OUR STORY

SAND and Stories Early Childhood Centre caters for children from 6 weeks to 5 years. Within a high quality setting, we encourage each child’s capacities for thinking and feeling through the medium of play in a natural environment.

At SAND and Stories Early Childhood Centre, we value learning. We aim to foster your child’s natural curiosity to discover their world, nurturing a lifelong motivation to learn. Our approach to education and care is to provide a value-laden curriculum where children are taught to become morally just and responsible citizens, belonging to a local and global society.

We believe children are capable beings who bring into our environment life experiences and perspectives, which form their stories, ready to be told. We aim to promote your child’s capacity to grow as an individual as they interact with others and the environment. Our centre provides this environment, enabling your child to create and discover new and unknown stories.

OUR NAME

SAND and Stories Early Childhood Centre aims to advocate for the skills and rights of each child. The metaphor of the sand symbolises the fluidity of children’s imaginations to create their stories within a space of fun and friendship. The ability for sand to be manipulated enables children to recreate and refine their works as they develop their stories.

OPERATING HOURS

SAND and Stories Early Childhood Centre is a long day care that caters for children from 6 weeks to 5 Years. We are open from 7:30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday for 50 weeks of the year. We will be closed during the Christmas and New year period.

PROVISIONS

SAND and Stories Early Childhood Centre caters for your child’s daily needs.

We provide:

• All meals throughout the day (Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, Late Snack)
• Nappies and wipes
• Sunscreen
• Formula (S26 Gold)
• Bottles and Sippy Cups
• Bedding

Parents will only be required to bring a bag with changes of clothes and a sun hat (bucket hat styles preferred).

Application

SAND and Stories Early Childhood Centre are excited to welcome new families and children within our centre. To apply, please download and complete the waiting list form and return it to us at your earliest convenience. We look forward to begin creating stories with you and your family.

Programs and Practices
Sand and Stories Early Childhood Centre will implement a curriculum, which is based on the National Early Years Learning Framework. This framework will guide our practice as it focuses on the concepts of children ‘being’, ‘belonging’ and ‘becoming’.

Our philosophy is influenced by principles exemplified in Reggio Emilia schools. We believe that a child’s learning journey is continuous and cannot be constrained by time or topic. Our teaching program is driven by the interactions we have with each child and the observations we derive from these relationships will guide our understanding of each child and their interests.

Environment
At Sand and Stories Early Childhood Centre, the environment plays a large role in guiding children’s learning, creating a base that promotes their inquisitive nature. Our environment uses simple, organic and open-ended resources that act as a blank canvas from which each child is able to display their stories to share with others.

Educators
Educators at Sand and Stories Early Childhood Centre are a dedicated and collaborative team. Our educators will hold a minimum of a Certificate III in Children’s Services, supporting the Australian Government’s new national early childhood agenda. We believe that highly qualified educators are equipped with practical and theoretical skills to best promote your child’s development.