The Secret Garden Preschool

PLAY

We see play as the "heartbeat" of our preschool programme. The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia defines play-based learning as “ a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations.”

Within the context of play, there exists a myriad of learning opportunities. Children explore social relationships, contribute ideas, and take on the ideas of others. Play provides the opportunity to experiment, explore, discover, and solve problems. As children play, there are opportunities to talk, listen, and explore language. There are also opportunities to relax, have fun, experience, and express joy.

Our teaching team plays an important part in supporting children’s learning within the context of our play-based programme. We provide resources that support children in forming connections, exploring, creating, constructing, and solving problems. We maintain a balance between experiences initiated by the children and those supported or facilitated by thoughtful and intentional teaching.

LEARNING, EDUCATION & TRANSITION TO SCHOOL

We do not adopt a "top-down", "rote", or "direct instruction" approach to learning. Foundations of literacy and numeracy and other pre-academic skills are learnt in the context of play and through responsive and intentional teaching. In practice, this means that rather than "teach" the alphabet, "practice" counting or implement off-the-shelf reading/phonics programs, we instead look for opportunities to engage with children about text and meaning, language, rhyming, ordering, counting, matching, spatial awareness. Our programme aims to equip children for a positive transition to school - and we pay attention to research that suggests that emotional and social preparedness are key drivers of being ready for school. Further, we pay attention to the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, which reminds us to focus on a child's "being" and "becoming". That recognises the here and now and future development and transitions.

FUN, EXPLORATION, CREATIVITY & ENGAGEMENT

We believe that preschool should be an enjoyable and fun place for children to be. We see children as being active participants in their learning and recognise that this will happen best in an environment that provides fun, enjoyable and engaging experiences and where children are supported and encouraged to be creative and to think creatively, given time to explore their environment, test out ideas, investigate, express curiosity, ask questions and wonder in their environment.

RESPECT, SOCIAL JUSTICE & ACCEPTANCE

The Secret Garden Preschool Preschool acknowledges and respects the uniqueness of each child and his/her family, culture, structure, language, beliefs and customs. We recognise that children learn within the context of their family and extended community and bring this knowledge and a wide range of experiences to preschool.

We place a value on ensuring that our programme is accessible and meaningful for all children and that it includes and supports children and families with diverse abilities and alternative perspectives. We extend this attitude of inclusion, respect and acceptance to visitors, students, and preschool staff members. We acknowledge that the preschool stands on the land of the Wadi Wadi people and that this land continues to be sacred to them and pay our respects to elders past and present.

CARING & NURTURING

We value providing a caring and nurturing environment for children, their families, and preschool staff. If people feel cared for and nurtured, this supports healthy emotional, physical, and mental development and engenders a sense of belonging, self-worth, and connection. We also endeavour to promote practices that care for and nurture our environment.

 

COMMUNITY & CONNECTIONS

The Secret Garden Preschool values building connections between a child’s home, family and the preschool. We believe that it helps children develop a sense of belonging if they know that their preschool teachers take an interest in and value their own experiences and life outside of preschool. Woven throughout the rhythm of our preschool day are opportunities for children to share their experiences, ideas and interests. A similar value is placed on encouraging families to participate in the programme and on building connections and relationships with each child’s family. We give thought to creating a "home away from home" for our preschool children. Through small touches such as furnishings, displays of photos, objects of beauty, and cooking smells from the kitchen, we endeavour to establish a sense of home. This seems only fitting, given the context of our building - a beautiful old church.

In addition to nurturing and building upon our preschool community, we aim to reach outwards, forming connections with and taking an interest in the broader community. We believe that it is essential for children to begin to have an understanding of what it is to belong to a community. We help children begin to identify with “belonging” in a number of contexts. For example, belonging to their preschool class group, belonging as part of the preschool as a whole, belonging to their family and also belonging to a broader community – our country, our world.

 

RELATIONSHIPS

We see one of the key elements of our preschool programme as supporting children in developing the tools, knowledge, and insights to communicate and initiate, develop, and sustain positive relationships and social connections. In terms of having a sense of belonging, relationships are pivotal. We endeavour to place an emphasis on positive relationship building and also on learning within the context of groups and social contexts throughout our preschool day.

