Our philosophy

Chatswood OOSH

Our vision

We believe OOSH is the children’s time and place and it is the goal and aim of educators to provide a fun and relaxing time for the children. Educators endeavour to create a feeling of belonging for the children, which is central to being and becoming. Educators and children collaborate together in planning play and leisure opportunities. These are central to children enjoying their time at After School Care and Vacation Care.

Children’s health and safety

Educators will endeavour to create an environment that is secure and safe for children to have a strong sense of wellbeing. Through supervision and guidance we aim to support and promote planned and spontaneous experiences that ensure the safety of all involved.

Relationships with children

We believe that all children are individuals and unique. They deserve to be treated with respect and be provided with every opportunity to learn, grow and develop. Children are active learners, eager to play, explore, experiment and learn within their environment and have a wide range of worthwhile interests.

Children learn best through play in environments and through experiences that are based on their interests. They need to be seen as capable and competent human beings and thus be involved in decision making processes. However, they need to be given the opportunity to be children and learn and develop in their own time and be given the opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves within the After School Care and Vacation Care environment.

Collaborative partnerships with families and communities

Communities include the children, their families, educators and the wider community the service is a part of.

We believe that families are the first educators and most important people in a child’s life. Thus, it is important to build effective partnerships between families and educators based on mutual respect and trust. Families’ cultural beliefs, heritage, customs and opinions are valued, respected and represented in the curriculum.

The service, its children, families and educators are also influenced through the wider community. Thus the curriculum will include using community facilities to learn about and engage with the community around them.

Educational program and practice

Educators need to be warm, responsive and tuned in to the children’s needs and interests. Children and educators collaborate in planning the program and spontaneous daily activities. Educators are open to children’s suggestions, spontaneous ideas and support the children through learning and leisure experiences. Educators use reflection and discussions with children, families and colleagues to evaluate the program and thus facilitate and extent the children’s opportunities for learning, development, leisure experiences and thus enjoying their time and place.

Physical environment

Each child should feel free to explore their environment, develop their interests and have a sense of importance and appreciation of themselves and others. We believe the environment needs to be age appropriate, stimulating, interesting, challenging and based on children’s interests to provide holistic learning and development.

We provide a wide range of choice activities and let the children be active participants in planning their learning and leisure experiences.

Our outcome

With this philosophy the Centre educators hope to make our Out of School Hours environment one that fosters growth and development in our children, building confidence and social skills. We regularly review and change our structured programming to best benefit the needs of our families and the children in care.