Macquarie Long Day & Early Learning Centre

At Macquarie Long Day & Early Learning Centre we aim to provide a variety of stimulating, hands-on activities that will prepare all children for school. These activities focus on the areas of fine motor skills, maths skills and pre-reading skills.

The activities do not aim to teach the children to read and write but give them the necessary skills and confidence to be able to succeed at these tasks once they begin school.

Another extremely important aspect of our school readiness program is the development of positive social skills, which we focus on at all times of the day through both formal and informal play situations, the development of confidence in self-help and the development of listening skills which are a focus of our group time experiences.

After participating in our school readiness program, it is anticipated, all children will make a smooth, confident transition to school.

Evaluation Of School Readiness

All children who participate in the school readiness program will have their progress evaluated through a variety of means including the school entry checklist, written observations and a file of their work samples. These will be used to determine each child's strengths and weaknesses and will assist staff in planning suitable activities.

While it is anticipated that the children who are in their final year of care before school will be the ones who are most actively engaged in the 'pre-school readiness program'', all children at the centre, regardless of their age, are preparing for school (and what comes after). Whether it is the basic task of moving around and walking, right through to more complex social dynamic and cognitive skill development, all the children in the centre will be involved in at one point or another. It is the individual child's own timeline of development which will determine the exact time, place and mode of which this involvement will take. The staff in the room will utilise a range of observation and documentation across the program to monitor your child's growth and development.