Our Philosophy

St Peter’s ELC, a partnership in education between St Kevin’s College and the Parish of St Peter’s provides a happy, nurturing, creative and challenging environment where boys and girls from three years of age can explore learning.

The early years of learning play a significant part in a child’s development. The quality of the experience encountered during these formative years is important in all areas of a child’s development – emotional, social, cognitive, linguistic, physical, spiritual and creative.

Our integrated play-based programs are influenced by the Reggio Emilia educational project and planned through Gardner’s concepts of Multiple Intelligences lens. We place this within our local as well as the Australian context. This offers children the opportunity and time to discover and explore, to question and predict, to wonder, to imagine and to dream. The wider world becomes the child’s world. We welcome the National Early Years Learning Framework (NEYLF) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) which inspire our conversations, through providing a common language about young children’s learning -among children themselves, their families, the broader community, early childhood educators and other professionals. These influences provide a lens when viewing our curriculum, ensuring its relevance to our local community and our early childhood setting.

Emphasis is placed upon the value of respect for self, others and the environment; and to develop a strong, positive self - image as well as the understanding of the rights and feelings of others. The child is encouraged to be actively involved in strategies of collaboration and negotiation.

Each family is valued for its uniqueness. The growing partnership between parents, teachers and the child fosters the relationship between the home and the educational learning setting. Children become increasingly secure and ‘reach out’ in their learning.

St Peter’s ELC immerses the child in the philosophy that learning is a lifelong journey, with links to further education at both Loreto Toorak and St Kevin’s College.

Our Mission

• to nurture each child within a happy, nurturing, caring environment
• to develop as fully as possible, the learning potential and self-worth of each child
• to provide a Catholic education for young learners in keeping with the ethos of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) and Edmund Rice, the founder of the Christian Brothers.
• to develop the links to further the children’s education at a school espousing the same values as their experience at St Peter’s ELC
• to provide broad, creative learning opportunities for all children
• to develop the understanding that we can all achieve in a variety of ways
• to develop the children’s confidence and self-image so that they can meet the challenges as citizens of the world in a responsible, sustainable, caring and compassionate manner

St Peter’s ELC offers a unique learning experience for the child by providing:

• a happy, secure transition from home to a formal learning environment
• engagement of young learners in their own styles of learning through play, experiences and discovery
• a broad and balanced program allowing young learners to question freely to discover meaning in their work and their world
• the experience of reflection upon their discoveries and accomplishments, enabling the children to observe how they have changed and progressed
• opportunities to experience a variety of programs conducted by specialist teachers in the areas of Literacy, Art, Music, Dance and Movement, Health and Physical Development
• time to celebrate our Catholic faith through story, symbolism and practice
• the development of Christian values when interacting with peers and adults in a variety of situations
• links to further education at both Loreto Toorak and St Kevin’s College

Our educators work collaboratively, both within their program teams, as well as collectively. Time is taken to reflect on practices, evaluate practices and update accordingly.