At Footsteps Early Learning Centre we believe that early childhood is a unique and privileged stage of life. We believe that:
Philosophy
Our role is to assist children to reach their full potential.
Children should be cared for & educated in a safe & healthy environment.
Our centre should be warm, welcoming & nurturing.
Each child should be accepted & valued as an individual.
Children learn best in an environment that is stimulating & intriguing.
Children require positive encouragement in order to develop confidence & self-esteem.
An atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration is important.
It is important to develop care and respect for others and the environment.
Children learn by doing & as educators and carers, it is our role to support this learning.
Children should be encourage to explore & actively develop positive problem solving skills.
Relationships with children, families and staff that are based on mutual respect, open & honest communication are essential to the children’s wellbeing.
Keeping individual portfolios ensures that our program effectively reflects the children’s strengths & interests.
Meaningful links between home and our centre ensure that families feel part of their child’s life at the centre.
Early Years Learning Framework
At Footsteps we use the Early Years Learning Framework along with a School Readiness Program. There are 5 learning outcomes that are designed to capture the integrated and complex learning and development of all children across the birth to five age range. The outcomes are:
Children have a strong sense of identity
Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children are confident and involved learners
Children are effective communicators
The Outcomes
The outcomes are broad and observable. They acknowledge that children learn in a variety of ways and vary in their capabilities and pace of learning. Some examples of how we interpret the curriculum are:
- Encouraging children to be responsible for their own learning through choices in activities based on their interests.
- Using conversations, actions & play as the basis for teaching.
- Involving the children as partners in teaching by seeking out ideas, opinions, thoughts & questions.
- Encouraging the children to further their independence and self-help skills.
- Involving the children in interest projects and learning.
- Involving the families as partners to gather a comprehensive picture of the whole child.
- Promoting positive relationships with individuals and in group experiences (small and large).
- Using the physical environment as a third teacher to promote choices throughout the day
- Giving children control of the day within a flexible and consistent routine.
Our centre
Our Day
We believe that all children have the right to a safe and secure environment to learn and grow. A child’s sense of self, exploration and spirituality shapes the care we provide each child, every day. We aim to allow the children autonomy over their learning and daily routine, recognising this as a promoting and fostering their strong sense of self.
Our program includes indoor and outdoor play, small and large group experiences. Experiences include act, craft, blocks, construction, sand play, water play, imaginative play, role playing maths and science exploration, books and puzzles. We have a large outdoor play area for children to explore the natural environment as well as a sand pit and climbing and balancing equipment.
Each day we record the events of the day on Kinderloop. Kinderloop is a secure way for us to be able to communicate and provide information, observations, programs and photographs about your child and our centres in real-time. Families are provided secure log in details on a closed and private loop with content being 100% private for you to view at any time.
Our Program