Our centre chef prepares and cooks healthy and nutritious meals daily that aligns to the Nutrition Australia guidelines and caters to all allergies, intolerances, dietary and cultural requirements of every child.  We believe that by encouraging active participation (such as growing their own fruit and vegetables, preparing, and finally cooking!) children learn to appreciate and understand the importance of healthy eating. Our menu is a four week rotating menu that consists of a variety of cuisines including Italian and Indian.

Our centre offers children simple, nutrient-rich, unprocessed, and seasonal whole foods - designed to tempt even the fussiest of eaters. 

Our Educational Programs:

“Let the child be the scriptwriter, director and the actor in their own play” - Magda Gerber

Nursery Space: Honey Ants Room (6 weeks - 18 months) Possums Room ( 1 year - 2 years)

Learning starts from before birth, and our Educators have created a welcoming and nurturing nursery  environment where each baby feels safe to explore and discover new things - through their senses,  their communication and cues (body language, facial expression and sounds) and by experimenting. On any given day you can see the nursery children engaging in all types of play, water play, music time and story time and more. Every day provides a brand new, exciting adventure for our babies to support their development, learning and wellbeing! 

Toddler Space: Goannas Room (2 years - 2.5 years) Emu’s Room (2.5 years - 3 years)

Our teachers and educators encourage the children to learn through play to help enhance their sensory-motor development. This happens through carefully planned music, dance, games and reading experiences. 

On any given day the Toddler children can be seen developing  their numeracy by building a tower,  sorting objects, pointing and identifying  shapes and patterns and participating in counting songs and games. 

Children in our toddler space are encouraged to participate in group play. Group play is important as it helps our toddlers develop important social skills such as, turn taking, developing self confidence and emotional self regulation. Our team helps children through talking, planning and role modelling. 

Kindergarten/ Preschool Space: Rainbow Serpents Room (3 years - 4 years) Dingos Room (3 years - 5 years)

Kindergarten is a unique time for learning with peers and developing skills for later learning including confidence and curiosity, important skills for starting school. Our play-based program encourages active engagement in learning and supports a range of positive developmental outcomes including resilience, independence, critical thinking and creativity. 

Oral language supports literacy learning. A child’s oral language ability is the best predictor for later success in learning to read and write. Hearing the sounds within a language is the first critical step for all literacy learning. Our team supports our kinder/ preschool children's development by engaging in rich discussions, introducing new vocabulary as part of everyday conversations, as well as singing, playing games, and reading with the children daily.

Throughout the kindergarten/preschool year, children use their language to share ideas, ask questions, express themselves, and connect with peers and adults in social settings.

Social-emotional skills, including the ability to self-regulate emotions is supported through  group learning environments. Our team supports each child’s social and emotional development by labelling and talking about emotions and supporting appropriate responses as together, they engage in new and challenging situations.
We offer a great variety of learning experiences at Headstart Early Learning Centre Altona North including;

• Sustainability Program: The current sustainable practices involved at the centre include having many natural plants and garden beds where we grow a variety of vegetables and herbs for use in our kitchen and to teach the children about caring for plants by collecting rainfall for them and watering them with water that is conserved in the rooms. 
• Incursions & Excursion Program : Our programs encourage children to interact with and discover their local Community. We often have visits from community services. We also go on adventures  to the local parks, school, coffee shop and sporting complex.
• Music and movement programs: Our music programs have been designed to help develop fundamental skills that help support children’s self regulation, memory and concentration. Children learn to appreciate and develop an understanding of music - and of course have fun while doing so! 
• Community Involvement: The Life Education program covers a wide range of topics including health and safety as well as mental and physical wellbeing for the children in our care.

Morning 

Charlotte is almost five years old and can’t wait for today’s carpentry experience - she loves building things! Carpentry experiences allow Charlotte and her friends to extend their learning through real-life experiences. While participating in carpentry, Charlotte is learning to problem solve, experiment and predict. She is also improving her hand eye coordination, manipulative skills and muscular strength.

Lunch 

Before Charlotte sits down for lunch with her friends and educators, Charlotte takes part in the centre’s music program - music! Charlotte loves music. Music helps Charlotte improve her singing and dancing and allows her to be active with friends. 

Afternoon

Charlotte is off to ‘big school’ next year and she can't wait to start! Charlotte and her friends will be visiting the local primary school next week. In preparation for the visit the class is creating a list of questions to ask the Principal and school children.