Acacia Children’s Centre – St Albans

Open 6.30am-6.pm

Monday to Friday

159 Taylors Road

St Albans, VIC 3021

Phone: (03) 9356 9731

email: accsta@acacia.org.au

Contact: Olivia Liron, Nadia Tancredi

Centre Structure

The centre is licensed for 68 full-time places with the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) and consists of four age groups:

0-24 months
24-36 months
3-4 years
4-5 years (funded kindergarten)

Upon enrolment, a child will be placed in a group according to his/ her age and will generally remain with that group for the entire calendar year. A child can be moved to another room if a vacancy exists in consultation with parents, and educators. The number of children that can be catered for is limited by the size of the room.

for more information please check the link below

St Albans Family handbook Jan 2022

St Albans Philosophy

OUR VISION

Harmonious communities, thriving on differences, where families and educators strive to understand and learn from each other.

OUR MISSION

Providing a high-quality learning and supportive environment that fosters respect, confidence and belonging.

As part of our local community, Acacia’s philosophy relates to our children, families, and educators. Our aim is to provide a welcoming, nurturing, high quality, affordable early childhood education and care to all children from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. A place where child-safe practices are paramount so that everyone belongs, feels safe, secure, and has the right to be included in all aspects of the program i.e., including any decision-making process.

We like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respect to the ancestors and elders past, present and emerging. We thank them and promise to respect and take care of the land that we learn, play, eat and sleep on.

All children are born belonging to a culture and are all unique. Therefore, they have the right to be treated as individuals and be able to share and explore their own and other cultures, including our Aboriginal heritage, free from bias and prejudice.

We acknowledge families are children’s first teachers and most important people in their lives. We place great emphasis to build and maintain respectful relationships with families where communication is valued and nurtured. We believe a collaborative approach and providing connections with various family services and the wider community will result in better outcomes for children.

The curriculum in our educational program is one that strives to develop new creative ideas, that builds on children’s skills and interests to obtain the best outcomes. The learning is assessed against the Early Years Learning Frameworks and multidisciplinary curriculum that reflects an adaptive and fluid approach.

We recognise that children are active and capable participants in their own learning and present with their own set of knowledge and skills. As educators we endeavour to challenge and scaffold children’s learning through project and enquiry-based programs, with an emphasis on play-based learning and supporting gender free play zones.

Our centre engages in a holistic approach to teaching and learning in a social context where shared sustained thinking occurs, so children’s voices are heard and respected authentically, where they share their ideas, make choices in all aspects that affect them throughout the day and freely explore their environment in their own pace.

We agree in building and fostering respectful connection of our local community and natural environment, resulting in a program that encourages and promotes language, problem solving skills, opportunities for trial and error, sensory discovery, and messy play, where we have opportunities for hands on learning and explorations, intellectual curiosity and informed risk-taking and the capacity to express and acknowledge feelings.

As Educators we are responsive to all children’s development and wellbeing. We place a strong emphasis on developing communication and well-being skills where children can recognise and connect with emotions so that they can develop self-regulation, compassion, and empathy.

Our pedagogical practices are ones that reflect our values and philosophy in Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics and U.N Rights of the Child and most importantly Acacia’s Values of (CHILD) Compassion, Honour, Integrity, Learning and Diversity.

We recognise Educators come from diverse backgrounds and bring with them a wealth of knowledge, skills, experience, and qualifications. Through the ongoing process of reflective practices and professional development educators can be culturally responsive as they share their knowledge and skills with others to add value to Acacia’s learning environment.

Acacia is committed to continuous quality improvement and support creating a community of collaborative learners with everyone that belongs to our community. Furthermore, that all educators and staff have the right to feel safe and have their voices heard and feel that their wellbeing is looked after.

updated May 2023

National Rating

Acacia children’s centre have been rated as exceeding the National Quality Standard set be ACECQA.