Wollongbar Community Preschool

Welcome to Wollongbar!

As you step inside our preschool you will be captivated by our beautiful surroundings, where children and Educators are working together in a most stimulating and enriched learning environment. We are passionate about ensuring every day is extraordinary, where children are confident to problem solve, investigate, explore and initiate their own learning. The welfare and well-being of children is at the core of what we do.

We pride ourselves on providing connections to the natural environment and every day we discover the wonders of nature through our gardens, and animals that live in and visit our preschool.

We invite you to come and meet our dedicated team of Educators and make your own discoveries.

Our preschool is a place of wonder, enthusiasm, excitement, energy, and a place of empathy, trust, respect and most importantly, developing strong relationships with our families and community to ensure we build a community of life long learners.”

History

Wollongbar Community Preschool Inc first operated as a part-time service from Wollongbar Community Hall. After major fundraising the community built the current centre on land leased by Ballina Shire Council. Over the past twenty years the Wollongbar Community Preschool has grown, to meet the needs of the community. The preschool is at this time licensed for 29 children per day and employs 9 staff.

About preschool

Wollongbar Community Preschool is a community based non-profit incorporated organisation. Our main sources of funding are from the Department of Education and Communities and preschool fees. Our Management Committee is made up of volunteer parents and community members.

We offer a quality early childhood education for children aged 3-5 years. We have qualified educators working with your children to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Our program is based on the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, a national early learning framework for children from birth to five years. The Framework reinforces the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and recognises that all children have the right to an education which maximises their abilities and respects their family, beliefs, culture and language.

The EYLF also recognises that learning in early childhood lays the foundation for future learning. We acknowledge that the family is the child’s first and most influential educator and aim to work in partnership with the families to provide the best learning outcomes for their children. Learning in early childhood happens through play, engagement with others and the physical world. Through play young children explore and learn to understand their world. They communicate, discover, imagine and create. At preschool we plan indoor and outdoor learning experiences and environments designed to stimulate children’s interests and learning.

“The Early Years Learning Framework describes childhood as a time of belonging, being and becoming:-

Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationships they have with their family, community, culture and place.

Being is about living here and now. Childhood is a special time in life and children need time just to be – time to play, try new things and have fun.

Becoming is about the learning and development that young children experience. Children start to form their sense of identity from an early age, which shapes the type of adult they become.”(Excerpt from “Belonging, Being and Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework, Information for families.”)

We are rated Meeting in all 7 quality areas.