Dalton Rd Pre School Philosophy

At Dalton Rd Pre School Inc. all staff believe that children learn best through play.  This belief is reflected within all aspects of the programs offered at our service.  We believe that early childhood is a time of rich play based learning and we foster this through our acknowledgement of each of the individual characteristics of the curriculum framework – Belonging, Being and Becoming.  We incorporate a holistic approach to learning and offer a service that is warm and welcoming to families and which operates within a reflective environment to ensure we deliver the best service we can to the families within our community.

Our Three and four year old programs provide a wide variety of experiences which are designed to engage the children and inspire further learning.  We believe that children need time to explore what is around them , to ask questions and to experiment with different materials.  We also recognise that children have their own preferred learning style – learning by doing, listening and seeing.  Keeping this in mind we offer children the chance to choose their own activities at kinder and offer a variety of skills including motor skills, independent thought processes, communication and self expression, creativity, language and problem – solving skills.

We acknowledge that kindergarten is a social learning environment and the building of socialisation skills, independence  and resilience plays a major role when planning activities and outcomes for the children.,  We aim to foster the development of independence, self confidence, positive self-esteem, competency, self-control, self awareness, appreciation of others and the ability to work co operatively in small groups.

We recognise that kindergarten helps prepare children for life.  Whilst we encourage children’s independence we also foster their developing sense of responsibility for themselves and others.  Children are encouraged to share,listen to and respect the rights of others.  To work within set limits, be responsible for their own actions and learn to resolve conflicts appropriately.  A positive learning environment is achieved through role modelling, positive reinforcement and encouragement.

Planning and observation of the children at our centre is done in relation to the Early Years Framework and focuses on 5 development Outcomes – Identity, Community, Wellbeing, Learning and Communication.  When planning activities for the children at our centre we believe that the needs interests and enjoyment of the children are just as important as the educational objectives.  Qualified and experienced staff provide a balance between structured and unstructured, child initiated and adult supported,  indoor and outdoor experiences.  We offer a fun but purposeful child centred educational curriculum which meets a wide variety of children’s needs and interests and is planned with consideration of the developmental stages and backgrounds of each child.  This is why we are constantly observing the children, scaffolding and assessing their learning  and interests and adjusting our plans accordingly.

At Dalton Rd Pre School each and every child is respected as a unique individual with his or her own needs, abilities, experiences and interests taken into account.  Families are valued, respected and welcome in our centre.  We respect and encourage diversity, inclusion and equity.  Above all we believe that all children are successful, competent and capable learners and this is reflected in all aspects of our program.