HOURS OF OPERATION

8am to 4pm, 48 weeks a year.

ASSESSMENT AND COMPLIANCE RATING

Kendall Community Preschool has been assessed and rated and has achieved an overall rating of ‘Exceeding the National Standard’, both in 2012 and again at the end of 2018.

We are an accredited long day care service, licensed for 25 children aged between 3-5 years each day. Families are eligible to apply for the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) through Centrelink.

COMMUNITY OWNERSHIP

Our goal is to develop a sense of ownership within the community where children and families take pride in the learning experiences they share at Kendall Community Preschool. Our preschool is a place to lose yourself in time, and enjoy being with your child outdoors, turning the compost, feeding the chickens, watering the vegetables, or planting a seedling from home. When families become involved in the preschool, children begin to develop a real ownership over this special space. With this in mind, we strongly encourage families to embrace Kendall Community Preschool as a space for the family, not just the enrolling child.

READINESS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLING

We do not subscribe to a ‘school readiness’ program, but provide a wide range of opportunities for children to build knowledge and experience, to enjoy the process of acquiring knowledge and to engage in critical, creative thought. Through this process, children will develop the skills and attitudes that will enable them to contribute to a community in positive ways and will hopefully motivate them to become life-long learners.

HANDS ON LEARNING

Part of creating authentic experiences for children involves regular opportunities to play with, and explore a wide range of open-ended materials in all kinds of places. To build their understanding of the world, children can enjoy the mud patch, sandpit, chook house, stage, Miss Anne’s fairy garden and all kinds of garden spaces. Inside, children choose to work in the art space, reading area, construction area, at the clay table, light table, music space and puzzle area. We encourage children to dress appropriately so that they may participate in any or all of these often messy experiences, both indoors and outdoors.

BUILDING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD

We see adults within Kendall Preschool as invaluable resources to share information, knowledge and ideas in ways that connect children to their developing interests about the world. We believe in constructing knowledge alongside children, rather than for children, and focus on the process of acquiring new information as being as important as the knowledge being learned. For this matter, questions that families, children and educators ask are critical in establishing relationships of knowledge. We value the information families hold and provide spaces to unlock and share this knowledge in appropriate ways with children. Parents are the most influential people in children’s lives, and active participation in the construction of knowledge sends powerful messages to children about who they are, and how they are valued. Families are encouraged to contribute to the preschool and be informed about the knowledge being shared and discovered.

NATURE BASED PLAY

Sticks, stones, shells, seed pods and leaves are regular collections of materials that we explore with children in constructive ways. We recognise the challenges these materials pose for children and encourage them to engage in creative nature based play that builds creativity, concentration and engagement. It is vitally important that children have significant contact with the natural world and using natural collections in the natural learning spaces at preschool provides this contact.

HEALTHY EATING PRACTICES

Our Nutrition Policy has been created by the committee, with input from families, Community Health Dietitians, and Nutrition Australia. Children and families are encouraged to provide healthy, nutritious meals for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. From time to time, we invite dietitians to the preschool to speak with families, and we are building a relationship with a dietitian to provide regular information for families. Our role is to find out information about best practices for healthy family eating, so families will make decisions about healthy choices. We provide excellent models for developing healthy eating practices, providing healthy snacks for children and families at events, as well as promoting local organic free range produce wherever possible – even from our own gardens and the Roadside Herb and Bushfood Community Garden.

VISUALISATION AND RELAXATION

We work closely with community members with knowledge on how to provide a peaceful environment that promotes engagement in creative play. Each day we use visualisation strategies to refocus children, engage in sensory exploration to explore the world, and set up a restful environment using relaxation music, visual stories and mood lamps. We believe these elements support an environment that allows children to unwind, to connect with the resources, and to become independent when expressing emotions appropriately. The ability to calm oneself is an important life skill and we take time each day to enjoy this type of learning.

CHILDREN HAVE AGENCY

We advocate for the children by listening carefully to what children are saying and, where appropriate, provide mediums for children’s voices to be heard in the community, through newsletters, writing articles for the newspaper and educational publications, encouraging community members to visit and hear what children have to say and showcasing their important work for interested community members.