Liverpool West Coota Gulla Preschool is committed to creating a nurturing learning environment that is safe, welcoming, inspiring and focused on obtaining optimum learning outcomes for each child. It is a place where children feel known, valued and cared for.
We as educators believe that children are active, capable and confident learners who already have an abundance of knowledge of their world. We support our children to develop a strong sense of well-being across all areas: cognitive, emotional, social, physical and spiritual. We identify each child’s potential using different assessment tools and develop their talent. We provide children with opportunities to celebrate their own cultural identity and that of their peers. Our children have many opportunities to make choices and express their opinions by reflecting on their learning and the world around them.
Our children’s voices (reflecting on what they consider important in preschool):
Brooklyn - ‘playing basketball’
Jafer – ‘walking together’
Daniel - ‘playing together nicely’
Hayley, Mariam, Manreet, Ariellah, Yona, Freya - ‘sharing’
Xavier, Eleanor M - ‘clean up’
Eleanor B, Tim - ‘play outside with friends’
Kaiya - ‘play with my cousin’
Charli - ‘sandpit’
We encourage and welcome families to share knowledge about their children, their diverse culture and their community with educators. We value and foster the development of positive relationships between families and educators. These positive partnerships are essential to best support the education of children and effectively cater for their wellbeing. Families are given opportunities to provide feedback on all aspects of preschool as well as making suggestions for improvement: verbally, polls, written and ClassDojo.
Our families value the social and academic development of their children:
‘To socially interact with others and to focus during group time.’ - Sophina
‘To listen and be respectful.’ - Trinh
As educators we value collaborative, reflective practice that drives our program and is responsive to each child’s individual interests and needs. We encourage children to become independent, enthusiastic, lifelong learners who are aware of their rights. This occurs through stimulating, play-based experiences and intentional teaching in an environment of continuous improvement.
As educators we believe we are welcoming and responsive to all children and families in our community. We strive to be supportive and maintain open communication between families and external agencies. We respect and value each other’s cultural diversity and are proud of our own. All educators hold high expectations of our children within an inclusive environment ensuring equitable access to learning for all. The effectiveness of this learning is evidenced by a process of assessment which includes gathering and analysing information about what children know, can do and understand as part of an ongoing cycle. This information is also used to successfully transition children into Kindergarten. Additionally, we access external agencies to support our children in particular, through KARI to support our Aboriginal children into Kindergarten.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is highly valued and is a feature of our preschool life. Aboriginality and connection to land and peoples is enhanced by the contributions and support provided by Aboriginal educators, families and community members. We strive to purposefully integrate Aboriginal language and culture into our program and actively collaborate with people with expertise in Aboriginal language and culture to enhance the knowledge of educators and experience for children.
Our school community voices:
We had 53 responses from our staff across the school, including SLSO’s, class teachers, support teachers and executives. Their values and beliefs about Early Education were summarised into five themes. These themes were:
Early education should be:
- enriching through play-based and problem-solving experiences
- integrated with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language and culture
- driven by children’s voice and interests
- fostering social and emotional wellbeing of students in an inclusive and safe environment
- cultivating children’s love of learning and early literacy and numeracy skills
‘Early education should be student centred with hands on play based learning experiences which provide opportunities for enrichment.’ – Miss Holden
‘Critical foundation for learning, children to explore and identify strengths/interests, nurturing environment. Also important to develop foundational knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal culture and histories.’ – Ms Sotiropoulos
‘Children should be provided with an environment that is welcoming, safe, encouraging and inclusive of all interests.’ - Mrs Rush
‘Early education underpins a child's schooling life. I believe it is crucial for children to attend an early childhood setting to learn through play, how to socialise and get along with others while also learning fundamental skills that will support them through their schooling life’ - Ms Meznaric