Philosophy

Statement of Philosophy

At St Mary’s North Tamworth Preschool, we value a child’s connection to their family, their Preschool and the Tamworth Community (Belonging).

We recognise that children come to us with their own ideas and values and that time, respect and support are the right of each child (Being).

We respect the goals that each family will have for their child’s early education, and we will endeavor to promote their progress through our natural play-focused learning environment (Becoming).

Our National Curriculum “The Early Years Learning Framework” recognises the broad concepts: Belonging, Being and Becoming. At St Mary’s Preschool we recognise the value of these concepts and the following specific statements have been formulated to represent our Preschool in relation to these concepts:

Philosophy

Belonging

We value and respect each child’s connection to family, friends, community, and the environment.
We work collaboratively in partnerships with each child’s family to embed holistic practices that promotes individual growth.
We acknowledge and celebrate the diversity of all children, fostering strong relationships with diverse cultural communities, including our Catholic Parish (St Nicholas), the people of the Kamilaroi, other First Nations, and the cultures of the families currently enrolled.
We support children to feel happy, safe, and secure through thoughtful, inclusive interactions in a natural play-based learning environment.
We value community connection and the important life lessons that are created from these engagements.

Being 

We recognise that children come to us with their own sense of identity, ideas, values, strengths, and interests.
We value the meaning of a moment, being mindful to create the time and space to respect the wellbeing of each child.
We promote children’s learning through play, which is fun, creative, adventurous, natural, and often messy.
We share flexible yet consistent routines and transitions with children that promotes play, learning, friendships, independence, and mindfulness.
We encourage the rights of the child to establish a collaborative learning community with one another, contribute to curriculum decision making, take care of the environment and calculate risks through our three play guidelines:

“Is this keeping me safe?”

“Is this keeping others safe?”

“Is this respecting the environment and Preschool’s belongings?”

Becoming

We strive for a sustainable future by embedding practices which care for the environment and uphold our promise to the land.
We holistically support the child, their family and community for the transition to school and for life, sustaining reciprocal relationships beyond the child’s years at Preschool.
We promote school readiness throughout the cycle of planning, fostering the physical, social, emotional, spiritual, and academic development of children to blossom into confident and involved learners.
We strive for children to be independent and to positively experience change as they learn, building the skills they need to successfully achieve their learning outcomes.
We create an environment of love and learning, while at the same time being consistent with our practices.