At Birralee Extended Hours Preschool we believe that each child, family and educator is unique and a valued individual. We embrace diversity and celebrate differences in people. We recognise that each individual’s values, culture and abilities should be acknowledged and celebrated.
We acknowledge that families are the children’s most influential teachers and believe that educators need to work as partners with families to help children reach their full potential.
Birralee believes in building strong connections with our families and the community around us. We actively encourage parents and carer’s who have particular passions or backgrounds in music, art, crafts, community services, etc to become involved in the activities of the preschool.
The service began and continues to operate as a family business. Originally Birralee opened in 1970 and was managed by Nancy Campbell and the hall was built by her husband Jim Campbell. The current owner and director, Lorna Hughes, began her career in 1970 also at Birralee with her mother, Nancy Campbell. The Campbell’s ran the service for more than 10 years before selling it to other community families. Lorna stayed at the service for a while longer before moving on in 1981 with a view to expanding her career.
Tragically the original Birralee building was destroyed in the 1994 Como fires. This event forced the relocation of Birralee to a temporary location. Birralee was then rebuilt and reopened in its original location in April 1996.
Lorna has since returned to her beloved Birralee in 2011 as the Director and then in 2012 she purchased the service – she is now the proud owner of this preschool.
At all times we have 5 staff members working and caring for the children in our preschool. We are proud to have a higher staff ratio than is required as we believe that every child must have more than optimal care to thrive.
At Birralee our play-based program is designed around indoor and outdoor areas where children can freely choose to play in their area of interest. This is a unique program where children have the opportunity to extend on the gross motor development and social interaction while being challenged to engage in a variety of learning opportunities.
This indoor/outdoor learning environment is made possible as Birralee has 5 educators with the children at all times, which is a higher staff ration than is required by regulations. This set up allows educators to be available to children both indoors and outdoors throughout the day.
To enhance learning opportunities all children are grouped in to age-specific small groups. Children remain in these groups through out the calendar year.
Each day our program includes small group times with these groups for literacy, language, numeracy and music experiences. These small group experiences occur every day. We also provide a progressive morning tea to give children the opportunity to take responsibility and develop independence in a social environment.
Following lunch we have a quiet learning environment including fine motor and manipulative experiences and school readiness program. After quiet time has finished children are encouraged to enjoy the outdoor environment where there is a sandpit, obstacle courses, arts and crafts and imaginative play areas.
Children’s learning is continuously documented and their Learning Portfolio is presented to families regularly using Storypark.
Learning Outcomes
At Birralee our aim is to ensure that your child will learn and be confident in themselves. We follow the following learning outcomes from the National Quality Framework:
This is outlined further on the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority; visit www.acecqa.gov.au
You will be able to follow, feedback and interact with your child’s Learning Portfolio using Storypark. Birralee regularly updates your child’s learning and their milestones here are preschool using this platform.
Opening HoursMon to Fri - 8:00am to 4:00pm
Address48a Bindea Street, COMO NSW 2226
Telephone(02) 9528 6975
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