First Five Early Learning Reservoir
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First Five Early Learning Reservoir Centre overview
Welcome to First Five Early Learning Reservoir!
The first five years is a critical and sensitive period for children’s learning and development. At First Five Early Learning Reservoir, we join with you to establish a secure foundation for your child’s health and wellbeing, learning and development.
Our family-owned and operated service provides children and families with a high-quality early education and care experience. Welcoming children aged birth-5 years, our service offers purposeful learning environments, and inviting natural playgrounds.
High-quality education and care matters for children’s early experiences and how they develop foundational skills for learning and life. For young children, high-quality education and care incorporates: secure and trusting relationships with responsive educators; play-based learning; and purposeful learning environments.
Our play-based curriculum affords developmentally appropriate experiences that build healthy bodies and brains as children explore actively, engage with others, and have fun. Purposeful indoor and outdoor learning environments foster children’s curiosity and engagement through self-initiated and educator-guided play. Pre-reading and pre-writing skills are supported through a focus on literacy, numeracy, and STEM concepts embedded in intentional play-based learning.
Fees & Vacancies
Enquire & enrol to get a week on Care For Kids*
*T&Cs apply
Enquire & enrol to get a week on Care For Kids*
*T&Cs apply
Enquire & enrol to get a week on Care For Kids*
*T&Cs apply
Enquire & enrol to get a week on Care For Kids*
*T&Cs apply
First Five Early Learning Reservoir Service features
See more (10)First Five Early Learning Reservoir service include:
Get to know us
Meet the team
Meet the team
Our 105-place service is led by a qualified team of early childhood professionals. Dedicated leadership roles include a Centre Manager, Assistant Centre Manager and Educational Leader to support children, families and a quality program. Our Reservoir leadership team have many years experience in the education sector and all hold an early childhood qualification.
As the leader of the service, our Centre Manager, Tanya, builds on connections with children, families and the wider community to create a warm and welcoming environment and a strong sense of belonging. In service delivery, Tanya is focused on connection, safety and compliance, and your child’s wellbeing and enjoyment within the program. Tanya works closely with our Assistant Centre Manager, Marawa, to afford you a welcoming and supportive experience. At Reservoir, we also offer a unique support to families and community via our Centre Liaison Officer, Rita.
At First Five Early Learning Reservoir, we invest in the Educational Leader role to focus on continuous quality improvement in our programs. The Educational Leader role is mandatory in early childhood education services and responsible for supporting and leading the development and implementation of the educational program. Our Educational Leader, Casey, holds a Bachaelor of Early Childhood Education.
About the curriculum
About the curriculum
Our play-based curriculum is grounded in early childhood education research and evidence-based practice to afford optimal outcomes for children’s learning and development.
We know from research that young children learn best through play. Play supports children’s physical, social and emotional wellbeing, and improves their language, thinking and problem-solving skills. Purposeful learning environments for play provide unhurried time for children to play, discover and learn.
For babies, our nursery spaces have clearly defined areas to help very young children make sense of their environment. The design of the space guides babies to different types of play and engagement. Babies can see everything in the space but can’t attend to everything they see when it’s too crowed or overstimulating. Our design is uncluttered and calming. We use baskets and arrange materials so that they are accessible to babies and encourage them to move toward, reach and grasp.
The design of our toddler rooms responds to schematic play (repeated patterns in children’s play) and children’s changing movement patterns such as stepping and climbing. The resources support schemas such as transporting items across the room, connecting objects together such as blocks and cars, and learning about the trajectory of objects and how they move. While play items do travel in the hands of toddlers, clear visible boundaries for each learning area reminds children of where things belong. Play spaces within our toddler rooms also respond to children’s beginning dramatic play and how they act out real-world experiences of home and community.
Learning environments for children aged 3-5 years afford rich stimuli and opportunities for extension as children become more detail-oriented in all aspects of their learning. Dramatic play is a feature as children take on roles and act out a range of scenarios, building their social and language skills as they engage with co-players. Dedicated block play spaces provide varied and complex materials and invitations to plan, build, evaluate and describe. Open art shelves present an array of quality materials in recognition of the arts being a primary language for young children to express their creativity, imagination and emotions. Literacy, numeracy and STEM are embedded in multiple ways across the play spaces.
Across all age groups, learning environments afford dedicated book areas to promote a love of reading and stories, and children’s oral language development. A focus on open-ended materials invites curiosity, multiple ways to play and negotiation as children collaborate and communicate with each other around how materials will be used. Defined spaces, uncluttered environments, clear walls and ceilings are responsive to children’s individual sensory profiles and their need for familiarity and safety.
Our government approved kindergarten program for 3-4 and 4-5 years is delivered by bachelor-qualified early childhood teachers. Within the kindergarten program, children develop five (5) foundational skill sets in preparedness for transition to school. Physical skills, social skills, emotional skills, oral language skills and dispositions for learning are foundational to formal learning at school and coping with the demands of the school day.
Programs
Programs
The design of playgrounds matters for children’s development and learning. Our expansive indoor and outdoor playgrounds for both nursery and older children provide the best of both worlds, with coverage for all-weather play and access to the natural world, sunshine and fresh air.
Our playground designs include fixed equipment, open space, portable equipment, natural or native elements and elements of risk. Built and natural features promote an array of experiences for children and support engagement with familiar spaces and equipment, and the ever-changing environments that nature affords. The elements in our playground designs cater to the developmental and play needs of young children as they grow.
Health and nutrition
Health and nutrition
Our Centre Chef, Matt, prepares fresh, nutritious meals daily in line with Nutrition Australia requirements and guidelines. Children’s allergy profiles, cultural requirements and individual preferences are catered for to ensure safety and positive food experiences. Matt engages with the children around ingredients, food preparation and taste.
Newly installed vegetable and herb gardens in our outdoor playgrounds provide opportunities for the children to work with educators and Huong around planting, harvesting and preparing fresh ingredients for mealtimes.
As eating is a social practice, our educators sit with children during mealtimes to talk about the meal and share stories of home and community. We offer progressive mealtimes for older children during morning and afternoon tea to ensure play is uninterrupted and mealtimes unhurried.
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117 Edwardes StreetReservoir, VIC, 3073
Centre Reviews
noticing more and more educators leave due to bullying from manager Tanya. Room leads, ACM, Teachers. Headoffice will blame the ones leaving to... noticing more and more educators leave due to bullying from manager Tanya. Room leads, ACM, Teachers. Headoffice will blame the ones leaving to cover for families. very sad 😢 Read more
Absolutely amazing centre! The staff are so helpful and friendly ♥️ Honestly cannot fault First Five at all. The care they have and attention... Absolutely amazing centre! The staff are so helpful and friendly ♥️ Honestly cannot fault First Five at all. The care they have and attention to detail they have not only for my son but all the children is second to none ♥️ Read more