Welcome to Werribee West Family Centre
Werribee West Family Centre is a not for profit centre offering 75 places for children aged between 6 weeks and 5 years.
The centre is open from 7:00am to 6:00pm weekdays and also offers a kindergarten program for 4 year old children.
Werribee West Family Centre is well known for its high quality programs and staff and is a unique community centre in an area that has become largely corporatized.
The centre has an active parent committee who meet bi-monthly and organise fundraising activities for the centre in order to purchase equipment and toys for the children.
Our program
We provide an educational, stimulating, flexible and secure environment which provides children with the opportunity to learn and discover. It offers opportunities for children to establish personal relationships with children and adults outside of their family and encourages interactions with others. Our program promotes the ability of children to make individual choices as well as times for small and larger group activities. While the centre is structured according to development, we value and provide the opportunity for family grouping, which includes contact with siblings and children from all the age groups. The centre also extends its programs, where appropriate, to include experiences from a wider community.
The program style that we use is interest based and covers the development of the following areas, and may include but is not limited to:
- Language - stories, poetry, discussion, debating, brainstorming, writing and publishing.
- Imagery - Symbolising, metaphor making, painting, sculpture, collage, visualising, graphic representation.
- Collaboration - sharing ideas, learning from others, being together, explaining, leading, following.
- Music and movement - songs, rhymes, chants, composing, improvisation, instrumental, dancing choreographing, performing.
- Body Awareness - Spatial, eye-hand coordination, motor development (fine & gross).
- Space/Order/Measure - experimenting, logic-mathematics, classifying, puzzles, mazes, illusions, sequencing, time.
- Science/ Nature/ Community - Natural environment, exploration of a child’s relationship to global and universal environments.
- Self Reflection/Understanding - apply to self, feelings, revealing self, decision making, motivating self, risk taking.
- Enquiries/Discussions/ Questions - child based
All full time staff in each room participates in off the floor programming time, during which they complete the room program, room reflective journals and the children’s individual journals. These journals contain reflections, observations and evaluations using both written and photographic mediums, which are the basis for the educational program. Broad Goals, transitional times, routines, individual and group strengths, needs and interests are also included into the program. The program provides a range of experiences to promote self exploration, independence and discovery.
The environment also provides complexity and challenges to support children’s growth and curiosity. The program promotes each child’s self esteem, individuality, independence and cooperative skills. Our centre’s program also encourages children to be aware of their feelings and to explore different cultural backgrounds.
Parents are encouraged to give feedback and ask staff questions at any time. We welcome parent participation and add it in to their child’s individual journal as well as the room reflective journal. Sharing of information helps join together the centre and the family home life and helps to develop a positive and respectful relationship between staff and families.
