Children
Child Care Services Philosophy
- We believe all children should feel safe, secure, respected, valued, cared for individually free from bias or discrimination and should have a strong sense of identity.
- We believe all children need a safe and stimulating environment to explore, problem solve, create and construct. Environments are vibrant and flexible spaces that are responsive to the interests and abilities of each child. “In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play it is as though he were a head taller than himself” - Lev Vygotsky.
- We believe all children should experience play-based learning that is engaging and builds success for life. “Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn” - O.Fred Donaldson.
- We recognise that diversity contributes to the richness of our society and provides a valid evidence base about ways of knowing. It allows the ability to understand, communicate with and effectively interact with people across cultures. The diversity in family life means that children experience belonging, being and becoming in many different ways.
- We recognise the importance of nurturing a child’s development process. Each child develops at their own pace and educators work hard to nurture each child’s development.
- All children are supported to learn and develop at their own pace. Exploring their interests through safe and challenging experiences. As well as supporting the dignity of risk. To us, children learn best when they aren’t rushed and feel supported. Utilizing children’s strengths to plan and assess their learning and allowing them the opportunity to grow and develop at their own speed.
- We believe in all children’s capacities to succeed, regardless of diverse circumstances and abilities. Children are confident and involved learners. “Learning is more than the acquisition of the ability to think; it is the acquisition of many specialized abilities for thinking about a variety of things” - Lev Vysotsky.
- We believe in responding to children’s ideas and their input. Children are the basis of our program and taking on their ideas and interest, we can create a program that reflects the children’s learning and development. . “The more children know that you value them that you consider them extraordinary people, the more willing they will be to listen to you and afford the same esteem. And the more appropriate your teaching, based on your knowledge of them, the more eager your children will be to learn from you. And the more they learn, the more extraordinary they will become” - M.Scott Peck
- Our staff and educators believe in the holistic approach to supporting children’s learning. Educators view learning as a social activity and intentionally plan for and engage children in collaborative learning experiences.
- We are committed to educating children about Indigenous peoples, both past and present, with a long-term goal of fostering understanding and eradicating racism.
- We believe it is essential for children to learn about Australia’s history and the diverse cultures that contribute to our nation.
- It is a priority for us to teach children respect for the water, animals, and land of the communities they come from.
- Our mission is to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with the highest standard of culturally appropriate care.
Families
- We believe that all families in the community have the right to access quality care that is affordable and meets their individual needs. We believe in being sensitive to the vulnerabilities of children and families and respond in ways that empower and maintain the dignity of all children and families.
- We respect the views and values of each family, acknowledging the family as the primary care provider and the children’s first and most influential educator.
- We believe in providing an environment where families have an involvement in the service and are invited to participate in care activities and service management and also to develop positive relationships based on mutual trust and open communication.
- We believe we need to respect the uniqueness of each family and strive to learn about their culture, lifestyle, customs, language, beliefs and kinship systems. We believe we need to develop positive relationships based on mutual trust and open communication and assist each family to develop a sense of belonging and inclusion.
- We maintain confidentiality and respect the right of the family to privacy.
- We believe in supporting families from different cultures, to meet their needs and support them in the way in which they need us to.
Service / Coordinators / Educators
- We believe fundamentally that the framework is a view of children’s lives as characterised by belonging, being and becoming. “Education does not transform the world. Education changes people. People change the world. “ - Paulo Freire
- We believe that The Early Years Learning Framework and the My Time Our Place guides us in our curriculum decision making and assists in planning, implementing and evaluating quality in early childhood settings. We use the National Quality framework to support our children and young people in care.
- We believe that it is essential to ensure that all children are provided with a high quality of care, which includes a quality educational program, in a safe and nurturing environment.
- We believe that it is important to continually reflect on practices and procedures with the aim of continuously improving our service to the community and be alert to emerging trends and policies.
- We believe in honouring the histories, cultures, languages, traditions, child rearing practices and lifestyle choices of families. “Each person’s map of the world is as unique as their thumbprint. There are no two people alike...no two people understand the same sentence the same way...So in dealing with people try not to fit them to your concept of what they should be” - Milton Erickson.
- We believe in an environment that promotes teamwork, individual acceptance of differences, honesty and appreciation of beliefs and values.
- We believe in providing a service that meets the needs of individual children and their family.
- We believe that it is important for the service to work cooperatively and actively with parents, educators, management, the community and elders.
- We believe that working in partnership with families and educators, through providing information, education and support, will enhance the quality of care that children receive.
- We need to work in accordance with this philosophy, and take action in the presence of unethical behaviours, build collaborative relationships based on trust, respect and honesty.
- We believe in acknowledging and supporting the strengths, experience and diversity of colleagues which they bring to the workplace, also sharing and building knowledge, experiences and resources with colleagues.
- We believe the in the importance of proving quality care and quality support. Our goal is to ensure all children and young people have the access to quality care at all times. And our educators are given quality support from their coordinator and management.
- We believe in providing a rich cultural setting for children and young people. It is our belief that our services should have an understanding of culture and we work hard to support our educators to have a culture rich environment.
- Our belief is that our educators are provided with more education and training in regard to the indigenous culture and how to support children in their understanding of the culture also.
Community
- We believe that promoting the Early Years Learning Framework and My Time Our Place within the community, develops strong community links, which enables families to become aware of quality standards in childcare practice.
- We believe that promoting awareness of diversity within the community leads to acceptance and respect for others. This includes valuing the continuity and richness of local knowledge shared by community members, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders.
- We believe in working with people, services and agencies within the communities that support children and families.
- We believe in promoting involvement within the service.
- We believe in joining our community to support children in many different ways.
- We believe in supporting our local indigenous communities and the children within however we can. Whether that be joining in on sessions or learning about their culture, we support them in the ways needed.
- We believe in joining our Indigenous community, to provide understanding and advice on joining early childhood services and why this is beneficial to children.
Resources
The Early Years Learning Framework
My Time Our Place
National Quality Standards
BELONGING, BEING, BECOMING — The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia - V2.0, 2022 | 1 Information sheet 1 BELONGING, BEING & BECOMING - Holistic, integrated and interconnected approaches
Introduction to childhood development (nottingham.ac.uk)
InformationSheet_EYLF-Holistic integrate_Practices.pdf (acecqa.gov.au)
Kelvin Cattlin - Indigenous Liaison for Beaucare.
Beaucare ARIA Team and Manager Ainsley.
Dean Brunker - National Indigenous Manager Yourtown
