At Carey Baptist Grammar School, we believe all children in our Early Learning Centre (ELC) program should develop a positive view of themselves as a learner and have the confidence to thrive when they start school.
Our approach to ELC is guided by our ELC Philosophy Statement, which outlines our approach to educating the youngest members of our community. The philosophy has eight main pillars:
- Viewing the child as a confident, independent person who is full of potential.
- Developing meaningful relationships with the child’s peers, teachers and family.
- Play-based learning.
- Learning through the environment.
- Making learning visible through consistent and meaningful communication with families.
- Engaging expert educators and modelling our curriculum on best practice early learning principles.
- Taking advantage of the school environment through specialist classes with science, music, art and library teachers.
- Collaborating with our community to provide the best opportunities and outcomes for our children.
Watch the video about our ELC Philosophy.
Carey’s Director of Early Learning – Donvale campus, Ms Anne Fahey, explains that the image of the child as a confident learner is at the heart of Carey’s ELC Philosophy and is one of the reasons Carey adopted the Reggio Emilia approach.
“Following Reggio Emilia’s image of the child means that children are seen as being competent, strong, full of potential and full of possibilities, and that’s really what we value,” says Ms Fahey.
Our ELC educators are highly skilled and provide exciting and varied learning experiences that set the foundations for each child’s educational journey. Our early learners are encouraged to use their natural curiosity to learn and solve problems with others through play-based curriculum. This helps them attach meaning to the world and explore their interests, while developing the vital social skills that will enable them to thrive in later schooling years.
The curriculum is enhanced by access to a full school environment. Early Childhood Teacher at the Kew campus Ms Robyn Croucher says, “Being in the environment of a school means we have access to some incredible facilities at Carey and we draw on that through our science, music, art and library programs.”
To learn more about Carey’s three- and four-year-old kindergarten at our Kew and Donvale campuses, and to hear more from our educators about our ELC Philosophy, click here.
