St Mary's Children Centre
Kensington, Victoria
A Day at St Mary’s
Every day is a day to belong, discover and grow.
At St Mary’s Children Centre, every day is thoughtfully designed around one simple idea: children learn best when they feel safe, loved, connected and excited to discover the world around them.
From the moment your child arrives, they are welcomed by familiar educators, friends and a warm sense of belonging. Throughout the day, there is a balance of play-based learning, exploration, creativity, movement, friendship and quiet moments, with educators supporting each child to grow in confidence and independence at their own pace.
🌅 A warm welcome to start the day
The day begins with a friendly greeting and the reassurance of familiar faces.
Children settle into the environment, reconnect with their educators and friends, and choose from experiences that spark their interest. Some children may head straight into imaginative play; others might explore a puzzle, look at a book, build something, draw, create or simply spend some time connecting with their educator.
These everyday moments help children develop a strong sense of belonging, one of the foundations of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).
Your child isn't simply arriving at childcare; they're arriving somewhere they know they belong.
🧩 Learning through play
Play is at the heart of our day.
Children might build elaborate creations, turn a dramatic-play space into a home, shop or doctor's surgery, experiment with water and sand, investigate nature, create artwork, solve puzzles or invent games with their friends.
Behind every experience is learning, scaffolded activity, and intentional teaching.
Through play, children develop:
curiosity and problem-solving skills
communication and language
creativity and imagination
fine and gross motor skills
confidence and independence
cooperation and social skills.
early Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematical (STEM) concepts
Our educators observe children's interests and use these moments to extend their thinking, ask questions, introduce new ideas and encourage children to try something they haven't done before.
This is intentional learning through meaningful experiences, aligned with the EYLF.
🌱 Growing confident, capable children
Some of the most important learning happens in ordinary moments.
Children are encouraged to make choices, have a go, pack away, care for their belongings, help others, manage small challenges, negotiate with their peers, and take increasing responsibility for themselves and their environment.
They learn that it is okay when something doesn't work the first time.
Try again. Ask for help. Think of another way. Have another go.
These experiences build resilience, persistence and confidence, important foundations for both school and life.
❤️ Friendship and learning to be part of a community
Friendships are a special part of childhood.
Throughout the day, children learn how to join a game, wait for their turn, share ideas, listen to others, negotiate, cooperate and resolve disagreements with support from caring and empowering educators.
They discover that their words and actions affect others. They learn kindness, empathy, respect and responsibility.
These are skills and virtues that develop as children play together, solve problems together and experience life together.
🎨 Creating, imagining and expressing
There is always room for creativity.
Painting, drawing, music, movement, storytelling, construction, dramatic play and other creative experiences give children opportunities to express their ideas and see themselves as capable learners.
A child's artwork might begin with a simple scribble and become a story. A block tower might become a house, a bridge or an entire city.
Our role is not simply to tell children what to create.
We give them the confidence and opportunity to create, imagine and discover what they can do.
🌿 Time outdoors
Outdoor play brings another dimension to the day.
Children have opportunities to move their bodies, explore, investigate, take manageable risks and connect with the natural environment.
Running, climbing, balancing, digging, gardening, exploring and playing games all contribute to physical development while also supporting confidence, coordination, cooperation and wellbeing.
Sometimes the most memorable learning happens with mud on their hands and a big smile on their face.
📚 Building foundations for school
School readiness isn't about expecting young children to sit still and complete worksheets.
It is about developing the skills, confidence, dispositions and independence that help children make a positive start to school.
Throughout the day, children develop foundations for:
Communication
Listening, speaking, storytelling, expressing ideas and building vocabulary.
Early literacy
Enjoying books, recognising symbols and sounds, developing writing skills and understanding that print carries meaning.
Early numeracy
Counting, comparing, sorting, measuring, recognising patterns and solving everyday problems.
Independence
Making choices, managing belongings, following routines and taking responsibility.
Social confidence
Making friends, communicating with others, cooperating and navigating challenges.
Learning dispositions
Curiosity, persistence, creativity, confidence and a willingness to have a go.
These capabilities connect directly with the EYLF and provide children with strong foundations for their transition to school.
Because St Mary’s Children Centre’s Manager is both an ECT and primary School teacher, she can link many of the play-based learning experiences to specific learning topics of the Australian Curriculum that is used in schools. Thus, our children will have the significant advantage of receiving intentional teaching that will be further explored at primary school, but of course at their play-based level.
🍎 Mealtimes are learning moments too
Mealtimes are an opportunity to slow down, connect and enjoy being together.
Children practise independence, develop social skills and learn about healthy choices while sharing conversations and experiences with their friends and educators.
Even routines such as washing hands, getting ready for meals and packing away contribute to children's growing independence.
😴 Time to rest and recharge
A busy day needs moments of rest.
Children are supported to have quiet time and rest according to their individual needs. Some children may sleep, while others may enjoy calm activities or simply have some peaceful time to recharge.
We recognise that every child is different, and we respond to their individual rhythms and needs.
🛡️ Safe, secure and cared for
Throughout the day, your child's safety and wellbeing remain our highest priority. Children are closely supervised by our educators, with safe routines and thoughtful transitions throughout the day. At collection time, we follow secure sign-in and sign-out procedures to ensure children leave safely with only the authorised person, e.g. parent. You can feel confident knowing your child is cared for, supervised and supported throughout their day at St Mary’s.
🌟 The day ends with a sense of achievement
As the day comes to an end, children have had opportunities to play, learn, create, move, imagine, connect and grow.
