Philosophy

History

Statement of Philosophy

Our Philosophy

At Springwood Preschool we strive to honour children, families and educators in all that we do. We endeavour to provide a space in which our children, families, educators and community feel that they belong. Experiencing belonging and connection – knowing where and with whom you belong – is integral to our existence and our ability to learn and grow. Springwood Preschool values strong, respectful collaborative relationships between families, children, educators and community through open and meaningful communication. We believe relationships are the first and most important step to creating a successful preschool experience for children. Therefore, we give priority to nurturing secure and respectful relationships through engaging with and sharing life’s joys, discoveries and challenges.  We encourage and support children to learn about kindness, to collaborate with each other, express empathy, and challenge bias. We recognise that families are children’s first and most influential teachers and that learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when we work together. Building quality partnerships with families is key to providing a meaningful and sustainable learning environment and enriches our preschool. A safe and happy environment for children, families and educators will be created to ensure they feel part of and connected to the preschool community.

“Springwood Preschool is a beautiful and supportive community where kindness is valued above all things”.

 We advocate childhood as a unique and special time of life in which children have the right to play and enjoy being children. Play is the heartbeat of our preschool. We believe play should be fun, exciting, spontaneous, hands-on, stimulating, relaxing, comforting and challenging.  We believe it is important to provide opportunities for children to experiment, discover, create, investigate, practice theories, solve problems and express ideas with the support of other children and educators. We believe in celebrating children’s play, discoveries and learning through reflection and meaningful documentation. We believe children are capable, resourceful and valued members of the community and they should be encouraged to follow their interests with the support of the preschool community. We believe that play is essential to children’s learning and wellbeing, and that children learn best within an unhurried environment with meaningful and authentic experiences.  We believe that we are all (children, caregivers and educators) on a continuous journey of learning. At Springwood Preschool children’s identities, knowledge, understandings, capacities, skills and relationships will change and grow on their journey of becoming confident, competent and active citizens.

“At Springwood Preschool childhood is treasured as a precious and fleeting time”.

“We are having the best day at preschool! You can choose where you want play. You can go inside or outside!”

There are many ways of living, being and knowing. Our curriculum will acknowledge the beliefs and practices of those within our preschool community. We value children’s different capacities and abilities and respect differences in families’ culture and homelives. Each child, educator and family are a unique and valued individual. We also believe that our curriculum should reflect and promote a better understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being. Springwood Preschool acknowledges that we play and learn on Gundungurra and Dharug Country. We acknowledge the Gundungurra and Dharug as the First Peoples of this land.

“At our preschool you can be safe. There are nice people and you can practice things”.

We believe children should have natural spaces and places to play in all weather. A sense of wonder, connection and custodianship of the land are critical for children to develop lifelong respectful and positive attitudes to our environment and a sustainable future. We believe in giving children time to play every day outdoors. We believe in the rights of children to be able to feel the land beneath their feet, the sun on their face, experience the natural rhythms of the seasons and breathe fresh air. This nurtures everyone’s sense of wellbeing. We believe it is our job and privilege to share the importance of nature play for children through our bush preschool program.

“Our preschool has trees for shade and to breathe”.

“I love going to bush preschool. It’s the best day ever!”

We believe that trusting children, viewing them as capable, competent, and active members of the community is empowering and nourishes self-esteem, resilience, and stamina.  We believe that all children are capable of learning and success and commit to high expectations. We believe in advocating for the rights of children and early childhood education, empowering children to have a voice in matters that affect them and their lives. We believe in building a community that values children, respects their rights and gives them love.

“Our children feel safe and comfortable to be themselves and are supported in their individual learning journey”.

“I like preschool because there are caring people with play areas and a lounge to read and relax on”.

We value ongoing learning and reflective practice as early childhood educators and commit to continually seeking ways to build our professional knowledge. At Springwood Preschool we work hard to maintain a lively culture of professional inquiry in which everyone is involved in an ongoing cycle of review through which current practices are examined and new ideas generated.

“The educators have a genuine love of children and a passion for developing caring relationships”.

“I notice that the team are always learning and implementing knowledge into practice. Every year there is something a little new as you embrace changes in early childhood”.

We embrace the opportunity to join with families and their children on this preschool journey; learning together and from each other through the constant process of growth and change….a journey of belonging, being and becoming.

Our statement of philosophy is a collaboration of beliefs, ideas and voices from children, families, educators, and committee members, put together by the educational leader.

 November 2023

Children and caregivers’ voices are blue.

Our Practices

Our educators draw upon a rich and varied repertoire of practices to promote children’s learning by:

• Adopting holistic approaches – paying attention to children’s physical, personal, social and emotional wellbeing as well as cognitive aspects of learning, and recognising the connectedness of development in these areas.
• Being responsive to children – responding to and valuing all children’s strengths, interests, abilities and knowledge.
• Planning and implementing learning through play.
• Intentional teaching – deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful teaching in which educators use strategies such as modelling and demonstrating, open questioning, speculating, explaining, engaging in shared thinking and problem solving to extend children’s thinking and learning.
• Creating physical and social learning environments – environments that support learning are vibrant and flexible spaces that are responsive to the interests and abilities of each child, that cater for different learning capacities and styles. Outdoor learning spaces are a feature of Australian learning environments. In term 2 and 3 a Bush Preschool program is provided.
• Valuing the cultural and social contexts of children and their families – respecting multiple cultural ways of knowing, seeing and living, celebrating diversity and understanding and honouring difference.
• Providing for continuity in experiences and enabling children to have successful transition
• Assessing and monitoring children’s learning to inform the provision of our program and to support children in achieving learning outcomes.

“Belonging, being and Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework” Pg. 16

Our Principles

• SECURE RESPECTFUL RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS – We give priority to nurturing relationships and providing children with consistent emotional support. This assists the children in our care to develop the skills and understandings they need to interact positively with others. We also help children to learn about their responsibilities to others, to appreciate their connectedness and contribution and to value collaboration and teamwork.
• PARTNERSHIPS – we recognise that families are children’s first and most influential teachers and that learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when we work in partnership with families. Partnerships are based on the foundations of understanding each other’s expectations and attitudes and build on the strength of each other’s knowledge. We aim to foster genuine partnerships with families so we can:
• Value each other’s knowledge of children
• Value each other’s contributions to and roles in children’s lives
• trust each other
• communicate respectfully and freely with each other
• share insights and perspectives about children
• engage in shared decision-making
• HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND EQUITY – we believe in all children’s capacities to succeed, regardless of diverse circumstances and abilities. Children progress well when they, their parents and educators hold high expectations for their learning.
• RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY – There are many ways of living, being and knowing. Respecting diversity means within the curriculum valuing and reflecting the practices, values and beliefs of families. We value children’s different capacities and abilities and respect differences in families’ home lives. In Australia it also includes promoting greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being. We provide an Aboriginal perspective in our curriculum and the children and educators daily acknowledge the Gundungarra and Dharug people, the traditional owners of this land.
• ONGOING LEARNING AND REFLECTIVE PRACTICE – as educators we continually seek ways to build our professional knowledge. We engage in reflective practice as individuals and as a team. We critically reflect by examining aspects of events and experiences from different perspectives. At Springwood Preschool we work hard to maintain a lively culture of professional inquiry in which everyone is involved in an ongoing cycle of review through which current practices are examined and new ideas generated.

“Belonging, being and Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework” Pg. 12, 13