The centre’s philosophy is reviewed annually and in consultation with families and staff to ensure that the centre is providing the best possible care for your child and a high quality service to the community. The philosophy is the foundation and central belief which describes what is important to the centre and defines the centre’s purpose and focus.
C.H.I.L.D.R.E.N.
C Community and a sense of Belonging*
As a Community based child care centre we foster our community spirit by adopting an ethic of respect and understanding for ourselves and others in our local community and beyond.
H Health and Wellbeing
We place a strong emphasis on emotional as well as physical wellbeing for children at Betty’s. We understand that children need to feel secure and have their physical needs meet in order to fully engage in our program and enjoy all the opportunities we offer.
I Inclusion
We welcome all children and families, and actively work on creating and maintaining a culturally safe and culturally inclusive environment where everyone feels connected to the centre and part of the centre community.
L Learning from interest and exploration
We see all children as capable, competent, co-contributors in their learning and education. We believe in learning based on children’s interests and exploration. Children, peers, families and educators are actively encouraged to share and celebrate learning discoveries and have them valued and recorded in a meaningful way.
D Development in terms of Being and Becoming *
For children that is; understanding where individual children are at (being)* Then working with the children to consolidate and extend their skills and interests in all areas of development (becoming)*
For educators; professional development and further education is supported and encouraged.
For the centre; maintaining a commitment to ongoing quality improvement in thinking and in practice.
R Relationships and Rights
We are committed to building meaningful relationships based on trust and respect with the children, families and educators. We aim to consolidate these relationships by helping children and families feel that Betty’s is their home away from home (belonging*). We anticipate and support these relationships continuing into the wider community.
We see children as holders of rights and ourselves as duty bound to respect and respond to those rights in all aspects of our engagement with children.
E Environment
We aim to create a stimulating environment where children have the time, space and resources to investigate, explore and experiment with experiences across all curriculum areas that interest and inspire them.
N Nature
We facilitate opportunities throughout the day for children to explore our large natural outdoor space. Through our flexible program and routines we endeavour to respond to the changing needs and interests of the children as they make connections between what they are learning in both the indoor and outdoor environments. We recognise that we all contribute to the wellbeing of the environments we live in and we want the children to join us as we continue to explore the idea of sustainability at our centre.
Core elements of The Early years Learning Framework, (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009) are denoted by an *