Our PhilosopHY

The Rochester Kindergarten acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land – Ngurelban – on which we meet.  The traditional custodians of the land include the Yorta Yorta, Ngurai-illiam-wurrung and Dja Dja Warrung people.  We pay our respects to their Elders, both past and present, and commit to working alongside all Indigenous Australians for reconciliation and justice. We value the enriching diversity that each family brings to our Kindergarten. We respect families as a child’s first and most powerful influence on learning and development.  We value the input of parents and hope that our Kinder is a place where everyone can find a sense of belonging. (VEYLDF Partnerships With Families, Identity and Wellbeing) Every person, child or adult, who comes into our Kinder should feel safe and secure.  We believe it is important to model respectful, caring relationships to the children, in the staff team and with families.  We aim to encourage the children to develop empathy and compassion towards others. (VEYLDF Respectful Relationships and Responsive) Engagement, Identity, Community and Wellbeing) We expect that every child who comes to our Kindergarten will achieve the very most that they are capable of.  However, we know that children develop and learn at different rates and in different ways, so our expectations are informed by the strengths and abilities of each child. (VEYLDF High Expectations for Every Child, Assessment or Learning, Equity and Diversity, Learning) We view children as confident, involved and engaged learners.  Plenty of time and opportunity for play and open-ended activities are important for children to effectively engage in learning.  We value the impact that children’s unique interests will have on our program and we support children to make decisions about the experiences they will engage in.  We acknowledge that children effectively source their own learning but that relationships with peers, families and the community support this learning.  Our program also recognises that adults play a significant role in a child’s learning and that intentional teaching, scaffolding and sustained, meaningful conversations are important for promoting learning. (VEYLDF Respectful Relationships and Responsive Engagement, Integrated Teaching and Learning Approaches, Learning) We believe that learning is holistic.  One activity can help a child develop towards a range of outcomes and each outcome is often achieved through many different learning experiences. (VEYLDF Integrated Teaching and Learning Approached, Learning, Wellbeing) We hope to equip the children with knowledge and understanding of important messages that can have a lifelong impact on them and their community.  These include healthy eating and healthy behaviours, respect for all people and caring for our environment.  We embed these ideas and practices into our program. (VEYLDF Identity, Wellbeing and Community)