Vision & Philosophy

Vision and Mission statement

Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten

where growing is not a race but an adventure…

Vision

Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten aims to provide a meaningful child centred, play based curriculum that builds life skills, independence, confidence and resilience to support each child in achieving their potential and to make a smooth transition to school and society itself. The Kindergarten offers a dedicated preschool program where diversity is embraced and celebrated and where families are welcomed as part of the community under the unique not for profit, community managed model of education and care service delivery.

Our Mission

Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten is committed to offering an interest based curriculum with definitive educational outcomes as guided by the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards. CPCK’s preschool curriculum is delivered by qualified, long standing staff who work hard to uphold the high regard held by the community of the Kindergarten that has been created well over the past 60 years. Teachers and Educators work in partnership with families through open communication and they make optimum use of the naturally resourced outdoor environment and the indoor home-like environment created collaboratively by families, teachers, educators and community members.

Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten will continue to collaborate and maintain connections with local schools and to offer a Preschool model of education where there is a constant group of same aged children attending the same days with consistent, inclusive, enthusiastic and happy teachers. It is a place where creative and imaginative play fosters curiosity and positive dispositions for learning where each child is respected, challenged and viewed through a strengths based lens.

Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten will continue to respond to concerns identified by parents and staff about the continued viability of community preschools and will consider recommendations made to uphold what is important to the preschool community. It also facilitates opportunities for families to connect and develop friendships with others within the Preschool community.

Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten will maintain its ability to consult with all stakeholders and its ability to encourage the participation of children, families and staff in all aspects of operations. CPCK will continue to cultivate its base of experienced, compassionate and innovative staff through professional development and acknowledgement of their value to the Preschool and to the lives of the children in their care.

Our approachable and committed Teachers and Educators are guided by the Preschool’s Mission, Vision and Philosophy and will facilitate parent communication through active listening while showing respect, support and understanding. They offer ongoing feedback to families on children’s progress and aim to maintain a sense of security among parents and children while maintaining their own passion for teaching and nurturing.

It is intended that children from Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten will have wonderful memories where they can reminisce ‘with a smile upon their face’* ‘about a place where they felt important’ and where they had a sense of empowerment, fun, excitement and happiness. It is intended that they will reflect on this ‘safe and colourful place’ as a place where they enjoyed connecting with the environment, the warmth of their teachers and where friendships were made.

*Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten’s Mission and Vision was created through consultation with families, teachers and educators. The key words used in these statements have come directly from written responses to questions about what the most important aspects of quality preschool should be *

Philosophy

At Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten, we believe children to be inquisitive, unique individuals, with different interests, backgrounds, needs and strengths who co-construct their learning within a social context.

Children are motivated to learn when they are given opportunities to investigate, experiment and problem solve using open-ended materials alongside their peers and engaging adults. Meaningful and self-initiated learning that occurs in a social context provides opportunity for children to become active participants while developing their sense of ownership and belonging. This is reflected in the following statements made by four-year-olds attending CPCK: ‘I love all my friends mummy’, ‘I love playing outside, looking for insects or playing super-heroes’, ‘I like reading books with my friends’. Our educators therefore facilitate, extend and teach with interests, intention and goals in mind.

We believe the environment plays an integral part in how a child learns. Our aim is to provide a safe, secure, caring, aesthetically appealing learning environment that promotes freedom of choice, play, interaction and self-expression. We aim to inspire curiosity, mystery and magic while evoking friendship, trust, respect, comfort and stability. Our teachers and educators listen to what children say to determine what they want to know and what they are interested in as we strive to provide opportunities for all children to have input into their Preschool experience.

We are committed to sustainable practices. The aim of teaching and embracing sustainability at CPCK is to promote a sense of responsibility, respect, wonder, participation and a connection with the land with a strong commitment to protect our children’s future environments and lifestyles.

We value and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, their culture, their traditions and their caring custodianship of the land. We pay our respects to the Gayamaygal who first walked this land where our preschool is situated.

Our Curriculum embraces the Early Years Learning Framework which works to ensure that all of our ‘children have the best start in life to create a better future for themselves and for the nation’ (EYLF). Children are viewed as capable and competent and as individuals who draw upon their own family culture to actively pursue their own learning.

We believe in implementing practices that facilitate secure and respectful relationships. We aim to provide a home-like environment that is safe, caring, well-balanced and stimulating. Each child is assisted in the development of their identity through ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming’.

‘Belonging’ means helping children build connections with their peers, familiar adults and their environment. This is achieved by fostering attachments, facilitating positive learning dispositions, and ‘bridging the gap’ between Preschool and the home environment. When we refer to ‘dispositions’, we mean our commitment to encouraging values such as respecting others, showing empathy and developing an individual’s confidence so children develop the expectation that they will learn and succeed.

‘Being’ involves getting to know ourselves, building relationships, accepting others and valuing being heard. We therefore identify children’s interests and strengths and celebrate them in meaningful ways with the intention of providing time for exploration, decision making and independent learning.

‘Becoming’ encompasses creating dispositions for learning, shaping new understandings, developing resilience, building on talents and assisting children to take opportunities for self-initiated learning to enable them to become the best person they can be.

We respect, value and embrace the diverse values, beliefs, family and cultural backgrounds, traditions, life experiences and knowledge children and their families bring to preschool. We do this through openly communicating with families and documenting what it is they find most valuable in their child’s early education. ‘Happy, engaged kids… with lots of books … and teachers with happy faces playing with the children’ is something that the CPCK parent community hold close to their hearts. In response to the question ‘what is important when selecting a preschool for your child? parents responded with: ‘a social environment that fosters a strong sense of community and belonging, an emotional environment that is beautifully nurturing and a physical environment that is natural and inspiring with teachers  who ooze love for their job and children’. These expectations are reflected upon in our daily operations, our long term goals, curriculum planning and direction of our Preschool.

To ensure the education and care we provide is of a high standard, we are a progressive and innovative preschool who engages in continuous improvement. We keep up-to-date with current early childhood practice and continually advance the professional development of our staff.

Family is each child’s first and most important teacher, therefore we hold in high regard the value of working in close partnership with families. We use our partnerships as a springboard from which to educate families and the general community about the importance of early childhood education and the significance of the early years in a child’s life. We aim to develop reciprocal trust with families to allow shared insights about children through respectful interactions and communications.

Our practice includes analysis of what we do, say and create in the Preschool setting through a process of reflection, discussion and evaluation. We teach with intention, observe with reflection and value children learning through play. We provide children with opportunities to explore, connect and to generate a love of the natural environment.

To provide the best possible opportunities for our families and their children, it is our intention to be deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in the decisions we make regarding the interactions we engage in with all who are associated with Collaroy Plateau Community Kindergarten.

National Regulations: Regulations 168–172

Policies should be informed by the service’s philosophy statement, Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics and current advice from recognised authorities.