Educators at this service are focused, active and reflective in the ongoing cycle of learning through planning, documenting and reflecting a balance of planned and spontaneous experiences with intentional teaching to scaffold and extend each child’s learning and development. Educators promote learning and development in a play based learning environment, capturing the interests, strengths and ideas of the individual children in our care setting. Play based learning allows children to explore, discover, take risks, create meaning, negotiate and problem solve, developing the foundations for literacy, numeracy and social skills. Play based learning is central to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), play is an activity where children show their remarkable ability for exploration, imagination and decision making. While play is often described as ‘children’s work’, it is intensely enjoyable for them. The type of play children engage in and its purposes change over the course of childhood from infancy to adolescence. Further information about the importance and value of play in an early childhood setting can be found at Starting Blocks.
