Prioritising the safety and wellbeing of children
This Child Protection Week, Catholic Early EdCare is reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding children and young people.
Our early learning program is focused on promoting your child’s sense of self and belonging to the world around them. Nurturing your child’s spirituality in their early years allows them to grow empowered, resilient and confident to take the next steps in their journey.
Children are naturally spiritual and at times spirited. At Catholic Early EdCare our early learning program is focused on developing your child’s sense of self and belonging to the world around them.
We believe in the importance of harnessing your child’s innate sense of natural wonder and nurturing it so they can grow empowered, resilient and confident to take the next steps in their journey.
So, what does spiritual development in the early years look like and how does it benefit your child?
As a Catholic organisation the values of care, compassion, honesty, kindness and thankfulness are central to everything we do and are displayed through our actions, stories and sharing exercises.
We also recognise the richness that diversity brings and welcome all families in our community, celebrating all faiths and cultures.
For example, at the Good Shepherd Child Care Centre in Springfield Lakes several families celebrate Diwali and the children can’t help but share their excitement for the Hindu New Year. Educators embrace this interest and help children celebrate this important ritual with friends by talking about it, making lanterns and Diya to light up the centre for the New Year.
Another way we foster spiritual development is by encouraging your child to explore their surroundings and develop an appreciation and care for their environment.
Across all centres children learn to respect and care for their environment through recycling, reducing waste and growing produce.
Southport Catholic Parish Long Day Care and Kindergarten offers a weekly bush kindy program allowing your child to explore and learn about the natural environment.
At St Mary’s in Upper Coomera children instigated the construction of a ‘bug hotel’ using natural and recycled materials to accommodate the wildlife they observed in the garden. Children learnt about building a suitable environment and developed a deeper respect for nature, closely observing a variety of bugs and how they live.
Something that sets us apart from other childcare services is the genuine sense of community we offer as part of the broader Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane and the pathways this creates to further education within the Catholic education system.
Most of our long day care and kindergartens are co-located with a local parish and Catholic Education primary school or college, offering a seamless transition for your child to prep.
Nurturing your child’s spirituality in their early years strengthens their sense of self and purpose. Research indicates spiritual development is of most relevance and importance in children before the age of eight. It is also acknowledged if a child’s spirituality is ignored, it will fade and be lost.
We recognise and honour the important role spiritual development plays in early childhood settings.
Talk to one of our team about how our focus on nurturing your child’s spirituality enables them to develop a sense of self, respect for the world around them and belonging in their community.
