Our Philosophy

All services are required to have a current statement of philosophy in place. The statement of philosophy reflects the beliefs and values of those who are associated with a service. Together with the Approved Learning Framework, it assists educators in considering the service’s approach to learning, development and wellbeing. It should also underpin policies and procedures and guide all aspects of a service’s operations and practices.

At St John’s Lutheran Kindergarten – Kingaroy

  • We provide a Christian environment in which our faith infuses all we do, integrating biblical principles and modelling and practicing our values through everyday activities.
  • We believe children learn best through play. Child initiated and child directed play requires a range of skills that build neural networks, encourage physical wellbeing, foster resilience and develop children’s agency and independence. In supporting child-directed play, our skilled and experienced educators prepare the environment and enhance and scaffold learning with intentional teaching that is purposeful and deliberate, yet always respectful of children’s autonomy.
  • The rights of children are central to all we do. This includes their right to make decisions about things that affect them, their right to privacy and their right to be treated fairly. We work with families to guide the children towards awareness of, and advocacy for, what is fair and equitable, both within our own community and the world at large.
  • St. John’s Kindergarten, Kingaroy is a place of acceptance and understanding: where children feel they belong and are secure and happy. We respect, honour and celebrate the uniqueness, culture and capabilities of each child and family. We work in partnership with families to enhance every child’s individual learning and development.
  • We foster in each child an active engagement with the world, with emphasis on the natural world. Hands-on involvement in real life experiences – including interactions with our community, planting, harvesting and preparing food, engagement with the arts, re-cycling programs and support of charitable initiatives are intrinsic to the experiences we offer all children. We practice, model and explicitly teach responsible environmental stewardship.
  • We acknowledge the Wakka Wakka people as the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and play. We believe we have a responsibility to walk together with Aboriginal people to build bridges of understanding between cultures. Children have an innate sense of fairness, and we aim to foster this through a strong focus on Social Justice.
  • We enrich children’s experiences by building strong, reciprocal relationships with community agencies and networks, local schools and organizations and our wider community.
  • Independent of the qualification that they hold, our educators are consistently developing and refining their professional practices, attending additional training to keep abreast with change and participating in embedded, ongoing critical reflection in all areas of our practice.