The Glen Education Curriculum

Our educational programs are strongly influenced by the view that interactions between children and adults shape learning. This acknowledges the significant and connected role parents, families and educators play in children’s day‑to‑day and life‑long learning.

The Early Years Learning Framework

Our early childhood educational program is based around the key concepts and principles reflected in the National Early Years Learning Framework: Belonging, Being, Becoming (EYLF) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).

The key practice principles that guide our understanding and professional practice includes:

• Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships
• Partnerships 
• Respect for diversity 
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives 
• Equity, inclusion and high expectations
• Sustainability
• Critical reflection and ongoing professional learning 
• Collaborative leadership and teamwork

Learning Outcomes:

1. Children have a strong sense of identity
2. Children are connected with and contribute to their world
3. Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
4. Children are confident and involve learners
5. Children are effective communicators

Emergent Curriculum

Our educational program is a play-based emergent curriculum.  Educators plan flexibly with children, as the program is constantly evolving in response to children’s changing needs, strengths, and interests in addition to the input of educators and families. Each of these key elements shapes the direction for future learning. 

We operate an indoor/outdoor program for most of the day, where children are able to move between experiences inside and outside as they choose. 

Engaged teachers play an active and intentional role in a child’s learning, using a balanced approach that combines children’s interests and needs with a planned focus on the significant learning highlighted in each of the Early Years Leaning Framework key learning outcomes and practices and principles.

Sometimes we will embark on sustained projects that will engage children in hypothesising and problem solving. We encourage positive outlooks for learning and creative thinking by developing learning environments that encourage children to explore and construct in imaginative ways. 

We provide a balance between educator led and child-initiated learning experiences.  Our routines and learning experiences provide children with a sense of security and stability, enabling children to predict what will happen next, building confidence and a sense of self.

We work with children to promote and model positive ways to relate and respond to each other, using strategies to help children recognise when play is unfair and offer constructive ways to build a caring, fair and inclusive learning community.

The program is documented and available for families to view and contribute to. We document the program as a whole service, rather than as separate groups.

Children’s individual learning journeys are documented in a portfolio which is also accessible to families within the service. We actively encourage all families to share in and contribute to this wonderful educational experience.