St Mary's Children Centre
Kensington, Victoria
Our Mission
St Mary’s Children Centre offers experiences that foster and develop an awareness of Christ and His teachings in a safe and nurturing Christian environment, where maintaining the Coptic identity and teaching the faith and Christian curriculum will be embedded in our program.
We do our greatest to provide a positive atmosphere in which children can grow and learn, developing a high level of personal integrity and a sincere respect for others regardless of their backgrounds, abilities, or circumstances.
At St Mary's Children Centre, we respect and appreciate the value of each child as an individual and support all of our children to thrive and discover their God-given talents and purpose in life. Children are encouraged and supported to develop self-respect, self-determination, personal initiative and a sense of belonging to their family and community, preparing them to be honourable citizens in society and the global community. This is underpinned by a play-based program and guided by relevant early childhood frameworks, such as the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).
Our holistic approach to play-based learning caters to the development of the whole person - emotionally, physically, cognitively, and socially. This enables each child to develop problem-solving skills, self-esteem, and confidence, while feeling loved, appreciated, and connected to their environment.
We strive to meet the unique needs of our children by providing the high-quality learning programs, positive experiences and wellbeing support, to equip our children to flourish and achieve their potential.
Our Centre is committed to creating a culture of child safety to minimise or eliminate, as much as possible, the risk of harm to children. Our staff are highly qualified and caring professionals who respect children and are committed to their safety, wellbeing and learning.
Values
At St Mary’s Children Centre, we provide a safe, nurturing learning environment where children are guided by strong Christian values, such as love, kindness, forgiveness, service. Through the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ, children are empowered to discover the richness of life, grow in character and develop the confidence to become capable learners and valued members of the wider community.
Our Vision
St Mary’s Children Centre is part of a Christ-centred church community, aspiring to excellence in learning and care. We work in partnership with families, supporting and encouraging each child to be the best they can be and to make a positive difference to the world as they develop, learn, and thrive. While offering care and education, we encourage each child to take responsibility for their own decisions, respecting their voice and choice.
Philosophy
At St Mary Children Centre we believe that all children are unique and will develop as individuals at their own pace. We are God’s creation, created to do good works. God has plans to provide hope and a future for us. We are all blessed with unique gifts, and we can bring God glory when we use them (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:16).
We acknowledge and appreciate all cultural backgrounds, and we aim to provide an environment in which all children feel safe, secure and nurtured on a daily basis. At St Mary’s Children Centre, we believe that play is a vital way for children to learn and we aim to provide a fun and stimulating environment for children to explore and learn using all their senses. Our programs and practices provide an inclusive environment that promotes equality and diversity whilst fostering all aspects of every child’s development: physical, intellectual, social and emotional.
Children
We understand and acknowledge that learning begins from birth, and we are committed to providing an environment that meets the holistic needs of every child. By doing this, we foster a sense of identity, wellbeing, confidence and opportunities for children to contribute to the world around them.
We also aim to provide an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and respectful of all our children, families, educators and the wider community. We firmly uphold the Australian Child Safe Standards, prioritising the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care, including children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We view our partnership with families and the community as a vital part of ensuring children's safety.
Family
We believe that a child's family is their first and most influential educator. We believe that family is the most valuable connection to the children in our care, and we support this by developing meaningful and reciprocal relationships with each individual family.
We encourage family involvement and feedback, and we promote honest and open communication with families whilst respecting their rights and opinions. St Mary's Children Centre aims to meet each family's individual needs and respect their culture and values through our day-to-day practices and educational programs.
Educators
St Mary’s Children Centre believes that each of its educators is a valuable resource to the service, families, children and the community. Educators empower children with the skills and knowledge for a successful transition to primary school, while fostering their intellectual, emotional, social, physical and spiritual development.
As a faith-based organisation, we are committed to teaching Christian values, helping children understand and appreciate the importance of compassion, kindness and respect for themselves and others. We recognise the commitment of all our educators and fully support their continued professional learning. Educators engage in critical reflection on the philosophy, ethics, and practices to enrich decision-making about children’s learning.
Whilst our programs are interest-led and play-based, our educators also believe that there are many opportunities for intentional teaching to occur within our programs and daily routines.
Children’s Learning
We believe that children are capable learners who should be given ample opportunities to gain confidence within themselves. Our programs aim to promote and foster independence in all children, and we do this by supporting and encouraging them to first attempt tasks on their own.
We believe that mealtimes are a valuable opportunity for social interaction to occur between children, their peers and educators, offering a meaningful way to embed intentional teaching. At St Mary's Children Centre, we encourage all children and educators to enjoy this time together.
We believe that routines and programming must be flexible to provide opportunities for spontaneous learning. Our aim is to provide a balanced structure within our routines that offers consistency while allowing for flexibility throughout the day. This helps children feel safe and secure by knowing what will happen next.
We encourage families and the community to actively participate in the Centre’s daily activities and provide educators with feedback, thoughts and suggestions for our programs and the daily operations of the service.
Our programs are interest-based, encouraging and supporting every child to develop their capabilities by building on their strengths and catering to their individual needs.
We believe that the outdoor environment is just as important as the indoor environment for children to learn and develop a range of skills. Our programs provide children with opportunities to participate in planned and spontaneous activities both indoors and outdoors.
Our programs support and foster the children’s learning and development across all five learning outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF): Identity, Community, Wellbeing, Learning, and Communication.
At St Mary’s Children Centre, we aim to provide a program to extend on our learning around Bible stories and Australian culture incorporating respectful and authentic learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage. We would also like to pay our respect and acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which our early childhood service stands, and also pay respect to Elders both past and present.
We believe that a philosophy statement evolves as new insights are gained and practice is evaluated.
Most importantly we aim to provide an atmosphere full of respect, calm, laughter, fun, love and appreciation for the children. Just as one body has many parts, we all have a part to play within our community. We are called to have fellowship and love one another, accepting others as Christ has accepted us (1 Corinthians 12:12-27, John 13:34-35, Romans 15:7, Ephesians 4:3, Galatians 6:2).