Programs & Curriculum
Funded Kinder Program
Four year old kindergarten
Deer Park West Kindergarten offers a Four year old Kindergarten Program that is funded by the Victorian Government.
This program is run by a Bachelor qualified Early Childhood Teacher along with Diploma qualified assistant educators.
In our four-year-old Kindergarten program, our educators extend the children in their interests and thought processes; we offer new challenges and support small group investigations. Social and emotional skills continue to be one of our main areas of focus, however, our educators support the children to become more independent and problem solve situations. It helps them to be school ready.
Three year old kindergarten
Deer Park West Kindergarten offers a Four year old Kindergarten Program that is funded by the Victorian Government.
This program is run by a Bachelor qualified Early Childhood Teacher along with Diploma qualified assistant educators.
Our three-year-old Kindergarten program offers the children a foundation to build upon in their four-year-old Kindergarten year and a gentle transition to their learning journey at the kinder. Through our play-based programs, our dedicated educators scaffold the children’s social and emotional development. They facilitate the children’s sense of independence and build their self-esteem and self-regulation skills.
We pride ourselves on delivering the program which follows the National Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
Our Program Helps Your Child Explore, Grow, & Learn by Providing
- Open-ended play experiences, fostering creativity and encouraging children to lead their learning to develop their concentration, problem-solving and planning skills.
- Valuing the contribution of children, parents, committee members and staff in developing the program.
- Offering the children opportunity to discover for themselves through exploratory play
- Caring for our natural environment and being an environmentally friendly and sustainable kindergarten.
- Having staff are able to speak to the families in their culture language to find out about their culture background and how it may influence our curriculum.
- Encouraging children to discover who they are by listening and talking with them and through intentional teaching.
- Ongoing observations are recorded for each child and being used for their individual planning.
We are a Safety focused Practice
- We believe that, all accidents can be prevented and safety is an integral part of everyone’s job. We support this through our whole kindergarten environment.
- Child Safe Standards guide our practice to acting in the best interests of children and keeping them safe all the time.
Our Curriculum
The curriculum at Deer Park West Kindergarten is based on the philosophy of – In every Child, Every Opportunity.
Curriculum means the sum total of all interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events that happen in the Early Childhood Learning Program environment from when children arrive until they depart in an early childhood service setting (www.education.vic.gov.au – 29 August 2022).
The distinction between 3 and 4 years old curriculum : They are interlinked with each other and only differ from the level of each child’s capacity and ability to respond to the opportunities of learning and development experiences provided. The 4 year old curriculum will be a ‘bit’ structured in ways in preparation for formal education, while the 3 year old curriculum focuses on children’s feelings of security, trust and attachment.
Each group’s planned programs will depict children’s interests and play-based, age-appropriate experiences to explore learning and development and support their needs.
These opportunities for learning and development will consist of interactions and experiences provided during;
Routines – established routines give children the assurance of predictability.
Indoor and Outdoor program – the benefit of having ‘choices’ as an outdoor environment offers as much opportunity to learn and develop engagement with natural elements and explore the outdoor space for active play.
Table tops activities – offering ‘intentional’ l learning activities.
Group time – where children have the opportunity to be engaged in learning and developing certain skills.
Special Events – significant and meaningful experiences for each child or of the whole group and wider community.
