Albion Kindergarten

Albion Kindergarten offers a rotational 4 year old program and a 3 year old group.

(see below information on rotational groupings)

2011 Session Times:

4 year old kindergarten – 10 hours 45 minutes per week

3 year old kindergarten – 5 hours per week

2011 Term Fees:

BPA Children’s Services sets annual fees based on the shortfall between Government funding and the operating costs of the centre.

Fee Subsidy for Low Income Families:

As per State Government Policy, Concession Card Holders are entitled to 10.75 hrs per week of free kindergarten in the four year old program only. The concession card must be sighted by a member of BPA Children’s Services staff when requested. Failure to show a valid concession card will result in full fees being charged. There is no subsidy for three year old programs.

Centre Philosophy:

At Albion Kindergarten we respect that children are individuals and they have the right to be in a safe, secure, happy learning environment where they are stimulated and engaged in developing skills for their future lives.

Families are supported to feel welcome and part of the Kindergarten community as we believe it is an extension of their own family life which we vaue.  As families are the main educator we invite them to contribute to the program by sharing their backgrounds and beliefs to foster all of our learning.

Families are informed about the program and kept up to date with what is happening at kindegarten and in the early childhood sector particularly the Early Years Learning Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework in various different ways including newsletters, reports from meetings and planning journal.

Staff recognises multilingualism as an asset and support all children through play and visual learning to maintain their first language.  By networking with different cummunities we are developing our own knowledge of families and other languages.

Our high quality program takes on the holistic approach incorporating all the different abilities and individuals we have in the kindegarten.  Children are encouraged to explore, problem solve, communicate, think, create and construct through play based learning experiences.  Child and adult intiated experiences are planned and reflected on by staff regularly to ensure that every child has the optimal opportunity to develop and gain from their kindegarten year.

We work together with colleagues to maintain and provide a high quality service and support as well as assist each other with professional development.

Rational Groupings

With rotational groupings, over the course of the week, the children get to meet the majority of the four year old children at our Kindergarten, which is of great benefit and assists them to feel more comfortable throughout the year. The more familiar faces at a new kindergarten the better!

The social benefits of rotational groupings (5 group rotation model) cannot be emphasized enough. The children meet and play with new friends and old friends each day. And very early in the year, children are able to remember, for example, that a particular friend they enjoy the company of may come on a Tuesday and a Wednesdays, and others they enjoy playing with, may come on a Monday.

Rotational groupings tend to allow children to extend and enjoy friendships, with different social dynamics each session, and this can often help minimize ‘clickiness’ (children staying with the same small group of friends all year, without branching out)

Grouping our children in the above groups allows us to offer our four year old children three 3 hour 35 minute sessions per week, which totals 10 hours 45 minutes of high quality kindergarten for each of our children.