Cache Level 3 and Early Learning Centres

Level 3 & Early Learning Centres

Early learning centres (ELC) are licensed child care programs that provide high quality, flexible childcare and education for children from birth to age five. Programs can be located in a child’s home, community center or in a private business. ELCs are also referred to as pre-schools or child development centres in some jurisdictions.

The ELC industry has made a commitment to improve the quality of care and education for young children. To do this, the industry has developed a system of quality improvement called Paths to QUALITY ™. This is Indiana’s statewide rating and improvement program for early learning and child care providers. The program requires providers to meet certain criteria in order to receive a higher level of accreditation.

The Early Learning Foundations program is a great way to prepare kids for math and academics at any stage of their early childhood education. It builds and reinforces strong “neuro-pathways” that are essential to future success. These pathways can be thought of as highly-developed highways that move information from the brain to the body, and ultimately to the student.

The Early Learning Foundations program teaches key math skills through a visual approach to the concept of number sense and numeracy. It introduces and expands the concepts of one, two, three and four digit static addition and subtraction, as well as borrowing and carrying. It includes daily review of the previous introduced concepts and moves at a pace that is right for the child. This allows the child to build their confidence at a speed that is comfortable for them, which ensures long-term retention and success.

Child Care

In the early years, children are incredibly vulnerable and require a safe, caring environment to support their physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Child care professionals must be knowledgeable about these developments and have a deep understanding of how to create an environment that is positive for each child in their care.

Child care is a growing industry and demand for trained staff remains high. There are many opportunities for those looking to enter the field of childcare and work with children from birth to eight years old.

To be licensed, early learning and child care programs must meet basic health and safety standards. Beyond this, providers are encouraged to improve quality through Paths to QUALITY ™, a voluntary system of advancement that helps programs advance from Level 1 to Level 4. This system provides a snapshot of the overall quality of a program.

Educators must hold a qualification recognised by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Services Act (ECS Act) or be actively working towards an approved qualification. Educators can obtain a list of approved qualifications from the ACECQA website.

Programs can earn additional points in the quality component of the rating by providing evidence of a curriculum that promotes children’s learning and school readiness. This can be accomplished by developing activities and opportunities that align with the learning goals in each age group, and by ensuring that these activities are planned by qualified staff and are regularly evaluated.

The child care sector also has opportunities to earn quality points in the training and education criteria by requiring their educators to take part in professional development opportunities that are aligned with the developmental outcomes of each age group. This includes online training lessons on infant/toddler and preschool curriculums, a series of webinars, and three face-to-face courses for trainers and curriculum specialists.

Child care providers can also support student teachers by allowing them to use their facilities for an internship or practicum. Additionally, they can provide scholarships and financial support to help students who are studying for a bachelor’s degree in early learning and child development or a related field.

Preschools

The quality of early learning programs influences children’s social and cognitive development. Unfortunately, the quality of preschool programs varies widely, and the poorest children tend to attend the lowest quality programs.

The best preschools offer children a warm, caring environment where they can explore and play with age-appropriate materials in small groups with highly qualified teachers. They use an inquiry-based curriculum and provide children with opportunities to develop skills in all domains of child development, including social/emotional, language, adaptive behavior, cognition, and physical.

A well-designed curriculum also includes daily routines that help children become more independent and confident learners. Activities are based on children’s interests and needs, taking into account each child’s developmental level and family background. The classroom teacher and other staff members are trained to observe and support children’s learning.

Children need to have the opportunity to interact with other children and adults on a regular basis to develop their social and emotional skills. They also need the chance to participate in large group activities that include instruction and discussion that build children’s inquiry, academic, and social skills. Teachers use this time to read stories to the whole group, sing songs, review the daily schedule or calendar, encourage children to share special events and items with the class, welcome a guest speaker or new student, or discuss classroom community issues.

Teachers in high-quality preschools have at least a four-year college degree and are trained in teaching young children. They are knowledgeable of all aspects of child development and use a wide variety of teaching strategies to promote children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. They are also familiar with the cultural, linguistic and family backgrounds of children in their care and respect and value their families’ values, beliefs, and traditions.

Yamhill County offers a variety of early learning programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, and most are free. Families can find the right program for their child and get help paying for it through COMPASS, our online system. To see the list of locations and their eligibility guidelines, visit here. You can also sign up for Preschool Promise, a quality free preschool program for families at or below 200% of the poverty line.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is a time for children to learn how to solve problems, explore the world around them and take on new challenges. This may involve learning how to do things like zipping up a jacket, using the toilet independently or reading on their own. A good way to help prepare children for this is through daily routines that encourage independence such as self-feeding, brushing teeth and putting on their own coats.

In a Kindergarten classroom, teachers often use guided play to teach a range of social and emotional skills such as turn-taking, sharing and following directions. They also embed science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities into the curriculum so that children can learn through exploration and discovery. In addition to this, Kindergarten teachers will often create a multi-age room so that children can spend multiple years with the same teacher, giving them a deeper understanding of their individual strengths and needs.

Educators in centre-based services who work with children preschool age and under must be qualified under regulation 126 of the Education and Care Services National Regulations. This means that a minimum of 50% of educators who are required to meet educator to child ratios in services with children preschool age and under must have, be working towards or have a qualification that ACECQA has assessed as equivalent to an approved diploma level education and care qualification. This is a requirement under the Early Learning Framework (ELF). The ELF also supports professional development and recruitment activities to build a diverse teacher workforce. Cache level 3 and Early learning centres