Our Philosophy
The Discovery Garden Child Care Centre and Preschool would like to acknowledge the Awabakal people, who are the traditional custodians of this land. We pay our resects to elders past, present, and emerging.
Our Vision:
To provide a high quality, holistic, nature and play based, supportive, and beautiful learning environment in which children, families, and educators work alongside each other to reach the best outcomes for every child and their life long learning.
What we believe in:
- Relationships
- Respect
- Risky Play
- Rose Way Programming
- Reconciliation
Relationships
We believe in the importance of relationships.
Building trusting, respectful, and caring relationships with each child, their family, and between the educators as a team, benefits our, and the wider community at The Discovery Garden.
We value each child, family, and staff member, and celebrate our diversity and uniqueness.
We advocate for equity, inclusion, and the rights of the child.
Having strong, secure, and reciprocal relationships with children, families, and staff promote a strong sense of Belonging, and we endeavor to warmly connect with each person at our service.
Respect
We believe in respect.
Respect for each child, their voice, their beliefs, values, and capabilities.
Respect for our families as they are of the utmost importance in every child’s life. And we recognise that they are each child’s guiding force.
Respect for nature and the environment and teaching and engaging in sustainable practices.
Respect for each other as educators, professionals, and team members.
Respect for creating a beautiful, well resourced, learning environment for the children to feel safe and engage in. (Reggio Emelia approach)
Risky Play
We believe in the importance of risky play and connection with the environment.
We see each child as a competent and capable being.
By having strong relationships between the children and educators and by providing opportunities for risky play in our service children are able to develop confidence, security, and a better understanding of their world.
The Rose Way
All of our programming, documentation, planning and reflection is based on “The ROSE Way” and the Early Years Leaning Framework.
The ROSE way sees Educators as the Researchers of children’s play. We view children as capable and competent learners and our role is to support each child to develop to their fullest potential. The ROSE way is not a recipe or activity-based planning rather a well-considered action based research planning structure that will inspire quality.
The ROSE way believes that when children are treated with respect and given opportunities to be involved in decision making about their daily experiences and learning, they are then confident in demonstrating their true competencies.
Reconciliation
We believe in honoring the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people, who are the original custodians of our land.
The Discovery Garden Child Care Centre is situated on Awabakal land.
“Our commitment mirrors our values of respect for diversity, inclusion and advocating for the rights of all children. It is our goal that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives are embedded throughout our service in a respectful and authentic way that this is integrated in our being, belonging and becoming”
( From a section in our Vision for Reconciliation in our RAP – Reconciliation Action Plan)