Philosophy

Our philosophy is based on a belief that children are unique individuals who learn and develop skills through the process of exploration and discovery within an educational play-based curriculum. We believe children need a flexible, nurturing environment where they feel secure, respected and stimulated to learn, where they can have fun and be creative and that provides opportunities for them to realise their full potential.

We believe that a child’s early years are the most significant for his or her development and it is through active involvement with the environment that children make sense of, understand and learn from the world around them. Throughout our program we identify educational objectives that aim to help children develop attitudes, skills and knowledge in preparation for their future lives.

We encourage children, through play, to become self-motivated and independent learners who are sensitive and respectful of the needs and views of others. We provide a play-based learning program which is designed to stimulate children's love of learning, exploration and social concepts. We acknowledge the critical importance of children, families and staff as partners in a learning community integrating culturally diverse backgrounds, beliefs and attitudes.

We believe that Co-op provides a unique opportunity to be in a family-like atmosphere that encourages children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to play and work alongside each other.

Our staff are seen as our most valuable resource and we fully support their emotional wellbeing as well as their continuing professional development.

We promote and encourage the importance of building positive attitudes towards environmentally sustainable values and connecting children with the natural world.

We believe that our local community is strengthened and sustained through collaboration, networking and building strong links that support high quality care and education services for young children.