ELC values

Our Childcare Philosophy

At Child’s Play, we value providing exceptional service to all of our families. Which is why our philosophy is simple:

What does EVERY CHILD MATTERS mean to us?

EVERY CHILD MATTERS means we support, educate and facilitate high-quality care for each child without prejudice. To do this we create safe and secure environments that embrace diversity and support individual needs.

Our Values

Our values are at the heart of our childcare centres. Through our education, activities, events and even behaviours, these values are celebrated and modelled throughout.

Collaborate

At Child’s Play, we recognise the importance of engaging the whole community to support growth and development. We collaborate with stakeholders from all areas of our communities to achieve the best outcomes for everyone.

Passion

We are enthusiastic and passionate about the role we have in the lives of our community and your family. We work hard to support, enable and care for all.

Respect

The rights and best interests of our children, staff and families are considered and paramount in all our actions and decisions. We incorporate open, honest and respectful interactions in our everyday practices.

Learners

We pursue excellence in all we do. As parents and as educators, we are continually striving to improve and better ourselves, whilst critically reflecting all that we do and all that we are.  We regularly engage in professional development and review to better ourselves and the childcare service we deliver.

Our Vision

Our vision is to continue growing and ensure our families are at the heart of our centres by critically reflecting on our practices and processes, continuing to learn, embrace new ideas and work collaboratively. We want to provide every child and every family with an inclusive and engaging environment that they love coming to because educators work cohesively to provide children with the best resources, experiences and quality of care.

We aim to support each childs’ individual development and provide them with the tools to become kind, compassionate, resilient members of society.

How do we apply this philosophy?

Partnerships with our families: We are a group of family-run childcare centres so we value the role of the family in a child’s life and want to ensure our entire community feels a part of our family. We recognise the support that parents and staff can provide to each other as active partners in the care and education of their child and that families are a child’s first and most influential teachers. At Child’s Play, we encourage our families to get involved with the activities in our centres and discuss with our educators how you can be involved in a helpful, meaningful way.   We also welcome and support feedback from families to help us continually improve and critically reflect on our practices and processes within the service.

Nurturing and educating children: Our family (educators, management and incursion staff) play an important role in developing trusting, secure and loving relationships with our children. We provide them with a warm and safe environment that fosters their self-confidence and develops their social skills. We always encourage positive interactions that promote inclusion and recognise each child’s agency and unique abilities to lead their own learning journey and development.

A Home away from Home: We create spaces that are warm, welcoming and supportive, and allow the child to feel safe and secure in their learning environment.

Our Program

Respect for diversity: Within our curriculum, we value and reflect upon the practices, values and beliefs of our families and our educators. We use these values and practices to support and encourage each child irrespective of gender, race, religion, ethnic or social background; and respect that children are individuals and learn at their own pace and in their own way. We acknowledge and value the traditions of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community members, and actively incorporate this into our practices.

Sustainability:  We recognise the need for the practical application of sustainability principles in regard to the built environment and environments.  We are working towards responsible use of energy and water, management of waste and respect for the natural environment. Respect for the environment influences the communications we have with children and the activities and resources we use.

Rights and best interests of the child are paramount:   We ensure that children have the right to be heard, to be free from violence, abuse and neglect, to have the opportunity to thrive, to be engaged in civics and citizenship and opportunities to take action and be accountable.

Our Community