At Mount Martha Preschool we provide a play-based educational program that fosters creativity and engages children actively in the learning process.
Overview
Mount Martha Preschool provides a true child-focused environment where inquisitive minds are encouraged, inspired and supported. Mount Martha is a non-profit local preschool with a long and proud history of providing quality early years education to the local community.
Curriculum
The curriculum at Mount Martha reflects the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). Our educational programs allow for children to be curious, to investigate and to discover. We provide the tools that support your child to develop into lifelong learners.
We support the enormous body of research that identifies the positive impact play has on the physical, social, emotional and cognitive well-being of children.
Staff
The preschool staff provide high-quality education, offer best-practice teaching methods and continually enhance their expertise with ongoing professional development.
Environment
The preschool is nestled in coastal bushland, surrounded by the Balcombe Estuary, Ferrero Reserves and the Boardwalks. These areas are regularly explored as part of the program. The on-site outdoor space is a real feature of the preschool and offers countless opportunities for the children to be lost in their imagination.
National Quality Standards
The preschool has been assessed twice and received an overall rating of “Exceeding” the National Quality Standards each time.
About Mount Martha Preschool’s rating
View ratings chart (PDF 96KB)
Out and About
Mt Martha Preschool’s Out and About program complements its on-site program.
It allows the children to become more confident in new and changing environments and connects them with their wider community.
The program takes the children into the neighbouring Balcombe Estuary Reserves, Mt Martha shops and to Ferrero Reserve on a regular basis.
It provides another opportunity for educators to extend the children’s learning, development and interests within a variety of learning environments. It allows for open-ended opportunities to explore, to interact with their peers and educators, to participate in risk-taking experiences, and to discover and connect with nature.
The Out and About program also promotes the children’s sense of belonging, which is supported by making connections with their family, culture, neighbourhood and the wider community:
Belonging acknowledges children’s interdependence with others and the basis of relationships in defining identities. In early childhood, and throughout life, relationships are crucial to a sense of belonging. Belonging is central to being and becoming in that it shapes who children are and who they become.
– page 7, The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia
Mount Martha Preschool’s outdoor play sessions operate in all weather conditions, allowing children to experience nature in all seasons.
For more information on the benefits of programs set in natural environments, please click here .
Staff Guidelines
Learning Outcomes
The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework sets out the following 5 outcomes and practice principles to guide early childhood professionals in their work with all children and families.
1: Children have a strong sense of Identity.
Being Proud and Strong.
For example, my resilience and confidence, my ability to make choices and decisions, my ability to manage change and the ways I show security, trust and pride.
2: Children connect with and contribute to their world.
Being an Active Participant.
For example, how I interact with others, am I aware that I belong to communities, can I respond to diversity and difference with respect, do I show an awareness of fairness and a respect for environments.
3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing.
Being Healthy and Safe.
For example, do I take responsibility for my own wellbeing, do I engage in physical activity, am I developing my fine and large motor skills, do I recognise and understand feelings and do I demonstrate that I feel safe, secure and supported.
4: Children are confident and involved learners.
Being a Learner.
For example, do I exhibit dispositions such as curiosity, creativity, imagination, problem-solving, experimentation and investigation? Will I try the new and unfamiliar, can I accept challenges and do I persist?
5: Children are effective communicators.
Being a Communicator.
For example, do I interact with others both verbally and non-verbally, can I express myself, can I listen, do I have an interest in exploring reading and writing behaviours and do I demonstrate an interest in symbols, counting and mathematical thinking.
Practice Principles
- Reflective practice
- Partnerships with families
- High expectations for every child
- Respectful relationships and responsive engagement
- Equity and diversity
- Assessment for learning and development
- Integrated teaching and learning approaches
- Partnerships with professionals.
Community Links
Mt Martha Preschool is a community-focused kinder and values its relationships with local organisations.
These relationships enhance the preschool’s program and give children more enriching experiences both inside and outside the kinder.
BERG: The Balcombe Estuary Reserves Group (BERG) was formed in 1997 to preserve and restore the bushland of the local reserves. Mt Martha Preschool is nestled in the reserves and regularly works with BERG to give the kinder children meaningful experiences in the coastal bushland. Over the past few years the preschool has participated in walks and explorations, utilised the boardwalk and walking tracks, and built structures using fallen sticks, branches and natural materials.
CFA: Mt Martha Preschool is located near the Mt Martha branch of the Country Fire Authority. Our children have been visiting the CFA station for many years and love chatting to the CFA volunteers.
Library: The preschool is in regular contact with the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s library service and supports many of its literacy initiatives. Mt Martha Preschool also promotes the ‘Little Free Library’ movement, with a box full of books located outside the kinder on Watson Road.
Incursions & excursions: The preschool regularly uses local resources in its Out and About program and invites local organisations to the kinder to give the children a variety of learning experiences. Some of the incursions have included visits from petting farms, musical ensembles and art and craft groups.