Vision and Values
Children as active citizens in our community
At Loving Hearts, we believe in the importance of upholding the rights of the child, moving from just loving children to respecting them and actively advocating for their rights. We promote and advocate for children’s rights and this is embedded within all of our policies, practices and beliefs. As a service we endeavour to ensure the decisions we act upon are in the best interest of the children.
Natural Curiosity
Loving Hearts believe in encouraging children to explore, investigate and discover. Encouraging children to be curious in play. We trust children to make positive choices when it comes to their play and learning. When children try new experiences, it is our role as educators to guide them to achieve while supporting them in making their own choices about play. Educators assist the children and involve them in strategies to minimise risk, taking care not to push children into attempting tasks they may not be ready to overcome. Educators use careful and considered language to foster awareness and problem solve.
Connection to Country
Through respectful partnerships with our local First Nations community, we aim to build upon the children’s connection to the land they live and play on. With the support of our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), developed upon the Narragunnawali platform, clear actions and deliverables are identified and continually being worked upon. We are guided by Uncle Allan Lena, Traditional Custodian and Elder of the Yugambeh Language Group/Bundjalung Nation, to embed his perspectives as a First Nations Elder. Within our daily rhythm, children and educators acknowledge our First Nations community at the start of each day and endeavour to practice a deep respect of Country.
Our Team
We have an incredible team of dedicated, knowledgeable and courageous educators who deeply respect and are committed to their learners and profession. We see educators as the researchers of children’s play; thus, documenting with professionalism, respect and importance becomes the framework for quality. This ensures a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging bravery, curiosity and innovation amongst teams and management. This team effort allows our practices to be an authentic reflection of our collective knowledge and values.
Innovate Learning Programs
We use “The ROSE Way Framework” to program and plan for our learners. This means that each term, as a Team, we use a responsive, reflective and research-based lens to decide on a focus for the service to unpack. This is in direct response to and a combination of what we are seeing in children’s play, our community’s needs, educator knowledge and current research.
This approach to learning is inspired by the work out of The Reggio Emilia Project in Italy. It is underpinned by the belief that children are competent, skilled young citizens, thus it will provide a child-centred approach to learning that values, appreciates and celebrates each child’s uniqueness.