Purpose
Mayflower Preschool provides a warm and welcoming environment where children and their families feel welcomed, safe, happy and supported. Our purpose is to nurture resilient and confident children through inclusive and sustainable practices, in partnership with families and community.
We believe that developing respectful relationships between children, families and staff at our Preschool encourages a supportive learning environment, which accepts each other’s values and beliefs. Working in partnerships with families and our community contributes directly to building success for lifelong learning.
Principles & Practices
Play is essential to a child’s life to become competent and confident learners. Through play, all children are given the opportunity to explore, pretend, create, discover, express ideas, investigate and develop. Our program is guided by the Early Years Learning Framework, its practices, principles and outcomes. The opportunities provided in our program are based on children’s individual needs and interests. All children are given the best opportunity to learn through an environment with meaningful experiences, where they are encouraged and supported in making their own decisions and choices. We provide an environment that is based on successful experiences and appropriate challenges, which encourages all children to develop a healthy self-concept and a positive self-esteem.
We encourage and support children to interact peacefully and collaboratively with each other, express empathy for others and actively challenge bias. By embracing diversity, respecting and celebrating our differences, we believe every child and their family’s values, culture, beliefs, abilities and language should be acknowledged, accepted and reflected in all aspects of the learning environment, creating a sense of belonging at Mayflower and within the local community.
We are committed to promoting and developing sustainable practices by encouraging a sense of wonder, respect and love for the natural environment amongst children, families and staff at Mayflower Preschool. We believe it is crucial for young children to develop positive and proactive attitudes towards protecting our environment, caring for all living creatures and creating a sustainable environment.
Family & community
We recognise that the child’s family and community have a significant effect on their learning and that successful outcomes are possible when we work in partnership with them. We encourage families to participate in the preschool community and support and welcome their interest and involvement.
Mayflower Preschool develops and maintains strong links and relationships with local agencies, other professionals, schools and the wider community, including Uniting Care children’s Services and the Management Committee, to provide programs which are responsive to community needs and promote the wellbeing of children and families.
Our staff
Mayflower Preschool’s greatest resource is its staff, who are enthusiastic and dedicated to early childhood education, working cohesively as a professional team. We believe in respecting knowledge, training and experience of individual staff members and the importance of providing opportunities for further professional development. Our Educators value and have a commitment to ongoing improvement of their expertise and practices in the Early Childhood field, through formal and informal professional development and engaging in regular critical reflection. We believe in the importance of open and honest communication with colleagues and strive to maintain respectful and ethical relationships amongst staff, families and the Management committee. The National Quality Standards and the development and ongoing review of a Quality Improvement Plan guide us in the present and future in providing a high quality service to the local community.