They may have made a new friend, solved a problem, discovered something fascinating, created a masterpiece, learnt a new word, climbed a little higher or found the confidence to try something they couldn't do yesterday.
And while your child may simply tell you, “We played today,” there is so much more behind those words.
They were learning to communicate.
They were learning to cooperate.
They were learning to think.
They were learning to persist.
They were learning to care for others.
They were learning to become independent.
They were building the foundations for school, and for life.
A day of childhood. A foundation for the future.
At St Mary’s Children Centre, we believe early childhood should be filled with warmth, wonder, friendship and joy.
We want children to leave each day feeling proud of what they have done, excited about what they discovered and secure in the knowledge that they are known, valued and cared for.
Because school readiness begins long before the first day of school.
It begins with a child who feels confident enough to ask a question, brave enough to try, persistent enough to keep going, kind enough to care for others and curious enough to want to learn.
That is the kind of foundation we work to build every day at St Mary’s Children Centre.
Our Learning Programs
Learning with purpose. Growing with confidence.
At St Mary’s Children Centre, we believe every child is a capable, curious and active learner. Our educational program is designed to nurture the whole child, supporting their learning, development, wellbeing, relationships, confidence and growing independence.
Every day brings opportunities to play, investigate, create, communicate, problem-solve, build friendships and discover something new.
Guided by the Early Years Learning Framework
Our educational program is guided by Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), Australia's approved learning framework for children from birth to five years.
The EYLF recognises that children learn through relationships, play and meaningful experiences. It supports five key learning outcomes, helping children to:
develop a strong sense of identity
build connectedness and contribution to their community
develop a strong sense of wellbeing
become confident and involved learners
become effective communicators.
Our educators use these outcomes alongside their professional knowledge of child development, our St Mary’s philosophy, and the knowledge and insights shared by families to develop experiences that are meaningful and responsive to each child.
Learning that responds to your child
No two children learn in exactly the same way.
Educators observe children's interests, strengths, emerging skills and ideas and use these observations to plan experiences that extend children's thinking and build on what they already know.
A child's fascination with insects might lead to a nature investigation. An interest in building might become a project involving design, measurement and problem-solving. A favourite story might inspire storytelling, dramatic play, drawing or early writing.
This is intentional teaching, but it still feels like childhood. Children learn because they are curious, engaged and having fun.
Learning through play, projects and real experiences
Play is central to our curriculum.
Children have opportunities to explore art, music, movement, literacy, numeracy, science, nature, construction, imaginative play and technology, while developing the social and emotional capabilities that support lifelong learning.
Longer-term projects allow children to investigate questions and ideas over time. Children can revisit their thinking, test theories, collaborate with friends, solve problems and develop increasingly complex understandings.
Our program can also be enriched through incursions and excursions, bringing new people, experiences and environments into children's learning.
Visits from community members, artists, performers and specialists, as well as experiences in the local community, help children make connections between what they learn at St Mary’s and the wider world.
Language, culture and communication
Communication is an important part of every child's learning journey.
Our program provides opportunities for children to develop language, vocabulary, listening, storytelling, early literacy and confidence in expressing their ideas.
We value the languages, cultures and experiences that children bring from home. Where appropriate, these are incorporated into our experiences and learning environment, helping children develop respect for different cultures and a sense of belonging.
Building foundations for school
School readiness is about much more than knowing letters and numbers.
At St Mary’s, we support children to develop the confidence, independence, communication skills, learning dispositions and social capabilities that help them make a positive transition to school.
Through everyday experiences, children practise:
Independence - managing belongings, making choices and taking responsibility.
Communication - listening, expressing ideas, asking questions and participating in conversations.
Early literacy - enjoying books, recognising sounds and symbols, developing vocabulary and exploring writing.
Early numeracy - counting, sorting, measuring, comparing, recognising patterns and solving problems.
Social skills - making friends, cooperating, negotiating and resolving challenges.
Learning dispositions - curiosity, persistence, creativity, confidence and a willingness to have a go.
These foundations align with the EYLF and help children develop the capabilities they will draw upon as they transition to school.
Families are our partners in learning
We believe families are children's first and most important teachers.
You know your child in ways that we cannot, and your knowledge is invaluable to us.
We welcome your insights about your child's interests, experiences, culture, strengths, routines and emerging abilities. Through ongoing conversations and our family communication platform, OWNA, we share children's learning and invite families to contribute to their child's learning journey.
Together, we can create continuity between home, St Mary’s and the wider community.
A curriculum that grows with your child
Our program is not a fixed list of activities. It is a living curriculum, continually evolving in response to children's interests, ideas, questions, development and experiences.
Educators reflect on what children are learning, evaluate our experiences and use this knowledge to plan what comes next.
This cycle of observe, plan, implement, reflect and extend helps ensure that learning remains purposeful, responsive and meaningful.
Our curriculum is informed by:
Victorian early childhood education and care requirements
Contemporary knowledge of child development and early learning
Our St Mary’s Children Centre philosophy
The knowledge, culture and aspirations of our families
Children's interests, strengths, ideas and individual learning needs.
Learning that prepares children for life
Ultimately, we want children to leave St Mary’s not simply knowing more, but believing they can learn, try, contribute and succeed.
We want them to be curious about the world, confident in themselves, kind towards others and excited about what comes next.
Through play, relationships, purposeful teaching, projects, language, creativity, community experiences, excursions and incursions, we give children the foundations to belong, learn, grow and flourish.
Come and see why families choose St Mary’s.
Take the first step towards your child’s place at St Mary’s Children Centre.