Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 Rachel’s Place West End · Ages 2–5
Book a tour
Book a tour Call 0413 307 933

Home  /  Curriculum

Learning

Curriculum & our three groups

An emergent, play-based program guided by the Early Years Learning Framework — and what that actually looks like for a 2, 3 and 4 year old.

Emergent, documented, unhurried

Our program is built from what children are actually doing. Educators observe, write it down, and then plan the next provocation — a new material, a walk, a question, a visitor. Over a term those threads become long investigations rather than a series of disconnected activities.

Everything sits inside the five learning outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework: identity, community, wellbeing, confident learning, and communication. The framework is the map; the children choose the route.

Families receive learning stories through the year and a quarterly learning e-book for their child — photos, dialogue and the educator’s read on what’s developing. It’s also a lovely thing to keep.

Children working together on a project at a low table
Ages & groups

Three mixed-age family groups

Around 32 children a day in total. Children transition when they’re ready — usually with a friend, always with a familiar educator alongside them.

A two year old exploring water play
2–3 years

Pre-Kindy

Our youngest group. The priority is feeling safe: predictable rhythms, a familiar lap, and the same educator through the day. Zoe leads this group.

  • Sensory and messy play — water, sand, clay, dough, paint
  • Language and songs, repeated until they’re owned
  • Self-help skills: shoes, hats, hand washing, serving food
  • Toileting supported at the child’s pace — nappies and wipes included
  • Rest or quiet time for the children who still need it
Junior Kindy child painting
3–4 years

Junior Kindy

Friendship is the big work of this year — joining play, keeping it going, and repairing it when it falls apart. Kai leads this group.

  • Long imaginative play with props children make themselves
  • Small-group projects that run for weeks
  • Forest School sessions and neighbourhood excursions
  • Early mark-making, story dictation and lots of book talk
  • Real tools, real jobs: sweeping, watering, chopping fruit
Kindergarten children working with an educator
4–5 years

Kindergarten — our kindy-approved program

Delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher and approved under the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline, so children can access Queensland kindergarten funding. Kate leads the kindy program.

  • Sustained investigations children help design and evaluate
  • Phonological awareness, name writing and number sense through play
  • Persistence and problem solving — the real school-readiness skills
  • Transition-to-school support, including talking with your chosen school
  • A learning portfolio and end-of-year statement for each child
Fees & kindy funding

A typical day

Times flex with the children, the weather and the season. This is the shape of it.

Daily routine at Rachel's Place
TimeWhat’s happening
7:00amDoors open. Quiet indoor play, books, breakfast for early arrivals.
8:00amYard opens. Gardening, digging, climbing, water play.
9:00amMorning tea together, then group time — songs, stories, planning the day.
9:30amInvestigations and open play, indoors and out. Forest School on program days.
11:30amLunch from home, eaten together at the table.
12:15pmRest, quiet stories, or calm activities for non-sleepers.
2:15pmAfternoon tea, then back outside as the yard cools down.
4:00pmLate afternoon play, documentation shared, handovers with families.
5:45pmCentre closes.

Please pack lunch and snacks. We don’t provide food, so children bring their own lunch box each day. Everything else — sunscreen, nappies and wipes, program resources and excursions — is included in the daily fee.

Come and see if we feel like the right fit

Tours run during session times so you can see the centre as it really is — busy, muddy and happy. Rachel or Kate will show you around and answer every question you have.

Book a tour Join the waiting list