At Bright Futures, we believe children learn in groups, but also as individuals. Thus, alongside our group program children receive a truly individualised program. Parents’ and children’s voices are honored as they plan their own goals that our team implements. Educators work closely with children and their families to develop goals to work towards and then plan amazing learning experiences to help enhance children’s development and reach their goals and full potential. It is all documented through their online portfolio and app which also gives you announcements, daily photo blogs, private conversations with educators and much more.

Research tells us that children learn best by doing and it’s also the best way to build brain connections. Thus, at Bright Futures we aim to learn in context. We learn how to write through writing a letter or labelling our picture. We learn about numeracy and measurement by measuring how tall our block tower is and recording that information. We make sure each child’s learning is aligned with their interests and ideas and is meaningful to them. This way they develop a genuine love of learning and acquire practical learning skills they can apply to future learning scenarios.

STEM is all around us and children are natural STEM users. From birth, children experiment with the world around them, forever collecting data about how everything works. Our role at Bright Futures is to further facilitate and enhance these skills. Children are supported by educator’s guidance to use STEM skills in everyday events and also invited to engage in regular planned science experiments. Our service is well resourced with technological devices and materials that support STEM learning through play and project-based learning.

At Bright Futures, we offer daily developmentally appropriate language classes with opportunities for children to participate in drama, singing, puppetry, interactive story-telling, language games, literacy games and so much more. Children are supported to explore literacy through the exploration of letter shape and sound concepts and meaningful experiences, such as writing a recipe or their own story. This gives children a personal connection to literacy and further solidifies the importance and function of written words.

Children are invited to engage in musical experiences every day. There are permanent musical installations in our outdoor learning environments which provoke children to experiment with sound, tone, volume, pitch and tempo. Children also have the opportunity to engage in planned and spontaneous music and movement experiences that encourage children to express themselves and build their confidence.

You will never see a wall filled with stenciled art or sunflowers that all look the same at Bright Futures. This is because we believe each child is unique and that their artworks should represent just that. Our designated art spaces along with particular brand of Art Curricula not only provide opportunities for children to express themselves, but also help to develop a working knowledge of colour theory, material care, key design concepts and the application of a number of artistic methods. Children are encouraged to branch out and explore different mediums, such as sculpture, painting, textiles, floristry, mosaics, photography and film making.

Bright Futures offers a nutritious seasonal menu designed by a dietician. Our educators also implement a Munch and Move program that focuses on healthy eating, physical exercise and Fundamental Movement Skills. Your child will learn about their body and how to fuel it through games and also regular cooking experiences alongside our Centre Cook. They will also have the opportunity to engage in a variety of planned sports and spontaneous physical play every day.

We believe that before children inherit the responsibility of taking care of the earth, we should first teach them to love it. Our Wild About Learning program focuses on sustainable practices, ecological studies and nature play. Along with our daily Wild About Learning practices, once a week a small group of our preschoolers visit a local nature site and just play. No lesson plans or resources, just two hours of connecting with nature. We climb trees, find bugs, pick flowers, fish, build cubbies, roll down hills, invents games to play and so much more. Often our most in depth learning investigations are sparked from discoveries made during our bush and river play sessions.

At Bright Futures, we believe some of the most important life skills are gained through project work. The ability to negotiate roles, collaborate, deal with frustration, accept input from others, switch in and out of leader and follower roles, hypothesise, research, plan, think critically to overcome obstacles and contribute to group outcomes, are skills that children will use within their everyday lives as adults and are all developed through project work. Additionally, project work offers cross curriculum learning opportunities and can support children to develop healthy interests in using multiple learning disciplines to support their endeavors.

We try to focus on getting child life ready, not just school ready. We also want to make sure each child’s transition to school is as smooth as possible and children are as well prepared as possible for the changes to come. The year before school our Preschool educators will facilitate opportunities for children to learn about Primary Schools as a social context in a number of ways. These include; exploring books about school, role playing schools, uniform days, lunch box days, visits to local schools, using money at the canteen, visiting the school toilets and office, exploring the similarities and differences between school and Bright Futures, engaging in discussions about children’s feelings about school, learning playground games and practicing how to make new friends. Our team also works closely with local schools and prepare transition to school statements to ensure a smooth transition.

We believe children are valued members of the wider community and should be able to participate fully in the world around them. This is why we foster opportunities for children of all ages to participate in regular excursions. With the use of our six-seater prams children aged birth to three go on walks around the neighborhood and visit local places of significance, such as the library or community garden. Children aged over three also visit local parks, retirement villages and other community locations, as well as venture to special places that align with their current learning investigations, such as the museum or aquarium. Parents are invited to come along and join in on the fun and spend time with their child and their friends.

We love to learn in a hands-on way at Bright Futures. We believe when children acquire new skills and knowledge best through real life learning. We also believe in today’s social climate, that we owe it to children to create opportunities for them to engage in authentic childhood experiences, such as climbing a tree, using child safe knives in cooking or using real tools to engage in woodwork. In winter, Bright Futures service’s install fire pits into the outdoor learning spaces for children to learn about fire safety, cook on the fire and cozy up to their friends swapping stories as they warm up next to the fire. We believe that exposing children to calculated risks, supports children to develop risk analysing skills and actually makes them safer in the future.