Education Program & Practice
Understanding the importance of high quality early education for young children as the basis for their future success, Billabong programs strive to establish optimal conditions for social, community and cultural learning opportunities for children. In line with the National Quality Standards and Early Years Learning Frameworks, Billabong`s educators utilise the best resources and IT infrastructure to support the daily programming. Furthermore, music and movement as well as community based incursions are embedded in these programs to create a rich and diverse learning environment for the children. To reinforce the continuity of learning and development beyond Billabong, each room has visual displays and summative reports for each child’s developmental progress for parents to extend or link each child’s learning experience at home.
Our Team
The Centre continuously raises the bar on providing high quality education and adapting to the changing needs of families. In order to achieve this, it is important to attract and retain high calibre Educators who not only have the skills and experience, but the disposition and motivation to foster relationships with children that promotes curiosity, independence and learning.
The Educators’ relationship is not limited to Billabong`s children but extends to every child’s parent and family. Billabong believes that this collaborative partnership is crucial to a child’s healthy development and allows Educators to link the children’s learning experiences at home and at the Centre.
Consequently, Billabong places a high value on ensuring a supportive work environment and professional development of its staff. These investments pay dividends in the design of quality educational programs and stimulating curriculums.
Our successes to date include the enthusiasm and sustained energy of our staff contributing towards the seamless uptake and adaptation to the Early Years Learning Framework – the new National Standard of educational programming.
Further, we have enjoyed a low staff turnover with the majority of staff being employed on a full time permanent basis. Even our relief staff has been with us for quite some time now which ensures the continuity of positive relationships and developmental progress with each child.
Our staff come from diverse and multicultural backgrounds which has enabled us to model respect and acceptance of cultural differences. In turn, this has helped develop a culture that is inclusive, open to suggestions or changes that are beneficial to the children of the centre.
Our Philosophy
Being a small family of 15 staff members, it is important that our Centre Philosophy is reflective of our personal as well as professional beliefs and values. The Centre Philosophy provides a guiding coalition for our vision and what is essential to our practices as Educators.
Our Centre Philosophy:
- To provide diverse and stimulating opportunities and experiences to children, where they are encouraged to initiate and be actively involved in their learning, enabling them to reach their full potential in all areas of their development.
- To provide a healthy environment for children, where they develop a strong sense of well-being, by promoting healthy eating, physical activity and hygiene practices.
- To communicate, collaborate and form partnerships with families, local communities, educators and staff to develop the best environment and outcomes for each child.
- To acknowledge, respect and promote the beliefs, cultures and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Islander people through learning activities.
- To create a sense of belonging by promoting safety, security and respect among children, families, educators and staff, so all feel valued, confident and connected to the Billabong community.
- To promote a multicultural, inclusive environment by encouraging children, families, educators and staff to listen to, respect and celebrate one another’s religion, beliefs, views, culture and identity.
- To value, respect and support each educator and staff member & individual and professional needs, strengths and well-being.
- To enhance the knowledge and skills of educators and staff through professional development and training.
- To educate children, families, educators and staff about being responsible for the natural environment through sustainable practices and community participation.
- To ensure workplace health and safety practices are carried out at all times by educators and staff, thus ensuring a safe and secure environment for children, families and all staff.