Early Childhood Centre

Our Early Childhood Centre, open 48 weeks of the year, is located in a secure, purpose-built learning environment within the Pittwater House School campus. It boasts two autonomous outdoor spaces, an undercover sandpit and an interactive sustainability garden as well as off-street parking for safe delivery and collection of children. We also have a dedicated Centre Administrator who can assist you in all aspects of your enrolment and accessing available funding.

The Early Childhood Centre is also able to use facilities within the broader Pittwater House school campus, including the Junior School playground, library, the Great Hall, the Oval and tennis courts as well as the Health Centre, where a full-time nursing sister ensures the health and wellbeing of all our students.

Inspired by the social constructivist theory of learning, we believe children learn best when they actively engage with others and participate in shared activities. We recognise that individuals bring their own prior knowledge and experiences to the learning process and that new knowledge is constructed through interactions with others.

Our Centre also embraces the important role that families play in children’s early learning. We are therefore committed to open and meaningful communication with families, consistently informing parents of their child's learning experiences and progress via Educa, an online platform also available as an App. This platform also allows extended family members to be invited to witness the child's learning journey.

Our Early Childhood Centre provides an innovative Pre-school education for children aged 3-5 years.

It provides them with a fluid and relevant early learning experience that honours each individual's pace yet appeals to their interests, stimulates their curiosity and nurtures their budding intellectual, social and emotional growth.

Our inclusive and collaborative learning approach recognises that each child's physical, emotional and cognitive development peaks at different times. Hence, our program focuses on the individualisation of each child, who share the entire learning environment, but have their identity celebrated and documented.

Our cohesive team are comprised of highly trained and experienced professionals who provide consistency of care and education, assessing and planning for each child's progress whilst ensuring their needs are anticipated and their wellbeing is monitored.

Our staff are committed to their ongoing professional development in the field of early childhood education and continually collaborate to share insights and learnings that benefit the young children in their care.

Enrolment forms for the Early Childhood Centre can be found on our How to Enrol page.

We offer our families flexible attendance options, enabling you to select your preferred days. Term Time Only* bookings are also available so you don't need to pay for days you don't need, just to retain your booking. These are especially popular for families who have children attending Pittwater House School.

Children must attend for a minimum of two set days per week and can commence at any time during the year. Casual Day bookings (subject to availability) can be booked up to 3pm the day before.

Please note:
The Early Childhood Centre is open between Monday 16 January to Wednesday 13 December 2023.
The Centre will be closed on 17 July 2023 for a Staff Development Day.
* Term Time Only is based on Pittwater House School Term dates which can be viewed here.

Our Pre-school program is based on the ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming’ Early Years Learning framework, the National Quality Framework for early childhood and care set out by the Australian Government. The Framework provides a holistic approach to early learning with play as an essential part of early development. Read more about the National Quality Framework here.

Our program encompasses key learning areas such as:

• Sustainability
• The concept of well-being and belonging
• Language and literacy
• Numeracy and early maths concepts
• Creative arts
• Physical education
• Science and technology.

To support the ‘Belonging’ component of the curriculum, children wear an age-appropriate version of the Pittwater House uniform. This helps children feel part of the School and assists with the transition from Pre-school into Kindergarten.