Curriculum Practices

The Principles underpin practice that is focused on assisting all children to make progress in relation to the Learning Outcomes. Educators who are attuned to children’s thoughts and feelings, support the development of a strong sense of wellbeing. They positively interact with the young child in their learning.

The program and practises of Plainlands Childcare & Kindergarten (PLKCC)  are based on the philosophy which is developed and regularly reviewed in consultation with Children, Management, Educators and Families who attend the service. 

Here at PLKCC  we let the children BE children through building partnerships with them, and we see the roles as follows; the children are the DIRECTORS; they DIRECT the INTEREST as it occurs each day.  We, the educators are the MANAGERS; we MANAGE the EDUCATION into those interests. Our main goal is to instil in children a love for lifelong learning by encouraging active learning through participation.

The Curriculum: 

Building on the foundation of the Early Years Learning Framework and Integrating four main childhood theorists, Vugotsky, Malaguzzi, Bronfenbrenner and Piaget.

 Vygotsky whereby emphasise is placed on the importance of relationships and interactions between children and more knowledgeable peers as well as adults and their social interactions. These interactions provide a key ingredient for how humans understand the world.  This is achieved through scaffolding techniques. The Educator.  Malaguzzi whereby educational practise is based on the belief that children are powerful and capable individuals who contain the ability and desire to construct their own knowledge.  The Child.  Bronfenbrenner whereby he believes that interactions between children and environmental factors affect child’s development, indirectly suggesting that a village raises a child. The Environment.

All theorists combined supporting Piaget whereby Children construct their own learning rather than being told.  Children are active thinkers, who constantly try to construct more understandings of their world. This is achieved in our program cycle through, the child, the Environment, the educator.

The combination of your CHILD, the ENVIRONMENT and our EDUCATORS underpin the entirety of the program. Our curriculum is shared daily through a digital app called Storypark where your child/ren’s learning and development is readily accessible for you and other family members to view, engage with educators and contribute towards goal setting. 

Sustainability:

Here at PLKCC we believe in sustainable practices that will help children in caring for their environment and be champions of their world. We embed these practices in our day-to-day program through collaborative partnerships with families, children, and educators. 

Partnership with families and community:

We value the strong relationships and engagement with our families and community. Families are there as influential partners with our service. We achieve this by building effective communication with each other. We foster engagement with our community in order to strengthen children’s interest and skills in being active contributors to their community. 

Cultural Competence:

We strive to build and maintain trusting and respectful relationships with our families and communities and in doing so we support and embrace cultural diversity. Our centre prides itself in having diverse cultures represented and we use this opportunity to learn from these and celebrate them. Here at PLKCC, we continuously and actively strive to improve our knowledge and develop respectful dispositions towards all cultures.