Balit Community Kindergarten has been an important part of the Northcote community for generations. The kindergarten is ideally located within the local community park and is easily accessible by tram, bus and train. As a two-room kindergarten, we offer funded three and four year old kindergarten sessions, providing a nurturing and stimulating environment that gives children and families a positive first experience of education. Our kindergarten is managed by parents in an elected Committee of Management.
Balit Community Kindergarten acknowledges the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation as the traditional owners of the land. Our learning community recognizes and values Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.
We believe that all children have their own unique sense of identity and individual needs. Children learn in different ways and at different times, and we believe all deserve to be treated with equity and fairness. They have the right to self-expression and to make decisions and choices that influence their learning and well being. When nurtured and valued, we believe that children are empowered as capable and competent learners.
Play is essential in the development of children, and we celebrate the abundant learning that comes with it. Play is meaningful when interests are acknowledged and children are involved and contribute to decision-making. We embrace children’s ability to explore, create, problem solve, collaborate and imagine when they play. We incorporate intentional teaching and child-led learning into our practice, to allow opportunities for all learning styles and recognise special and additional needs.
We acknowledge families as the child’s first teacher. Families are invited and encouraged to contribute to the program, bringing diverse skills into our learning community and group identity. We acknowledge and celebrate diversity in beliefs, culture and tradition. We embrace and support the forging of connections between the kinder and families, families with one another, and the friendships that develop to enrich the kinder community. The park directly outside our kindergarten lends itself to a wonderful informal gathering place before and after kinder sessions.
The local community within and around Northcote is important to Balit Community Kindergarten and we work strongly to maintain and establish relationships with many local groups, businesses, organizations and charities. Our cherished ‘Fun Day’ for the families at Balit Community Kindergarten and wider community is a calendar highlight.
We are committed to implementing sustainability into learning and practice. This is done through the use of natural, pre-loved and recycled materials, child-maintained herb and vegetable planter boxes, worm farm and compost, solar panels and LED lights, and the use of local, environmentally-friendly products. Educators, the committee of management and families have the opportunity to participate in the quality improvement of Balit Community Kindergarten. We want all those involved with the kindergarten to feel informed, equipped and empowered.
Our experienced and devoted Educators create a welcoming and inspiring environment for the children and families of Balit Community Kindergarten. The professionalism and commitment shown by our staff members is what makes our kindergarten an exceptional service. We value the early years as a time of significant growth and change. We strive to build respectful and reciprocal relationships with families.
Educators are active in ongoing professional development and are a source of professional information and support to families. Documentation about group learning is regularly shared with families in our Snapshots of Learning and Educators consistently reflect on teaching and practice. Reflective practice underpins the curriculum. Families have opportunities to learn about their child’s individual progress during informal daily conversations and other communications, as well as formally during Teacher Family meetings.
The Batman Park Free Kindergarten Association was established in 1945 — the culmination of years of effort by members of the local community. Led by President, Mrs G. Turner, and Secretary, Mrs M. Hamilton, the association began fundraising for the kindergarten’s construction, and succeeded in raising over £4000.
In 1951, a person who wished to remain anonymous donated sufficient cement for the kindergarten to be built, and the foundation stone was laid by Northcote Mayor Cr A. V. Peters on 17 June 1951. Built to accommodate 30 children at a cost of about £7000, Batman Park Free Kindergarten offered kindergarten sessions for four-year-old children as well as afternoon play groups for younger children. The official opening by Northcote Mayor Cr T. F. Walsh was held on 27 April 1952 and was attended by Victorian Labor leader and member for Jika Jika, Mr John Cain.
In 2010, our kindergarten offered additional sessions by extending into the adjacent hall, originally a kindergarten building and opened by Northcote Mayor Cr R.A Phillips on 11 November 1961. The hall was later used for Darebin community groups. By responding to the increased demand for kindergarten places in Darebin, we were able to welcome 45 more families into the Batman Park Kindergarten community.
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