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EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

EARLY CHILDHOOD PHILOSOPHY 

 

At St Francis of Assisi, our Early Years Learning programs, from Pre-Kindergarten to Year Two, are underpinned by the Gospel values. Jesus is the role model of our teaching, where children's rights and agency is paramount in our planning. We believe that quality Early Childhood education is the practise of relational pedagogy, and the integration of play-based learning with explicit instruction where required. Our educational practises are underpinned by the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework (Belonging, Being and Becoming), and the National Quality Framework (NQF), while remaining true to the Gospel values of the Catholic church, centred on Jesus and his teachings.  

  

At SFOA we:  

  • Are Christ-centred, providing our students with support in their faith journey as a member of a catholic community. 

  • Believe in the holistic development of the whole child, where all children's rights and diverse needs are acknowledged and respected. 

  • Acknowledge parents as first educators and facilitate opportunities for families to be actively involved in their child's development, through building partnerships with parents and the wider community. 

  • Engage children in experiences which nurture curiosity and encourage them to develop their sense of identity through expressing their thoughts and opinions. 

  • Construct safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environments that are accessible for all children to learn and grow.  

  • Provide play-based learning activities that are child-centred and encourage student agency through exploration, experimentation and problem solving. 

  • Create opportunities for children to develop their independence and self-help skills. 

  • Prioritise social and emotional learning through focussing on well-being and helping children to develop positive relationships, empathy, and self-regulation skills. 

  • Develop children’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical development through a range of experiences within our school, local parish and wider community.  

  • Foster language, literacy and numeracy skill development through a balance of open-ended tasks and explicit instruction. 

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