At Marrickville Rd Preschool we believe that the early years of a child's life are the most influential.

It is in the first years of life that young children develop a sense of themselves and their place within the community of learners. It is within these years that a child develops the foundation skills and abilities that will carry them through life. Our role is crucial in fostering and facilitating the child's development in these years.

To encourage each child's curiosity and interest in the world around them and develop positive attitudes to learning:

• By promoting a thought provoking environment with powerful provocations that allow children to be curious, active learners.
• By observing children carefully and using children's interests as well as their emerging skills and strengths to influence programming directions.
• By striking a balance between children's interests and an educator's awareness of what knowledge, skills and dispositions a child is ready to learn. As follows, investigations are mutually chosen by educators and children.

For each child to develop respect for themselves, others and the environment:

• By carefully and respectfully documenting children's work as a way of valuing their ideas and learning, as well as showing children how closely we have listened and observed them throughout their investigation. Documenting a child's learning provides them with a visible memory of what they said and did. Children recognise that their learning is interesting and worthy of time and attention. They learn to treat their own and other's ideas seriously.
• By presenting aesthetic environments to children, we raise their awareness to order and care, therefore encouraging them to respect their indoor and outdoor spaces.

To promote acceptance of cultural diversity and appreciation of the many groups which make up the wider community:

• Providing a program and environment that reflects and embraces this.
• By recognising that early childhood settings provide an excellent environment for children to experience and enjoy the diverse miracle of Australian society and to respect and embrace difference.

To build and foster each child's developing independence:

• By safely facilitating the natural drive in children to be independent through consistent and reasonable limits
• By actively planning for the development of each child's emerging independence through consistent and effective observation.

To cater for learning and exploration in the following areas: science and discovery, literacy, numeracy, creative arts, geography and our world, manipulation, physically active play and sensorial exploration:

• By recognising that learning is an active process and children learn most easily through repeated exposure, consistent role-modelling and from repeated opportunities to apply and practice. Children learn by doing, not seeing or listening.
• By allowing children opportunities to actively engage with materials and resources in order for them to make their own meaning and become active learners.

To provide a happy and secure environment where children feel loved and respected and can develop to their fullest potential:

• By focusing upon understanding individual children in a special way with this focus being based upon carefully planned observation of, interaction with and documentation of each child and their experiences
• Educators also value and recognise that each child possesses feelings, experiences, attitudes and beliefs as valuable and complex as their own
• By recognising the importance of building and nurturing secure attachments with each individual child with the intention that they feel accepted, secure and free to explore different aspects of their world through their play and their relationships. When children feel safe, secure and supported they grow in confidence to explore and learn.
• By effectively enforcing rules and limits through fairness and consistency