In early 2025, the Y Whittlesea began implementing our Y WA School ReadY Program at their Orchard Road Community and Early Learning Centre (ELC).
As part of the ongoing partnership, the Y WA Literacy Specialist Renee Chakaodza and Executive Manager of Early Childhood Education and Care Iain Dennis visited the centre in August to observe the program in action, connect with educators, and engage with children.
During the visit, it was exciting to see children in the Kindy rooms enjoying the program and making visible progress with skills/concepts addressed in the program. Many were also showing visible progress in applying their knowledge across different contexts. Such as, using the target vocabulary words and recognising them in other books.
Educators also shared that the program has not only supported children’s development but also contributed to their own professional growth. They also reported positive feedback from families about the program and the LanguageScreen assessment.
Early Childhood Teacher Aphrodite (Aph) Seyit shared her excitement about the impact of the program so far. She said, “Seeing the children engage with books, sounds, and letters in such a meaningful way has been wonderful. They’re developing an early interest in literacy, and we can already see their growing confidence and curiosity."
“Overall, the School ReadY Program has been a fantastic addition to our centre. It’s supporting children’s early literacy in fun and engaging ways, setting them up with important skills for their future learning journeys.”
Looking ahead, the program is set to expand across Y Whittlesea centres in 2026, with ongoing training, coaching, and data sharing to support its continued success.