Katoomba Leura Preschool

We believe in acknowledging Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and will celebrate and embed their cultural richness, traditions and language into the teaching and learning at our Preschool. We respectfully acknowledge the traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and play –the Gundungarra and Darug people and strive to build our knowledge of and connection with Gundungarra and Darug people past and present.

We believe in providing an inspiring, nurturing and peaceful learning environment for children and their families and in creating a community built on relationships that convey equality, respect, empathy, trust and appreciation of others.

We believe in building an amiable preschool community, where children, families and educators feel at home, where both individual identity and a sense of belonging to a community can be affirmed.  We believe in nourishing the children’s and educator’s soul, creativity and imagination. 

We believe in building an amiable preschool community, where children, families and educators feel at home, where both individual identity and a sense of belonging to a community can be affirmed.  We believe in nourishing the children’s and educator’s soul, creativity and imagination. 

We believe in advocating for family-centred education, where families are accorded deep respect, and educators develop partnerships, to support them in the nurturing and education of their children.  We encourage each family to participate in the preschool community and support and welcome their interest and involvement.

We believe that the rights of the child are paramount and commit to advocating for these rights.  We believe children are capable, competent, creative and valued members of the community.  We believe they have an innate desire to discover, learn and make sense of their world, and are full of potential and ambitious desires. 

We believe that children construct knowledge and develop through their relationships within the context of collaboration, dialogue, conflict, negotiation, and cooperation with their friends, family and educators.

We believe in honouring children’s right to play, as both a process and context for learning and acknowledge the importance of enjoying their childhood within an ‘unhurried’ environment with meaningful, authentic experiences. 

We believe the learning environment should be fun, exciting, spontaneous, hands-on, stimulating, relaxing, comforting, challenging, full of wonder and provide opportunities for children to explore, discover, investigate, create, experiment, practice theories, solve problems and express ideas with the support of friends and educators. 

We believe in celebrating children’s play, discoveries and learning, and sharing the children’s journey of self-discovery and change through reflection and meaningful documentation.

We believe that each educator brings fundamental personal qualities to the learning environment such as empathy, respect, warmth and a passion for learning.  We believe in the importance of creating an environment of collegiality where personal and professional contributions are valued and communication is open, honest and supportive. 

We believe positive staff interactions are essential in creating an environment and atmosphere in which children feel emotionally safe, secure and happy.  It is in this environment that children are able to develop positive relationships and attachments with educators.

 We believe in nurturing a culture of organisational growth and continual reflection, and sustaining a powerful commitment to professional learning and renewal of high-quality practices in early childhood.

We believe in education for sustainability, actively engaging in sustainable practices every day, and the promotion of a sense of responsibility, respect, empowerment, enquiry and social change to make a positive difference.  That a sense of wonder, belonging to and love of the natural environment, living things and animals is critical for young children to develop lifelong respectful, positive and proactive attitudes towards protecting our environment, caring for all living creatures and creating a sustainable environment.

We believe in surrounding children with beauty, a natural environment that includes plants, trees, edible gardens, sand, rocks, mud, water and other elements from nature, supporting open-ended interactions, spontaneity, risk-taking, exploration and discovery and connection with nature.   

We believe in the importance of nurturing established relationships within the community and striving to be a centre of excellence for early childhood education within our community.