Our philosophy

Everything we do is in the best interests of the child. We advocate for children’s voices to be heard and we honour and respect their rights, views and ‘being’ as the foundation of our program.

Relationships:

We seek to build and nurture trusting, reciprocal relationships with children, families and each other. We believe this enables children to form secure attachments to each other, the educators and our environments, whilst honouring those with their families. We recognise the diverse backgrounds and cultures of each member of our FOOSHC community and how their presence greatly enriches our service. We acknowledge everyone as an individual who is capable and competent, and we strive to operate without bias. For children, this will provide a sense of belonging and ownership of their environments, whilst also enabling them to become empowered decision-makers. FOOSHC believes children who have known kindness, trust and respect will value themselves and others.

Play:

FOOSHC is a place in which play takes priority because all children have the right to play, as such; our program is to plan for the possibilities of play. Our pedagogical practice is based on a Playwork approach which sees children as the constructors of their own experience in an environment in which children are supported and encouraged to flourish and fail. A Playwork approach sees our educators facilitate and maintain the physical and psychological conditions that encourage and allow for children to play as ‘a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated’.

Professional Development:

High expectations and standards are held of all of our educators at FOOSHC. We embrace opportunities for innovative practice, critical reflection and embed professional development into our everyday practice. FOOSHC strives to create a culture of professional inquiry in which our educators are encouraged to engage in robust discussion and challenge themselves and others. Educators embody integrity, compassion, respect and motivation.

Advocacy and Leadership:

We are committed to advocating for the children of FOOSHC and for their right to have a childhood; the time, space and freedom to play, to take risks and to navigate life. We believe that by sharing what we do with the community and inspiring innovation in others that we are also advocating for all children to have these opportunities. 

Reviewed February 2008 with comments from parents, children and staff, reviewed 2013-September 2014 with comments from parents, children and educators. Parental comments incorporated and P&C executive review in November 2015. Reviewed by children, families and Educators. All comments incorporated and endorsed by P&C December 2018.

Reviewed 2023

Our philosophy is based on a playwork approach where children are empowered to take risks and lead and control their own play. Do you want to know more about Playwork?  Please read the Playwork Principles here.

We uphold the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – It’s explained here beautifully. Particularly Article  2, 3, 12 and 31.
Our professional practice and pedagogy are guided by Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code of Ethics- You can read more about them here.  

Do you want to understand more about our Playwork approach – this clip explains what underpins our philosophy and our loose parts playspace.