At St Joseph’s School, we offer high-quality early childhood education for children from the age of three years onwards. Our early childhood programs allow children to develop at their own rate, following their own interests with a strong play-based foundation.

Each child is a precious and sacred gift who possesses their own unique talents and abilities. Our program enables our children to experience the joy and wonder of the world in a safe, secure, happy and stimulating environment. Our program takes into account each child’s aptitude to learn through a variety of learning experiences, including a balance of teacher-initiated or directed activities and exploratory and investigative play. Children are directly involved and active in their learning; discussing what they know, what they would like to know and what they have learnt.

We believe that all children are strong, competent and unique. We aim to develop a positive attitude to learning and a thirst for knowledge while providing a happy, stimulating and supportive environment where children feel welcome, secure and valued.

At St Joseph’s, early years education is based on:

• Our Catholic faith being central to all that we do.
• The education of our students is grounded in Gospel values.
• The voice of the child is paramount.
• Embracing a sense of community.
• Working in partnership with parents.
• Play-based and inquiry-based learning approaches that encourage children to engage and challenge their learning in a range of environments and contexts.
• The understanding that learning is intentional and should be centred around children’s interests and wondering about the world.
• The process of learning is more important than the product.
• Educators modelling questioning and the inquiry process across all aspects of learning.
• Listening to encourage children to test theories, justify reasoning, assist in developing plans, etc.
• The Early Years Learning Framework, the Western Australia Curriculum, the Kindergarten Guidelines and the National Quality Standards are used as a basis for planning within a Catholic context.

Please take a look at our Virtual School Tour to see how we structure our classroom and outdoor spaces for play-based learning experiences.