Care & Learning Philosophy We believe children learn through play and should be given the opportunity to experience many self-selected play activities. We believe each individual child will learn at their own rate, while we need to offer a rich “hands on” environment to children. We believe children will only learn new skills when they are ready to do so in all areas of development. We believe all children pass through a series of stages, (each a little different from the last), as they develop. We believe for children to develop and learn in every area, they first need to be happy and secure with their care giver. We believe children are unique individuals and need to be treated as such. Our role is to respect their individuality and provide activities and routines that are suited to their individual needs. We believe our role is to help each child develop a positive self-concept, I therefore we need to build children's self esteem by respect, praise and encouragement. Also by offering activities that are appropriate for each stage so they will experience success. We believe children deserve the right to have basic needs met such as food, water, shelter, security and a clean and safe environment. We believe children's development is effected by hereditary factors as well as environmental factors. We cannot control what is already inherited in a child but we can control the environment by making it developmentally appropriate so children can develop to their full potential. We believe in supporting the inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream programs. We believe, because of our multi-cultural society, we need to respect cultural differences and religious beliefs, also we believe our role is to treat children of both sexes equally and by not assigning tasks according to traditional sex-role stereotypes. Care Currently we care for children from birth to school age. At the end of each session, we encourage parents to discuss the progress of their child with staff members. Parents are invited to attend our monthly meetings to discuss and develop the way we care for your child. Billy Lids Kindy at times permits the presence of students and volunteers in the centre’s activities with the Student Volunteer Program. We value new and innovative input and promote education. The volunteers are mentored and closely monitored by staff members. Education Our belief is that education is the most important aspect of a child’s development. This is one of the key areas where we put much emphasis and continually strive to develop. Children absorb the most amount of information at their younger ages so we stimulate their learning by catering for each child’s individual needs to assist them in developing to their full potential. Health One of our key policies which we regulate very strictly is our nutrition program. Parents are encouraged to pack healthy lunches and must provide their children with a good breakfast consisting of cereals and fruit to give your child enough energy to start the day. We encourage children to be more active and to eat a nutritious diet to develop good habits early in their lives. By developing these habits at an early stage it will ensure your children continue these habits well into their adolescence. Environment Children at our centre are ensured of a safe and secure environment while they play and learn. Every effort is made to ensure that our centre is safe from pending accidents, intruders, pollutants etc. We encourage parents and visitors to our centre to do the same. As we are situated in the tropics and in a country with high skin cancer rates we have a strict policy on sun protection. All children must adhere to the slip, slop, slap program before going outside and we encourage parents to do the same at home. Providing a friendly and professional environment for your child and with the combination of our behaviour management program, your child will grow with good moral values and conduct. Hygiene Billy Lids Kindy provides a clean, safe environment and observes strict health and hygiene practices in regard to current community standards and information provided by relevant Government Departments, to minimise health risks to children and staff at the centre. |