VIEWBANK - THE JOURNEY
Viewbank Early Childhood Centre was established in June 1997 by its Director Eamon Bourke. From a background in Primary Education, Viewbank was set up as a traditional aged segregation centre.
Reflecting on the direction that early childhood was taking, the Director felt structurally constrained by the limitations of traditional early childhood settings & decided to expand on some of his ideas & thoughts from his days as a primary school teacher.
Integral to this was a conviction based on pedagogical theory, that children's social and emotional development, essential for positive start in primary education, was best achieved when children mix with those who are closely aligned to their development spectrum rather than their age.
In 1992 Eamon had witnessed first-hand a 'multi-aged' grouping in the primary school where he taught and drew on this experience to introduce the concept to Viewbank in 2004 after extending and renovating the facility.
This has proven to be an outstanding success offering families of the local community a difference in approach to the child's emotional and social development, in contrast to the operations of other centre's concentrating on the traditional aged segregation model.
In 2016 the Centre took the concept another step and opened up its three individual playgrounds into one BIG playground. Extensive redevelopment of the grounds saw the removal of fixed structures and the addition of natural materials - rocks, logs, riverbeds, bridges, water play areas, ropes course, chooks, planter boxes for vegie garden’s, fish, worm farms.
We introduced a bare foot policy & our redeveloped outdoors allow for the children to undertake acceptable risks & embrace the falls, scrapes & bruises of a childhood from a bygone era!
In 2019 a large all weather decking was built for various art and craft and music activities. Outdoor meals and sleeping were introduced for all children as 80% of their day at the Centre was shifted to the outdoors, rain, hail or shine. We launched 'bush kinder', aged care visits, educational excursions, Yoga, reduced our plastic toy imprint and launched our sustainability program.
Solar panels were added to reduce energy costs as well as solar hot water. Chooks became part of our environment and left over's from the kitchen feed them. Our worm farm gets kitchen left overs which creates compost used on our gardens and the children enjoy watching our fish go about their day in a large indoor tank.
Refurbishment of the centre has taken on a 'recycled' theme with vintage chairs and tables for the children’s rooms, panelled walls in our reception and corridors & recycled plastic floor boards for our all weather decking.
The children were given a licence to play with whoever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want. They can share their day with siblings, cousins, friends, or any staff member they choose. They can have meals wherever they like, sleep in any designated area they choose - their choice is endless.
Rooms are no longer confined by age, rather by friendships and learning abilities, and our environment provides children with the opportunity to build strong relationships, both with educators and other children, across the service and to minimise separation anxiety.
Allowing the children this freedom we utilise our Team across the Centre. It is used to benefit the children, and the Team members move across the Centre to supervise the children wherever they choose to go and where supervision is needed. Their day is based on carefree movements, moving to the outdoors where nature provides opportunities to open up children's imagination and creativity.
Traditional segregated aged groups place children in individual rooms and playgrounds which denies the children the opportunity to explore their environment, meet their friends, befriend their educators and to grow emotionally and socially. It is an outdated model that cripples innovation, creativity and stifles the holistic approach to the growth of the child and educator.
We are fully committed to this practise: all day, every day being the ONLY service in our area to practise and preach the Family Grouping concept. Its implementation is carefully and knowledgeably planned and executed by our non-hierarchal team where all members are equal and share the daily routines and programming.
In our world younger children innately spend time with older, more competent children & older children unknowingly act as mentors to help nurture the younger children. Families appreciate the way we honour children's choices to decide who they want to spend their day with and the choice of deciding which 'space' they feel most comfortable with throughout their day.
Our unique outdoor setting is second to none. It is not contrived & artificial like many new centre's with fenced balconies on the roof top & narrow ground level play spaces. 10 square metres of space per child awaits every child, every day with the whole play place one continuous area around the building at ground level.
'Nature' is the theme, creating an environment that children can explore and learn the art of negotiation as they move across logs, rocks, bridges, ropes and water. It is designed to allow some 'risk' in the children's day and to develop resilience and confidence in our next generation.
Extensive ‘greening’ of our playground and car park area is nurtured by the children, who regularly plant, water and tend to the gardens as part of their programming.
Indoors we take a minimalist approach. Our rooms are large and mimic our outdoor philosophy - give children ample space to move and grow in. With ample space we can structure a number of different learning area's and 'de-clutter' the learning space. All rooms are set up differently every day and all children can attend all rooms to experience the difference each room presents.
Children's learning and development occurs in the context of their families and communities, the environment they encounter every day and the opportunities that educators and their families provide for them. Family grouping closely resembles a family unit which is the most appropriate setting to foster all areas of a child's early learning and development.