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 Our organisation
Photograph of girl planting seedling Photograph of classroom  

Philosophy

Safe, smiling and smart

Photograph of a girl girl practising hand movement for writing
A girl practising hand movement for writing.

"Safe, smiling and smart" underpins all practice at Building Futures centres. The Montessori philosophy is followed in the centres. Read about our children's programs for further information.

Safe:

  • Our facilities and equipment is provided ensuring that children are able to engage in the environment with safety and stimulation.
  • Equipment is purchased from reputable suppliers and our bathroom and kitchen designs maximise infection control and good food handling procedures.
  • Staffing policies include providing an "Additional Tasks" person wherever possible, as well as longer shifts to ensure generous ratios at the beginning and end of the days. Staff are therefore able to enjoy an RDO which can reduce unplanned absenteeism and allow for a permanent member of staff to relieve, rather than ad-hoc relief persons.
  • Menus are designed to ensure that children are offered at least 50% of RDI of all food groups across the day in line with the Nutrition Australia recommendation. Additionally, additives and preservatives are minimised with as much food freshly prepared "from scratch" as possible.

Smiling:

  • The program emphasises children's emotional and social well-being with Montessori being known for great outcomes for children's "EQ" - Emotional Intelligence.
  • Partnerships with families, orientation times, well-managed transitions and genuinely caring staff assist children to settle in, minimising any separation anxiety.

Smart:

  • The Montessori program builds the child's concrete learning using specially designed materials and a particular presentation technique.
  • Literacy and Numeracy foundations are provided through phonics, reading activities and materials for numeracy and geometry.
  • A broad curriculum of sciences, culture and the arts stimulates the child's interest in the world around them.
  • For more information read about our children's programs.

"If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, of values, of attitudes, which our present system induces, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness, for self-direction, and for self-initiated learning."

~ Carl Rogers