Approach
Committed to providing quality early education
& childcare, delivered in a Gumboots way.
Where Children Learn & Dream
Welcome to Gumboots Early Learning. A place to dream, wonder, explore, learn and have fun. At Gumboots Early Learning we are committed to providing excellence in early childhood education and care. Our architect, designed centres, amazing playscapes and environments, stimulating curriculums and carefully selected resources, provide a strong foundation for all little learners to feel safe, secure and succeed.
We educate and care for children aged six weeks to six years with funded 3- and 4-year-old Kindergarten programs. We love to showcase our beautiful services, learning studios and natural outdoor environments, so please come and see the Gumboots difference.
Curriculum
At Gumboots Early Learning we believe our role is to help support the holistic learning and development of each child by providing the children with an emergent curriculum.
Emergent curriculum is a method of planning and curriculum decision making that is responsive to children’s ideas, interests, strengths, and aspirations. It is meaningful, relevant, and engaging for each child. Emergent curriculum is an inquiry and play-based curriculum.
Educators working within the emergent curriculum build on children’s knowledge and current interests to challenge and extend children’s understanding about the world around them. By developing a play-based curriculum responsive to children’s ideas and interests, as questions and new topics arise learning is enhanced. This approach allows educators to respond to observations of children, build upon their strengths and scaffold their learning. It requires professional knowledge, planning for learning and intentional teaching.
The term ‘intentional teaching’ is not used to describe a formal structured approach to teaching. Intentional teaching is a technique we use as professional educators to assist us to enhance a child’s learning and development. The term intentional teaching is used to describe teaching that is purposeful, thoughtful, and deliberate.
Educators will document stories of learning as well as use a range of other documentation tools to gain a holistic view of your child.
Kindergarten Programs
Kindergarten, also known as Pre School, is an educational program for young children delivered by a qualified Early Childhood Teacher.
Research shows that Kindergarten improves children’s health and wellbeing and helps them learn skills that they will build on throughout their life. Research also shows that children who attend a Kindergarten Program are more independent and confident and more likely to make a smooth transition to primary school.
At Gumboots Early Learning we offer a Funded Kindergarten Program to all children in the year before they attend school, usually when children are 4 years old. Our Early Childhood Teachers will plan and implement an educational program that aims to prepare and equip all children with skills required for school and life.
As part of our Kindergarten Program all children have access to a Transition to School Program. This program is reflective of and guided by The Early Years Learning Framework. The program focuses on preparing children to become effective learners as they develop and extend their communication skills, build their self-confidence, learn to be creative, and develop skills that assist them with reading, writing and mathematics. The program will also support children to develop an understanding of school routines and expectations.
A Victorian funding requirement is that all children access a quality education program for a minimum of 15 hours per week.
Sustainability
At Gumboots Early Learning we are committed and dedicated to implementing and supporting sustainable practices. We have an amazing ‘Sustainability Officer’ and ‘Outdoor Educator’ that teach, guide, advocate, and role model sustainable practices. We are proud members of Environmental Education in Early Childhood (EEEC) and use the resources and support of this membership, to educate and promote environmental awareness.
Our children are encouraged to get their hands dirty when learning how to care for our trees, plants, edible gardens, chickens, worm farms and compost bins. Our ‘Sustainability Officer’ and ‘Outdoor Educator’ collaborate and work with our children, educators, families, and the wider community to champion and embed sustainable practices into our daily routines and curriculums.
We incorporate the below simple concepts as teachable moments in our everyday practices and interactions:
Using recyclable materials where possible.
Recycling all recyclable items.
Saving energy by turning lights, heating, and cooling off when they are not required or in use.
Saving water by turning the water off when finished hand washing and emptying left-over water onto our garden beds and plants.
Encouraging children, staff and educators to use half flush on the toilets.
Feeding food scraps to our chickens.
Placing vegetable and fruit peelings and crushed eggshells into our worm farms and composting bins.
Educating our team, children, and families on sustainable practices
Nutrition
At Gumboots Early Learning we are passionate and understand the importance of providing children with a fresh, seasonally influenced and nutritionally balanced menu. Our team of chefs carefully plan and develop our centre menu, in consultation with a qualified nutritionist. Our menus are approved by The Healthy Eating Advisory Service and meet the menu planning guidelines for long day care.
Our meals and snacks cater for all dietary requirements and provide children with many opportunities to try new healthy, delicious and nutritious foods, from a range of different cultures. We understand the importance of educating children about healthy and active lifestyles, and we do this via our educational programs, our weekly cooking and gardening classes, our edible gardens and our ‘Garden to Plate Program’.
All daily meals and snacks are freshly prepared and cooked onsite, they not only taste great, but they also provide our children with the fuel that their little bodies need to grow and develop.
Children In Action
Hear what our families are saying about Gumboots Early Learning Centres
My family has been with Gumboots since they have opened and I recommend them to anyone who wants good quality down to earth childcare. My youngest is getting ready to start there, all three of children love it. Friendly faces, a lot of nature based play and the staff are super supportive! They truly care about the kids in their care from the menu to the activities. Constant communication as well! If I could give more stars I would. The best decision I have made for my kids! Amazing Child Care Early Learning Centre with very friendly and caring staff, excellent facilities and great programs. Love the indoor and outdoor flow of the rooms and the natural environment for the kids to play and explore. From the moment we entered we felt welcomed, safe and comfortable. We love Gumboots. Staff, facilities and attention to detail are all top shelf. Thanks for taking such great care of our little one. Gumboots has a fantastic staff who are very caring and take great care of the kids. The centre has a beautiful layout and the outdoor play areas in particular are very impressive. I highly recommend this centre. Admin and staff are so friendly and helpful🙏. They organised my daughter’s enrolment so fast. Highly recommended 😊 Tena 
