Sydney Child Care Centre | Elm St Early Learning Centre

Educational Program

We are committed to providing a developmental and educational program which caters for each child’s individual needs, abilities and interests. Our educational program is delivered through an intentional, play-based pedagogy aligned to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Our program continues to develop as we use the relationships children have with their families and communities, working in partnership with parents, to ensure each child’s knowledge, ideas, culture, abilities and interests are the foundation of our programs.

We encourage children to be responsible for their own learning through choices in experiences, interests and routine. We use conversations, actions and play as the basis for teaching which involves the children being partners in teaching by seeking out ideas, opinions, thoughts and questions. We encourage children in promoting their independence and self-help skills by assisting within the routine and involving the children in interest-based projects to further enhance their learning and knowledge. We value children and family input and encourage family involvement in order to gather a comprehensive and holistic view of the child.

We know that children learn effectively through play and educators who are diligent in their responsiveness to each child support this. Applying strong intentional teaching practices provide the children with an authentic and meaningful learning environment that challenges, supports and nurtures a child’s development.

If we as educators have any areas of concern about your child’s development, we will inform you and share our observations and advise of follow up assistance e.g. speech therapy. We understand this may be a sensitive topic and it is always your decision to follow up intervention. Educators are willing to discuss any aspect of learning and development with parents and support discussions with allied health professionals.

Room Design and Structure

Our children to educator ratio is in accordance with the requirements stipulated by the Department of Education and Communities.

Indoor/outdoor activities are provided to enable educators to engage into one to one and small group interaction with children.

Indoor learning environment areas include:

Playdough Area
Art and Craft Area
Drawing, Writing, Cutting Area
Home Corner
Book Corner
Music and Movement Area
Construction Area
Blocks Area
Puzzles and Board Games Activity Area
STEAM Activity Areas
Aboriginal and Multicultural Resource Area
Numeracy and Literacy Areas

Outdoor activities include :

Ball games, dancing, climbing, running, jumping and other gross motor activities which involve the use of large muscles and is based from the Fundamental Movement Skills of Munch and Move Program. The outdoor area is full of natural elements including the sandpit and the garden wherein children are engaged in looking after the plants . Discussion about the life cycle of the plants and being mindful about its growth is a typical outdoor activity.

All children have their own digital portfolios where activities and photos are recorded individually for parents to read about their child's development via the OWNA app . The Service also offers parent teacher meetings to discuss development opportunities and achievements once a year.

0-2 Years (Nursery)

The nursery have their own play space indoor and outdoor. They are also being encouraged to play with the toddlers and older children during family grouping whenever it is safe and when they are developmentally ready . We have a cot room with 6 cot beds to accommodate safe sleeping routine of the babies.

The educator ratio in Nursery room is 1 educator for every 4 babies.

The long term goals of the Nursery curriculum are:

For each child to develop a secure attachment to their primary educator and feel secure and comfortable in the Service and with other staff.
For each child to feel confident and to enjoy routines such as nappy change time, meals, sleep time and play time.
For each child to learn about their environment through play and support from educators to develop their fine and gross motor, language (receptive and expressive), cognitive and social/emotional skills to an appropriate age level.
For each child to learn to understand and complete simple instructions.
For each child to be able to participate in simple group times - songs, actions and stories.
For each child to start asserting their independence skills through self-feeding, choice of activities and helping with dressing (holding out arms etc)
For each child to be able to follow as closely as possible their home routines such as sleeping, feeding, changing and playing while at the Service.
For parents to be involved in their child's day at our Service and to feel confident in discussing their child and any issues, suggestions etc. with their child's educator or the director.
To promote Early Years Learning framework(Belonging, Being and Becoming) principles/practices and outcomes to all the children.

2-3 Years (Junior and Senior Toddlers)

The Toddler's room is designed with various indoor activities and learning experiences to encourage creativity, structured learning, dancing and singing. Numeracy, literacy and science activities are always included in the children's daily program.

The educator ratio in the toddlers room is 1 educator for every 5 children.

The Long term goals of the toddlers curriculum are:

To promote Early Years Learning Framework ( Belonging, Being, and Becoming) principles/practices and outcomes to all the children.
To develop children's sense of belonging, self confidence, identity and also inclusion of children with special needs in our daily program.
To encourage children to confidently maintain interactions and conversations with educators and ability to express their feelings and ideas.
To encourage children to form friendships with their peers, engaging in and contributing to shared play experiences and ability to express a wide range of emotions, thoughts and idea to their peers.
To promote partnerships with parents by actively supporting their home language, culture and child rearing practices.
To acknowledge parents input and their collaboration in decision-making about their children's learning and in our programming.
To provide a range of multicultural resources to promote children's diversity in our daily program.
To provide learning environment areas in ways that promote small group interactions and play experiences building upon and extending children's ideas.
To promote learning environments that are age appropriate where children are encouraged to explore, experiment and problem solve and collaborate with each other.
To develop children's self-help skills by encouraging them to be independent in their personal hygiene practices and mealtimes.

3-5 Years (Pre-School)

The Pre-school room is designed with learning areas to encourage exploration of equipment and interaction amongst the children.

The educator ratio of Pre-school room is 1 educator for every 10 children.

The long term goals of the pre-school program are:

To provide the children with a sense of belonging, by developing a learning environment which is supportive, nurturing and safe.
To encourage and support the children in developing a positive sense of self.
To support the development of relationships amongst the children, between the children and the educators, and the educators and families.
To acknowledge the individuality of all children, accepting and celebrating diversity.
To provide opportunities for the children to learn through play, encouraging exploration, experimentation, creativity and imagination.
To provide learning environments which are welcoming, which foster opportunities for collaborative learning, which encourage active learning and which are conducive to reflective thinking, for the children to build onto their learning.
To develop the curriculum in conjunction with families, ensuring that the learning experiences are meaningful to the children and build on the links between their home and the service.
For the educators to plan effectively for the children's learning, utilising different methods of gathering and analysing information, developing the continuous cycle of planning, documenting and evaluating the children's learning.
To recognise that some children may need additional support and to assess how this support will benefit the child's learning, and to support families in accessing this support room specialists.
To acknowledge the Early Years Learning Framework in our teaching practices and to embed the learning outcomes in the curriculum.

Pre-School Program

The school readiness program literally begins once any child attends the Service. As the children are learning how to separate from their caregivers, they begin to become responsible for their own belongings and they interact with teachers and children in a variety of activities, making choices about which activities they would like to participate in and therefore directing their own learning.

In the Pre-school room the school readiness program involves engaging children in more focused activities, encouraging children to make decisions about the activities they would like to participate in, encouraging the children to be curious about the world around them, and inviting the children to contribute to the curriculum choices.

The group times are focused on skills and interests of the children encouraging them to concentrate for longer periods, to follow instructions and be involved in discussions. Science, Technology Literacy and Numeracy activities are part of the every day routine, and involve the children writing their names on their art work, listening to stories, counting the number of children present for the day , playing number games and singing songs that involve participants (e.g. ten in the bed, five cheeky monkeys), experiments and problem solving, projects, cooking activities, gardening , meal time discussions about food and many other learning experiences throughout the day.

The most important part about school readiness is the social and emotional maturity of the children, being able to cope with the every day demands of school, being able to listen and follow through on instructions, work as part of a large or small group, to manage their own belongings and to encourage a love of learning.

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