Portobelo Preschool

FOR INFANTS, TODDLERS and YOUNG CHILDREN THIS MEANS:

TO VALUE EARLY CHILDHOOD

Childhood is a time to play and to realise that learning is fun, exciting, involves risk-taking, talking and listening to others and trying.
Childhood is a time to develop skills to be a friend and make a friend.
Childhood is a time to develop abilities to persist, question, be curious, ask for help, enquire, care for themselves, their belongings and their environment.
Early Childhood will best prepare children for school if they can communicate and play with others, care for themselves, have an understanding of vocabulary and pre-primary concepts in literacy and numeracy.

TO EMPOWER LEARNING

Children have their own whanau, culture and background and Portobelo is one part of their life experience.
Children and families are respected and valued as unique, with the aim being for them to learn and develop to their potential.
Children’s basic needs come first and are built upon. Following Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs ensures children’s eating, sleeping and care needs are responded to.
A sense of self-worth is promoted through understanding and respecting the cultural heritage of each family.

PLAY BASED LEARNING

It is the children’s right to play and play is the tool we use for learning and teaching.
Children will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning through being provided opportunities for open-ended play and exploration.
Teachers will provide many small-group opportunities where children and teachers can co-learn alongside each other.
The majority of the child’s day will be spent self-directing their own learning however there will be an opportunity for the Portobelo group to meet as a whole in each session.

AN EXPLORATIVE ENVIRONMENT

The Portobelo environment is a place of fun, curiosity, discovery, exploration and creativity.
Children will be encouraged to take appropriate risks and supported to consider their own and others’ safety.
Respect for people and property is developed through children taking an active role in setting up and maintaining the Portobelo environment.
The outdoor environment will be freely available for the majority of the day in all weathers. Children will choose where they want to learn and play. “There is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothing choices”.

A CHILD-LED CURRICULUM

Children will experience a curriculum where their interests are used to ensure they view themselves as competent and confident learners and communicators.
Children and whanau will be supported to contribute ideas, time and resources to the curriculum, providing new learning opportunities and connections.
Experiences, tasks and activities will be meaningful for the child and provide real-life situations for problem-solving, thinking, predicting and exploration.
The curriculum will reflect the interests and needs of the children attending, the aspirations of the parents/whanau for their children and current Portobelo teaching pedagogy.

HEALTHY ATTITUDES

Children are supported to develop life-long healthy attitudes through choosing healthy food, drinking water and being physically active.
Brain development is encouraged through music and movement mat times that encourage the crossing of the midline. These are included in each session. Preschoolers have morning Brain Gym session.
Children have opportunities to learn physical skills and co-ordination while gaining confidence in how to actively play while learning judgement skills to keep themselves safe.
Positive attitudes to learning and being a learner are fostered – not knowing can lead to learning.

COLLABORATIVE ASSESSMENT

Parents, whanau, children and all team members will have an opportunity to provide information on the child’s current learning and possible directions for future learning.
Team members will respect the aspirations that parents/whanau have for their children and support these, as much as practically possible, within the setting.
Assessment will be ‘for learning’, it will include clear goals and clear teaching strategies that can be easily understood by all.
Assessment documentation for individual children and groups of children will include - What children want to know, what they know, the journey of learning and what they now know.

PARTNERSHIP WITH WHANAU

Team members recognise the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi working in partnership to ensure respect and understanding for Te Reo and Tikanga Maori
Communication between parents and team members will ensure that both parties are fully informed of the child’s day and their individual learning goals.
Explanations of Portobelo’s teaching practices and our contribution to the child’s learning, development and preparedness for school will be clear to whanau.
Parents and whanau will have both informal and formal opportunities to provide feedback on our practices.

ASPECTS OF REGGIO EMILIA APPROACH

Teacher’s follow the children’s interests – it is the children’s journey not the teachers journey. Teachers and children both take on the roles of teacher and learner.
The environment is the third teacher, teachers will ensure it is represented in a way that provides opportunities for provocation, reflection, delight, discovery and amusement.
Teaching strategies provide children with meaningful opportunities to discover and reflect – not be given the answers.
Natural resources, recycling and care of the environment are encouraged.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Children and team members reflect on their behaviour/actions and learning and can predict and respond to consequences.
Quality interactions and innovative practices are reflected upon through internal review – the question asked ‘is this in the best interests of the children?’
Internal training will be based on parent and team member feedback so that our practices and teaching continue to evolve.
Team members will be professional and positive, ‘play above the line’ and be solution finders at all times.