Glen Education Sacred Heart

Creating Inviting Spaces for Learning

Alisha Kums, Early Childhood Teacher 

At Glen Sacred Heart Kindergarten, educators work in partnership with children and families to design engaging and inspiring learning spaces.  Our learning environment is informed by the children, families and community and is ever evolving based on the ideas, interests, and developmental needs of children. Educators support learning in both indoor and outdoor spaces, with each being valued as areas where children can engage in a variety of learning experiences.

By regularly reflect on the learning environment educators create spaces which engage children in rich learning opportunities by fostering a sense of ownership and respect. ACECQA states that engaging learning environments are “aesthetically pleasing, reflect the identity and culture of children and families, and encourage a connection to place” (National Quality Standard Information Sheet, Environment as the “Third Teacher”, 2018).  At Glen Sacred Heart Kindergarten educator have purposely designed the learning environment to reflect these ideas.  This can be observed through the abundant resources found in the kindergarten, allowing children to make choices during their play and resource their own learning by selecting and combining resources to suit their needs.  A variety of loose parts supports right play by allowing children to extend on their own ideas and be engaged in open ended play.  There is no beginning or end to the way that resources can be utilised, and children are able to come and go from experiences, seeing their own ideas take shape and observing how others use the same materials to represent new ideas.  Loose parts can be items such as our beautiful wooden Grapat figures, recycled materials or found natural items.  There is no end to the creativity and flexibility these items can inspire. 

“We have many experiences for children to try, we use natural materials through the space and in their craft to support children to learn to reuse items.” - Noor

The intentional decisions educators make about the environment also supports children to develop their sense of belonging and comfort. Educators provide “a mix of found objects, purchased equipment and materials, including appropriate seating for adult educators and family members that also encourage quality interactions with children” (ACECQA, National Quality Standard Information Sheet, Environment as the “Third Teacher”, 2018).  This can be observed through the large picnic tables, the dining table, the couch, and other flexible seating around the room.  Resources have been purchased from a range of suppliers to ensure that items are ethically and sustainably sourced, by using suppliers such as Yarn Strong Sista (an indigenous owned organisation offering aboriginal teaching resources for early childhood education professionals) or sourcing from Op Shops.   These choices then inform conversations with children about caring for the kindergarten environment and supports exploration of wider sustainability and social justice concepts. 

"The kindergarten is a space where children learn in different ways, adding labels to materials make them more accessible for children. Everything in the space belongs to them" - Gurmeet

Larger improvements to the kindergarten environment have also been made over the last two years, supporting children to have greater access to indoor/outdoor learning opportunities and greater agency within their learning spaces, such as removing the back wall and adding a large sliding glass door and altering the kindergarten entrance and bathrooms.  Further renovations have been made to the kindergarten yard to increase access to natural spaces, such as creating a mud patch, creating a soft fall climbing area and adding pots for flowers, vegetables, and herbs, allowing children to engage their sensory capabilities as they learn.

"We create opportunities for children to experiment with wonder" - Ripan 

An environment which is rich, meaningful and inviting is an essential element to providing high-quality education and care and we hope that the environment at Glen Sacred Heart provides each member of our community with a feeling of belonging and inspires their creativity each time they come through our doors.