A desire to ensure all families feel valued and respected has resulted in Goodstart Yarrawonga producing a centre philosophy – with plenty of input from parents and carers.
The philosophy, which aims to represent the ideals and thoughts of families, is updated every year and lists a number of expectations and hopes for the centre.
Centre director Tara Middleton said the centre team decided to put out a survey to families this year asking them to contribute to a philosophy of their own.
“We want our centre philosophy to evoke the true essence of what our centre values are and what we strive for,” Ms Middleton said. “It’s a document that we are really proud of.”
The centre began working with the children on a children’s philosophy which included their thoughts and values and what make Goodstart special to them.
“We then developed a survey that we sent out to families, asking for their thoughts – what they expected, and what they valued in an early learning service. We then compiled their ideas into our families’ philosophy,” Ms Middleton said.
She said the team were proud of the end result and the fact that the centre families shared the same values as the educators.
“It was really humbling to know that we were on the same page, and that we had obviously taught and shared with them enough about the why of everything we stood for, and that it was now also important to our families. It showed they believed in us.”
Goodstart Yarrawonga’s Family Philosophy
We value the way that the centre feels homely, like a family, and that our extended family and friends are also included in this.
We are constantly communicated with, my expectations met, and my choices supported.
Interactions with other children teach them to be inclusive, to share, and play well with others.
Cultural Inclusions mean that children can learn about different customs and religions that we as parents can’t teach them. They are learning the foundations of respecting difference, and being inclusive of everyone they will meet.
It is important to us that the outdoors is a fundamental part of the program, and that at Goodstart, our children have the opportunity to make their own choices about exploring these environments.
The experiences across the service encourage both learning and speech development. These experiences enable children to meet and succeed their developmental milestones.
We are thankful for the way that our children can attend excursions and connect with the local community.
We appreciate the constant effort the educators make in improving their current knowledge. They are constantly learning more and applying it to the service, so that our families experience the most up to date education and care. We are included on the journey also, with educators guiding families to learn more, and further the learning they provide to their own children in the home.
We believe educators interactions underpin all that they do, and they show confidence in understanding the skills needed to teach our children.
The relationships are effortless, therefore creating a strong bond which makes transitions between families and educators smooth. Our children are building confidence through these relationships, to speak with and trust those outside of their own immediate family.
We love Goodstart Yarrawonga and believe strongly in the influence they are making.
The philosophy, which aims to represent the ideals and thoughts of families, is updated every year and lists a number of expectations and hopes for the centre.
Centre director Tara Middleton said the centre team decided to put out a survey to families this year asking them to contribute to a philosophy of their own.
“We want our centre philosophy to evoke the true essence of what our centre values are and what we strive for,” Ms Middleton said. “It’s a document that we are really proud of.”
The centre began working with the children on a children’s philosophy which included their thoughts and values and what make Goodstart special to them.
“We then developed a survey that we sent out to families, asking for their thoughts – what they expected, and what they valued in an early learning service. We then compiled their ideas into our families’ philosophy,” Ms Middleton said.
She said the team were proud of the end result and the fact that the centre families shared the same values as the educators.
“It was really humbling to know that we were on the same page, and that we had obviously taught and shared with them enough about the why of everything we stood for, and that it was now also important to our families. It showed they believed in us.”
Goodstart Yarrawonga’s Family Philosophy
We value the way that the centre feels homely, like a family, and that our extended family and friends are also included in this.
We are constantly communicated with, my expectations met, and my choices supported.
Interactions with other children teach them to be inclusive, to share, and play well with others.
Cultural Inclusions mean that children can learn about different customs and religions that we as parents can’t teach them. They are learning the foundations of respecting difference, and being inclusive of everyone they will meet.
It is important to us that the outdoors is a fundamental part of the program, and that at Goodstart, our children have the opportunity to make their own choices about exploring these environments.
The experiences across the service encourage both learning and speech development. These experiences enable children to meet and succeed their developmental milestones.
We are thankful for the way that our children can attend excursions and connect with the local community.
We appreciate the constant effort the educators make in improving their current knowledge. They are constantly learning more and applying it to the service, so that our families experience the most up to date education and care. We are included on the journey also, with educators guiding families to learn more, and further the learning they provide to their own children in the home.
We believe educators interactions underpin all that they do, and they show confidence in understanding the skills needed to teach our children.
The relationships are effortless, therefore creating a strong bond which makes transitions between families and educators smooth. Our children are building confidence through these relationships, to speak with and trust those outside of their own immediate family.
We love Goodstart Yarrawonga and believe strongly in the influence they are making.