Philosophy

We believe in acknowledging the original custodians of this land, the
Dharawal people and their language and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people in the community.

We believe that each child, family and educator is a unique and valued
individual. We value and honour diversity and accept and celebrate
differences in other people. We believe each person and their family’s
values, culture, beliefs, abilities and language should be acknowledged
and accepted and reflected in the preschool’s environment.
We believe that education is transformative and share the children’s
journey of self discovery and change. We believe learning is enhanced in
an environment where you feel you belong. We believe in nourishing the
children’s and educator’s soul, creativity and imagination.

We believe that play is essential in the lives of young children. We believe
play values the ideal of allowing children to “just be” and recognizes the
importance of early childhood. We believe play should be fun, exciting,
spontaneous, hands-on, stimulating, relaxing, comforting and challenging.
We believe it is important to provide opportunities for children to
experiment, discover, explore, create, investigate, practice theories, solve
problems and express ideas with the support of other children and the
educators. We believe in celebrating children’s play, discoveries and
learning through reflection and meaningful documentation.

We believe children are capable, resourceful and valued members of the
community. We believe children should be encouraged and supported to
follow their learning interests with the support of the preschool
community. We believe that play is essential to children’s learning and
that children learn most effectively within an unhurried environment with
meaningful, authentic experiences. We believe young children bring
delight and make a valuable contribution to the community and to the
world.

We believe children should be encouraged and supported to make their
own decisions and choices and seek to actively develop positive problemsolving skills in a success-orientated environment. We believe in providing
children with opportunities to discover and learn about themselves, others
and the environment in an atmosphere that encourages harmonious and
meaningful relationships.

We believe a sense of wonder, belonging to and love of the land, nature
and animals are critical for young children to develop lifelong respectful,
positive and proactive attitudes to our environment and to ensure our
sustainable future. We believe in giving children time to play outdoors
every day. We believe in the rights of children to be able to feel the grass
beneath their feet, the sun on their face, experience the natural rhythms
of the seasons and breathe fresh air. We believe this is essential to
everyone’s wellbeing and development. We believe in nurturing and
protecting our most precious gifts – our children and our planet.
We believe in building a community that values children, respects their
rights and gives them love. We believe in building a community that
enables children to develop a readiness for the transition to school and
more meaningful, a readiness for life.

We believe our community are the children, their families, the educators
and all people and services the preschool has made connections with
since our establishment in 1956. We believe as part of this community,
we have a responsibility to our children and families to establish and
maintain a sense of belonging and connection to the land and to our
shared Aboriginal history and culture, to actively embrace reconciliation
and spread this message. We believe our role is to engage the
Dharawal people in a collaborative authentic partnership with our
preschool.

We believe in providing acceptance and support to promote the children’s,
families’ and educator’s personal growth and develop their positive self
esteem and confidence. We believe in developing respectful relationships
with children, families and staff through open and meaningful
communication. We encourage and support children to interact peacefully
and collaboratively, express empathy for other and actively challenge bias
and promote social justice.

We believe in supporting and developing a partnership with families to
share the nurturing and education of their children. We encourage each
family to participate in the preschool community and support and
welcome their interest and involvement.