Notre Dame Early Childhood Charter
Three-Year-Old Kindy to Year Two
Notre Dame Catholic Primary School values the whole child, who is created in God’s image. Our Catholic faith is central to all learning and, with Our Lady as our guide, we strive to live like Jesus. Our Mercy and Presentation values inspire us to live in service to others with compassion and justice modelled through building community. We strive to provide the best faith education for the children in our care.
At Notre Dame we value and foster the happiness of each child by providing them with a sense of agency within their learning. We believe every child is unique and able to learn and, as childhood is a time of exploration, learning and developing relationships, children need the opportunities and encouragement to take risks, make choices and learn to persist; developing the resilience to overcome challenges they may face along their journey.
Our pedagogy recognizes the individuality of every child. We implement all mandated documents and employ a variety of teaching strategies and learning environments through a play-based, inquiry learning approach. Respecting the developmental stages of each child we thus provide for differentiation based upon needs central to every learning experience with value placed on the process rather than only the product. This pedagogy enables the children to acquire the skills to become critical thinkers, in the 21st Century.
As Early Childhood Educators we build positive relationships by providing a safe, supportive and stimulating learning environment where children feel that they belong. We believe inquiry, investigation and experimentation lead to curious, creative and imaginative learners and allow them to apply their learning to real life experiences and be fully engaged.
Notre Dame Catholic Primary School acknowledges parents as the child’s first educators and we respect the unique qualities of each family. We aim to build close relationships and have open communication with the families of the children in our care. It is important to be inclusive, embracing all cultures and individual differences, working collaboratively for the growth of each child and our community.
[1]
- Religious Education and Curriculum. Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia.
- Bishop’s Mandate. Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia.
- Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, Being & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. (EYLF)
- National Quality Standard. Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. (NQS)
- School Curriculum and Standards Authority. (SCSA) Government of Western Australia.
- Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines. School Curriculum and Standards Authority.