08 9232 3600Early Childhood
At South Thornlie Primary School we are here to support your Child. In the early years, strong foundations are built through diverse learning experiences. We take a holistic approach to teaching and learning, recognising the students physical, personal, social, emotional wellbeing alongside the cognitive and academic. Our Early Childhood Educators plan, facilitate, assess and reflect on evidence based practices to ensure the growth of each child. Children are supported to become confident, resilient and independent.
Kindergarten and Pre- Primary children have strong connections to their family, community, culture and place. Their learning takes place through these relationships. At South Thornlie we have a child centred approach, we provide real life experiences which allows our students to develop their interests and construct their own identities and understandings of the world.Differentiated learning experiences are provided through play, inquiry based learning and explicit instruction. Students are encouraged to explore, take risks, build relationships and problem solve within a supportive, inclusive environment. Families have a sense of belonging where diversity is celebrated. We value building strong relationships with families through open and regular communications.
In our Early Childhood classes, a priority is placed on developing students’ phonemic awareness and oral language skills. This enables our students to become effective communicators. These important pre-cursers to literacy development are explicitly and intentionally taught in structured lessons, as well as through the exploitation of ‘teachable moments’ as they occur throughout the day. These may be the result of teacher/child or child/child interactions that spontaneously occur through ‘play’, conversation, explanations etc.
West Australian Department of Education planning documents, policies, guides and standards are used to design and deliver our Early Childhood programs. The following documents ensure that all children experience quality teaching and learning.
The Western Australian Curriculum – Early Childhood Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines
The Western Australian Pre-primary Curriculum
Being, Belonging, Becoming – The Early Years Framework
National Quality Standards
Our South Thornlie Early Childhood Philosophy can be read in the link below:
