About Us
Quality Care
Rainbow Cottage offers educational programs and quality care for children between the ages of two to five years.
Long Day Care
We are a long day care service, operating for 50 weeks per year.
Our hours are 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday.
Community Owned
Rainbow Cottage is proudly community owned and operated as a not-for-profit service to the local community.
Our Vision
Rainbow Cottage is a not-for-profit early childhood education and care service, community owned and operated. Parents, educators, community members, and staff aim to build strong partnerships through the process of consultation and collaboration. The service aims to reflect the values of the community in all its diversity and is committed to excellence in the provision of care and educational programs through embracing the Early Years Learning Framework.
Involvement
As a community based, not-for-profit Early Learning Centre, Rainbow Cottage requires and highly values the involvement of its parent community.
Rainbow Cottage welcomes and needs the participation of all parents in a variety of ways such as committee involvement, parent participation in the classroom, and sometimes working bees. Our centre community is underpinned by a great sense of friendship and partnerships which are strengthened through various casual and more formal social and fundraising events.
What We Offer
Groups and Rooms
Koala Room : For Age two turning three years old
Kookaburra Room : For Age three turning four years old
Kangaroo Room : For those attending school next year
Curriculum
At Rainbow Cottage we have embraced the nationally approved Early Years Learning Framework . This is reflected in all aspects of our learning environments.
The aim of the Early Years Learning Framework is to extend and enrich children’s learning from birth to five years and through the transition to school. It was developed to assist services to provide young children with opportunities to maximise their potential and develop a foundation for future success in learning.
Philosophy
We Believe:
- That for children to engage actively in their environment and therefore in their learning they need to feel safe, respected, and valued; they need to feel they belong.
- That a play based open ended learning environment supports children becoming competent and confident learners.
- That the environment presented to the children should engage senses, stimulate curiosity, and encourage active exploration.
- That all children be allowed to make mistakes. Through this process they personally discover that persistence as well as trial and error is a natural part of learning.
- That the educational experiences offered to the children be drawn from a variety of methods. These would include observation of the children’s needs and interests, spontaneous happenings, and forward planning and intentional teaching.
- That the natural environment is to be treasured. By reducing, re- using, and recycling, we hope to minimise our impact on the planet. We aim for sustainability.
Governance
As a licenced Early Learning centre, we are governed by the Educational and Care National Law which supports the Education and Care Services National Regulations.
To ensure that we maintain a high standard of education and quality of care at Rainbow Cottage policies and procedures are created that meet the National Regulations and these are implemented in the day to day operations of the service.