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School Readiness
The transition to school is an essential milestone in your child's life. Whether your child has attended childcare before this or not, it doesn’t matter. Our Transition to School program provides and equips children appropriately for this upcoming milestone. At Young Academics, we encourage this transition as a process and aim to support children and their families through our Transition to School program for children aged 4–5 years. Our program approaches school readiness with careful and equal focus on physical, cognitive and emotional development, nourishing your child's full potential.
Our passionate educators work in partnership with families, providing intentional teaching and play-based, tailored programs for each child based on their individual goals and developmental summaries. At Young Academics, we use the 'Learn and Grow' journey twice a year to assess the developmental progress of your child. This useful tool is then used to help plan experiences which support their individual needs before beginning school. To coincide with our Young Academics programs, a Challenge Book is given to every child. This booklet of activities encourages families to extend their child's learning experience at home. The consistency between what happens at Young Academics and the home environment will ultimately support your child in terms of gaining confidence and finding their sense of belonging.
Our Key Areas
At Young Academics, we’re committed to providing children with the brightest possible start to their future. Our Transition to School program focuses on 7 key areas, which are reinforced holistically through our centres, programs and staff.
We want children to understand concepts by understanding the world that surrounds them so that they are equipped for ‘big school’.
Our Core program integrates various literacy and numeracy activities through reading, writing, listening, conversing, intentional play, and more. The relationship between sounds, words and ideas helps children develop their thinking. Critical thinking is further developed through intentional teaching activities such as trial and error and tactical play, which further refines motor skills. No matter the activity, we ensure children can explore, learn and grow safely and at their own pace.
Preschool examples
- Helps build an understanding of phonics, language and communication using the ELLA program
- Encourages building a vocabulary and participating in conversations
- Promotes self-assertion through words
- Promotes the development of fine motor skills using Loose Parts
- Encourages creative thinking through rhymes and stories
- Builds comprehension skills by speaking in sentences to retell stories
Being confident and comfortable makes learning easier.
Through our Scholar program we provide little ones with the necessary tools and mindset to confidently make the transition between childcare and school. With a particular focus on self-help skills such as toilet training, self-feeding, and so on, our passionate educators support your child during times of change. In addition to this, our new room transitions ensure that change is experienced and dealt with appropriately from a young age.
Preschool examples
- Masters literacy skills through name writing, discriminating between upper and lower case, recognising their name and reading and comprehending simple words
- Masters numeracy skills through sums, addition and subtraction, exploring weight and measurement, sorting and classification
- Promotes active participation in the Transition to School program through our home-based Challenge Book
- Supports children’s resilience with change as they transition to school
At Young Academics, the importance of integrating positive physical and health choices via our Wellness program is just as significant as learning the alphabet.
We provide children with physical activities that assist in the development of gross motor skills, essential to their growth, learning and social development. Through music and movement, physical activity is also made fun. Children are also taught to be responsible for their health and hygiene. This is best highlighted through our healthy menu, Munch and Move, Kitchen Garden program and STEPS eye testing, all of which provide children with the knowledge and confidence to form long-lasting healthy habits.
Preschool examples
- Assists in developing fundamental movement skills such as hopping, jumping, climbing, running and group games
- Teaches how to navigate around objects, developing spatial awareness through simple rhythm and movement routines
- Promotes the comprehensive understanding of hygiene practices, e.g. self-serve at mealtimes
- Promotes confidence through Graduation Performance
Through our Discovery program, children can explore their surrounding environments and learn at their own pace.
Curiosity, investigation and experimentation are encouraged. Our centres allow children to enrich their learning through the use of technology, relevant learning experiences and teacher-facilitated play activities.
Preschool examples
- Encourages exploration and discovery through scientific investigation and other inquiry/investigation projects
- Provides relevant learning experiences through the use of pertinent technology such as iPads
- Enriches community understanding through actively participating in the world around them
- Lays down a foundation for literacy and numeracy, including an understanding of the relationship between the two
Our Creativity program focuses on encouraging children to express themselves as creatively as possible.
Through storytelling, art, music, dance, dramatic and role-play, children can understand and express their interests and passions. This helps them to become confident and involved learners, improving skills relevant to phonics, language and communication.
Preschool examples
- Masters the art of storytelling including characters and sequencing
- Encourages creative expression through an array of artist mediums such as clay, sketching, sculpture etc
- Promotes the development of imagination through imaginative play, imagine-build-play concepts, etc
We have created the Our World program with a focus on encouraging children to become active participants in both their local and global communities.
Encouraging experiences that shed light on the world around them, our program integrates real-life situations such as recycling, gardening, the environment, sustainable practices, and so on. This ensures that children are well-informed about their surroundings and know how to contribute to it as they grow older.
Preschool examples
- Encourages sustainable practices such as recycling
- Promotes the inclusion and respect of cultural diversity through our ELLA program
- Helps build real-life skills such as picking herbs and vegetables from in-house gardens
- Encourages active citizenship through excursions within the local community
- Encourages child contributions to the decision-making process
- Promotes collegiality through the Pen Pals program
- Assists in building an understanding of ecosystems through observing simple lifecycles
Our Wellbeing program focuses primarily on positive interactions.
Our passionate educators strive to help children build genuine and responsive relationships with educators, peers, families and the environment. Through both individual and group interactions, your little one can develop a strong sense of identity and independence. Through various initiatives such as our PALS program and SAFE Series, relationships are built, maintained and respected. In addition to this, cooperative play contributes to social and emotional wellbeing through building friendships and learning how to deal with conflict resolution.
Preschool examples
- Helps develop an understanding of mastering emotions through recognising and regulating personal feelings
- Promotes independence and collegiality through cooperative play
- Encourages the building of social skills through our PALS program
Play-Based Learning and School Readiness
Our Transition to School program is underpinned by play-based learning, which encourages learning in a stimulating, engaging and logical manner. Guided by our educators, a combination of structured and unstructured play allows your child to engage in critical thinking and develop skills relevant to 21st-century learning, such as:
- Appreciating culture and diversity through values such as equity and respect
- Providing continuity of experience through routine and expectation daily
- Monitoring and assessing their learning through trial and error and logical thinking
- Promoting connectedness of the mind, body and spirit, e.g. understanding healthy eating and physical activity
- Understanding and responding to reciprocal relationships with families, peers, educators and their extended community
At Young Academics, our Transition to School program promotes a combination of outcomes and skills that guide children into an understanding of the discipline and skills required at school. These include understanding designated meal times, toilet breaks and playtimes.
The various opportunities and challenges that come with our Transition to School program help build confidence and security for children, contributing to a successful transition to their new setting.
Assessing Your Child
As outlined in the National Quality Framework and the Early Years Learning Framework, regular assessments are essential when it comes to your child’s overall development. At Young Academics, we fulfil these requirements by setting goals within our Evolution program. These goals are tailored to each individual child and are developed in conjunction with families, to ensure that every child is given an opportunity to succeed.
Every six months, our educators assess your child’s progress and provide feedback to families. This allows educators to plan specific experiences for your child to help them achieve goals that assist in their own developmental milestones. This holistic approach to assessment is unique to Young Academics and ensures that our programs are uniquely tailored to help children achieve their goals.
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OUR PROGRAMS
Young Academics promises stimulating, quality instruction and child care programs which spark curiosity in your child.
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BENEFITS
Give your child an opportunity to benefit from the long-lasting social, physical and academic benefits of early child care.
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OUR LOCATIONS
Young Academics centres are operating in New South Wales, offering high-calibre early child care and preschool services.
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