Our Child Care Centres

1. Programs for young children will be child-centered, with adults sharing power and responding to children’s interests and ideas while developing the curriculum.

2. Each child will be seen as unique and his/her development will be supported.

3. The child will be respected as an active learner, who constructs his or her own knowledge.

4. Adults will offer children not simply physical safety, but psychological safety, that is, respect for themselves and the development of social responsibility towards others.

The programs implemented at the Lab Schools of NSCECE will be based on the Emergent Curriculum Approach, drawing on the premise of “active learning”.   The Lab Schools strive to provide safe and healthy learning environments for children. This child-centered and developmentally appropriate curriculum is delivered by qualified teachers who are trained and caring professionals.

The Early Childhood Educators organize the children’s environment and interactions to provide consistent and secure experiences that are based on daily observations of their development, skills and emerging skills.  In deciding what interests to plan for and actively support, teachers need to assess the potential for in-depth learning by both the individual child and other members of the learning community. The content of projects should engage the adults as well as the children.

Our positive child guidance approach is designed to develop children’s self esteem and promote the development of self control and problem solving skills. Our goal is to help children take responsibility for their own behaviours.  This is achieved by using a proactive approach based on an in-depth knowledge of child development and the ability to design exciting and appropriate environments and curriculum.

Positive child guidance strategies such as clear limit setting, respect for individual differences, offering appropriate choices, reinforcing positive behaviour, modeling appropriate behaviour, ignoring inappropriate behaviour, providing experiences with natural and logical consequences, redirecting, offering substitutions and encouraging a child’s active participation in the problem solving process are employed by the teachers.

The above principles are supported by current research in behaviour guidance and have been found to be very effective in early childhood settings. We ask that you respect our approach while in the centres. The staff and Centre Directors will gladly discuss the specifics of our behaviour guidance philosophy with you upon request.

In accordance with the Day Care Act and Regulations, the Board of NSCECE will not permit the following:

• Corporal punishment including but not limited to striking a child directly or with any physical object, or shaking, shoving, spanking or other forms of aggressive physical conduct.
• Requiring or forcing a child to repeat physical movements.
• Using harsh, humiliating, belittling or degrading responses of any form, including verbal, emotional or physical.
• Confining or isolating a child or depriving a child of basic needs including food, shelter, clothing or bedding.