Criterion C309#

The service curriculum provides children with a range of experiences and opportunities to enhance and extend their learning and development – individually and in groups.

Curriculum criteria documentation required

Guidance#

The range of experiences and opportunities provided to enhance children’s learning and development will be heavily influenced by the outcomes of assessment, planning, and evaluation practices. Along with providing a range of resources and equipment, extending children’s learning and development involves using these in purposeful and meaningful ways, relevant to the children’s lives.

Resources take many forms and will include people, places and things. The resources provided to support the service curriculum should reflect the service’s philosophy of learning and will be responsive to the preferences of children, their families, the staff, and community. In a hospital setting resources may be provided in a shared activity area for those children whose health allows it. Curriculum experiences for children who are unable to access this space will need to be flexible to enable participation.

The experiences and opportunities available should:

• enable children to make choices about their learning
• take the form of individual or group learning
• happen in different environments and
• offer challenge and familiarity.

Through their interactions with children, educators have a key role in extending children’s learning and development. They create opportunities for children to expand their thinking and learning within friendly, nurturing relationships.