At Wahroonga Long Day Care Centre, our philosophy, including all those who use our centre – children, families, staff and the wider community – has been identified as follows:
- We believe the children, families and staff form a caring community – both part of the centre and our society in general. We provide an environment whereby children have a strong sense of identity and wellbeing.
- We believe in providing a warm, caring, stimulating, safe and educational environment for children – a home away from home where children can learn to value the diverse ways of life within our community. We promote opportunities for children to allow them to be connected with and contribute to their world.
- We believe that each child is an active contributor to his or her own development and learning. Empowering children, therefore, is a cornerstone of our curriculum. Our focus is on providing developmentally appropriate learning provisions, experiences and opportunities (rather than activities), that build upon each child’s interests, understandings, skills, values and sensitivities.
- We believe an active learning process can assist children to construct their own knowledge and understanding through learning at their own pace. The centre intends to provide an enjoyable and challenging learning environment where children are encouraged to learn through play. We encourage all children to learn in ways that help them become confident in themselves as involved learners by fostering cognitive, social, physical and creative skills.
- We acknowledge that each child is part of a family, that includes all adults and children who have significant relationships with that child, and that the family is the primary caregiver. We believe it is important to complement the role of the family in the child’s life through staff and families working together in partnership. We value family input into decision making and intend to draw upon that to improve the quality of the centre. We recognise the importance of listening to children to better understand their needs and interests. We foster an open communication between children, families and staff, perceiving them to be a part of the wider community. We promote an environment whereby children can learn to be effective communicators.
- We support and value the diversity within the Australian society and believe children should learn to respect and celebrate that diversity. Children will be introduced to a wide range of social and cultural experiences, family types and different ways of doing things, so that they may learn from the diversity that exists in the centre. We hope that all children will learn to accept the challenges they face, and that we as adults will assist children to reach their full potential as members of society. We recognise the importance of providing an inclusive approach, treating each child as an individual and equal, irrespective of their race, class, sex, or disability.
- An effective environment is built on the basis of the strengths, skills and resources of each staff member. We believe that the prime responsibilities of professionals are to promote and support respectful life-enhancing relationships; to practise in ways that acknowledge the child as capable and resourceful; to strive for meaning and connections; and to honour diversity in all forms: the notion that difference rather than uniformity is not only expected, but is also seen as desirable.
- We believe the professional brings to practice certain fundamental essential personal qualities: empathy, respect, perseverance & resilience, and passion for learning that leads to growth. These essential qualities are among those that the professional enacts in practice and also actively nurtures in young children. We believe that self-reflection and metacognition of staff’s personal values, beliefs and practices give them opportunities to continue to develop and grow as professionals.
- In recognition of the diversity of backgrounds and experience among staff, we acknowledge the importance of working as a team to provide high quality care and education. We value and support staff input in decision making, continued professional development and the role staff play as advocates for the wider field of early childhood education.
We understand that the needs of children, families, staff and the community are constantly changing; therefore, ongoing evaluation is integral to creating a service that is responsive to those needs.
‘A Place to Shine‘