Curriculum Nerang Little Gems Child Care Centre

Little Gems Early Learning & Childcare, Nerang, aims to provide an enriching curriculum that extends and enriches children’s learning. The Early Years Learning Framework says that a curriculum is – “all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events, planned and unplanned, that occur in the environment designed to foster children’s learning and development” (source – EYLF document, pg 9). Our curriculum encompasses all of this and much more. We collaborate with families, guide children’s learning and extend on the children’s own interpretations and imaginary play. This is a continuing process of collecting evidence and information, identifying the development of learning and reflecting upon our daily practices.
Little Gems learning stories are designed to encourage children to be actively involved in their own learning process. This will enable them to experience a variety of developmentally appropriate activities. The learning stories are displayed daily and weekly for all parents to see, each child also has their own learning journal that is available for parents to see at any time.

Little Gems offers a Queensland Government approved Kindergarten Program. The program offers parents and children a program that enriches and fosters their learning whilst still having the flexibility of days and hours to suit each families requirements.
The Kindergarten Program:

• Implemented and run by a University Qualified Early Childhood Teacher
• Curriculum is based on the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines – QKLG
• Program offered is for a minimum of 15 hours per week. We run our program for 48 weeks of the year.
• Provides greater flexibility for families, as the centre operates 52 weeks a year from 6.30am to 6.30pm
• Kindergarten program runs from 9am – 4:30pm each day

For more information on the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines, please click here
Please see our centre director or early childhood teacher for more information in regards to our current curriculum and learning outcomes.

At Little Gems Nerang Early Learning we believe the positive impact of early education lies in the nature, quality and consistency of interactions between educators and children. To foster and build strong and positive relationships with children and their families Little Gems Nerang implement child and family cultural aspects to implement their sense of belonging within our Centre community. Interactions are central to the learning opportunities that educators design and provide, as it is through sustained and reciprocal interactions that educators foster children’s communication skills, extend their thinking, develop their ability to manage emotions and relationships and instil the skills and confidence to be effective learners.

At Little Gems Nerang the educators are encouraged and supported to further their education and professional development by their leadership team. Professional development is catered around cultural competence for the educators at Little Gems Nerang to support and implement all cultures into their classrooms. This is a paramount practice and system for educators to be able to implement quality education and care. Educators provide and believe in fostering a nurturing, safe, stimulating, and enriching environments to guide and scaffold child development through open ended and holistic opportunities based on child led interests. Little Gems Nerang implements play-based environments, which helps develop creativity. Without a strict curriculum and being guided by the early years learning framework every day is a clean slate for each child allowing the children to create fun new adventures. We as a team feel that this approach and practice creates a more independent and creative mindset that will benefit each child through their life. Educators focus on peer interactions and relationships which scaffolds emotional and social skill development. Little Gems Nerang believes that children who learn in a play-based environment will lead to higher cognitive flexibility, stronger memory recall and greater self-regulation.

As a Centre we collaborate and guide the children and their families in developing a sense of belonging as it is crucial for children to feel secure and loved both in family relationships and the larger community. Educators get to know the child as an individual. Call them by their names when they are first seen in the morning and bid goodbye at the end of the kindy day. Even if the child does not know your name or that of other staff, addressing them with their names makes them feel noticed and loved. At Little Gems Nerang educators validate and cherish all children, recognising and celebrating who they chose to be, it is our duty to actively challenge all forms of discrimination. By creating a routine that children are comfortable with, educators can better support each child and provide
them with the guidance they need to adapt to the childcare environment. Each room’s routine makes full use of the importance of play in child development and fully appreciates how play promotes a sense of belonging. Feedback through collaboration with the Nerang community it is believed that Little Gems Nerang foster an openness to supporting meeting all needs for all their families holistically. The educators have built close relationships with families which guides and establishes confidence within the community. We are proud to be in collaboration with Little Gems Nerang for the families within the Nerang community to have access to early intervention and NDIS plans with Educators that are equipped and knowledgeable to be able to support their families through the NDIS plan and early intervention process.