Learning at Woden Early Childhood Centre

We have a range of approaches and strategies to give the children opportunities to learn and develop, and are always assessing and adopting additional strategies.

The strategies we use include:

Partnerships with parents 

We at Woden Early Childhood Centre believe that forming strong partnerships with families is vital in making child care a successful and rewarding experience for children, families and staff.

We encourage strong partnerships by:

• greeting parents at the start and end of each day seeking and sharing information about each child;
• working together in supporting routines from home;
• sharing information about each child's development through the portfolio process;
• communicating the exciting things that happen each day through the use of the journal;
• seeking information about children at home by sending their portfolios home and asking parents to add to them in their parent voices; and
• being interested and available for discussions at any time.

Individual Programs 

Each room has an extra staff member above ratio - to cover breaks and allow the opportunity for staff to spend time working on planning to meet the needs of individual children.  Staff are able to access the programming room to take time out and record observations and plan for each child's needs.   Planned experiences are recorded in the program for the coming week.  

Staff use observations and learning stories as a tool for recording current learning as a record for parents - and the child.  Learning stories are letters to the child which share a special moment in time, reflecting a new skill or interest.  Experiences are planned to extend the skills or interests, they are implemented and then evaluated.

Individual Journals 

Our Centre prides itself on its style of of communicating with families.  We have  a journal in each room where staff record the children's day using digital photos and written evaluation.    Our journal reflects the program and the children's responses to it.  Journaling allows us to communicate special spontaneous moments with our families whilst involving the children at the same time.  The journal is available each day to families who are also invited to include their feedback in the parent voice section.  Looking back through our journals is meaningful to families and staff as we reflect on the growing interests and skills of the children.  

Portfolios