Program
Our centre philosophy is at the forefront of everything that we do. It is our vision of a perfect service. A united statement which combines ideas from our families, our children, the school, and our educators.
Philosophy
The rights and the mental wellbeing of all children and young people in our care is paramount.All children and young people have the right to relax and play. At POOSH they recognise their agency, capacity to initiate and lead, and their rights to participate in decisions that affect them. We empower children and young people to exercise these rights in a safe, secure, nurturing environment with a responsive and inclusive atmosphere. Our play-based learning program positively contributes to development through providing quality experiences for rich learning, personal development, attaining life skills and citizenship opportunities in an enjoyable environment. We acknowledge the school motto ‘To Learn to Live’, and actively support this through providing children with the opportunity to develop communication, social and emotional skills through a variety of planned and spontaneous creative, cooking, cultural, natural, sustainable, and physical activities in an array of settings.
Partnerships with families, teachers in schools, other professionals and the broader community ensure continuity and successful transitions between settings so that children and young people feel secure, confident and capable. At Poosh we are committed to building secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships focused on empathy and equality by creating a welcoming environment where educators are responsive to children and their families. Educators use the My Time Our Place 2.0 outcomes to guide their planning and ensure we instill high expectations.for children’s wellbeing and learning.
At Poosh we ensure our children and young people embrace social and economic sustainability through engaging with concepts of social justice, fairness, sharing, democracy and active citizenship— thereby developing inquisitive minds. We believe that empathy and connection with nature extends into environmentally responsible actions and empowerment. We are continuously improving our operations to ensure our leadership, educators, children, young people and community are learning about and engaging in sustainable practices, so we are collectively capable, competent contributors to our world.This is achieved by ensuring a robust culture of critical reflection which involves leadership, educators as a team, as well as children and young people and families. Current practices are discussed, debated and evaluated, and new ideas generated so we are continuously learning (The Planning Cycle).
At Poosh our leadership team and qualified educators continually seek ways to build their professional knowledge and develop collaborative learning communities. They facilitate and promote lifelong learning by collaborating with children, young people and families to organise activities and opportunities meaningful to them taking into consideration their diverse capabilities and unique qualities. They endeavour to understand lifestyle choices of families so they can build culturally safe environments and better support children and young people in their care. They foster an environment in which children and young people are challenged to be curious about their interests while at the same time developing self-identity, and social competencies. They ensure children and young people are active and informed members of their communities, with knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. They thrive in a culture of assessment, critical reflection and evaluation for wellbeing, learning and development and draw on their professional knowledge to ensure each child fulfills their potential. They advocate for equality by celebrating diversity and broadening children and young people's knowledge of values such as empathy and care, cultures, abilities, as well promoting healthy lifestyles through daily practices and intentional and responsive teaching. Our educators are intentional in the roles they take in children’s play and leisure and the way they intentionally plan the environment and curriculum experiences. During our daily routines they use strategies such as modelling and demonstrating, open questioning, speculating, explaining, engaging in shared thinking and problem solving to extend enjoyment in play, thinking and learning. When children and young people initiate their own play they observe the importance of play in brain development growth & join in play when invited(Playwork theory). At POOSH we strongly believe ‘Play is the answer to how anything new comes about’- Jean Piaget.‘When children and young people are given choices and control they experience connections between actions and consequences’ (My Time, Our Place 2.0 pg 9)
Our guiding word ‘RESPECT’ encompasses the relationships between all our stakeholders; respect for diversity, each other, our environment, community, resources and the Darug people; the traditional custodians of the land and their way of being.
Daily Routine & Program
We encourage children to participate in leisure and play-based activities that respond to their needs, interests and choices. Our diverse range of indoor and outdoor settings provide children with a place to collaborate with educators and organise activities that are meaningful to them. Educators and children develop a weekly program, which is displayed in each centre. The program reflects the ‘My Time, Our Place’ Framework and our Poosh philosophy. It encompasses planned activities based on the children’s interests, as well as opportunities for spontaneous child directed play enriching each child’s wellbeing and development. Both our menu and daily cooking program promote healthy eating practices from a young age, and through daily conversations our children learn about the importance of a balanced nutritional diet.
Poosh children not only explore their creativity and sporting capabilities in a fun, safe and supportive environment but they develop their social skills, building positive relationships with their educators and their peers. They master conflict resolution skills and resilience when negotiating with their peers, life skills such as road safety (through our excursions), knowledge of environmental, social and economic sustainability by embedding the knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and other diverse communities through engaging with concepts of social justice, fairness, sharing, democracy and active citizenship developing their inquisitive minds and their cultural responsiveness.
How is the program organised and what is the child: staff ratio? The children are grouped into infants (k&1) juniors (2 & 3) and primary (4,5 & 6) to ensure that age appropriate activities are planned. Daily children sign in, are informed of our planned activities and the area options: inside, equipment, cooking, netball courts, deck, cricket nets and the oval. They choose their desired setting and are allocated to an educator, who will care for up to 15 children. Primary leaders will be additional to the 15 children at the start of the afternoon, and will lead the start of the afternoon session for infant groups before moving into their chosen play environment. Here they will discuss the safety of their environment, situations which could arise during play and RESPECT for our resources, each other and the environment. Children will then choose to eat or play. If there are not enough allocated spaces for every child in a setting, the additional children will be sent to their second preference area. We will always ensure that each child has a close friend to play with. At 4.30pm when child numbers reduce children can change activity areas if they desire.
