Early Learning Centres (ELCs)
At Y's Early Learning Centres, we are dedicated to inspiring and nurturing children to become independent in a real world environment.
At the Y's ELCs, our School ReadY program draws on research into how children's brains develop and learn in early childhood, to deliver a School ReadY program that delivers in building the literacy and language, numeracy, and social wellbeing skills necessary for children to thrive in school and beyond, making sure our children are ReadY for School, and ReadY for life!
Our Centres
Regional
Metro
Our Approach to Learning
- School ReadY: the Y's School ReadY program, developed in collaboration with leading research, develops essential skills in literacy, numeracy, and social and emotional regulation that have been proven to help children be readY for school.
- Who is the child? Understanding each and every child is vital to our educators
- The environment is the third teacher- (in partnership with parents and educators) we teach the children that learning can happen anywhere.
- Relationships- We put high importance on building relationships with the children, families, the community and the local schools. We listen to the children and build trust.
- Making learning visible- Children have individual portfolios that uncover the processes they have been involved in and how they have used their environment to learn. Portfolios can include conversational records to reflect the child's inquisitive nature.
What we do differently
- The Y's School ReadY program has been developed in collaboration with leading researchers and best practice methods to assist children developing core skills in literacy, language, numeracy, as well as social and emotional regulation. We know that a strong foundation across these competencies in early childhood have positive life long outcomes.
- We simulate real world environments which allows children to escape a ‘plastic’ world. At the Y Early Learning Centres our children use real cutlery at sit down meals
- We believe in risk versus challenge. We will not put your children in danger, but we want to encourage them to explore and teach them to be adaptable to their environment
- Spontaneity is embraced and our relationships with the children mean we can adapt any day to suit their needs and desires
- Children are exposed to activities such as woodwork, where we use real tools
- Our home corners are more home-like and realistic
Safeguarding your children
At the YMCA we have an unwavering focus and commitment to safeguarding children. That is why the Y is independently reviewed by the Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) to ensure our services are safe for all children and young people and have a strong Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy and Procedures.
Our commitment to our families, our community and our schools is that we will:
- Protect each child from harm
- Make supervision our Number 1 priority
- Ensure children are cared for in a safe environment
Our Environment
We utilise our environment to bring the children closer to it and to understand it and discover what it can offer. One minute the children will be playing with sticks and dirt in the nature play area, the next they will be making a structure from them. We use every aspect of nature as a teaching resource.
Our Staff
At the Y our Early Learning staff love what they do.
They are fully-accredited and receive ongoing industry training to ensure they are kept up to date with modern teaching and early childhood education and care practices.
Parent Resource Library
Looking for inspiration or guidance? Check out our Parent Resource Library page for recipes used at our centres, top tips on tackling challenges and difficult situations with your child, and more.
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