The
preschool began as a co-operative to provide families with an unmatched
opportunity to participate
and engage in this next chapter of their children’s lives and education.
For many of our children this will be their first
experience being cared for and educated outside of the family unit. The
co-operative is committed to creating a close
community and an educational environment that embodies the core values and
traditions of each co-op family. Our
philosophy is to encourage our children's social, emotional, and
intellectual growth in a safe, secure learning
environment. St. George Co-op Preschool is also committed to implementing
current educational best practices and
following all legislation that pertains to the educational guidelines. We
believe that children are competent, capable,
curious, and rich in potential. This program statement will outline the
goals and framework of our program, outline roles
and responsibilities of students, parents, and instructors, as well as
highlight the preschool's philosophy and policies.
St. George Co-op Preschool is uniquely able to optimize the four
foundational conditions that support learning and
referenced in “How does Learning Happen (HDLH)”; belonging, well-being,
engagement, and expression. Having two
Registered Early Childhood Educators in the classroom with staff support
and occasional volunteers allows more adults
to be actively engaged with different groups of students throughout the
classroom simultaneously. With this greater
level of engagement students are provided many opportunities for
self-expression verbally, developing their complex
communication skills as well as providing a multitude of opportunities for
expression through creativity, problem solving
and mathematical behaviours.
From their first day in class, students will be treated as curious,
capable individuals with an unlimited potential for
learning and developing. Each student’s strengths, abilities and interests
will be considered to create the most beneficial
programming possible. We know that young children learn through play and
inquiry. Our day is outlined with a lot of
free time play, where the children can be learners in the environment,
following what interests them.
Our instructors are highly skilled educators, specializing in preschool
aged children and committed to the co-operative
values of the preschool. They are interested in participating as a
co-learner with the children and families and to support
children's learning, development, health, and well-being. They outline the
programming through their experience,
knowledge of curriculum and specifically linking to the goals of the co-op
families for their children, including children
with individualized plans. They can tailor the programming based on the
skills and interests of the children. We
recognize that all students come with different interests and different
learning strategies. We help to create a positive
learning space where all our students’ learning and development will be
supported. Our co-op preschool community is
specifically interested in school readiness, so our educators use
opportunities for focused lessons on these skills such as
self-dressing, recognizing a child’s own name, as well as early literacy
and numeracy skills. It has been their experience
that the play-based approach to early learning provides many opportunities
for development of these skills in an organic
way, through engaged activities such as dress-up, colouring, crafts, and
story time. We incorporate all faucets of
development to help in the growth of children each day. We use indoor
gross motor play in the gym, active play,
sensory exploration, fine motor activities and rest and quiet time and
consider all the individual needs of the children
receiving our care.
During classroom time, staff and volunteers are encouraged to get down
with the children and engage on their level and
build relationships. The teachers encourage positive interactions between
the children and in the classroom.
Approaching our students as capable, complex thinkers, we are able to
support the children, as necessary, through
coaching, modeling positive behaviours and providing language to resolve
conflict. We discuss the children’s feelings,
and the children brainstorm with the teachers what a more positive
interaction would look like. Adults in our program
provide space and opportunity for our students to resolve conflict and
challenging situations and behaviours
independently, with the knowledge that support is close-by. Parents will
maintain open communication with the
instructor, checking the parent information board, Facebook Page and
communication App regularly for updates and
important information.
Our goal at St. George Co-op Preschool is for all students to feel safe
and secure in our preschool environment. To
ensure this, we set limits, for the safety of the children, so that a
child may not harm oneself or be allowed to harm
another person, or their property. As our school is able to excel in
providing the four foundations for learning we have
found behaviours requiring regulation intervention very rare. Our students
are generally happy and healthy, engaged
and able to express themselves effectively, verbally or nonverbally. We
always encourage self -regulation in the
classroom. If at any time a child feels overwhelmed or needs to be alone,
a safe quiet place inside the classroom will be
provided where they can be supervised safely at a distance. No child will
be forced to participate in any activity that they
are not comfortable doing. We encourage the children to be competent
learners by following their interests and
planning activities based on their likes.
St. George Co-op Preschool fundamentally believes in the adage that it
takes a village to raise a child. Local community
partners are welcome to take an active role in the school if the school
and the partner find there is a need for service.
We welcome all input into the program and we open our doors to partners
wishing to help support our children, their
families and our staff. The teacher will set up appointments with these
partners to make sure that times and dates work
well for all of those involved.
Upon joining the membership of the St. George Co-op Preschool, and
annually thereafter, all staff and volunteers will
review the program statement and all school policies prior to interacting
with the children and at any time when the
program statement or any policies are modified. Monthly, during our
meeting, we will document and discuss any
changes that need to be made to the program statement and or policies.
Annually, all staff and volunteers will be
evaluated by the supervisor to make sure that these approaches to
interacting with children are being followed.
Our instructors are the leaders of the classroom and maintain several key
responsibilities. They are primarily responsible
for class regulation, implementing curriculum, maintaining the health and
safety of children under their care. Support
staff and volunteers will support the instructor and look to the
instructor for guidance. Our educators also work to
maintain an open line of communication with every family through our
parent information board located in the cubby
room, email, the communication app, Facebook and face-to-face
interactions. The curriculum and program are living
documents that changes each day as the children explore their
surroundings.
Children will be provided a healthy, nutritious snack during the morning
as well as a balanced meal at lunch time. The
menu is posted monthly by the supervisor so all members can see what their
children are eating each day.
Our Staff and educators are the pillars of our co-op community and will be
treated with utmost respect. If you disagree
with an approach or technique being used by the educator(s) or have
concerns about the integration or experience of
your child please arrange to speak to them privately, outside of class
time, as the educators are fully engaged with the
children during class. Alternatively, members of the co-op board,
introduced at the September parent meeting, may be
approached to help resolve any concern, issue, or conflict. Miss Debb, our
centre supervisor can also be contacted.
Our educators are encouraged and supported by our community to take part
in continuous professional learning.
Occasionally, professional development happens during one of our school
days. Typically, our membership will decide to take a field trip or make
other arrangements to cover the day. Our educators will come back and
share the knowledge
they acquired at the professional development with the community of
parents to further their knowledge as well.
At the St. George Co-op Preschool, all children are welcome to attend
regardless of ability, need, background, culture,
religion, gender, family composition or economic circumstances. Through
inclusive practice, we aim to enhance the
physical, emotional, social and intellectual needs of all children. We
strive to make strong partnerships with families
through open communication keeping the best interest of the child as a top
priority.
Our policy includes that:
- No family will be excluded from the program, as
long as we are able to meet their needs.
- All children may attend our regular days and
hours of operation no matter their needs.
- Financial assistance through City of Brantford
Child Care Services may be offered to families in need.
If you have any questions or concerns about your child, our curriculum or
activities in the school, please speak with our
teachers. Any ideas or concerns relating to the administration or
operation of the school can be directed to the
appropriate member of the executive council, or the supervisor. If you
would like to address the general membership,
please advise the president sufficiently prior to a meeting.
The St. George Co-op Preschool is part of the Canada Wide Early Learning
and Childcare system. Our fees are broken
into base and non-base fees. A Base Fee is defined by the CCEYA -
everything considered to be mandatory charge to a
parent for providing child care, including everything a licensee is
required to provide under the CCEYA. A non-Base Fee is
defined by the CCEYA - fees charged for optional services - e.g. field
trips, transportation - or any fees where a parent
fails to meet agreement.
We hope that your time at the St. George Co-op Preschool is a positive and
fulfilling experience and we are excited to
have you join our membership.
