Parent engagement
In the spirit of co-operation on which our program is based, parents and teachers work together. The continuity between home and the program helps to ensure an atmosphere of acceptance and love. Parents are viewed as partners, collaborators, and advocates for their children. It is our aim to provide an environment in which all children feel free, safe and comfortable, enabling the children to follow their urges to explore, discover, thrive and develop a love of learning. We believe that the learning environment that consists of collaboration between children, families and Educators working together provides for the holistic development of the child.
We encourage regular and ongoing communication with parents. Communication with families and other professionals about children’s learning, development, and progress/wellbeing can be done in a variety of ways including by phone, email or through written and posted tools such as using Bulletin Boards to display children’s artwork and photographs, reflective pedagogical documentation, newsletters, surveys, and portfolios. (Toddler and Preschool programs only). This will capture the rich experiences and learning that occur in the program.
Kids Come First will encourage families to take part in the program and investigations whenever possible. In addition, we provide events throughout the year that promote family involvement including family breakfast drop in, community events such as potluck dinner, BBQ, Halloween event as well as information sessions, program surveys, Educators and family conferences and ongoing daily in person communication.
Kids Come First believes that family or parental involvement helps extend teaching outside the classroom by creating a more positive experience. The connection between the program and the home is a key component of a child’s development that supports further learning for the child.
The Educators will work with parents to ensure that they are connected to resources outside of the Centre if needed, and to community partners such as Early Intervention Services, Occupational therapists, Social workers, Speech therapists, and other support services. Kids Come First also has a variety of resources such as videos, articles and books that can be signed out to families.
Community
Community involvement is essential in maintaining a supportive, nurturing and educational environment. Kids Come First views the community as a valuable resource and our Educators plan learning opportunities to engage the community in our programs. We seek out opportunity to share our knowledge and to learn from others in the community.
All of our locations are hosted in community schools and we value the strong relationships we build with the Principals, teachers and school personnel. We strive to plan a seamless day for School Age programs. Wherever possible we build collaborative relationships with our shared space teachers and share equipment and supplies to provide a seamless environment for the children.
Health and safety
The health and safety of adults and children is extremely important to us. Kids Come First meets and strives to exceed all health and safety requirements of the Ministry of Education and local government policies and requirements. Policies have been put in place to ensure that appropriate safety precautions and inspections have taken place. Where required, Kids Come First has 3rd party inspections to ensure compliance.
At Kids Come First, all programs are re-evaluated regularly to reflect changes within The Child Care Early Years Act and current research in Early Childhood Education curriculum. At regular intervals throughout the year, information will be sent out to share with families about what is happening within the programs, as well as topics of interest and future events. In addition, Kids Come First will evaluate the environment on an annual basis to review interactions indoors and outdoors between Educators and children, Educators and families and interactions with materials, space and activities in the environment.