Little moments of well thought out play produce big moments of discovery.
Children are naturally curious, capable and resilient. Cottesloe Kindergarten & Child Care has a strong tradition of supporting children and their families to flourish and develop skills for life. Influenced by a variety of educational theories, our goal is to continually reflect on our practice and to activate each child’s individual desire to learn – to teach them how to explore the world and their unique place in it.
We believe in:
- Caring, inspired educators who are at their best at our centre. Our educators are invested in the children and are inspired over a long tenure. Key staff have been with the centre for many years. They have autonomy, can experiment with new ideas and are supported in their continued professional learning.
- Progressive facilities to delight and stretch our children. Our nature inspired outdoor play and generous indoor spaces are unique. We tap into the skills of our parents, carers and our community. Our library of learning resources is unrivalled.
- Educational space that maintains a sense of fun and play. Our learning is play based and child interest led but founded on evidenced, intentional teaching. A key focus is to develop independence and readiness for school.
- Rich reflection on how we teach and engage our children. We do this through regular curriculum review with staff, children, parents and carers and a strong ability to measure the impact of our teaching.
- Engaged and connected families and community. We pride ourselves on having the optimal mix of online, paper and in person connections – using the best of technology but not at the expense of human interaction. We have a strong sense of community through events and outreach.
Our teaching philosophy and practice is influenced by many theories including:
- Critical reflection (Habermas, Freire): Education is shaped by many different and conflicting beliefs. We must ask ourselves, what do we teach and how do we teach it? Can we do it another way, a better way? Have we considered how each child is affected differently?
- Socio-cultural (Vygotsky, Bruner, Bronfenbrenner, Malaguzzi, Rogoff): Children learn within communities. Working with adults and more skilled, often older children is an essential way to acquire ways of thinking, knowing and behaving that make up a community’s culture. We must scaffold (build) on a child’s prior learning.
- Developmental (Piaget, Steiner, Montessori, Gardner): Children need time to mature and develop naturally without being rushed and before formal education begins. Supporting a child’s personal style is important through a child-centred curriculum and a plan that responds to each child’s interests is important.
