Our programs
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Our curriculum is informed by the Early Years Learning Framework; the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework; National Quality Standard and the Child Safe Standards.
The Early Years Learning Framework & Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Outcomes
The Early Years Learning and Development and Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Outcomes are embedded into the curriculum to ensure each child’s strengths, needs and interests are supported. These outcomes also optimise each child’s potential and enhance their overall development.
These are the five Outcomes:
Identity – Children have a strong sense of identity
Community – Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Wellbeing – Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Learning – Children are confident and involved learners
Communication – Children are effective communicators
Families can access this document online at www.acecqa.gov.au.
National Quality Framework
The National Quality Framework aims to raise quality and drive continuous improvement and consistency in education and care services through:
a national legislative framework - Education and Care Services National Regulations, Education and Care Services National Law Act
a National Quality Standard
a national quality rating and assessment process
a national body called the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)
Quality education and care shapes every child’s future and lays the foundation for their development and learning. The early years are critical for establishing self-esteem, resilience, healthy growth and capacity to learn. Research shows quality education and care early in life leads to better health, education and employment outcomes later in life.
National Quality Standard
The National Quality Standard (NQS) sets a national benchmark for the quality of education and care services. The NQS is divided into seven Quality Areas:
Educational program and practice
Children’s health and safety
Physical environment
Staffing arrangements
Relationships with children
Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
Governance and Leadership
Under the NQS, all early childhood education and care services undergo a process of rating and assessment. Approved Services will be assessed and rated against each of the seven Quality Areas of the National Quality Standard and the National Regulations. They will also be given an overall rating which will be published. The rating and assessment process aims to drive continuous quality improvement at services and provide families with better information for making choices about their children’s education and care.
Home Road Kindergarten has been rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard
For more information on the National Quality Framework and Standards, please visit www.startingblocks.gov.au.
In collaboration with our families and guided by our philosophy, our educators support the children to develop and extend their learning through the VEYLDF and EYLF outcomes and the National Quality Standards.
3 & 4 year old programs
All of our Kindergarten programs are delivered by qualified early childhood teachers.
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 HRK. 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.
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. With more funded time available, the children are able to practice and refine their skills in a nurturing and caring environment.
Kinder on Country
Kinder on Country is rooted in an ethos of acknowledgement of Country, connection to nature and participation in community. It combines the philosophies and practices of our previous Bush Kinder, Community Connections and immersive play-based programs. It is strongly linked to the Victorian early childhood curriculum (VEYLDF) and exemplifies exceeding practice in early childhood teaching and learning.
We will be piloting Kinder on Country in 2024 and embedding the program in the following years. It will be implemented across all groups throughout the year but look different for each group, depending on the ages, abilities and needs of each set of children.
Groups will embark on outings to local parklands and community sites on a regular basis. These sites may be within walking distance from kinder or may be a bus or train trip away. For some outings, parents may be asked to drop their children at a site, then the group will make their own way back to kinder after a 3-4 hour stay. Some groups may stay at the external location for the whole day.
What will children learn in Kinder on Country?
Kinder on Country extends the learning that children already engage in at kinder and have done previously through Bush Kinder. It is embedded in a belief that children deserve to connect to nature and develop an understanding and appreciation for their own connection to Country and to the people who have lived and cared for Country for thousands of years. We feel strongly that we are on a journey with the children as we attempt to navigate these concepts with respect and authenticity.
As non-Indigenous educators we seek input and guidance from trusted sources of information, such as the ‘Possum Skin Pedagogy’ and the wisdom of local elders. This focus - on embedding Aboriginal perspectives, culture and language into our curriculum - is informed by our Reconciliation Action Plan and is a reflection of priorities identified in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).
The ethos of Kinder on Country will be evident in our kinder rooms as well. At kinder, you will see a variety of resources, books and imagery that have been carefully selected to promote conversation and questioning from the children. The children will come to know Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Raven. They will learn about the traditional seasons of the Boonwurrung and notice seasonal changes through their observations of nature. They will learn the significance of a possum skin cloak and the importance of Iuk (eel) and Warin (wombat). They will marvel at Sky Country and connect with Biik (land) and sea.
The children in the 4yo groups will embed and deepen this learning when they visit Bunjilaka at Melbourne Museum during Term 4.
Sustainability
The revised Early Years Learning Framework includes the new principle of Sustainability - with an enhanced focus on children’s roles as citizens with an ecological footprint. There are three interwoven dimensions of sustainability – environmental sustainability, social sustainability and economic sustainability. What this looks like in practice is educators supporting children to learn about the interdependencies between people, animals, plants, lands and waters and their role in minimising their environmental impact.
At Home Road, we focus on sustainability in different ways.
We engage children in conversations about the environmental impact of the materials and resources we use in our play. We encourage recycled items to be donated to the Kinder to be used in our art and craft areas, or in loose parts play.
We encourage children to save their food scraps, then we feed them to the worms in our compost bin and use the compost to enrich our gardens. We plant, nurture and harvest a variety of plants - observing the growth and changes in our garden. We observe the bugs, reptiles and birds in our playground and learn about their importance to our garden.
A key principle of sustainability is embedding a deep respect for First Nations cultures and caring for Country. We encourage children to recognise that they are in a relationship with Country and that this comes with responsibilities, as well as opportunities for deep learning.
In 2024 we will be launching another project we are very excited about! We will be transforming the garden at the front of the kinder into ‘Waa’s Place’ – a space for gathering, gardening and honouring Country. Waa’s place already features a fire pit that we gather around and once complete, it will also include a bush tucker foraging garden, native fruit shrubs and an edible veggie garden.
Timetable
Our timetable is reviewed annually in line with Department of Education and Hobsons Bay City Council guidelines and consultation with families. We aim to provide a variety of options for families to access our sessional kindergarten model.
Under the Best Start, Best Life reform and Department of Education policy, at this time we are unable to reduce the number of kindergarten places to increase the number of hours offered. This means that our service cannot yet offer 15 hours of three-year-old kindergarten, until other local services increase their capacity.
Due to the mandated increase of three-year-old kindergarten hours, unfortunately we are no longer able to offer our Bush Kinder program as a stand-alone group from 2024. Please read above for information about our Kinder on Country program.
If you have any queries, please contact us via our Contact page.
2024 Timetable
Free Kinder Funding
The Best Start, Best Life reform announced by the Victorian Government will provide Free Kinder funding to participating services to offer a free 15-hour kindergarten program for four-year-old enrolments and a free kindergarten program of between 5 and 15 hours for three-year-old enrolments. Families can only claim Kinder funding from one service.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work, live and play, the Boonwurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their culture and Elders past and present and welcome the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.