Octopus Garden Preschool Early Learning Service
Octopus Garden Preschool
Early Learning Centre
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We are a 25 place centre providing a family grouping environment for children from birth to five years. We have a dedicated team of highly trained educators committed to providing a quality early education and care service for all children.
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Octopus Garden provides a varied menu which meets all dietary guidelines for the under fives. We will work with families to determine your children’s foods likes and dislikes, any allergens or dietary restrictions prior to enrolment. The meals are fresh and nutritious as well as introducing children to new foods. due to t
Nutrition
Children’s Voices
All children have the right to be heard and we actively seek their impact in all aspects of the centre program. They are involved in areas such as decision making, developing our policy, setting up the environment, guiding the curriculum research and planning. We aim to foster in children the knowledge their view is valuable and they are co-owners in our centre environment.
Social Justice
Our aim is to develop a program that embraces all peoples as unique and special. Contributing to this uniqueness are factors such as culture, family, skills, needs, gender, interests and an ongoing range of life-experiences. Through this recognition, we will address each child's personal strengths, needs and interests. This information can then be used for planning the wider program and developing our community identity.
We are in a community rich with Aboriginal cultural heritage. We will draw upon these local resources in planning and in reflecting on our practice. Through the resources chosen, our language, text and visual stimuli such as posters and textiles, visitors to the centre, excursions and the use of other languages in song and day-to-day life, we will represent a strong valuing and respect for the variety of people that exist in our world.
Programs
We provide a play-based learning program. Children are fostered as individuals while being supported to learn about being a part of a wider social community of learning. We provide a fun, responsive and challenging learning program implemented by qualified and committed educators
Starting your child
We aim to make the transition from home to school a rewarding one. It is best to tailor your child’s start to their individual needs. We recommend that children visit with family members initially and stay for a play. This allows children to become accustomed to the environment and time for educators and families to discuss children’s routines and personalities. From here short stays or half days are best. The movement of children to longer hours will depend on you and your child’s need. Every child’s start to the centre is an individual process and needs to be respected.
Families are encouraged to call and discuss with educator’s their child’s day and well-being.
We will always be truthful about your child’s progress and ring if your child does not settle.
Community
Our service actively supports community causes and events. Through sponsorship, excursions, collections and recognition of community days, we seek to build connections with our wider community and support children to develop a strong social identity.
Sustainability
​Our service is committed to sustainable practices and to embedding this learning within all aspects of our service management. We have both an environmental sustainability policy and an environmental learning statement which families can access at any time. ​
Medical and Health Conditions
The Service is committed to ensuring the inclusion of children with diagnosed medical conditions within its programs and to providing a safe and caring learning environment for these children. Inclusive programs encourage and allow all children genuine opportunities to participate in early learning programs. When enrolling children, we will work with families to establish a individual management plan to establish a safe and informed attendance at our service.
Emergency Responses
Emergency responses are a priority in our training, knowledge and practice. We consider different scenarios and have risk assessments for each scenario. The children are encouraged to engage in ongoing learning with us - what would we do if a fire? What about if someone is hurt?
It is important that children are signed in and out to assist with roll calls during an emergency and for emergency contact information to be kept up to date so we can contact you.
If an emergency occurs whilst you are in the service, we ask that you follow the instructions from the emergency response officer and assist us in calming children and moving to our assembly point.
