Our philosophy

The staff of Murray Children's Centre aims to create a welcoming, caring, safe, secure, inclusive and aesthetically pleasing environment. As Educators, we believe that the environment should promote: freedom of choice, accepting new challenges, self-expression and interaction with others.

As Educators, we believe that it is essential to build meaningful, trusting and reciprocal relationships with both the child and their family. We believe that by building a trusting relationship, we are then able to work together to support the child to reach their full potential. It is our understanding that parents, staff, children and the wider community will communicate their needs and expectations to each other in an open and receptive manner.

We believe that uniqueness is something to be embraced. We respect, value and embrace the diverse values, beliefs, traditions and life experiences that each family brings with them. We believe that all children, families and educators bring unique skills, interests, abilities, ideas and ways of simply being that contributes to our centre. We believe that valuing each person for who they are enables them to feel welcome and respected.

Play is the foundation of children's learning. Children learn best when they are given the opportunity to investigate, experiment, problem solve and revisit activities. Learning in a social environment with the opportunity to make decisions allows the child the right to initiate and lead learning and to become an active participant while developing a sense of ownership and belonging.

Our centre is part of the University community, and we are consistently strengthening the mutually beneficial ties between our Centre and the many educational departments, forming enduring, positive relationships that are reciprocal in nature.

As Professionals, we believe in the importance of the cycle of reflection and continual improvement. By continually reviewing and critically reflecting on our practices, environment, relationships and understandings, we are able to strive for excellence. We value professional development and ongoing education and believe this enables our educators to feel valued and to provide a program that is inspired by many theories, approaches and ideas. We observe, program and reflect using "Belonging, Being & Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework" and the "National Quality Framework".