ECTARC Wallaroo Education and Care Service
ECTARC Wallaroo is a 44-place service providing early childhood education and care for children from birth to school age in Shellharbour on the traditional land of the Dharawal peoples. We are within walking distance of Nazareth Primary School, Shellharbour Library, local shopping centre and Elanora Nursing Home, creating many opportunities for our children to get involved with our local community. Wallaroo is only minutes away from beautiful Blackbutt Forest and Killalea State Forest, proving lots of opportunities for our children, families and educators to explore and connect with Country.
Wallaroo provides an inclusive environment that welcomes all children and their families. We ensure the program meets the developmental needs of each child, with a holistic approach ensuring that all children are truly integrated into our program. We welcome our connections with families and external agencies and use their knowledge and skills to inform our program and practice.
Wallaroo’s natural home-like atmosphere provides a comfortable and safe learning space for all children. With three indoor and 2 outdoor learning environments, children are provided with provocative resources to spark curiosity and wonder. Our 0 – 2 years room is a comfortable large indoor space with plenty of windows for natural light with a separate outdoor area surrounded by trees and shrubs. The 2 – 3 years room has a pet fish, lots of books to read & several music and movement experiences throughout the day. Both these rooms have undercover verandas allowing children to stay dry in wet weather while enjoying being out in the fresh air. The preschool room (3 – 5 years) is divided into areas allowing children to construct with open ended materials, dress up and role model an important person in their life or use the designated craft area to express creativity and individuality. The room has an open plan feel with a large cosy couch and photos from home to help create a great atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. The 2 – 3 and 3 – 5 year rooms share a large natural outdoor environment complete with wooden deck, sandpit, veggie garden, rope swing and rope ladder.
Wallaroo uses the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) to shape our educational program and practice. We believe children learn best through play so we draw on children’s interests to plan experiences to scaffold their learning. As we value the importance of early language and literacy development, we follow the Australian Abecedarian Approach (3A), which uses everyday routines to enrich our caregiving practices to develop children’s language. This 3A approach also places an emphasis on simple learning games and conversational reading techniques aimed at stretching children’s language. We have links to Shellharbour’s Paint the Town REaD initiative and have our own children’s library available to families. Social and emotional development is fostered through PALS (a social skills program where children role play various scenarios from how to say hello to ‘coping with stressful situations) and another program developed through our close connection to Wollongong University, PRSIST. This program provides various games to help children further develop their behavioural, social & emotional self-regulation skills.
The educators at Wallaroo are a committed and nurturing team. We pride ourselves on our strong connections with our families and the wider community. Our educators are committed to ongoing continuous improvement, we reflect on our program and practices and regularly undertake further training to build our knowledge and skills to ensure we are providing the best possible program for children.
Contact Us
E: Wallaroo@ectarc.com.auP: 02 4297 6161
M: 0422 531 693
Location
Wallaroo Drive and Glider Avenue, Shellharbour City Centre Shellharbour, NSW 2529, AustraliaOpening Hours
| Monday | 7:00am-6:00pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 7:00am-6:00pm |
| Wednesday | 7:00am-6:00pm |
| Thursday | 7:00am-6:00pm |
| Friday | 7:00am-6:00pm |