The children at Clovel Childcare & Early Learning South Penrith take part in a vast array of centre based programs, all included as part of the daily fee:

Performing Arts Program: the children participate in drama, music and dance, practice public speaking and perform a concert at the end of the year, all designed to encourage confidence and self-worth.

Multicultural Program: the children are introduced to other cultures through food, language, dress, games, stories and activities.  The children learn songs and words in a variety of languages.

Literacy Program: starting with forming sounds and words and learning to hold a pencil correctly and moving through the stages to reading and writing. The I Love Reading phonetic program is part of the centre’s literacy program.

Numeracy Program: children are learning to count, and  giving numbers a meaning with basic maths games.  The children and educators discuss spatial sense, and take part in activities using measurement, estimation and pattern making. 

Physical Activity Program: the team at Clovel believe that mind and body go hand-in-hand and encourage the children to participate in a daily PE program with activities such as yoga, ball skills and games, obstacle courses and many other games.

Science and Technology: this program is all about exploration and discovery, with fun experiments and activities in the daily program.  Children are encouraged to think logically, participate in discussion and debate, and make connections between different concepts. 

Environment and Nature Program: the educators help the children explore sustainability and look at can be recycled and reused within the centre; the children learn about looking after their environment, with educators involving the children in the care of the kitchen gardens; the children also participate in a Bush Kinder program, where they are encouraged to explore and participate in activities utilising their outdoor garden spaces.

Preschool Program: this includes the early learning programs, life and social skills, and preparation for life beyond the early learning centre.

School Readiness Program: this includes the early learning program, and the educators begin to prepare the children for transition to school through practicing life and social skills such as unpacking a prepared school lunch, turn taking and speaking in front of their peers.

A unique approach to the curriculum

The children at Clovel Childcare & Early Learning South Penrith participate in a variety of early learning programs and experiences.  This centre is unique in that it involves children in the preschool program as soon as they start attending the centre, rather than waiting until they turn 3 years old. This includes a brain linkage program for children from just 6 weeks of age. 

Play-based learning

Rather than a generic program for all children, the Clovel program is a child-specific play-based educational program.  The educators will custom fit a program for each child based on what they are good at, what they are interested in, and what they love to do at their own pace.  This style of programming has proven to be best in assisting in the development of confidence, independence, resilience, social skills, emotional strength and a love of learning.  This helps to ensure that those vital building blocks necessary for school life and beyond are in place by the time your child transitions into formal education.

Educational Programs

Further to this, the educators extend on each child’s interests, projects and investigations in many ways. For instance if a child is interested in space, they will be encouraged to not only ask questions about space but experiment and research to discover the answers together – they might build cardboard box ‘rockets’ and brainstorm how different items may fly, create art of what we think aliens look like, take part in experiments on gravity…the possibilities are endless.

Building Life Skills

Each child will also receive support and encouragement to develop their important social skills, to aid in their transition to primary school. Through planned activities and spontaneous moments, each child will learn valuable skills such as:

• Cooperation with others
• Problem-solving
• Sharing and turn-taking
• Conflict resolution
• Negotiation
• Self-confidence

Relationships between parents and educators is key for the team at Clovel Childcare & Early Learning South Penrith. This  relationship of mutual respect with the common goal to promote the child’s well-being is built on a true partnership of honest communication.

The centre’s philosophy is rooted by love. Their belief ‘if you’re getting the loving right, everything else will follow’ means that the educators strive to ensure each child feels nurtured and appreciated in a safe environment. Educators will always be responsive to each child’s feelings and needs, to stimulate their curiosity and thinking whilst providing a warm and loving atmosphere.

Kindyhub is Clovel’s app of choice for interactive communication between families and educators. The free app enables immediate and convenient access to view a child’s photos, learning and development progress.

Eating habits

The educators at Clovel Childcare & Early Learning South Penrith feel that they have a responsibility to promote good nutrition for children. All educators are familiar with hygiene standards, nutrition principles for children and food safety laws. They know that the food the children eat at the centre plays an important role in the child’s future growth and development, as well as having an impact on their future eating habits.

Munch and Move 

Clovel is involved in the NSW Government Munch and Move Initiative that supports the healthy development of children from birth to 5 years and beyond by promoting physical activity, healthy eating and reduced small screen time. The key principles of the initiative include daily physical education lessons, rehydration programs, healthy eating and an increased knowledge of good food.

Clovel Menu 

When designing the Clovel menu, the team committed to providing two-thirds of the recommended daily nutritional food intake for children less than 6 years of age. The children enjoy food such as: seasonal fruit for morning tea; 10 options for delicious sandwiches for lunch with fresh fruit for dessert; rice cakes, veggie sticks, healthy dips or fruit breads for afternoon tea. In line with their Multicultural Program and Special Days, the centre also regularly provides a hot meal for lunch, as well as sandwiches. Some of these include fried rice, Singapore noodles, spaghetti bolognese or teriyaki chicken with vegetables. 

Promoting school readiness

For children in the months leading up to beginning at primary school, the educators offer a packed lunch to help them prepare for life at school. They practice sitting in a group, unwrapping sandwiches from cling wrap and opening packets. They also discuss what is in their lunch today and how it will benefit their health.

Morning

Ella is nine months old. She starts her day down on the mat, where her educator is blowing some bubbles for the nursery children to catch.

Lunchtime

Ella is sitting with her educator and friends for storytime. Today they are reading Peepo, which is one of Ella’s favourites. Soon it will be time to go to the sleeping area for a rest. 

Afternoon

Ella and the other nursery children are learning about how to say the colours of the rainbow (in English and other languages), through songs and rhymes that her educator is teaching her.