Inspired minds, nurtured hearts.
Igniting their
sense of wonder.
The Moreton Bay Colleges’ Early Learning Centre is a place where young learners thrive. Our learning philosophy puts the child at the centre of everything we do. Through carefully planned experiences, where the children can inquire, discover, create, explore and question - we are inspiring young minds by igniting their sense of wonder and encouraging their curiosity. The Moreton Bay Colleges’ Early Learning Centre provides long day care for girls and boys aged from 15 months to 5 years in a safe and nurturing environment. We design and implement play-based programmes to enhance and support the developmental needs of individual learners, allowing each child to learn, grow and develop.
Services are available from 6.30am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday (except public holidays) for 50 weeks of the year. The purpose-built facility includes four air-conditioned rooms. To ensure the individual needs of the children are met, groups consist of suitably aged children with appropriate children to adult ratios. Our rooms and age groups are as below: Room 1:
Gula (Koala) 15 months - 2 years old
Room 2:
Bunbiya (Turtle) 2 - 3 years old
Room 3:
Yungun (Dugong) 3 - 4 years old
Room 4:
Yalingbila (Whale) 4 - 5 years old
We welcome children from our Early Learning Centre to take the next step into Prep at Moreton Bay College or Moreton Bay Boys’ College where they will enjoy an outstanding educational journey through Primary and Secondary school, culminating in their graduation in Year 12.
Centre Philosophy Image of the Child
Boston (Age 2)
At The Moreton Bay Colleges’ Early Learning Centre the ‘Image of the Child’ is our guiding principle in our approach to early childhood education. We believe that all children are individual and bring to the environment their own unique skills which can be nurtured and developed. We view children as capable and competent learners, active in their own learning journey. We purposefully give children time to discover, investigate, question, develop relationships, and create a sense of wonder
through their play and inquiry. We value the importance of children having time to re-visit and extend their own learning, building on previous knowledge and experience. We believe that all children have rights; a right to communicate, a right to be heard, a right to explore, a right to be cared for and a right to learn.
The Environment Our learning environment is warm, secure, safe and culturally representative of our community, encouraging a connection to place, where children and Educators become co-constructers of knowledge, researchers and inquirers. Materials such as open-ended resources, both natural and constructed are purposefully added to the environment to promote creativity, thinking, problem solving skills, questions, experimentation and open-ended play. We believe that the physical learning environment significantly impacts the child’s wellbeing, creativity, sense of agency and learning capacity. We enable children to have access to spaces and resources that meet
the child’s needs, interests and reflects the lives of the children. We encourage play in the natural environment, allowing and supporting children to develop stewardship and connections to nature. This we believe provides opportunities for exploration and unstructured play and gives children opportunities to become environmentally responsible, gaining a respect for the natural environment.
Maggie (Age 3)
The Programme Our centre is committed to the principles and practices of the Early Years Framework and the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines. Our Kindergarten is also aligned with the Moreton Bay College International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. These documents guide our curriculum decisions, planning and programming for each individual child’s learning. We believe that the programme should be child centred, engaging and should maximise the opportunities for extending
Hadley (Age 4)
each child’s learning and development, with an emphasis on inquiry-based learning through an emergent curriculum. Every child is supported to participate in the programme where interests, ideas, wonderings and sense of agency are promoted - enabling them to make choices and decisions that can influence events and their world.
Eli (Age 5)
Families and Communities We believe in the importance of building strong relationships with children, families and the wider community. Families are the primary influence on children’s development and the most important people in the lives of the children. We strive to establish strong and positive relationships, which are based on understanding and mutual respect, culture and inclusion of individual uniqueness. As Educators, we aim to proactively engage with families, sharing information, connecting families to their child’s learning and holistic development.
Respect for Inclusion and Diversity We celebrate that each child joins us with their own individual culture and background. We provide an inclusive environment where children learn the principles of fairness and respect for each other. Through these inclusive practices, we honour diversity by embracing secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships, recognising that each child is unique. We recognise and respect the standing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and languages as this nation’s first peoples. We hold a commitment
towards embedding respectful cultural practices, together achieving an understanding of and respect for indigenous cultures as we develop an enriched appreciation of Australia’s cultural heritage. Christian (Age 5)
Sustainable Practices We believe in helping children to develop a life-long understanding and interest in sustainable and environmentally responsible practices. This is achieved through engagement, meaningful conversations and experiences that build on the foundations of children’s care, wonder and appreciation of the environment. This provides the children with the embedded skills to continue this during their later years as they develop a love and respect for the world in which they live.
Fraser (Age 4)
We encourage children to develop the experience and knowledge that will help them to develop critical thinking skills, enabling them to make informed decisions later in life.
Encouraging their curiosity.
To arrange a personal tour of our Early Learning Centre or for further information regarding how your child may join our Early Learning Centre, please phone or email us at: P: 07 3249 9359 E: hello@mbcelc.qld.edu.au
72 Hargreaves Road Manly West Queensland 4179 www.mbcelc.qld.edu.au