Our Philosophy
At Bright Steps Academy, children are at the centre of everything we do. Our philosophy and values outline our commitment to providing children with the best learning environments, educators, resources, and support during their formative early years.
Enquire NowFor Children
We believe that early childhood is a time for nurturing children’s interests, forging friendships, making memories, and developing the foundations for a life-long love of learning.
We view all children as naturally capable learners who should feel loved, safe, supported, and respected. We value children’s uniqueness and see their potential.
We encourage children to take an active role in their learning by providing them with responsive learning environments that support their choices, extend their interests, and cater to diverse learning styles.
We respect each child’s unique learning journey, involve children in decision-making, and ensure we treat all children with the same level of trust and respect as anyone else in the community.
We believe every child can achieve a bright future and that diversity in ability, learning styles, and background are all valued parts of a child’s identity. We embrace difference and champion equity and inclusion for all children.
For Families
We believe we achieve the best outcomes for children when educators and families communicate effectively and work in partnership.
We collaborate with families on how to best support, educate, and care for their children. Our goal is to align our educational approach with each family’s values to provide consistency and balance to the children in our care.
We view families as the most important influence in their children’s lives. We seek to support families in this role by providing access to community, health, and support services that promote child and family wellbeing.
We encourage families to actively participate in our education programs, learning experiences, and service improvements. We actively involve families in the ongoing development of our service’s Quality Improvement Plan.
We welcome all families, embrace all cultures, and honour and celebrate difference to develop a knowledgeable and respectful community. All families belong at Bright Steps Academy.
For Educators
We believe great educators positively shape children’s futures and attitudes towards learning. We bring our best selves to work each day and are committed to implementing and exceeding all aspects of the National Quality Standard.
The Bright Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework guide our practice to support children’s complete physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual development.
We implement inclusive and well-rounded learning experiences tailored to each child’s needs, interests, and stage of development. We respect children’s choices, listen to their voices, and display empathy, compassion, kindness, and patience. The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child are at the core of our principles and practices.
We are passionate about children’s learning and work collaboratively with families and each other to deliver excellence in all aspects of early education and care. We role model our BRIGHT Values every day.
We are committed to reflective practice and continuous improvement. We believe that learning is ongoing and seek to develop our knowledge to offer richer learning experiences to children.
For Learning
Our approach to learning focuses on providing children with inclusive, hands-on learning experiences that build on the strengths of every child.
Our Bright Curriculum is an emergent curriculum that incorporates play-based, inquiry, and project-based learning in response to children’s interests.
Our curriculum covers contemporary subjects including Literacy, Numeracy, STEAM, Culture, Social Skills, Creativity, and Wellbeing to support children’s complete development.
We value a collaborative, child-led classroom that encourages the exchange of ideas, questions, hands-on research, experimentation, problem-solving, and higher-level thinking skills.
We celebrate diversity, culture, and inclusion to develop knowledge and positive attitudes towards all people. We acknowledge and honour Australia’s First Nations Peoples and are committed to educating children about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture.
For School Readiness
We deliver a comprehensive school readiness program that begins at age three to progressively prepare children for their transition to school.
Our daily routines support the development of school readiness skills by exposing children to diverse learning formats, including individual, group, and project-based learning experiences.
Through the Bright Curriculum, children develop knowledge and skills across a broad range of academic competencies that are the building blocks for school readiness skills.
In their final preschool year, children participate in a structured preparatory program that includes daily activities focused on reading and writing, communication, numeracy, problem-solving, concentration, and independence skills.
Our School Readiness Program provides rich learning experiences that support children in becoming confident and involved learners. We seek to prepare children for school and life.
For the Environment
We believe that the environment is our greatest resource and teacher. We are environmentally responsible, considerate of the impact of our actions, and embed sustainable practices into how we operate our service.
We establish and maintain clean well-resourced learning environments that inspire curiosity, creativity, exploration, and engagement. All our learning environments include natural resources that promote a sense of responsibility, respect, wonder, and a connection with the land.
We believe it is crucial to educate and involve children in learning about all aspects of sustainability, waste reduction, ethical consumption, and protecting and conserving wildlife and natural habitats.
Through environmental education and actively reducing our ecological footprint, we encourage children to develop positive attitudes towards sustainability and the environment to inspire long-term change.