All Aboriginal children have the opportunity to reach their potential through access to the highest quality care and enrichment in a rich cultural setting which strengthens their identity. We believe that children should be treated equally and as individuals with their cultural diversity embraced.
Families are encouraged to share their culture, language and home experiences with the centre. The involvement of families is very important to us. We believe that families should be provided with opportunities for feedback on the service, to assist with quality improvement and provide input into the program. A high level of communication is encouraged to build strong and positive relationships.
Our philosophy
Sharing our culture, language and home experience will assist us in providing guidance on individual children’s development and to build strong partnerships to work together with families to support their children.
Children’s self-help skills and independence is supported and encouraged to prepare them for life experiences.
The program is a very important aspect in supporting child development. We believe that the curriculum needs to be delivered with a wide range of experiences, supported by a variety of resources, which foster all developmental areas. It needs to be processed by children of all learning levels and delivered in a language that is consistent throughout.
This will allow for children to learn to their full potential through education.
We feel that the Early Years Learning Framework- Being Belonging Becoming (DEEWR, 2009) put in place by the education system, supports all relevant requirements necessary to advance a child’s development. It uses an intentional teaching strategy, developed with the objective in mind that educators purposely set out to teach the children something through interactions and communication styles.
We aim to provide diverse programs which are developed through on-going observations, evaluations and based on the children’s interests, strengths and needs.
It is our aim to provide children with nutritious, healthy and well balanced meals so we provide a variety of menus to support this. All menus are evaluated regularly.
Food handling practices and procedures are implemented at all times in relations to our food safety program to maintain a high standard.
Positive encouragement and reinforcement are used as tools to direct and promote behaviours. Through positive encouragement and experiences we aim to build high self- esteem and self-worth. All children in our care need to feel a sense of comfort ability and belonging so as they feel safe and secure in our service.
A caring and nurturing environment that promotes self-esteem and individual learning is implemented each day. Staff are committed to on-going training to learn new skills so as they can educate and care for the children at a high professional standard.
All staff attend regular meetings to ensure areas of improvement are discussed and everyday practices are evaluated. In doing this they learn how to articulate their beliefs, and can participate in professional dialogs with colleagues and other educators. This allows for us to continually improve the quality of service and standard of care.
Management ensure that systems are put into place to evaluate policies and implement protocol. We work as a team to provide a high quality educational service, which accommodates for all families and their children.
Early learning starts at home
In Victoria, Aboriginal children and their families have access to a comprehensive range of early childhood services, including Aboriginal Best Start, Indigenous Kindergarten programs, Koorie pre-school assistants, in-home support and home-based learning. MVAC strives to support the Robinvale District Aboriginal community by facilitating local access to those programs where possible.
We know that positive early learning starts at home, which is why families are encouraged to share their culture and language with their children, and in turn with the centre. A high level of communication is encouraged to build strong and positive relationships, and to help us understand the individual needs of every child. This will assist in providing guidance on individual children’s development and to build strong partnerships to work together with families to support their children. Children’s self-help skills and independence is also encouraged to prepare them for later life.
Government approved programs
The Australian Federal Government provides assistance for early years programs and services for Aboriginal Children and their families, which MVAC can not only connect you with, but help to implement locally.
Aboriginal Best Start— Best start is a prevention and early intervention project that aims to improve the health, development, learning and wellbeing of all Victorian children from conception through to transition to school (usually 0-8 years). Best Start strengthens the local capacity of parents, families and communities, and early years services, to better provide for the needs of young children and their families.
Indigenous Kindergarten Program — Koorie engagement support officers are deployed to support Aboriginal families in accessing the broad range of services and supports they need to ensure the best start in life. Koorie pre-school assistants work with kindergarten programs to enhance the participation of Koorie children, assist in delivery of Koorie programs, support attendance, encourage involvement and assist in cultural development.
In-home support and Home-based Learning — Early environments play a crucial role in determining whether children develop their social, emotional and cognitive skills as a solid foundation for further development. In-home support strengthens, supports and improves the parents’ capacity to provide for and foster these foundations.
For more about these, visit the Education Victoria Aboriginal Support website
Tailored learning
We believe that the curriculum needs to be delivered with a wide range of experiences, supported by a variety of resources, which foster all developmental areas. It needs to be processed by children of all learning levels and delivered in a language that is consistent throughout.
This will allow for children to learn to their full potential through education.
Our nation’s best practice, applied locally
We feel that the “Early Years Learning Framework — Being Belonging Becoming” put in place by the Federal Department of Education and Training, positively supports a child’s development. It uses an intentional teaching strategy, developed with the objective in mind that educators purposely set out to teach the children something through interactions and communication styles.
We aim to provide diverse programs which are developed through ongoing observations, evaluations and based on the children’s interests, strengths and needs.
Healthy diet, healthy mind
Poor diet and hunger impact a child’s attention and willingness to focus. MVAC overcomes this major learning hurdle by providing access to nutritious and healthy food during classes. All menus are evaluated regularly and avoid culturally insensitive or inappropriate foods.
Food handling practices and procedures are adhered to at all times to ensure our food safety program maintains a high standard.
Improving our own standards
Teachers and staff are involved in ongoing training to learn new skills so as they can educate and care for the children at the highest professional standard. All staff also attend regular meetings to ensure areas of improvement are discussed and everyday practices are evaluated. In doing this they learn how to articulate their beliefs, and can participate in professional dialogs with colleagues and other educators.
This allows for us to continually improve the quality of service and standard of care.
