We believe our community:

Our educators believe the community are a vital part of children’s education and learning. Our educators are active members of the community by regularly supporting events and planning excursions within the outside the Centre environment for all children. The community is a supportive resource for developing strong bonds and sharing information. Our Centre prides ourselves in our relationships with local schools, preschools, community services and community members.


MEET OUR EDUCATORSRenae Robertson

Renae is the Centre manager, educational leader and trained early childhood teacher of the service. With 12 years’ experience in Early Childhood education, Renae has worked mainly with Preschool aged children and has spent majority of her career planning and implementing preschool programs in long day care services. As educational leader of the service Renae oversees and guides educational programs within the Centre including the preschool program. Renae works in the preschool room 1-2 days each week.

Jamie Angove

Jamie is the preschool room leader and will complete her teaching degree by December 2020. Jamie plans and implements the preschool program. She provides a learning environment that is current with framework requirements and is passionate about transitioning children into primary school who are confident and competent learners.

Courtney Carroll

Courtney is the preschool room assistant and has worked in early childhood education for 7 years. Courtney has spent the last 2.5 years working in the preschool room and thrives on supporting children to reach new milestones. She is currently enrolled in her Diploma of Children’s Services and assists with planning and implementing the room program.


ROOM INFORMATIONCommunication/Parent Involvement

The Centre has a strong belief that parent input is vital to building competent and confident learners. Our educators are happy for you to come and discuss any questions you might have, no problem is ever too small.

We are also encouraging parents to fill in and return weekend sheets and child interest sheets so we can better incorporate your child’s home life into our programming. It is great to hear what the children have been doing away from the school environment.

Meal TimesAll children’s food is to be labelled clearly with the child’s name and separated into the labelled tubs in the fridge (morning tea, lunch and snacks). Families are encouraged to pack fruit for morning tea as well as additional healthy snacks (morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea), being mindful that if your child attends until later in the day to pack extra food. Our educators encourage families to pack more food than usual until your child settles in. Sandwiches or wraps are encouraged for lunch as children develop self-help skills (unwrapping food items) ready for transition to primary school.

Sleep/Rest TimeAfter lunch children are encouraged to have a rest and listen to an audio story. This allows time for children who require an afternoon sleep to settle while older children explore their receptive language skills and memory recall as they recount the story to their educators. After this time, older children move from the mat to quieter activities while children sleep.

Toilet TrainingIf your child is transitioning to toilet training, our educators will support strategies families have in place. We ask, if possible for families to provide pullups to aid in the process.

What to PackChildren in the Preschool Room will require meals, water bottle, a hat (please see more information below) and spare clothes. Spare clothes are to be packed for all children as outside play or craft can at times be messy.

HatsCoolamon Early Childhood Centre prides itself on being a sunsmart Centre. We request that all children bring a hat to preschool everyday. Hats that are acceptable for use as per our sunsmart policy include “Legionaire style, bucket or broad brimmed hats that protect the face, neck and ears whenever they are outside”. Baseball caps and visors do not provide enough sun protection and therefore, not recommended. Parents are most welcome to leave their child’s hat at school to ensure they have a hat each day. Could parents please make sure all belonging are marked with their child’s name.

Labelling BelongingsIt is most important that children’s belongings are labelled. This includes hats and drink bottles. Our large classes in both rooms can cause confusion if children’s belongings are not labelled.

Toys and Treasures from HomeTo avoid the disappointment of special toys being lost or damaged we recommend that these items are not brought to the Centre. Comfort or security toys are welcome and we ask that they are clearly labelled to ensure


they remain with their owner.

LEARNING PROGRAMS AND CENTRE PRACTICESKey Educator Approach

Coolamon Early Childhood Centre has a key educator approach to observing, planning and evaluating each child’s learning. Each child has as educator that plans and documents your child’s learning, assesses their progress towards meeting outcomes of The Early Years Learning Framework and plans further experiences for them to extend their skills and strengths. Your child has an individual learning portfolio that is available to you at anytime for viewing.

Early Years Learning FrameworkThe Early Years Learning Framework has been created to ensure that every early childhood setting including long day care preschool programs aswell as community based preschool programs is working together with parents to enhance their child’s learning. This curriculum is nation wide and implemented across Australia.The Framework has been developed to ensure your child received quality educational experiences in the early childhood setting.The framework vision is for all children to experience play based learning that is engaging and builds success for life.The Early Years Learning Framework describes childhood as a time of belonging, being and becoming. It has 5 main learning goals that our Educators use to assist your child to develop. Outcomes

A strong sense of identity Connection with their world A strong sense of well being Confidence and involvement in their learning Effective communication skills.

Principles:1. Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships2. Partnerships3. High Expectations and Equity4. Respect for Diversity5. Ongoing Learning and Reflective Practice.

Practice: Holistic Approaches Responsiveness to Children Learning through Play Intentional Teaching Learning environments Cultural Competence Continuity of Learning and Transitions.

