programme



The program offered at Yamba Preschool is influenced by The Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 - Belonging, Being and Becoming (2022) which  values the building of relationships with children, families, staff and the community and aims to extend and enrich children’s learning.

Learning in early childhood is particularly significant as it lays the foundation for all future learning.
We aim  to provide children with experiences and opportunities that encourage them to acquire skills, knowledge, attitudes and sensitivities that will allow them to make the most of their potential.
 When we develop the program we consider the whole child and provide experiences to support your child’s development within the context of their culture and their community.

Central to our curriculum is our belief in  the value of play. Rich play experiences during the preschool years can lay a strong foundation for the years ahead . It also allows children practice in developing important relationships, communication skills, to think for themselves, to gain confidence, to develop curiosity, and self control and to exchange ideas.

The preschool learning environment reflects the view that the children are capable and constructors of their own knowledge and the adults are facilitators and co-learners. Children are free to choose the areas of interest in which to participate during  indoors /outdoors play time and the educators and children engage in collaborative decision-making about the equipment which is used.
Each day, experiences provided are based on the children’s interests. These include interest areas, art and craft, puzzles, blocks, dough, dramatic play, literacy area, construction toys, computer, books, sand, active and imaginative play, gardening, story telling and music.

 Children can initiate or continue their own projects and investigations that may last days or weeks. Some children may also be involved in collaborative projects with other children. Children will also have the opportunity to participate in group activities with both a small and  large group.

The program is emergent and flexible and recognises the individual needs and interests of the children.

Visitors, excursions and informal outings are also planned throughout the year to extend the children’s learning beyond the Preschool.

The content matter for our program will emerge from
o   the children’s interest, strengths, question and concerns
o    from the educator’s interest
o   from things in the environment, such as nature (insects and bugs, trees etc)
o    from unexpected events
o    and from the people living in our community, their culture and customs.

The family is an important part of the preschool learning environment and so you and other family members are always welcome to participate in the life of the preschool and are encouraged to spend time with your child at preschool.
  
Program Outcomes

Our program is guided by the Principles, Practice and learning outcomes from the Early Years Learning Framework:

BELONGING  Knowing where and with whom you belong is integral to human existence. Children belong first to a family, a cultural group, a neighbourhood and a wider community. Belonging acknowledges children’s interdependence with others and the basis of relationships in defining identities .
BEING   Childhood is the time to “be”. Being recognises the significance of the here and now in children’s lives. It is about the present  and children knowing themselves,  building and maintaining relationships with others, engaging with life’s joys and complexities and meeting new challenges in everyday life.
The early childhood years are not solely preparation for the future but also about the present.
BECOMING    Children are shaped by many different events and circumstances. Becoming reflects this process of rapid and significant change that occurs in the early years as young children learn and grow. It emphasises learning to participate fully and actively in society. We encourage, nurture and extend each child in their physical, social, emotional, creative, cognitive and linguistic development.

PRINCIPLES

Secure , respectful and reciprocal relationships
Partnerships
Respect for diversity
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives
Equity, inclusion and high expectations
Sustainability
Critical reflection and ongoing professional learning
Collaborative leadership and teamwork

PRACTICE

The principles of early childhood pedagogy underpin practice. Educators draw on a rich repertoire of practices to promote children’s learning by :
Holistic, integrated and interconnected approaches
Responsiveness to children
Play-based learning and intentionality
Learning Environments
Cultural Responsiveness
Continuity of learning and transitions
Assessment and evaluation for learning, development and wellbeing

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
Children feel safe, secure and supported
Children develop their emerging autonomy, interdependence, resilience and agency
Children develop knowledgeable confident self identities, and a positive sense of self-worth
Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens
Children respond to diversity with respect
Children become aware of fairness
Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children become strong in their social, emotional and mental wellbeing
Children become strong in their physical learning and mental wellbeing
Children are aware of and develop strategies to support their own mental and physical health and personal safety.

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
Children develop a growth mindset and learning dispositions such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity
Children develop a range of learning and thinking skills and processes such as problem solving, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating
Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts
Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media
Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work
Children use digital technologies and media to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking


DAILY TIMETABLE
8.00 am             INDOOR/OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
9.30am              MORNING MEETING - WELCOME/ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO COUNTRY - FUN MOVES
10.00 am          GROUP TIME - Story,  rhymes,   language activity
10.25/30 am     MORNING TEA
10.45 am          INDOOR / OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES
12.15pm           PACK AWAY
12.30 pm         GROUP TIME - Story, Music and movement
1.00 pm           LUNCH
1.25 pm           TRANSITION TIME - STORY, YOGA
1.45 pm           NEWS/QUIET ACTIVITIES and/or REST/QUIET TIME
2.45 pm           PACK AWAY/ GATHER TOGETHER FOR DAY REFLECTION, STORY, HOME

Although we follow the daily timetable, times are a guide only and are flexible as we cater to the children’s interests  and unexpected events which occur during the day

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