¨As early childhood education is about laying a sound intellectual, psychological, emotional, social and physical foundation for development and lifelong learning, it has an enormous potential in fostering values, attitudes, skills and behaviours that support sustainable development, example:
Wise use of resources (environment)
Cultural diversity, gender equality and democracy (social)
Savings and long term community economic support (business)¨
- 1997 UNESCO report, Educating for a sustainable future
Our families and communities form a vital part of our children’s learning journeys. We welcome, nurture and recognise the gifts of families of different backgrounds and cultures and we also foster strong ties with our communities.
TG´s builds very strong partnerships with families.
Parents at work are kept up-to-date with how their child’s day has been so they never miss out on their child’s little discoveries or daily achievements.
Families are closely involved in their children’s adventures at TG’s with the help of Raffey the toy giraffe which the children take turns to invite home to host and share adventures with.
TG's engages in sustainable practices and support environmental awareness. The children have sustainable thinking embedded into their system. This naturally flows into their families when they go home and talk about it. During National Recycling Week, the children took home simple ideas on how to be more sustainable when cooking and buying food at home.
We love having fun with families! During Father's Day, TG’s organised a delightful Carnival Afternoon Tea for fathers to take centerstage and enjoy an afternoon of reading stories, carpentry, giving dad a shave and checking out each other’s moustaches.
TG's builds inclusive, collaborative partnerships with each community.
We teach children about contributing to the community by taking part in Uralla’s Thunderbolt Festival, Armidale's Autumn Festival and Wauchope's Lasiandra Festival, showing how TG's is a positive, supportive and contributing member of the local communities.
TG's regularly invites local businesses and services to share their experiences with the children. They got up close and personal with the local firemen and the children even lovingly put together baskets of snacks and bottled water for the New England Zone Rural Fire Service.
When the children learnt about the devastating drought conditions affecting Australian farmers, they organised a “Dress Like a Farmer” week to help raise funds for farmers while at the same time, learning about a farmer's job, food production, sustainability and supply chains.
TG's partnership with families and the community enriches each child’s learning journey. They learn invaluable skills and values such as compassion for others, building relationships with people in their communities and understanding the special gifts local businesses or services give to people all around our country.