Turner Street Kindergarten has been part of our community for over 50 years! We are a community based sessional kindergarten that runs both 3 and 4yo kindergarten programs and we are managed by Merri-bek Early Years Management. We provide the local community with a high quality early childhood educational program for children aged three to five years and offers children outstanding facilities, including a wonderful play area with sandpit and stage area for imaginative play. Children who attend are engaged in a play-based curriculum based upon children’s emergent interests. Both indoor and outdoor activities and experiences are carefully planned to enable each child to progress in their next step in learning. We are situated near the corner of Turner Street and O’Hea’ Road in Pascoe Vale South. At Turner Street kindergarten our children engage in indoor and outdoor play experiences. The indoor area provides a variety of learning areas for the children to work independently or in groups, create and build, investigate, engage in imaginative play, use a range of materials, learn through play and enjoy the wide range of learning opportunities offered. The experiences are intended to develop the children’s independence and problem solving skills. The children are, at times, free to choose where they play, and are encouraged to participate in all activities. At times they will be asked to work closely with staff in focused small group activities. Our outdoor area provides an abundance of shade and different play and activity areas which includes a range of climbing structures, a cubby house, and a sand play area. Each year we develop an edible garden area where the children have opportunities to engage in activities with staff. The children have the opportunity to plant, water, and care for and pick plants.
Philosophy
Welcoming: A welcoming environment is a place for endless potential and possibility for learning. We respect and value diversity in our community and welcome everyone. Families learning and experiences are recognised and valued. Educators implement programs by creating an environment where every child and family feels valued and respected, through inclusive practices, open communication, and inviting physical spaces, thus endeavouring to create a sense of belonging for all that walk through our doors.
Safe: Turner Street Community has each child’s safety at the centre of their practice. Guided by the Child Safe Standards, we endeavour that each child and their families have the right to experience quality education and care in a safe and healthy environment. We believe that children should be safe from prejudice and harm, physically, emotionally and socially. Turner Street aims to foster each child’s unique personality and development through positive personal interactions so children are able to build safe, secure and supportive attachments with one another and with educators.
Relationships: We understand successful relationships are built as a result of honest, collaborative, respectful and compassionate interactions. We strongly believe that children learn best when they feel safe, supported, and connected to their educators and peers. Educators strive every day to create strong relationships with families, the wider community and colleagues to benefit the children, as well as open a pathway of communication.
Play: At Turner Street Kindergarten we believe play is the foundation upon which learning is built. Meaningful uninterrupted play encourages and fosters curiosity, discovery, problem solving, creativity, exploration, investigation and imagination, all of which promote individual growth and development. Guided by the Victorian Early Years Learning & Development Framework (VEYLDF), we as Early Childhood professionals acknowledge the importance of time for children to explore, wonder, experiment, re-visit experiences and develop awareness of their individual potential in our open-ended play spaces in order to support children’s different learning styles. Play is a necessity, not a luxury.
Parent Involvement
Turner Street Kindergarten has a Parent Group where parents are encouraged to be involved in fundraising activities for the service and work with MEYM to develop a plan to allocate and expend funds. Your participation helps to share the workload among our kindergarten community and your children just love to see you involved. If you are interested please contact the Service Coordinator to discuss your ideas. Incursions/Excursions – The four-year-old educators plan for incursions, excursions and special interest activities where it is felt that they are beneficial to the learning program. The daily program is planned around these events and provides children with the opportunities to engage in learning experiences around various topics. The incursions and excursions are planned for on a yearly basis and may change from year to year. They are based on the current children’s interests and abilities. Some incursions we have had in previous years include; Chick Hatching Incursion, Road Safety Incursion, The Great Recycling Adventure, Coburg Library for Children’s Book Week, Butterfly Life Cycle Incursion, Dinosaur Bones- Melbourne Museum, Dental visit, Circus spot workshops, Mini Beasts incursion, Wild Action Show, Responsible Pet Ownership, Thingle Toodle, Water Safety presentation, Story Telling, Weekly ‘Sports for Kids’ program, Bunnings warehouse planting incursion and a Pottery incursion. Some of the Excursions include; Essendon Traffic school, Bundoora Children’s Farm, and Merri Creek bush kinder. No child is taken outside of the Kindergarten without parental authorisation. Parents are requested to promptly complete a separate authorisation form for each excursion. For the 3-year-old group, special activities are planned for and based around kindergarten and family activities, as well as one incursion a year. Each year the incursion is chosen by the 3-year-old educators, giving consideration to the interests of the individual children and group as a whole. Some of the incursions in recent years have included Australian Animals Bush Babies, an Australian Animals puppet show, chick hatching and African Drumming.
Sustainability
Turner Street Kindergarten promotes respect for and an appreciation of the natural environment. Children will forage for snails, worms and make compost. The produce and herbs from our garden provide lots of impetus for learning, sharing and joyful experiences such as cooking and tasting. Children, educators and families engage in sustainable practices during the operation of the service. All our food scraps are given to our hungry healthy worms.
Our staff
We have a team of committed, experienced and kind staff who always put the needs of the children first. The aim of our staff is to maximise the benefit of the kindergarten experience for each child by creating a relationship based on trust and respect. Each group has a minimum of two teaching staff – a qualified teacher with a teaching degree specialising in early childhood and a co- educator with a diploma or certificate in children’s services. Our highly experienced staff recognise stages of child development and create and facilitate a learning environment that is responsive to the children’s interests, learning and needs. If you are interested in viewing Turner Street Kindergarten please complete our Book-a-Tour to book your place for a scheduled tour. Note that Turner Street will be relocating to Pascoe Vale Neighbourhood House for a brief period due to renovations from Term 3 2023, therefore tours will not be available during term 3.
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