We respect children as capable learners by including their perspective in teaching, learning and assessment. We ensure childhood is a time of being in the here and now and not solely about the preparation for the future.  We aim to support children in building their confidence and independence as they learn to manage a variety of transitional situations. This is achieved through building trusting relationships with each child and their families.   It is important for children to be provided with opportunities to take ‘safe’ risks. These opportunities develop the child’s cognitive and problem-solving skills, and helps to build their resilience and social competence.  

Our program engages the children in an environmentally accountable setting with sustainable practices throughout our program. For example, we utilise water tanks for our outside water play, gardening, our 3yo room toilets and our disabled toilet facilities. We have two working worm farms that the children feed their food scraps to, which is then used in our gardening program. The recycle, reuse and reduce principles are embedded in our program. ​

In our kinder environment we have a variety of pets which include turtles, fish, stick insects and chickens. Encouraging direct contact and developing bonds with animals, can help children build empathy.  

We operate an inclusive program and have high expectations for all children. We are passionate about the inclusion of children with special needs. We encourage children to participate in a variety of experiences and routines which allows us to recognise children’s individual strengths and needs. We believe all children have the capacity to learn and teach other children through their skills and different abilities.

In our program we have also embedded a sense of social justice. This is achieved through a variety of charitable endeavours where we support local community groups. These activities are shared with the children and their families in a sensitive and respectful manner

Although the kindergarten program will change on a regular basis to ensure that individual and group needs are being met, there are some activities, which will remain in some form each week, as they are important in early childhood development. These are called Permanent Learning Areas:

Blocks
The block area is an excellent way for the children to learn about concepts such as number, quantity, and relationship between sizes, dimensions and measurement. The blocks are open ended and therefore all children will gain a sense of achievement.

Puzzles
Puzzles are an excellent resource for children. When doing a puzzle children are using their cognitive skills to reason things out. They are also learning about mathematical concepts such as spatial awareness, shape and size. This activity assists children to develop hand/eye coordination which is essential for future reading and writing.

Library Corner
Library corner introduces the children to the world of books. As well as gaining much enjoyment from having stories read to them children will gain an appreciation of the books. They will learn how to handle books, gain awareness of authors/illustrators and prepare themselves for learning to read and write in the future.

Construction Trolley
One of the most popular activities within the kindergarten; the construction trolley is full of recycled materials and offers children a place to create. This is open-ended activity where children use their fine motor skills to express their own ideas.

Dramatic Play Corner
This area will take on many forms throughout the year depending on the children’s interests. This corner will see children learning through role-play whilst utilising dress ups and other props. Dramatic play facilitates children’s learning primarily in the areas of social and emotional development.

Easel Painting
Another of our permanent learning areas provides the children with the opportunity to express themselves creatively through painting.

Pre-school Philosophy

Our mission at Woodridge Pre-school is to provide quality play-based education for all children in our safe and nurturing environment.

We believe in the foundation statement of Te Whariki which acknowledges the aspirations that children grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society.

Woodridge Pre-school is committed to the protection of children and the provision of a child safe, children friendly environment. We will protect all children in our care from foreseeable risk of harm, abuse or injury.

Our educators are guided by the National Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and Victorian Early Years Learning Development Framework (VEYLDF) which have strong links to the foundations of Te Whariki i.e. empowerment, family and community, holistic development and relationships. Programs are documented using learning stories with direct links to the practice principles and outcomes from the EYLF and VEYLDF.

With our emergent curriculum, children are active participants in the development of the program and learn that they are important and that their ideas are valued. Our curriculum is inclusive of children with additional needs and every child will be supported to participate in the program.

Woodridge Pre-school embraces the input of families, parents and the wider communities as we believe it takes a community to educate a child.

We acknowledge Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and we celebrate and embed their cultural richness into our educational program. In particular, we respectfully acknowledge the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people on which Woodridge Pre-school stands and we strive to build our knowledge of, and connection with the Wurundjeri people past and present.

