On the Coast – Families Issue 103 I December 19/January 20 | Page 8

CENTRAL COAST COUNCIL Help your children thrive at one of Council’s services recognised by NSW Excellence awards I s your child heading into ‘big school’ next year or in 2021? Help prepare your little one for this enormous milestone in their education and enrol them in Central Coast Council’s award- winning Childcare Centres. Council’s Terrigal Children’s Centre recently won the Family Involvement Program Excellence Award at the Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards, which shine a light on best practices across the State. Council place a strong emphasis on developing strong connections in our community and a sense of belonging for the benefit of children and their families. Terrigal was recognised as leaders in their ability to work collaboratively with families to respectfully share, use or display different beliefs and values to enhance the learning and inclusion of all children. In fact, all eight of Council’s Centres were nominated as finalists at the Awards, displaying their excellence in program development. Centres were finalists in the following Program Excellence Awards Categories: ƒ ƒ Community Involvement Excellence – Northlakes, Toukley, Kanwal and Umina ƒ ƒ Environmental Program Excellence – Wyong, Toukley, Niagara Park, Umina & Kariong ƒ ƒ Family Involvement Program Excellence – Terrigal (winner) ƒ ƒ Multicultural Program – Kariong ƒ ƒ Children’s Wellbeing and Health Program Excellence – Wyong, Northlakes and Umina ƒ ƒ Inclusivity Practises Program Excellence – Kariong Educational programs that focus on each child’s well-being and interests, coupled with excellent relationships with local primary schools that provide for the opportunity to visit and be a part of school events, will enable your child to feel capable as they transition to Kindergarten. Council centres pride themselves on their warm and secure, yet interesting and stimulating environment that caters 8 O N T H E C OA S T – FA MILIES Staff members Mellissa Klumpp and Kylie Payne for both the nurturing and learning needs of each child. Children are given time to discover, explore, imagine and investigate, inspiring them to become eager and enthusiastic learners. These play-based programs help maximise their potential and develop a strong foundation for future success in learning while also recognising the importance of a child’s social and emotional growth alongside communication and language development. The centres Outside-the-Gate program encourage children to discover a world of possibilities and an appreciation for the outdoors by utilising the local environment as a tool for teaching, learning and exploration. Children are encouraged to engage in adventurous play and to recognise safe and unsafe situations. Their independence is encouraged through allowing them to actively participate in decisions that affect them. To assist identification of early indicators of speech disorders, language delay or hearing problems in children; free speech pathology services are offered. If your child requires assistance with speech and/or language skills, educators are provided a speech program to implement within the classroom, which complements their learning outcomes and developmental needs. Parents/carers will also be provided with ideas and activities that can be done at home and referred on to an external speech pathology services if required. All centres cater for children from six weeks to six years, with separate rooms for 0-3 years olds, are SunSmart certified and offer cooked nutritious meals. You’ll be kept up to date on what’s happening at the centre, and what learning your child has engaged in during the day through the free StoryPark app. If you are looking for quality and affordable child care in 2020 don’t delay. Limited places are now available at Council’s eight Centres at Kanwal, Toukley, San Remo, Wyong, Terrigal, Niagara Park, Umina and Kariong. To enrol or organise a tour of your local centre call 4350 5181 or visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/childcare