Our service philosophy
At MacGregor Outside School Hours Care, we are committed to creating a caring, secure and supportive environment that recognises, respects and caters for diversity and promotes equity. We believe that a child's sense of belonging is first shaped through the education of their families values, beliefs and traditions and we strive to uphold and strengthen children's identities, through acknowledging, exploring and sharing their culture, our homeland and Australia's first peoples, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The service also fosters independence and initiative thereby nurturing children’s agency and leadership skills. Our centre philosophy and educational practices are guided by the United Nation’s Conventions on the Right of the Child, as we as a service and individuals want to contribute to a global commitment to enhancing children's rights.
We view every child as a unique individual. We foster the valued characteristics and attributes of a lifelong learner in our children by involving them in active learning processes, such as investigating, creating, participating, communicating and ongoing reflection. We take a holistic approach to the education of children through collaboration and set high expectations for students through planned activities which enhance student’s learning opportunities and build memorable and valuable relationships and experiences. Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships between management staff, children and families is essential for optimum learning.
We create a welcoming environment where all children and families are respected. We believe strong attachments, formed within our community, promote a supportive, respectful and positive environment where all individuals are valued. We also believe that community partnerships can provide valuable and meaningful learning programs which utilise community knowledge, resources and services. This includes the encouragement of each person to value diversity of cultural expression, to promote social justice (inclusive practice/equity) and to support the improvement of the quality of life.
We value the history of childhood developmental philosophies, as they guide our future practices. Some educational philosophies we take inspiration from are Reggio Emilia, A.S.Neill and John Dewey. We recognise that these philosophies, while different, have a common link throughout to the importance placed on the rights of the child as competent and capable learners. We utilise a play based Pedagogy that has been developed and guided as a result of these educational philosophies and our own experiences, practices and beliefs.
We believe it is our responsibility to use authentic documentation to develop a meaningful program which caters to the multiple intelligences of the children who attend the service. We value verbal exchanges with educators, families, children and our community as the most meaningful way we document and reflect as a service. We feel this form of communication is valuable as it happens in real time, providing immediate response and a greater opportunity to develop insight. As a service we ensure adequate time and support is provided to our educators to uphold this value and allow our Educators the opportunity to plan and collaborate with children, families and the learning outcomes in mind. Taking into account Article 12 of the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, we believe and uphold the children’s “right to say what they think should happen when adults are making decisions that affect them and to have their opinions taken into account”. We believe it is the children’s responsibility and right to decide how they want to shape the program under the guidance of our Educators, we are committed to upholding article 31 of the children's convention "children have the right to relax, play and to join in a wide range of leisure activities. We promote Reflective Practice among our Educators, as an effective tool to develop and promote their individual Pedagogy, and guide children through critical reflection.
At MOSHC we focus on educating our community on the following aspects of sustainability: Environmental, Social and Economic. Our activities focus on maintaining mutually beneficial relationships, allowing us to experience and enjoy the results of the community’s efforts. We utilize the natural spaces around us and program activities which promote natural play and respect for our environment. We also understand the importance of ensuring a quality program is sustained through our own practices, as educators. This can be seen through the myriad approaches to sustainability in place throughout the centre.