At Coolamon Early Childhood Centre, we are dedicated to creating a learning environment that supports the implementation of The Early Years Learning Framework. Our Educators strive to implement the Early Years Learning Framework based on the Principles, Practices and Outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework.


Early Learning Languages Australia Program

The ELLA program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education and is managed by Education Services Australia. This Australian Government initiative inspires children by driving a genuine interest in a new language and culture. The digital play based program includes a series of interactive applications aimed at making language learning engaging and interesting to young children in preschool. There are eleven languages to choose from that align to the languages in the Australia Curriculum, which children study in their later years. All Preschool children aged 4 years old engage in using the program on the ipads each week for 10 minutes. Children aged 3 years old are exposed to aspects of the language during morning group times. Basic concepts of the language are covered including greetings, colours, counting, body parts and food. For 2019, the chosen dialect was Spanish and in 2020 German will be part of the Preschool Room program.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS AND FAMILY INTERVEIWSHalf Yearly Summative Assessments

In July and December of each year your child’s key educator completes a summative assessment of your child’s learning and progress. Through-out the assessment the educator will provide information in relation to your child’s social skills within the classroom including following the room routine, friendships and social development, their literacy and numeracy skills aswell as their current interests. Our educators use this information to continue to plan experiences that provide for your child with meaningful learning opportunities. These summative assessments are distributed to families and are forwarded to the local primary school your child is attending the following year for children transitioning to kindergarten.

Family Interviews

Each year between August and September the Centre offers formal interviews for families to discuss your child’s learning and address any questions families have. This has been beneficial as arrival and departure times can be quite busy. Your child’s summative assessment is the base of the discussion and family input is used to influence goals for their child, the preschool program and the Centre’s Quality Improvement Plan.


PRESCHOOL ROOM DAILY FLEXIBLE ROUTINEThe Preschool Room routine changes seasonally to allow for meaningful outdoor play in both the winter and summer season. The following routine provides an idea of what your child’s day will involve at the Centre.

8.30am Good Morning - Children separate to own rooms. During this time, the children can choose from a range of activities in their room. Children have opportunities within this period to participate in small group activities as well as one on one time.

9.20am Pack Away Time - Children are given warning that soon it will be time for morning tea. During this period, the children and educators all help to tidy up the learning environments.

9.30am ELLA Learning- Early Learning Languages Australia Program.

9.40am Morning Tea - Children are encouraged to choose a healthy snack for morning tea. Fruit is encouraged at this time. Educators sit with the children and encourage social interaction between peers.

10.00am Outdoor Play - Children get ready for outdoor play by putting on their socks, shoes and hats. Once outside, the children are able to choose from a variety of outdoor activities in a range of areas of the playground. During out-door play the children are able to care for the outdoor environment by assisting with watering the trees and plants.

11.00am Munch and Move – All children join in learning fundamental skills in a large group experience. The skills session includes a warm up, fundamental movement skills and a cool down. Educators demonstrate techniques and guide the children’s development during this time.

11.20am Reset Outdoor Area- Children assist educators to tidy the yard and reset the learning environments for play in the afternoon.

11.30am Small Groups- This time is used for structured learning experiences. The children are grouped with peers of a similar stage of development. They engage in a variety of activities including literacy, numeracy and stories focusing on memory recall and concentration.

12.00pm Lunch Time - Children are encouraged to unwrap their own food and gain independence in preparation for primary school. Educators sit with the children and encourage social interaction between peers.

12.30 pm Rest Time/Quiet time - Children are encouraged to finish off their lunch before going to the toilet and washing their hands. During this time, the children are provided with beds to sleep or rest. All children are encouraged to relax and listen to an audio story. At this period of the day, resting children can participate in quieter activities.

1.15pm Quiet time – Children are encouraged to pack away their resting items and move into quiet play time. Children choose from a variety of activities of choice. Children who are 4 years or older engage in learning on the ipad and using the Early Learning Languages Australia app.


2.15pm Pack Away Time –During this time, children and educators begin tidying the room up. Children are given time to finish activities and gather their belongings into their lockers before getting ready for afternoon tea.

2.20pm Transition Time- The children recite the Acknowledgement to Country before reflecting on their day and participate in group discussions. Music and Movement is implemented at this time. This includes dancing, role play or circle games. The children are assisted to apply their own sunscreen before washing their hands and sitting at the tables for afternoon tea.

2.30pm Afternoon Tea - Children are encouraged unwrap their foods for afternoon tea. Educators sit with the children and encourage social interaction between peers.

3.00pm Outdoor Play - Children get ready for outdoor play by putting on their socks, shoes and hats. Once outside, the children are able to choose from a variety of outdoor activities in a range of areas of the playground.

4.30pm Combine rooms - Age groups begin to combine during this time of the day. In the warmer month’s children are able to stay outdoors as long as weather permits. During the colder months, children and educators begin packing away the yard and going inside until departure time.


coolamon early childhood centre · web viewcoolamon early childhood centre provides quality...

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