Overview

BROOKFIELD CHILDREN'S CENTRE PHILOSOPHY

CHILDREN;

• We believe in each child’s uniqueness and potential and we recognise that all children will need time and opportunities to enjoy their childhood.
• We aim to empower children by responding to their voices, thoughts and ideas.
• We believe it is imperative for all children to have a strong sense of who they are and where they belong.
• We actively build relationships and strengthen connections with families, communities and our environments.
• We believe children learn through play, this allows children to investigate, explore and manage their environment. Play encourages the development of knowledge and promotes each child’s wellbeing, identity and sense of community.
• We encourage and support children to self-regulate their emotions to gain confidence and empathy. Children are then able to make choices to support their own rights and to balance the needs and feelings of others.
• We invite children to participate in challenging opportunities by providing environments that are challenging, allow risk taking play and promote child-led investigation and inquiry.
• We are committed to giving all children the right to feel safe, secure and supported at all times through warm, trusting relationships with educators and peers.
• We focus on laying a strong foundation on which to build our relationships upon.
• We promote cultural safety of the aboriginal children at our service, the cultural safety of children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and children with disabilities
  

FAMILIES;

• We ensure that we offer a variety of family events throughout the year to give all families the opportunity to spend time together to build relationships and strengthen connections within our community.
• We also offer a variety of remote learning opportunities via Educa for our families and children to engage within.
• We actively seek to develop positive relationships based on trust and communication and strive to learn about our families’ culture and diversity to best inform our practices and curriculum.
• We have an open door policy which allows families to come through the centre at any time.
• We encourage families to stay in the learning environment with their child/ren and value their contributions.
• We acknowledge and respect that families are their child’s first teachers and we form partnerships with families and work collaboratively alongside families in decision making.
• We have resources on offer to families and these are kept up to date on our community notice board.
• We receive information sheets from the City of Melton and we make these available to our families through our online program Educa and also via our community notice board.
• We have a folder which has referrals to services that families may be able to engage in.
  

TEACHERS/EDUCATORS;

• We believe in being positive role models for the children and each other, by being advocates for young children, families, early childhood services and our profession.
• We are committed to improving our knowledge, practices and our relationships with each other.
• We attend regular training offered by BPA and outside reputable organisations to ensure our knowledge and practices are consistent and current.
• We believe in the acquisition of educators who are passionate advocates for the best outcomes for all children.
• We believe the many cultures represented in our educators positively enhance our practice with families and children.
• Family input is valued and incorporated in our program. We aim to develop cultural awareness and promote an understanding of diversity within our community and the broader communities in which we live.
• We are innovative and adaptive in our practices and teachings when unprecedented times call upon us such as the pandemic of Covid-19.
  

SERVICE;

• We are situated on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and proudly acknowledge their elders past and present.
• We ensure that our environments and practices are respectful and inclusive to all cultural backgrounds.
• We believe in establishing and maintaining a professional service that is ethical and based on honesty.
• We operate within government regulations, our services’ policies and procedures and we actively develop partnerships with local community groups such as Maternal and child health nurse, Allied Health services and Melton city council services.
• We incorporate sustainability into our practices using a variety of recyclable and sustainable resources to protect the environment for the children’s future.
• BPA have provided us with a well-developed Covid safe plan to ensure that we are working within all of the Chief medical officer directives and that we are operating in a Covid safe way.
• We believe in critically reflecting on our practices in all areas to maintain a high quality care and education program with practices that are inclusive, current and based on our own knowledge and our ability to critically reflect.