 

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT & PEDAGOGICAL INFLUENCES

Our learning environment supports the development of children who can make choices, think independently, take challenges, explore ideas, ask questions, and feel nurtured, safe, and well cared for within a social play-based context. While there is a rhythm to the day, we endeavour to be flexible and responsive to the children’s rhythm and their interests, ideas and contributions. We aim to place equal value on learning through play, which takes place both indoors and outdoors. Experiences tend to be open-ended – with children encouraged to use arts and crafts materials, blocks and construction materials creatively, in their own way, with teachers on hand to guide, support and facilitate. Teachers and children work collaboratively together – co-constructing knowledge, meaning and understanding.

There are several pedagogical influences and supporting theories, approaches, and ideas that underpin or weave throughout our programme. These include:

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF)

Which places an emphasis on a child’s sense of belonging, being and becoming and which identifies five key learning outcomes:

1. children have a strong sense of identity

2. children are connected with and contribute to their world

3. children have a strong sense of wellbeing

4. children are confident and involved learners

5. children are effective communicators

Social constructivism

Learning and development is a social, collaborative activity.

Preschool learning should occur in a meaningful context and not be separated from the learning and knowledge children develop in the "real world."

Out-of-preschool experiences should be related to the child's preschool experience.

Drawing on the experiences of schools in the town of Reggio Emilia in Italy

Children are seen as strong, competent and capable.

Children are regarded within the context of community—i.e., in relation to other children, their family, teachers, and the broader community rather than in isolation.

Consideration of the role of the environment in supporting learning, thinking, communication, collaboration and relationship building.

The role of the teacher as a guide, collaborator, nurturer, partner, researcher.

Parents regarded as partners within the learning process.

Consideration given to the recording and documenting of children’s ideas, their learning and thinking.

The importance of teachers reflecting on their own practice – collaborating with one another.

Drawing on Urie Bronfenbrenner and his ecological systems approach in which Bronfenbrenner suggests that children’s development and learning can be understood and explained by thinking in terms of a number of the layers that encompass children as they grow and develop, with the closest layer to the child being the Microsystem which includes persons in a child’s immediate environment such as parents, family members, peer groups, teachers and neighbours.

Drawing on Jean Piaget and his theories of play and cognitive development, which suggest that children's play and intellectual development are keenly intertwined and that early years children learn most effectively when exploring the world around them and making use of all of their senses. These enable children to explore their environments and provide teachers with ideas and suggestions for activities that stimulate the senses to help keep children engaged, involved and learning.

Drawing on Frobel’s theory of play that focuses on child-led play, believing this to be the basis for physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development. His belief that “play is the highest form of human expression in childhood” informed much of this theory.

He developed many key principles for his theory:

• Childhood should be valued as its own stage, not just a stepping stone to adulthood.

• Play is vital to helping children learn how things work and about the world around them.

• Children will all develop at different rates, and this should be respected.

• Education should focus on what children can do, not what they cannot do.

• Children's emotional, mental and physical states are all of vital importance.

• Children are heavily influenced by those around them, both adults and other children.

Drawing on Maria Montessori’s theory of education where it is believed that “play is the work of the child”. Maria Montessori proposed that play was key for helping children make active choices and practice and perfect actions or tasks.

Drawing on Lev Vygotsky’s theory of play, which suggests that this imaginary play is vital to children's cognitive, social, and emotional development and should be the main focus of helping children. This play, to be effective, should create an imaginary situation for children to take on and act out roles while following specific rules that are determined by those roles. Imaginary play lets children think about and work through ideas and concepts that they cannot see in front of them. The social nature is critical to helping children develop internal language and the ability to think for themselves.

 

A LIVING DOCUMENT

Our philosophy is seen as a living document, continually evolving in the light of new research, changes to our preschool and it's community, ideas from new team members and input from children and families. In 2024, we began reviewing our philosophy. A reflective practice exercise among the staff team has seen contributions of keywords or phrases from each team member to reflect their thoughts about their own or their team's philosophy of teaching and learning. The same exercise will be undertaken in future years with families and children. We will then begin the slow and steady process of talking, thinking and considering what each of these means for our pedagogy and practice.