Welcome
At our Early Learning Centre (ELC), we value and understand the significance of quality early education and how children thrive in a safe, nurturing and captivating environment.
We recognise the uniqueness of the individual child and the strengths and gifts they offer to their own learning. Our team of dedicated and informed educators, who understand the pivotal role they play, aim to provide and create a stimulating curriculum that is dynamic and meaningful to the children.
At the heart of our educational program is a commitment to celebrating children’s voices, ideas and theories. We value children as active citizens and agents of change who deeply care about their environment and the world around them. Fostering the joy of learning and depth of connections are the firm foundation on which we honour the heart, spirit and mind of children.
Building authentic and genuine relationships with children, families, and our community is integral to our philosophy. We embrace the rich and diverse perspectives of families and seek to develop a deeper understanding of the hopes they hold for their children’s well-being and education. Our welcoming culture of partnering, supporting, and growing together as a community is shaped by the time we invest in sharing a collective identity and purpose.
We aspire to deepen our understanding and embed in our education, the perspective of the Indigenous culture and history of the traditional custodians of the land.
About Us
Newington Early Learning Centre (ELC) is an Education and Care facility for 3- to 5-year-old girls and boys. The Education and Care we offer is dynamic, rewarding and underpinned by contemporary best practice and research on early childhood education.
Our Campus
Our ELC campus, beautiful in design and ambience, boasts a spacious and inviting environment that aims to provide an exceptional learning experience for children. We take pride in our innovative learning space that is conducive to best practice in teaching and learning for young minds.
We value our environment as an essential influencer that creates possibilities for inquiry, discovery and investigation within a safe and nurturing space that is built on trust, genuine connections and respect for children as active participants in their learning.
We are easily accessible by public transport and ideally located next to Wyvern House K-6 campus and within walking distance to the senior campus, Newington College.
Organisation
Hours of Operation: 7.30am to 6.00pm
Weeks of Operation: 49 weeks of the year
- 3 weeks over the Christmas/New Year break
- Public holidays
- Staff Professional Development Days
- Newington College Long Weekends
Newington ELC has three classrooms, each catering for 20 children. Each classroom has a university qualified Early Childhood Teacher and two Diploma qualified Educators.
Children 3-4 years-old are enrolled in one of the following programs:
- 2 days (Thursday & Friday)
- 3 days (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday)
- 5 days (Monday to Friday).
Children 4-5 years-old are enrolled for 5 days (Monday to Friday)
Philosophy
We believe in the capable, curious and creative child. A child who is interested in seeking understanding, investigating theories and being engaged with the big ideas in the world around them. We believe that children are active citizens with rights and a voice that influences, shapes and directs their learning experience.
Our educators value and are committed to:
- Holding space for children’s social and emotional wellbeing
- Building children’s capacity to be courageous, resilient and persistent
- Aligning our pace to the children’s pace to see the details of their intention and perspectives
- Tuning into children’s curiosity to encourage questioning, hypothesising and sharing ideas
- Harnessing the process of researching and learning together
- Being present in the joy of learning and richness of connection
- Offering the time and space to imagine, create, transform and delve into ideas and discoveries
We embrace the myriad of learning opportunities we encounter with the children and take delight in immersing ourselves in their world of engagement, enchantment, and joy.