OUR VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY
At Blake Street Kindergarten, our philosophy is to provide a warm, safe, stimulating environment for the children and to assist them to make a smooth transition from home to kindergarten and then onto school. Blake Street Kindergarten has been operated by the Northern Darebin Community Kindergarten Association (NDCKA), and continues to provide quality education to families within the community.
We believe that children learn by experience and they are encouraged to explore a variety of developmental and curriculum areas. Over the year, they will develop knowledge, skills and attitudes which will lay down the foundations for later formal learning in life.
We strongly believe in the development of positive relationships with children and families. We work closely with the families in sharing information about the program, and discussing with them their child’s achievements, needs and individual goals/ program on a regular basis.
Our aim is to help all children develop a positive self-esteem, confidence and a positive attitude to learning. We offer a program that identifies and understands differences in culture, appearance, development and beliefs, and which is free from gender stereotyping and bias.
Our program follows & meets regulatory requirements; offers flexibility to cater for the needs and interests of young children; provides learning experiences that will encourage children to explore their environment, to express their feelings and ideas and to experiment through a range of resources and materials.
We offer learning experiences that reflect the children’s interests as well as intentional teaching objectives. Therefore, our learning program changes regularly and we use different strategies and approaches to successfully achieve our goals every day.
At Blake Street Kindergarten, we focus on the whole child and work to support each child’s learning and development through offering an emergent curriculum. Our Curriculum embraces the Early Years Learning Framework which is a part of the National Quality standard. Children are assisted to achieve within the five learning outcomes “Identity, Community, Wellbeing, Learning, Communication” identified in the Early Years Learning Framework, which inevitably helps each child form their identity through ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming’.
Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
As a result of this learning outcome, children:
- feel safe, secure, and supported
- develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency
- develop knowledgeable and confident self identities
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
This outcome enables children to:
- develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation
- respond to diversity with respect
- become aware of fairness
- become socially responsible and also show respect for the environment
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of Wellbeing
In achieving this outcome, children:
- become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing
- take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
As a result of this learning outcome, children:
- develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity
- develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating
- transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another
- resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, as well as natural and processed materials.
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
As a result of this learning outcome, children:
- interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
- engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts
- express ideas and make meaning using a range of media
- begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work
- use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and also represent their thinking.
