St Peter’s Early Learning Centre is a Catholic Early Learning Environment, a partnership of education between St Kevin’s College Toorak and the Parish of St Peter’s Toorak. We strive to provide a sense of belonging, respecting the children as competent and capable learners, seeing each child as a balanced child with a strong sense of identity.
The early years of learning are a significant time in a child’s development. It is this child-centred learning that fosters independence and choice within safe limits, allowing the child to become an active explorer of their world.
We are influenced by the Reggio Emilia Educational Project and planned with Howard Gardner’s concepts of Multiple Intelligences in mind. We believe that this reflects our local as well as our wider Australian and global contexts, ensuring the children are aware of the first Australians, on whose land we play.
Children have the opportunity and time to discover and explore, to question and predict, to wonder, to imagine and to dream. We welcome the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) which inspire our conversations, by providing a common language about learning. These influences provide a lens when viewing our curriculum, ensuring its relevance to our early childhood setting and to our local community.
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. Each child is encouraged to be actively involved in strategies of collaboration and negotiation.
Every family is valued for their uniqueness. The growing partnership between parents, teachers and the child fosters the relationship between the home and the educational learning setting. St Peter’s ELC immerses the child in the philosophy that learning is a lifelong journey.
Our dedicated educators create a challenging curriculum that reflects each individual child. They work collaboratively, both within their program teams, as well as collectively. Time is taken to reflect on practices, evaluate practices and update accordingly. We value reflection as a significant part of our professional practice.
