Glen Education Brady Road 

Inviting Families and the Community in to Kindergarten

Yan Li, Early Childhood Teacher

Families are the primary influence in their children’s lives. When families and services collaborate and build respectful relationships, children have the opportunity to develop a positive sense of self and experience respectful relationships. Building connections and relationships with people in the community helps children to learn more about social and other skills.

Learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when early childhood educators work in partnership with families. At Glen Education Brady Road Kindergarten our educators recognize that families are children’s first and most influential teachers, and build partnerships that involve educators and families working together to explore the learning potential. To maintain positive relationships with families, we involve parents in our kindergarten program by inviting them for certain experiences – such as reading story, sharing a skill, or doing learning experiences with the children. It enhances the children’s inclusion, learning and wellbeing. 

We also value the importance of local community connections because it gives children sense of belonging and help them develop social and other skills. At GLen Education Brady Road Kindergarten we have had VCAL students visit from Bentleigh Secondary College fortnightly to engage in kindergarten program. Those students engaged in play experiences with the children and had interactive communication with them. 

We have had a gardening incursion from Bunnings. The children learned about names of plants and grew vegetables under the help from friendly staff members, which reinforces the sustainability philosophy. 

We are committed to encouraging opportunities for families to be involved in their child’s early education and building relationships with our community, because we believe collaborative relationships maximize learning outcomes.

Family Voice: 

"I recently attended kindy to talk to the children about my role as a Nurse. It was great to engage with the children as a community member, and for Harper to have my active presence at kindy. Harper was very excited and had a list of items that I must bring.

It was wonderful to see the children actively engaging. There were many questions and time to play with different items, such as syringes (no needles!), bandages and a stethoscope. I hope the experience aids in familiarity and normalising medical items for the children’s future experiences in healthcare settings.  

- Casey Sykes