TAS Early Learning Centre Prospectus

Trinity Anglican School

Early Learning Centre Prospectus

White Rock Campus Pre-Kindy to Year 12 Kewarra Beach Campus Pre-Kindy to Year 6

Inspiring the curious

CRICOS Provider No. 00770B TRINITY ANGLICAN SCHOOL LTD ABN 69 090 630 149

Table of Contents Inspiring the curious

Welcome

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About

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Community

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Inspiring Inside the Classroom

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Inspiring Outside the Classroom

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Enrolment Information

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Prep Readiness Program

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Welcome Welcome to Trinity Anglican School (TAS) Early Learning Centre. Early Learning is an exciting milestone in the educational journey for children and families and we consider it a privilege to nurture your curious little learner.

This document includes all the information you need for an easy transition to early learning, and the steps you can take to prepare your family for the exciting journey ahead.

We look forward to establishing a close bond between your home and our school, and instilling a life-long love of learning in your child.

Why TAS Early Learning Centre?

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An ‘Exceeding’ National Quality Standard Rating.

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Newly built, Early Learning Centres with modern, indoor and outdoor learning environments.

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Caring and consistent educators who support children to feel safe, secure and connected.

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Variety of co-curricular programs allow students to explore their curiosities and skills.

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Two-year program and Prep readiness integration.

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Dedicated in our partnership with families to improve children’s experiences and the program.

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About Two-year Pre-Kindy and Kindergarten Program Our Early Learning Centres offer a two-year program, which aligns with Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), the national guideline for Early Childhood Education.

The two-year program consists of:

12 months Pre-Kindy Program Pre-Kindy is the entry point into the TAS Early Learning Centre and allows children an additional year to develop fundamental social-emotional, language, and cognitive skills needed for Kindergarten and beyond.

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12 months Kindergarten Program Following Pre-Kindy, children enter a year of the registered Queensland Kindergarten Program, where curriculum is underpinned by five key areas of essential learning.

Children commencing Pre-Kindy in January are offered the choice to attend 3, 4, or 5 days per week until the end of January, before transitioning to full-time care at the beginning of February.

Hours of Operation Our centres offer full-time places only (children attend 5-days per week).

We are open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm and are closed on Queensland state public holidays and for two weeks over the Christmas and New Year period. The dates of the closure depend on when Christmas falls.

Facilities Our modern centres are located at both the TAS White Rock and TAS Kewarra Beach campuses, where children explore vast learning opportunities: •

TAS White Rock Campus: 4–54 Sheehy Road, White Rock

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TAS Kewarra Beach Campus: 45 Poolwood Road, Kewarra Beach

Each Centre has four rooms, designed for the developmental needs of young children, including indoor and outdoor play spaces and learning environments.

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Community Our Educators Our team of dedicated staff and qualified educators view school readiness as a holistic objective, and the early years are seen as a valuable opportunity to instil a lifelong love of learning.

Full-time educators see their role as an extension of your family, working in partnership with you to ensure your child is a confident learner but ready for their transition to Kindergarten and Prep.

Collaboration with Families As the most important people in your child’s world, families are encouraged to be active participants in their child’s development and to offer input and feedback.

Family participation is highly valued, and your ideas, experiences, and skills enable us to enrich each child’s interests, abilities, and knowledge. We welcome families, including grandparents, who have the time to volunteer to read a book or share their interests and culture with our students.

Families can also contribute to the centre by donating recyclables for crafting, or adding a photo to the community family wall, which helps children feel their family is part of the ELC community.

Communication with Families Our centre values open communication and invites parents to discuss their child’s learning progression, challenges, or worries whenever necessary. Here are three ways we communicate with families: •

Families participate in parent-teacher check-ins regularly.

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Staff share a story regularly on ‘Xplor’, where parents can see and learn more about what their child is doing each day.

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Our centre provides a portfolio for each child that contains their unique work, progression of learning, goals, observations, and evaluations.

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Learning Inside the Classroom Educational Framework The curriculum in the Early Learning Centre program is aligned with: •

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF), which aims to extend and enrich children’s learning from birth to five years, and

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The Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guidelines (QKLG), which are specifically designed to further enrich children’s learning in the year prior to their entry to Prep. The QKLG highlights five key areas of learning including Identity, Connectedness, Wellbeing, Active Learning and Communicating.

Example Day in Pre-Kindy

Example Day in Kindy

7:30 am - 8:00 am Arrival and indoor play

7:30 am - 8:00 am Arrival and morning investigations

8:30 am Morning circle / welcome song 8:45 am Learning centres and play-based exploration 9:30 am Morning tea 9:45 am Outdoor play and gross motor activities 10:30 am Story time, music or sensory activities 11:00 am Creative learning (art, STEM, nature play) 11:45 am Lunch 12:15 pm Rest / quiet time 1:30 pm Guided group activities 2:15 pm Outdoor play 2:45 pm - 5:30 pm Reflection, pack up and home time

8:30 am Circle time and literacy focus 8:50 am Inquiry learning and play-based activities 9:45 am Morning tea 10:00 am Outdoor learning and movement 10:45 am Numeracy and small group learning 11:30 am Lunch 12:00 pm Quiet reading / rest 12:45 pm Creative arts, STEM or specialist activities 1:45 pm Collaborative play and social learning 2:15 pm Outdoor play 2:45 pm - 5:30 pm Story time and home routine

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Learning Contexts School Integration

Learning with Technology

Children benefit from the extensive resources of the integrated TAS Primary campus. At the end of their two-year program, this approach can prepare them for the transition to Prep, by building a sense of belonging and security.

