The children and educators of Kapunda Child Care and Early Learning Centre acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Ngadjuri people of Kapunda and the mid-north of South Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and future and acknowledge and respect their spiritual connection to the country.
We continue to embed and learn together about our First Nations People in our learning curriculums, focusing on reconciliation. Reconciliation is about strengthening relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people for the benefit of all Australians.
Our programs are inspired by the principles of Reggio Emilia and value the child as co-constructors of their learning. The Reggio Emilia approach is an innovative and inspiring approach that values the child as an individual who is respected, capable and a citizen with rights. The children at our centre enjoy a specially tailored music and movement program, which a music specialist facilitates.
Through the principle of ‘the hundred languages, ’ we share the importance of providing children with one hundred ways to share their thinking of the world, every individual, every child, and every human being has infinite potential to grow, develop and learn.
Our service is based on the Early Years Learning Framework, which is based on the rights of the child, the nurturing of trusting relationships between the child and the educator, a dynamic and progressive learning environment, predictable flows of routines, and continuity (transitions) between every stage of each child’s development. This fosters citizenship within our service. Our philosophy and the Early Years Learning Framework underpins how we plan for the development of each child.
For children to understand the importance of a sustainable environment, sustainability must be embedded in our program and practices. Children are supported and guided to take responsibility for all aspects of their environment. Parents and the community are encouraged to promote sustainable practices both in the centre and the community.
We have an onsite Education Department Universal Access Preschool Program led by a registered Early Childhood Teacher recognised by Teacher Registration Board. Our comprehensive program supports your child as a competent, capable learner with a good foundation for lifelong learning. Over the 12 months, before your child reaches school age and enrols in primary school, we will prepare your child specifically for their transition to school through our 4-year-old preschool program.
Early childhood education supports your child’s transition to primary school, it prepares children in both informal and formal ways, such as ongoing literacy and numeracy activities and learning and engaging in a range of transition-to-school activities. Children who experience a positive transition to school are more likely to feel comfortable, relaxed, and motivated to learn. This transition helps them form positive relationships with others, both children and educators and develop a sense of belonging within the school.
Kapunda Child Care and Early Learning Centre has an embedded ‘Intercultural Strategic Plan’. This plan reflects our centre and community’s evolving thinking and belief. The intentional use of ‘intercultural’ as opposed to ‘multicultural’ embeds the richness of being as one as Australians. Intercultural describes communities with a deep understanding and respect for all cultures. Intercultural communication focuses on the mutual exchange of ideas and cultural norms and the development of deep relationships, reflected in our centre community. In developing our Intercultural Strategic Plan, we intend to highlight what individuals worldwide have brought to enrich all of our ‘being’ as part of an evolving community. Our Intercultural Plan also is predicated on respect for the custodianship of this land by our First People, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and the importance of their culture and connection to the land. Our centre proudly embraces being a socially just community that celebrates the rich diversity of the individuals and groups in our community.
Kapunda Child Care and Early Learning Centre have embedded sustainability practices, and our learning programs reflect ongoing research and projects with our children. Our centre goal is to actively work together to engage our children, educators, families, and the wider community to work together and take joint ownership in creating and working together for a sustainable future for our children and the future generations of our world with good water, soil, air, climate, and biodiversity. Practising sustainability empowers children to construct knowledge, explore values and develop an appreciation of the environment and its relationship to their worlds.