Trinity’s ELC – Building a strong foundation for future learning.

 

2023 is a milestone year for Trinity’s Early Learning Centre as it turned 10 in January!

 

In the first five years of life, before the start of formal schooling, significant growth occurs as young children explore the world around them through their senses – touching, smelling, tasting, hearing and seeing. The brain completes 90% of its growth, forming over 700 neural pathways per second in these critical first years. Children build positive, nurturing relationships with adults, explore language, both receptive and expressive, build self-esteem and confidence, learn to problem solve and self-regulate behaviours, and engage in activities that provoke `I wonder’ questions and inquiries. This forms the basis for their life-long enjoyment of learning.

 

Our centre has grown in a similar way – building relationships with families, children and the College community; providing a play-based learning environment that balances children’s choices with intentional teaching elements, supporting staff in their professional growth and learning, and researching, critically reflecting and setting goals to improve the service.

 

Early childhood education at Trinity is planned so all our children have the best start in life so as to create a better future for themselves and for the nation.  Our quality play-based learning is the key to laying a `foundation for the rest of their lives’, maximising children’s ability and their right to be an active participant in their learning. 

 

Young children learn in dynamic and complex ways through activities that stimulate and interest their minds, allow active engagement with people and objects, encourage exploration and problem solving, promote concentration and listening, provide enjoyment and fun, allow choices and promote self-determination. This is our focus at the Trinity Early Learning Centre.

 

All our educators are responsive to our children’s interests and needs; documenting their learning; engaging in conversations with families about their children’s learning journeys; planning responsive, authentic programs that balance spontaneous, child initiated and teacher initiated activities; planning for developmental and academic goals; providing environments that are rich in numeracy and literacy learning; promoting playfulness; giving our children time to `be’ at their current stage; and building a strong foundation for their transition to school and life-long learning.

 

Transition to Prep is a major focus towards the end of each year, helping children to be confident, capable and resilient about this change and showing them the classrooms and facilities.

 

We look forward with anticipation to our next ten years of learning and growth.