Our Vision & Philosophy

Our Vision

We strive for all children to achieve their full potential by offering the education, care and nurturing they need to grow and have a great start in life.

Our Philosophy

We are committed to educational excellence for every child through the delivery of high quality early years curriculum. Our pedagogy promotes school readiness and achievement of learning outcomes by applying our knowledge and experience of how children learn and play.

We understand at Great Start Early Learning Centres the importance of education and believe that childhood is a unique time of life which should be valued and enjoyed. We recognise that early childhood is a time when foundations are laid for future health, learning and wellbeing. We use a Reggio Emilia inspired approach to meet the objectives outlined in the National and Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Frameworks; including emphasis on literacy, numeracy, music and movement and social development.  In a Reggio Emilia learning environment, children learn meaningful skills that support them through their future education and life. Our teaching methods are linked to the National Quality Standards for Early Childhood Education and Care & School Age Care to ensure that a consistent and high quality early childhood education curriculum is provided.

We believe that children are capable, inquisitive and active learners who play a crucial role in education.  It is our role as Educators to support and scaffold the children’s development and learning.  We believe in allowing children to learn through exploration, inquiry projects and open-ended play.  We value an inclusive, supportive and stimulating learning environment that evokes imagination and creativity, while providing opportunities for problem solving and independence.  Collaboration between children, educators and families is valued and enables us to better understand the child as a whole.  We believe in documenting the children’s experiences to make their learning visible to our community and provide the children with opportunities to reflect, share and build on their understanding.

Our Reggio Emilia approach has the following key principles:

• The Image of the child
• Relationships
• Teachers & Educators
• Environment
• Families and the Community
• Curriculum and Documentation

Our Vision for Reconciliation

We recognise and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional custodians of the land on which our early childhood services are offered. We are committed to building partnerships based on trust, respect and recognition of the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. On a foundation of equity, integrity and respect we create high quality early learning experiences for all children.

Our Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Protection

The organisation has a strong commitment to child safety, wellbeing and protection, through implementing and adherence to the Child Safe Standards and the Information Sharing Scheme. This commitment extends to all children in our service and community with an aim for children to feel safe, secure and supported. The welfare of the children in our care will always be our first priority and we have a zero-tolerance approach to child abuse and harm. We acknowledge the importance of our organisation and community to be committed to culturally safety of aboriginal children, the cultural safety for culturally and/or linguistically diverse children and safety of children with a disability.

Please see Parent section of our website for more information on how we deliver on Safety, Security and Child Safe Standards.

Giving back

We believe that being part of a community is important in the development of a child. Activities we have supported to promote the sense of belonging and community include:

• Breast Cancer: fundraising and afternoon teas
• Red Nose Day: fundraising
• Relay for Life: fundraising
• Starlight Foundation
• Secondary school students volunteering at our centres
• Christmas food hamper appeals
• Eco-village members
• Work experience placement for students studying early childhood education