At times when children are engaged in low risk activities such as watching a movie group sizes may be increased after reflecting on the ages and developmental needs of the children.
How are children grouped? A variety of indoor and outdoor age-appropriate activities are programmed. Often the older children run activities for the younger children allowing them to develop their leadership skills and cooking classes, gardening/natural art and spontaneous group activities based on the children's interests offer a mixed age environment.
At Poosh we aim to create a home-like environment, so that our children can learn important life skills which they can transfer into their home and school environments. We encourage them to load the dishwasher, serve afternoon tea, choose interesting resources for the session, complete our termly resource clean ups, organise incursions/excursions, embed sustainable practices into our program and plan our termly parties. As a result, our children develop a strong sense of identity and wellbeing. They become connected with and contribute to their world and develop into confident and involved learners, who are effective communicators in all areas of their lives.
Where can I see the weekly program? In each centre the program is located on the notice board, along with the Poosh menu and photos of the exciting moments at Poosh. The primary children also love to create videos of each terms highlights so watch out for these!
Incursion & Excursions: Poosh offers a range of incursions such as the Junior science academy and excursions within the local community such as visiting our local organic shop, which help to develop the children’s life skills (respecting the environment, looking at sustainable production of food, road safety etc) outside the Poosh environment.
Excursions: All our excursions are by foot. When we organise an excursion a thorough risk assessment is conducted and shared with the families, road safety is discussed with the children and regular head counts are conducted to ensure everyone is always accounted for.
Term parties: Termly we hold a Poosh party. We encourage families to come and meet our educators, join in with fun by experiencing a country themed afternoon tea organised by the children. The date of this event is communicated through our newsletter which is emailed to parents each term via communications@hubhello.com.
Television & I.T Once a week a movie may be viewed in each centre if requested by the children. Interactive white boards may be used to present videos of our followed country, or to show presentations the children have completed whilst at Poosh. At Poosh we do not permit the use of child owned electronic devices such as phones and iPads. Children will be able to use the services devices when making playlists, taking photos, researching a topic of interest, or creating presentations under the supervision of educators, however we believe relationship building and creativity are fostered when children are connected and encouraged to explore their environment and communicate with their peers. Therefore, screen time at Poosh will be restricted to meaningful projects and research.
Homework A quiet place to complete homework can be arranged however educators cannot provide one-on-one tutoring. Educators will only offer minor assistance with homework. If a child finds the work too difficult, they will be advised to complete their homework at home, with the help of a parent or guardian. It is the parent’s responsibility to remind their child to complete their homework
Parent/Visitor Code of Conduct: In relation to children, the centre educators, families, other parents, and visitors will: respect the behaviour management practices of Poosh and will leave the discipline of children to centre educators. Speak in a respectful and appropriate manner. They will not use abusive language to anyone at the centre. Not publicly slander the centre or educators on social media. Not be under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs when collecting their child or visiting the centre. Respect the property of Poosh and users. Respect and acknowledge the cultural diversity of Poosh. Follow the centre's policies and procedures. Have input into the program. Develop positive relationships with educators. Accept accountability for their behaviour.
Family Support & Counselling Contacts
For flyers related to local free counselling services, holiday programs, community programs please ask the educators in collection centres or visit the link in our weekly newsletter.
Young People
· Kids Helpline Kids Help Line is Australia’s only free, confidential and anonymous, 24-hour telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 18. The website now offers tailored sections for kids, teens and grownups with targeted information and resources for each group. 1800 55 1800
· Twenty10 Association Gay and lesbian youth services, 24 hours 02 8594 9555 or 1800 652 010
Raising children and teenagers
· Child Support (Department of Human Services) Australian Government Department of Human Services’ child support site. Assisting separated parents with information, payments and support and information about child support choices available to you
· Childcare Access Hotline 1800 670 305
· Dads Online Australian-based interactive website for separated dads, offering online support and a chance to share stories, ideas and activities and events relevant to Australian dads
· Family Relationships Online Family Relationships Online is a key component in Government support for building better family relationships. It provides all families (whether together or separated) with access to information about family relationship issues, ranging from building better relationships to dispute resolution. It also allows families to find out about a range of services that can assist them to manage relationship issues, including agreeing on appropriate arrangements for children after parents separate
· Karitane 24 hour parenting information and counselling 02 9794 1852 or 1800 677 96
· Parent Line NSW
Telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents, carers and professionals who have concerns about a child aged 0-18 years. 9am - 9pm Monday to Friday; 4pm - 9pm weekends; 1300 1300 52
General support and counselling
· Mission Australia Helpline 1300 886 999
· Relationships Australia 02 9418 8800 or 1300 364 277
· MensLine Australia
Telephone and online counselling service for men with family and relationship concerns 1300 78 99 78
Adoptions
