The following case study was provided by Malvern Springs ELC, Ellenbrook, Western Australia. 
It originally appeared in ACA's Belonging Early Year Journal, Volume 7 Number 3, 2018.

Malvern Springs ELC, Ellenbrook, Western Australia

At Malvern Springs Early Learning Centre our education program focuses on the building and developing of the children’s knowledge, ideas, culture abilities and interests.

The program content is based on the developmental milestones we have identified that the children need to strengthen, in conjunction with the children’s natural interests, what the children have been interested in the previous fortnight, and the input and feedback from families as to what they would like to see their children learning/developing. 

We encourage our educators to adopt intentional teaching practices, inviting the children to take an active role in their learning by sharing their interests and ideas, helping them to become involved in play, and building on interests and ideas that they observe. We scaffold the children’s learning by asking open questions, role modelling and ensuring that our daily activities are learning focused and provide a variety of learning experiences.  

Family participation a key component

We invite the parents to contribute to the learning program, keep them informed of the goals we have set and offer suggestions for them to continue the learning at home. 

Focus on Indigenous culture

We have several families from Indigenous communities, and we invite these families to share their traditional family activities, celebrations and with our service to help us develop an inclusive program. They contribute richly to our program by retelling cultural stories, sharing art and cooking activities to help the children and our team of educators learn about and celebrate the uniqueness of their culture.

Continual observation and evolution of the teaching program 

Our team reflects on our practices fortnightly, looking at what is working and what we need to improve. We use developmental checklists, parents' input/requests and children’s interests to create a learning goal that is challenging yet achievable for the child. These goals identify the areas of learning where the child needs support.

The educators then create an observation based on these goals, working with the children to achieve them. The educational program reflects these goals and plans for activities to assist the children’s individual learning as well as group learning opportunities . 

The program is a living document where we add and change details on a daily basis to reflect the children’s, families and educators’ ideas.

We continually work on the children’s goals until achieved and continually add goals to further their development. The learning goals set are a great way to keep track and record the children’s learning on an ongoing basis. 

ACA passes on its heartfelt thanks to the team at Malvern Springs ELC, Ellenbrook WA for sharing their story with us. 

Further blog articles are available here.