Overview

East Sunshine Kindergarten Philosophy

Womenjeka – Here at East Sunshine Kindergarten we would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which we gather, learn and play on each day. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Our belief is that all children enter East Sunshine Kindergarten full of knowledge and ideas, ready to express this creatively and become fully immersed in our play-based learning environment.

The early year’s frameworks focus on outcomes for children to develop a strong sense of identity and wellbeing, to be effective communicators, to feel connected to their world and to become involved and confident learners.

A play-based and emergent curriculum is provided using our guiding documents - the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework; and Being, Belonging and Becoming. Alongside our program we run flexible routines for children to help them feel safe and secure and to develop agency.

We acknowledge families as being a child’s first teacher, and together we seek to foster and extend children’s inquisitive natures and build a sense of respect and resilience. Planning for a high quality, safe and engaging learning environment is achieved through connections with families, educators, and the wider community. Family input is highly valued and very welcome in education. It enriches our program with our family’s cultures, knowledge, and perspective for all children, and helps children connect more with their peers and their wider community. Parent input also allows educators to better plan and support for their own children’s learning and well-being needs.

We promote respect, friendships, care, inclusion, diversity, resilience, fairness, empathy and equity. These values are an integral part of our learning environment and role modelled through our educators’ daily actions and interactions with the children.

Learning is a lifelong value we endeavour to instil here at East Sunshine Kindergarten for all children, families and educators. As educators we take time to reflect on outcomes and extend our knowledge to evolve our practice and principles. Undertaking regular professional development helps us deliver the best possible educational programs to achieve the best possible outcomes for all children. And offering families access to quality programs and health and wellbeing professionals provides a holistic and supportive environment for children’s learning, growth and development.

Within our duty of care, we advocate for the rights of all children to feel safe and be safe, not just in their educational surrounding, but also in their home and wider community, as outlined in the Child Safe Standards. This includes imploring all families to support those children most vulnerable in our community.