Glen Education Chelsea

Creating Connections with our Local Community 

Cheree Yates, Early Childhood Teacher 

“When children, families and educators feel connected to the community, they uphold the values of that community and promote the wellbeing of its members” (Glen Education)

Being able to invite families and visitors back into the kindergarten this year, without restriction, has been a welcome return to the sense of community we know and love. 

At Glen Education Chelsea we are privileged to have large communal areas in our front courtyard, foyer and our spacious family room that provide opportunities for families to meet, chat and begin to form connections.  These connections are a way that families can feel supported in their parenting role, as we all know sometimes we just need a friendly face who takes the time to say hello. 

As the year has progressed and children and families have become more familiar with each other and our environment we have been able to engage in a variety of incursions and excursions to broaden our community. 

Having visitors into the kindergarten provides opportunities for children to build a sense of connectedness beyond their family and friends, whilst still in the familiarity of the kindergarten environment.  The children often feel more comfortable hearing or seeing something new when they are feeling safe and connected together in our space.

This year we have welcomed back the Dentist, Thingle Toodle (road safety), performers (shows) and Play Ball.  All great opportunities for the children to learn through new experiences and hear voices from their local community.

Right across the road from us we are lucky to have a wonderful school, Chelsea Primary, that welcomes visits at any time.  Even if children will be attending a different school, having the opportunity to visit a school environment is beneficial.  All groups this year, 3 & 4 year old, will be taking the time to visit, use the "big kids" playground, see inside the school buildings, and meet some teachers. 

Visits have also been made to the local library this term. Not only is the library a wonderful environment to promote our love of literacy, the walk there is a fantastic opportunity to put our road safety skills into practice (stop, look, listen, think).  We also encourage children to be aware of those around us, are we all looking out for others in our group?  Staying together? Sharing the space safely with other people?

Our local walking map has an array of places that we can safely visit as the occasion arises.  Some of our walks/outings may be to very familiar places, such as the library, but walking together around our local streets to get there, as opposed to a drive in the car, gives the children the opportunity to see things from a different view point.  Family members are always welcome to join us on our outings and at times we may not be able to take on bigger outings without our great community support which we value so much.

Building this strong local community between children, families, educators, and our broader community members, is extremely important to us at Glen Education Chelsea as we know it supports continuity of learning and helps to put learning in context. 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” – Helen Keller