Curiosity is the core building block of a child's development; allowing them to seek, wonder and explore. At John Street we believe imagination is key to creating a lifelong joy of learning. Through play-based exploration, each child at John Street is an active learner and empowered to develop their passions, ensuring learning outcomes are both relevant and interesting.
Our Philosophy
At John Street we acknowledge and pay our respect to elders, both past and present, in particular the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation who are the traditional custodians of this land on which our centre is located.
We believe in the value of play and our programs are based on play-based exploration. Froebel (1887) taught us that children learn best through play because then a ”child learns willingly and learns much”.
We promote children as active learners. We understand that the early years from birth to five are the foundation of a person’s life when children learn about themselves and the world around them. We believe family, cultural and community beliefs influence a child’s resilience, social and moral development. We nurture this development by providing an inclusive environment where programs are culturally sensitive and responsive to the needs of all children. We focus on the uniqueness of individuals, their varied life experiences and their learning styles. We value a flexible and creative emergent curriculum in which the child’s interests and passions set the foundations for learning outcomes that are relevant, interesting and functional.
Implementing our Philosophy
We promote each child’s right to be an active member of their community.
We believe imagination is more important than knowledge in our constantly changing world.
Our environment is set up to promote investigation and support children’s autonomy, based on their interests and abilities.
We believe relationships are the basis for the development of self-identity.
We encourage our community to be respectful and ethical.
Sustainability is embedded in to our practices and culture.
For further information, please see our Policies page for full Policy List and Documents