Woodridge Pre-school is committed to protecting our environment to ensure a sustainable future for our children who are encouraged to become environmentally responsible.

Our community is an important part of our reflective practice and are encouraged to contribute to our programs, policies and our Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). This ensures Woodridge is meeting the needs of our children, families and wider community.

As educators we work with the children and their families to develop skills, behaviours and attitudes that assist children to be safe on our roads as passengers and pedestrians. We incorporate road safety education into day to day activities.

We believe that all children should be treated with equality and their cultural and linguistic diversity embraced and acknowledged.

Blue/Navy Group Philosophy

• We respect children as capable learners by including their perspective in teaching, learning and assessment. We ensure childhood is a time of being in the here and now and not solely about the preparation for the future.

• We aim to support children in building their confidence and independence as they learn to manage a variety of transitional situations. This is achieved through building trusting relationships with each child and their families.

• It is important for children to be provided with opportunities to take ‘safe’ risks. These opportunities develop the child’s cognitive and problem-solving skills, and helps to build their resilience and social competence.

• Our program engages the children in an environmentally accountable setting with sustainable practices throughout our program. For example, we utilise water tanks for our outside water play, gardening and our disabled toilet facilities. We have a working worm farm that the children feed their food scraps to, which is then used in our gardening program. The recycle, reuse and reduce principles are embedded in our program.

• In our kinder environment we have a variety of pets which include turtles, fish, silk worms and chickens. Encouraging direct contact and developing bonds with animals, can help children build empathy.

• We operate an inclusive program and have high expectations for all children. We are passionate about the inclusion of children with special needs. We encourage children to participate in a variety of experiences and routines which allows us to recognise children’s individual strengths and needs. We believe all children have the capacity to learn and teach other children through their skills and different abilities.

• In our program we have also embedded a sense of social justice. This is achieved through a variety of charitable endeavours where we support local community groups. These activities are shared with the children and their families in a sensitive and respectful manner.

Red Group Philosophy

• Our mission at Woodridge Pre-School is to provide quality based education for all children in our safe and nurturing environment.
• We believe that children need to form strong, trusting relationships with our educator team in order to build a sense of belonging. This is the foundation of their trust in us and enables them to securely grow as young people. Our children need to have the time and space to be in the moment, to develop their skills and dispositions and to enjoy this moment as they build upon their own identity. We acknowledge the importance of “being”, as a vitally important part of growing, not solely preparing for the future.
• We see each child’s potential to develop their well-being, communication, self-help skills, independence and resilience. We take a holistic approach to ensuring the children are healthy in mind, body and spirit in their sense of belonging. As competent and capable learners, the children are secure in their knowledge that they are valued members of society. Opportunities to learn through transitional experiences are embedded in the program.
• As part of our emergent curriculum, we believe children are active participants in the development of their program and secure in their knowledge that they are important, and their ideas are valued. Our curriculum is inclusive of all children and every child will be supported to participate in the program. Children will learn to respect and value all ways of contributing to the program. 
• We acknowledge the importance of providing opportunities to take ‘safe’ risks, which will develop the child’s cognitive and problem-solving skills, and helps to build their resilience and social competence.
• Through open communication we encourage families and the wider kinder community to be part of our program. This could take the form of providing their feedback and thoughts through the portfolios or supporting special events at kinder or including community members in our program. We encourage a sustainable way of living through education and implementing these practices in our daily program. We collaborate with the children and families on using recycled materials, caring for our animals and discussing how we can look after and care for our environment.

Green Group Philosophy

• Our mission at Woodridge Pre-school is to provide quality play-based education for all children in our safe and nurturing environment.

• We believe in the foundation statement of Te Whariki which acknowledges the aspirations that children grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society.

• Our educators are guided by the National Quality Framework (EYLF) and Victorian Early Years Learning Development Framework (VEYLDF) which have strong links to the foundations of Te Whariki i.e. empowerment, family and community, holistic development and relationships. Programs are documented using learning stories with direct links to the practice principles and outcomes from the EYLF and VEYLDF.

