Our Approach

Our Early Childhood Centres all believe in the same fundamental approach to our work. We are committed to working closely with children and their families to support every child’s early learning and wellbeing and influence their worlds through art, music, song and stories. Our centres work with children from six weeks old to school-age, and are open 51 weeks a year.

Commitment

We are strongly committed to continuously improving our work to ensure the best possible outcomes for young children and their families. We utilise contemporary research and knowledge about how young children learn and develop to provide a modern perspective on early learning. We support each child’s fundamental learning around literacy, numeracy, self-regulation, resilience and independence. We work to meet the highest standard of children’s health and safety and exceeding the minimum standards of compliance with regulatory frameworks.

The National Quality Framework

At Northside Community Service, our Early Childhood Centres operate under the National Quality Framework. The National Quality Framework is the new, national system that sets standards for Children’s Education and Care services. It is designed to improve the quality of children’s education and care throughout Australia. Research shows that quality early education early on leads to better health and education outcomes later in life.

The Early Years Learning Framework

We are guided by the Early Years Learning Framework which is Australia’s official early childhood curriculum framework. The framework describes the principles, practice and outcomes to support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years, as well as their transition to school. The curriculum strengthens children’s sense of identity, their connections and contributions to their world, their sense of wellbeing, their confidence and their communication skills.

Regulatory Compliance

We have robust systems and processes in place that are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure we are compliant in all frameworks. Each Centre undergoes regular internal audits to ensure compliance with the National Care and Education Law and Regulations. Northside Community Service works closely with Children’s Education and Care Assurance within the ACT Education Directorate on all local regulatory and compliance issues. All Educators working in Northside Community Service have a current Working with Vulnerable People card as prescribed by the Office of Regulatory Services and receive regular training.

Preschool Program

We provide a dedicated Preschool Program for children in the year before attending school. These programs are planned and overseen by qualified teachers. Our Preschool Programs focus on literacy and numeracy skills, and also life-long skills including social, self-regulation and resilience skills. Our Preschool Programs operate within each of our Early Childhood Centres, allowing for stronger and more long-term partnerships and collaborations with families to support children’s learning and wellbeing. The programs operate five days a week, all year round and are implemented as part of the daily curriculum.

Teachers and Educators

We acknowledge that the quality experienced by children and their families within our centres can only be delivered by qualified, experienced and professional teachers and educators. At Northside we provide regular and ongoing professional development opportunities for the teachers and educators including monthly seminars with Beth Macgregor, full-day conferences and ongoing on-the-job mentoring and support.

Key Policies

At Northside we are committed to strong and robust governance and operation of our Early Childhood Education Centres. We have a range of policies and procedures that support the day-to-day operations of our centres which have been developed in accordance with the National Quality Framework, the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations and local A.C.T. regulatory frameworks. Our policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated, incorporating feedback from families and other stakeholders. Policies and procedures are also regularly updated to include any new information from regulatory bodies nationally and in the A.C.T.