Our Philosophy
Our Educational Philosophy
Our educational philosophy is based on knowledge and current findings accepted as best practice within early childhood education. We believe a play-based learning environment grounded through provision of excellent playspaces coupled with purposeful and intentional teaching from our Educators, provides the optimum outcomes for our children’s learning and development.
We take a child-centred approach toward learning and respect the unique capabilities and interests of all our children. We also have a strong focus on building positive learning dispositions that will accompany children throughout their lifetime journey of learning. Our aim is to foster initiative, enquiry, imagination, concentration and commitment into the hearts and minds of all children.
Our Educators follow the National Early Childhood Curriculum; The Early Years Learning Framework. This is to create the most satisfying of enquiry based learning environments for children and their families.
Our Centre Philosophy
Our Families
Families are a child’s first teacher. We value and acknowledge the importance of this role as we partner with families to provide the best care for each child.
We respect the demands placed on families and aim to make a positive contribution to the family’s experience. We have an open-door policy, you are always welcome to come and talk things over with us.
If you would like to spend time with your child in the Centre (once they have fully settled in) we would love to share our classrooms with you. Most parents just like to play with their child whether it’s book reading or doing a puzzle and sometimes even share a special skill such as;
- Carpentry
- Cooking
- Baby bathing
- Enjoying a new pet
- Dancing
- Craft
- Music
Our Team
Billy Kids is committed to building a team of Educators that are as excited and passionate about learning as the beautiful children they are teaching. Our Educators have varying qualifiactions from Certificate 3 & Diploma in Children’s Services to Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education.
Recently we spoke to some of the children in our Services about their Billy Kids experience.
Look at what they said!
- My teacher is kind to me (Aleysha 5yrs)
- The teachers set up good activities (Matilda 5 yrs)
- I like doing the ideas (Lula 4yrs)
- They look after us (Saoirse 4yrs)
At Billy Kids our leadership team encourage Educators to utilise individual strengths and capabilities and also develop specific areas of curriculum interest.
"Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something.
It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit." - Mary Lou Retton
Currently we have Educators with expertise and experience in: dance education, visual arts, sport, music, nature & gardening and travelling & culture. On-going education and professional development are also an important part of our commitment to excellence.
Our Community
Billy Kids is proud to engage in strong relationships with the community. Our Centres are dependent on the contributions made by a network of community neighbours – local schools, training colleges, health & educational professionals, suppliers and tradespeople. We aim to build awareness of these interdependent relationships with our children and families. We consider ourselves a vital part of our local communities and will often participate in fundraising for various charities, local and international that support the rights and welfare of children.
Environment & Sustainability
Billy Kids has a strong ethic of environmental awareness. This begins with our resolve to impart a love of nature to our children, believing that children can not be expected to be responsible for a world that they do not love. Educators embed environmental education into aspects of their programming and also consider our position on sustainability as we implement our operating practices and policies. Our Centres participate in such practices as;
- Reuse and recycling
- Gardening and composting
- Vegetable patch
- Environmentally friendly & ethically sourced consumables
- Water useage reduction
- Locally sourced furniture & building materials
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors;
we borrow it from our children" - Chief Seattle
Our Curriculum
Infant/Toddler Learning
Learning is a rapid and exciting process for babies and very young children who are seeing all the wonders of our world with brand new eyes. The learning style of Infants is highly sensorial as they use sight, sound, touch, taste and smell to navigate understanding and make meaning of the world.
We offer our infants learning experiences that are rich in sensory input to stimulate developing brain function. These include :
- investigating puzzles, construction toys and natural items
- enjoying shared reading, singing & music
And time to develop their rapidly accelerating physical abilities such as:
- crawling, walking, running and climbing.
Toddlers are beginning to integrate sensory information with motor function so our program aims to provide a range of experiences such as:
- mastering obstacle courses
- the development of fine motor skills through art and craft activities
- gaining valuable social skills as they play and socialise with friends & Educators whilst continuing the process of intellectual discovery and exploration.
It is important to remember that Infants and Toddlers also gain a lot of their learning through participation in routines. Billy Kids has the highest regard for the routines of eating, sleeping & hygiene and we share many happy and significant moments immersed in these daily activities with our youngest children.
We believe that building trust is the crucial factor for development in these early years. Our dedicated Educators work consistently to build genuine and meaningful relationships with every child that will empower them with confidence to successfully move to the next stage of their learning journey.
The Pre School Program
Our Pre-schoolers are confident learners who are seeking to gain mastery over themselves and their environment. At Billy Kids, children are encouraged to show initiative by taking learning into their own hands. Blocks, paint, sand, water, and clay are not only vehicles for the imagination, but also the tools through which they shape and understand their worlds.
We believe that play based enquiry learning in which fundamental skills and knowledge are embedded, is the most beneficial learning approach for this age group.
Our Educators constantly partner with the children to stimulate and direct areas of interest initiated by the children themselves. We often explore an area of enquiry by way of a learning centre or small group project. Some of our most rewarding recent projects across our Centres include;
- Volcano on Mars
- Anzac Day & Camouflages
- Understanding Magnification
- Foods of Multicultural Australia
Our Billy Kids Pre-School program ensures that our children develop school readiness to facilitate a smooth transition into the exciting next stage of their education.