Our Kindergarten Program
Enchanted Forest Early Learning provides a State Funded Kindergarten program for children in the year prior to them being eligible to start their first year of formal schooling (Prep). Children attending Enchanted Forest in the early years, will automatically be enrolled in our Kindergarten Program when they are age and developmentally ready.
Our Kindergarten Programs are run by fully qualified and experienced Kindergarten Teachers within long day care hours.
Our Kindergarten program is play-based and is guided by the Children’s interests, our Enchanted Forest Philosophy as well as the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline (QKLG) and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).
The QKLG supports kindergarten teachers’ professional practice in a range of contexts across Queensland. It adopts the vision of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) that ‘all children experience learning that is engaging and builds success for life’. The QKLG provides specificity for children’s learning across the year before starting school, recognising that children bring with them diverse identities and backgrounds. It acknowledges that parents/carers are children’s first teachers and values the vital role families play in children’s lives and their ongoing learning. The term ‘families’ is used throughout the guideline to recognise the range of people who take on parenting roles. The QKLG provides a framework aligned to the EYLF and is designed to support teachers to plan and implement quality teaching and learning.
The QKLG is based on five learning and development areas that are also the goals that we have for our Kindergarten children throughout the year. These include:
- Children have a strong sense of identity
- Children are connected with and contribute to their world
- Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
- Children are confident and involved learners
- Children are effective communicators
As the QKLG is heavily influenced by the EYLF, it also has a strong focus on supporting children’s development, strengths and interests through play-based experiences.
https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/qklg_2019.pdf
Our Kindergarten Teachers use the QKLG to guide their practices and to evaluate the learning that is occurring within the room. Throughout the year our Kindergarten children will explore, discover and investigate as they grow, learn and develop their skills, getting ready for formal schooling.
Our Kindergarten Teachers work closely with local schools to bridge the gap between Kindergarten and Prep and to make the transition to school an easier one for families and children.
At the end of the year, Teachers will complete transition statements that will be given to families to forward on to schools to assist with children starting their preparatory year of schooling.