• With our emergent curriculum, children are active participants in the development of the program and learn that they are important and that their ideas are valid. 
• Within the three year old program, we hold a big emphasis on the children’s sense of belonging and wellbeing. We aim to ensure that all children and families feel safe and secure in their new environment and that their first kinder experience is a positive one.

• Building relationships with the families is paramount, especially with the three year old kinder experience often being the first time that the child is away from the family environment. Woodridge Preschool embraces the input of families, parents and the wider communities as we believe it takes a community to raise a child.

• We feel strongly about giving young children the tools and resources to build on their social and emotional development.

• We encourage and support the children to build resilience, how to manage conflict in their play and become a voice within their environment.  We also value the children’s abilities to develop their self-help skills and encourage their efforts in becoming more independent. We see each individual child for who they are and support them within an inclusive environment.

• We provide opportunities for families and the wider kinder community to be part of our program.  This is through various ways, such as our take home mascot Cozy the koala, families contributing their feedback and thoughts through the portfolios and supporting special events such as tree planting day, the Christmas wishing tree and PJ Day.
• Throughout the program we encourage a sustainable way of living.  We educate the children and families on using recycled materials, caring for our worm farm and discussing how we can look after and care for our environment. This has also continued with the addition of our weekly sustainable helpers which each child participates in throughout the year.
• Our community is an important part of our reflective practice and are encouraged to contribute not only to our programs and policies but to our Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) to ensure Woodridge is meeting the needs of not only the children and families, but also our wider community.

The Woodridge Pre-school experience just wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of our extended family – our pets!

Developed by Kim Brodribb 

All children need to spend time outdoors involved in free play. Free play to us is play that is not created by the adults; it comes from the child or children involved. Therefore, we believe it is our role to introduce children to a wide range of resources that they can utilise to facilitate their play – not always create lovely environments for them. Staff can play with children but we don’t want to intrude on their play. Sometimes this means that staff are watching the children and are there to guide or assist when they are needed.

We strongly believe that children need to be able to develop their own ideas from scratch. For many children this is difficult skill to learn and develop but we believe it will certainly benefit them in the future. Free play can open the door for many play ideas which means that sometimes the play isn’t safe – it is then our role to talk to the child/ren about our concerns. Using language that involves our feelings, e.g. “I am feeling a bit scared!” “Do you know what is making me scared?” In most cases children can answer and begin to learn about boundaries, rules and why we have them.

In some situations we do create environments or make suggestions to children to help get them started, we can be involved in their play and offer ideas; but it is important to listen to the children and make them responsible in directing their play.

Whilst playing children are continuously learning and developing skills. They will develop their:

• Physical skills such as strength, coordination and balance when they climb on equipment;
• Social and emotional skills such as sharing, turn taking and cooperation;
• Language skills when involved in group role-play games;
• Basic mathematical skills through measuring and filling containers with water or sand;
• Problem solving skills through sorting out their own disputes.

The Woodridge Pre-School operations are managed by a voluntary Committee of Management consisting of parents whose children are enrolled at the centre. The committee is responsible for efficient operations of the kindergarten.

About the Committee

The committee of management comprises of 12 voluntary members, who are elected by parents at the Annual General Meeting. There are a number of Office Bearers as well as general committee members. The committee oversees the running of the centre, organise social and fundraising events, and manage administrative tasks.

The committee of management need the support of all parents to keep the kindergarten functioning properly and appreciate parents helping out where they can.

The management committee meets once a month and all parents are invited to attend. A copy of the minutes taken at the meeting are put on display to allow all families to keep abreast of kindergarten business.

Woodridge Preschool do undertake some fundraising activities throughout the year.  Our fundraising is driven by our aim to continually improve our pre-school.  We also plan many social events for our pre-school community eg. group play dates and parent dinners.

We also offer a set of fun, social activities to involve the whole family, and the option of purchasing pre-school mementos, such as kinder photos and picture plates.