Our Philosophy
Alchester Village preschool acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge their stories, traditions and living cultures and pay respect to all Elders, past and present and emerging.
At Alchester Village Pre school we value and strive to provide an inviting, calm and stimulating environment that is welcoming and inclusive to all families. Where families and more importantly the children are our highest priority and feel safe, secure, supported and respected, through a strong commitment by management, staff and volunteers to child safety in areas of harm, abuse and zero tolerance to discrimination and racism.
We aim to ensure there is no denial of identity and to enable children to have a voice and feel free and confident to express themselves and their opinions. This includes children who are unable to communicate with words. We are respectful of and regard each child’s social, individual and cultural identity from all diverse backgrounds and we are mindful of any vulnerability relevant to their child’s safety and wellbeing.
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- We promote shared respect, understanding, knowledge, experience and working together with dignity and truly listening to each other.
- We continue to expand on how we interact, embrace and immerse ourselves in land, water and nature.
- We reflect on and celebrate our Indigenous heritage and influence our First Nations people have had and continue to have on our shared land.
We strongly value the uniqueness of each child and we recognise they come with prior skills, knowledge, interests and experiences. Current knowledge of, strengths, ideas culture, abilities and interests are the foundation of our program. We provide challenging, learning experiences which are interesting, stimulating and promote clear thinking, the ability to question, explore, experiment and reason.
We understand that each child will require different levels of support. We know that children need to be able to explore, have choices and learn at their own pace. This is achieved through the provision of PLAY. It is as active participants in their play and environment that children learn to make sense of the world around them.
Children need the opportunity to develop Life Skills such as;
- Emotional resilience, social confidence, self motivation, self regulation/discipline, persistence and resourcefulness, in order to be able to adapt and thrive in an ever changing world.
- Sense of responsibility to themselves and to others, both within their Pre school and the wider community.
- Learning to share, listening to others, respecting others, being able to learn from and help each other, working within set limits, be responsible for their own actions and learn to resolve conflict through effective communication. Children learn this through guidance and support.
Certain limits on behaviour are based on consideration of health, safety and respect for the rights of others.
The limits are established in conjunction with The Early Years Learning and Development Framework, National Quality Standards and Child Safety Standards.
This is achieved through the provision of:
- an environment that promotes interaction and open communication between home and preschool. Expertise, culture, values, and beliefs are respected and shared in the decision making process relating to children’s learning and wellbeing.
- provision of routines and consistent setting
- sensory exploration
- freedom of self expression in art, music, movement, language and dramatic role play and through open ended activities
- choice and time to explore and not feel hurried
- opportunities to take risks and problem solve
- individual, small and large group interactions which enable co-operation and the development of relationships and friendships with others
- child directed/initiated play as well as adult guided and led support
- structured/unstructured, indoor /outdoor experiences.
- Educators responding to the children’s ideas and play and extending on learning through open ended questions, interactions and feedback
- local, national, cultural and international influences and events. Children gain knowledge of and respect for events and occasions that are important to our families and we celebrate these.
- The nurturing and respecting of our natural resources by promoting and moving to more sustainable practices. i.e, we encourage and identify the use of recyclable materials both in/outdoors, the provision of a worm farm, compost bin, water tank and rain gauge, the care for our plants and the equipment and indoor and outdoor play spaces.
As staff we endeavour to:
- be aware of our role/responsibility to identify and respond to every child from all diverse backgrounds, ( who may be at risk of abuse, neglect)
- Abide by our Code of Conduct.
- be cheerful, approachable and maintain a sense of humour.
- be actively invested in the child’s success, through support, guidance, modelling, praise, encouragement and the building of positive relationships.Show interest in what children say and do.
- Provide opportunities, experiences which build confidence and a sense of well being and security so children can be motivated to engage actively.
- facilitate and scaffold children’s learning. Continually adapt and modify teaching strategies to meet individual and group needs. (on revisiting the teachings of past theorists we found our practices are inspired by the following: John Comenius, Frederick Froebel, John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky, Burrhus Skinner, Jean Piaget)
- continue Professional Development. Staff performance is regularly evaluated and individual plans are in place to support learning and development.
- be creative, spontaneous and resourceful and able to capitalise on teachable moments. Our indoor/outdoor spaces are organised and adaptive to support every child’s participation and engagement in quality experiences in both the built and natural environments.
- assess and support the individual learning, development and well being of children through interaction, observation and record keeping.
- Report to families about their child’s development through the use of visual displays, formal and informal discussions, written feedback in children’s reflections books, weekly reflection books, monthly reports, iPad recordings, emails, liaisons with other specialists and support staff and a transition report at school entry.
- Be available for support and referring, while remaining sensitive to families needs
Together with a Committee of Management:
- ensure department regulations and expectations are met i.e. by adhering to the:
- National Quality Standards
- Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework
- Child Safe Standards.
- National Law and regulations.
- encourage a team spirit and recognition of each staff’s unique knowledge
- sensitive to the needs of the staff and families
- demonstrate awareness of Australia as a culturally diverse nation with emphasis on developing an unbiased and non sexist curriculum, zero tolerance harm, discrimination and racism includes any digital platforms/media AVPS engages in ( ie. closed family Facebook group, WhatsApp, You Tube)
- cater for the individual needs of all children and their families
- gain a greater understanding of the uniqueness of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and show physical signs of welcome and acknowledgement in our preschool
For more information or if you would like to read our full policies and procedures, available at the kindergarten or speak directly to staff.
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Alchester Village Preschool acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge their stories, traditions and living cultures and pay respect to all Elders, past and present.