About Us

Philosophy

St James Park Kindergarten has a strong history of providing high quality early childhood eduction for young children and their families. The staff and governing council will continue to strive to be a vibrant force within the community. Staff and parents work together to provide an inclusive curriculum that promotes optimism, resilience and encourages a culture of inquiry and love of lifelong learning.

Curriculum

Our Curriculum is based on the Early Years Learning Framework which is the national curriculum document for Australia. We are guided by the curriculum document Belonging, Being and Becoming.

This framework is built around five learning outcomes.

These areas include:

• Children have a strong sense of identity
• Children are connected with and contribute to their world
• Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
• Children are confident and involved learners
• Children are effective communicators

Throughout this program we will provide your children with:

• Interactions which promote learning, caring relationships and a positive self-concept
• Time for exciting challenges which foster children’s learning
• New and exciting challenges which foster children’s learning
• A variety of high quality materials and resources
• Opportunities to choose and take control of their own learning
• A variety of high quality materials and resources
• Opportunities to choose and take control of their own learning
• Continuity of experiences and flexible routines
• Concrete hands-on experiences for children to research, discover and build on prior knowledge

The educators at St James Park Kindergarten also use an Inquiry Based Approach to teaching and learning. We encourage children to be active learners, by asking questions, researching, investigating and construction their knowledge. An important part of consolidating learning is to revisit and share with others. Each term families are encouraged to attend a learning journey with their kindergarten child. This is an opportunity for your child to share his/her learning experiences with you. At the end of the ‘learning journey’ we ask you to fill out a survey sheet which we will incorporate into our future planning.

We use the Respect Reflect Relate (RRR) tool to ensure a cycle of improvement and reflective practice. Staff recognise that parents are children’s first educators and learning outcomes are best for children when staff and parents work in partnership to plan a curriculum based on children’s strengths and interests.

The Centre has an open door policy where parents are invited to talk with staff about their child’s progress at any time. In addition to informal conversations we also invite parents to attend a parent/educator chat approximately half way through the preschool year. Here families and educators can share ideas and collaborate to create an ILP (Individual Learning Plan) for each child. Towards the end of every term parents are encourage to attend our ‘learning journey’ so they can experience first-hand their child’s learning. During your child’s year at kindergarten we collect work samples, and take lots of photographs. These are then collated into a portfolio which you will receive at the end your child’s year at kindergarten. These are a wonderful record of your child’s year at kindergarten. We also have a graduation where the children leaving for school are presented with their portfolios. A summative report is provided for you and child’s new school.