We recognise and respect the Awabakal people as the traditional custodians of the land on which we play and learn each day. We value their knowledge and culture, which is reflected in our practice.

Our Vision:

At Lake Macquarie Educational Preschool (LMEP) we are committed to our vision, Start Early; Finish First. We believe that quality care lays the foundation for a love of learning and prepares children for a lifetime filled with endless opportunities. We are dedicated to providing a holistic approach to high quality early education and we strive to deliver a safe, warm, respectful and supportive environment for all children, families and educators.

Relationships:

Children belong first to a family, a cultural group, a neighbourhood and a wide community. Here at LMEP we believe that the relationships between all of these are vital, they allow us to be all-inclusive whilst utilising their knowledge, expertise, culture and experiences and implementing these into our day to day practices.

We as educators strive to create an ongoing love of learning and curiosity that each child can take with them from our service and into all aspects of their lives. We foster warm and reciprocal relationships with children and implement connections by providing children with consistent emotional support, this allows children to develop the skills and understandings they need to interact positively with others.

At LMEP, we value the community around us. We utilise local services as well as inviting the community into our service to provide the children with knowledge and understanding of the world we live in. We work to maintain and establish strong relationships with the local and wider community and believe this allows the children to fully appreciate Australia’s multicultural society. Through these connections and relationships, the children also gain opportunities to respect, celebrate and embrace diversity and different cultures.

Learning:

At LMEP we want our children to discover a lifelong passion for learning. Play provides opportunities for children to discover, create, improvise and imagine.

Our educators will provide a supportive environment where children can ask questions, solve problems and engage in critical thinking. We promote children’s learning through worthwhile and challenging experiences and interactions that foster high-level thinking skills. We aim to provide personalised learning programs for every child, catering to the students individual interest, needs and abilities.

The Educators here at LMEP have a strong sense of knowledge and pride themselves on their passion for studying and absorbing all that there is to know about the Early Education sector. Lake Macquarie Educational Preschool’s curriculum and daily practice is guided by The Early Years learning Framework, The National Quality Standards and The National Quality Framework.

Environment:

Here at LMEP our learning environments are welcoming spaces, they reflect and enrich the lives and identities of the children and families participating in them, they are a reflection of their interests and developmental needs. Our environments are supportive, vibrant and flexible spaces that are responsive to the interests and abilities of each individual child, they cater for different learning styles and invite children and families to share ideas, interests and questions.

We understand that the environment can have an impact on a child’s life experience and therefore we aim for our atmosphere to be an extension of the children’s home lives including culture, comfort and routine.

LMEP is committed to implementing sustainability into our learning and practice. We are conscious of our carbon footprint and are forever looking for new ways to minimise our impact on the environment. Children are involved in decisions that affect our environment and contribute to our sustainable practices, these reflections are added to our curriculum and implemented on a day to day basis.