In line with the QKLG, children engage with technology using iPads or interactive whiteboards to create visual representations and explore topics of interest.

Learning in Nature Children explore many natural resources and environments to develop social, emotional, and cognitive skills. Dynamic indoor-outdoor learning spaces promote discovery and connection with nature through textures, sounds and smells.

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Inquiry-based Learning Educators introduce questions during learning that encourage children to utilise loose parts to create and build visual representations of their imaginations, which builds critical thinking skills, creativity, socialisation and information gathering.

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Learning Outside the Classroom Enrichment When children enter Kindergarten, they can participate in an exciting range of Extra Curricular Programs during their day, including: Incursions and Excursions

Sports and Swimming

Children participate in age-appropriate incursions and excursions as a learning tool to enhance the curriculum. Learning by doing allows children to better grasp and retain concepts while promoting engagement, confidence and teamwork.

Children turning five within the year are encouraged to explore athletics by joining entrylevel TAS sports clubs such as Netball and Hockey, or by participating in skills workshops across a selection of sports, including soccer. We also encourage students of all ages to begin Learn to Swim classes at the TAS Aquatic Centre.

Library Children turning five within the year enjoy weekly visits to the school library where they learn how the library operates, listen to stories and have the chance to borrow a book for the week.

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Birthdays Our educators ensure each child enjoys the excitement of their birthday and the opportunity to share it with their friends and teachers.

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Wellbeing Good health and wellbeing are essential for optimal learning. Children will be taught to practice good personal hygiene at our centre, as modeled by our educators. This includes frequent handwashing, covering their mouth while coughing or sneezing, and following general hygiene rules.

A child’s early years are a critical time for mental and physical development, and this is when many lifetime eating habits are formed.

Parents should provide healthy food and drinks in accordance with centre processes and policies. Sugary foods and processed snacks are discouraged, and the school aims to enforce a litter-free rule for lunches.

Making Healthy Choices

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Labels or stickers so children can identify their belongings

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Reusable water bottle, esky or lunch box

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Fruit and Vegetables

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Dairy (yoghurt, milk, cheese)

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Protein (meat, fish, eggs)

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Healthy carbohydrates.

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Enrolment Information Fees To view the Early Learning Centre fee schedule, please visit the school website, or scan the QR code.

Priority Pathways Due to the high volume of applicants, Pre-Kindy is the entry point into our Early Learning Centre.

We encourage families to complete an expression of interest for the Pre-Kindy program as soon as possible to ensure they are notified when applications open for your child.

In the event that we operate a waiting list, enrolments will be prioritised for children who are already embedded within the school community, such as families with other children attending Trinity Anglican School and children of Trinity Anglican School graduates.

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Free-Kindy Initiative The Queensland Government Free Kindy initiative applies to the Trinity Anglican School Kindergarten program only and provides 15 free hours per week to eligible children.

To calculate what is payable by parents each day, we take the daily rate, apply the CCS percentage and CCS withholding percentage, and then deduct the 15 free hours. Please see the diagram below for a fulltime example:

AM PM

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Wrap-around Kindy care

Wrap-around Kindy care

Wrap-around Kindy care

5 hours Free Kindy

5 hours Free Kindy

5 hours Free Kindy

Wrap-around Kindy care

Wrap-around Kindy care

Wrap-around Kindy care

Thursday

Friday

Full day of care

Full day of care

Queensland Government funding Applies to all children enrolled in an approved Kindy and who are at least 4 years old by 30 June in the year they are registered.

Australian Government Childcare Subsidy (CCS) may apply if eligible.

School-Age Calculator To calculate your child’s eligibility for TAS Pre-Kindy, Kindergarten or Prep: Date of Birth

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

2031

1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022

Kindy

Prep

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023

Pre-Kindy

Kindy

Prep

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Pre-Kindy

Kindy

Prep

Year 1

Year 2

Pre-Kindy

Kindy

Prep

Year 1

Pre-Kindy

Kindy

Prep

Pre-Kindy

Kindy

1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027

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Prep Readiness Program The Trinity Anglican School (TAS) Prep Readiness Program is designed to support a smooth, confident and positive transition from a TAS Early Learning Centre (ELC) into TAS Prep.

For TAS Kindergarten students, the program begins in Week 4 of Term 1 and continues for the remainder of the year, excluding the first and last week of each school term. Across the year, students participate in approximately 26 hours of Prep readiness.

How the Program Works

Program Goals

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The primary goal of the Prep Readiness Program is to ensure students feel comfortable, capable and confident as they transition into Prep.

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Each week, Kindergarten students spend one 50-minute lesson in the Prep learning environment. During these sessions, students are supported by TAS Primary and ELC staff, and gradually introduced to the routines, spaces and expectations of Prep.

Early in the year, sessions closely mirror the familiar ELC program, ensuring children feel safe, secure and confident.

Later in the year, activities become increasingly structured, gently preparing students for the learning style and independence of Prep.

This gradual, developmentally appropriate approach allows children to build confidence, familiarity and a strong sense of belonging within the Primary setting.

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Through regular exposure to the Prep environment, students: •

Become familiar with Prep classrooms, teachers and routines.

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Develop confidence navigating a Primary learning space.

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Build readiness for more structured learning experiences.

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Experience a positive and reassuring transition into Prep.

By the time students commence Prep, the environment is already familiar, helping them to settle quickly and engage positively in learning.

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admissions@tas.qld.edu.au tas.qld.edu.au White Rock Campus 4–54 Sheehy Rd, White Rock Ph: 07 4036 8111 Kewarra Beach Campus 45 Poolwood Rd, Kewarra Beach Ph: 07 4057 7000

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