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Educational Program

At Highgate we implement the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) which is Victoria’s early childhood curriculum. We provide a play-based program based on the children’s emerging skills, interests, and needs. Intentional teaching is an integral component of our program. Educators have high expectations of every child, seeing them as capable and competent learners. 

 

At Highgate we offer a range of exciting opportunities for all ages, commencing with our youngest children.

•    The Infants room focuses heavily on meeting children’s varied and individual needs. Children engage in play indoors and outdoors year-round with an automated Vergola protecting the yard from the elements. These spaces are adjusted to the needs of the group, with space for cars, trikes and climbing outdoors and a mixture of tables and floor spaces inside.
Learn more about our Infants room.


•    The Toddlers room is a large room with lots of room for tabletop and floor play. We focus heavily on children’s independence and autonomy in this room, with shelves of resources to choose from and lots of opportunities to practise real world skills. The Toddlers room have permanent creative, literacy, construction, and cognitive play spaces to support the children’s love of learning, in addition to many activities related to the children’s emerging interest.


The Toddlers yard is perfect to challenge and meet the needs of busy 2-3year olds, with a large, fixed climbing structure, cubby house and sandpit. The Toddlers yard also faces onto Highgate Grove, providing the children with the ability to observe and connect with the world around them. Learn more about our Toddlers room.


•    The 3-year-old Kindergarten room is led by a registered Early Childhood Teacher, who works alongside two support educators 5 days a week during school term. Outside of these hours the team continue to run the room and program allowing working families to access care throughout the school holidays. During the 3-year-old Kindergarten year, children focus on Kinder skills such as extending their concentration, turn taking and extending their social skills. Learn more about our 3-year-old Kindergarten.


•    The 4-year-old Kindergarten room is also lead by a registered Early Childhood Teacher, who works alongside two support educators 5 days a week during school term. Outside of these hours the team continue to run the room and program allowing working families to access care throughout the school holidays. During the 4-year-old Kindergarten year, children extend on skills developed in the years before, regularly participating in teacher lead group activities, learning how to negotiate play scenarios, and becoming familiar with letters, numbers, and critical thinking. Learn more about our 4-year-old Kindergarten.

Music Program (Onsite activities by an external provider)

Throughout the school terms, a Music program is offered across the Centre by Benson from Musical Minds. The sessions include music, movement, and the use of child safe instruments. 


Each week the children learn how to interpret the elements of music: keeping a steady beat, identifying rhythm, playing melodies and singing whilst using hand signs to indicate pitch. The music sessions comprise of singing a variety of songs, dancing and using instruments made of different materials such as xylophones, chimes bars, drums, bells, shakers and wooden percussion.

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Music visits are offered on different days each term to give as many families the opportunity to participate as possible.

Excursions

At Highgate Early Learning Centre, fostering connections with the wider community is integral to who we are. Children of all ages are supported to experience the world around them and to build connections through regular outings.


In the Kindergarten, as the children the children’s capability and stamina build’s they participate in longer and more challenging excursions, including 4 major excursions a year.

Day at the zoo

Regular Outings

Highgate Early Learning Centre have a passion for using all the wonderful resources around us to extend the educational program and to connect with the local community. Children from the Infants room up to the 4-year-old Kindergarten have the opportunity to take walks around the Centre and neighbourhood, venturing increasing distances as they grow.
Our youngest children commence their community connections slowly through simple activities such as opening their gate and observing the happenings around them. They slowly progress to short walks with their educators, venturing to Highgate Grove and back.

The Toddler children, build up the distance travelling to the library or local shops. Always keen observers the children also enjoy short walks down Highgate Grove to collect natural objects or watch the construction of a neighbouring property.
By the Kindergarten the children are used to leaving the Centre, regularly visiting the library, shops and going on scavenger hunts down the street. Children build up their strength and stamina allowing them to engage in bigger excursions.

Sports Day

Each term the Kinder children enjoy an excursion to a local park equipped with sports equipment and wide-open spaces perfect for honing skills like speed, agility, co-ordination, concentration, resilience and problem solving.

Major excursions

Children in the 3- and 4-year-old Kindergarten have the opportunity once a term to participate in a major excursion. With the support of large teams of staff and family volunteers, children are transported by bus to exciting locations. 
Past excursions have included: 

  • The Kew Traffic School

  • Myuna Farm

  • Science Works

  • The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

  • Chesterfield Farm


By facilitating these excursions, children are exposed to rich learning opportunities where they can expand their knowledge of the world in ways that foster curiosity and deeper understanding.

Nature Play

Children in the 4-year-old room (and later in the year the 3-year-old children) engage in a Nature Play program once a week. The children are walked to and from a local natural space 550metres from the Centre and spend the morning playing in the space. Connection to nature is an important way to develop capacities for creativity, symbolic play, problem solving and intellectual development. In addition to the clear physical benefits children gain from the morning of outdoor play.

Mandarin Language Program

As part of the Early Childhood Language Program (funded through the Victorian Government) our 4-year-old Kindergarten offer Mandarin lessons two mornings a week, with Jess a wonderful Educator and native speaker. During these lessons, children practice and learn a variety of topics, including colours, numbers, phrases, songs, and cultural elements, within a brief group session. After which Jess often sets up fun activities for the children to enjoy and speaks to them in a mixture of English and Mandarin.

Other Ad-hoc Activities

Highgate Early Learning Centre arrange many other activities for the children onsite throughout the year. These have previously included:

  • Emergency services, Police, Ambulance and Fire (all ages)

  • Native animals (all ages)

  • African drumming (all ages)

  • Dentist (Kinder)

  • Butterflies (all ages)

  • Safe pet ownership (Kinder)

  • Dramatic storytelling (all ages)

  • Science (Kinder)

  • Education session with Wurundjeri (all ages)

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