Bermagui Preschool has been operating since October 1976. We are a Non-Profit Government/Community based Preschool catering for up to 40 children between the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years. Bermagui Preschool has been rated “exceeding” in all areas of the National Quality Standards, are currently holds a rating of “excellent”.
Since 2016, our preschool also offers Long Day Care and Vacation Care.
Our Staff
Please take time to get to know the teachers and educators. Our highly qualified early childhood educators work to a strict code of conduct, have completed ‘Working with Children’ checks and are guided by our policies and procedures. At all times children will be supervised by an educator with a First Aid Certificate, and Asthma & Anaphylaxis training. Please also note that all preschool educators are Mandatory Reporters and obligated to report children at risk of significant harm.
Our preschool advocates for high qualification and quality of their teachers and educators. Educators are committed to best practice in Early Childhood Education and participate in ongoing training and professional development.
| DIRECTOR/TEACHER: | Narelle Myers |
| ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/EDUCATOR: | Lindsay Trower |
| TEACHERS: | Lara Crew Tilly Vass |
| EDUCATORS: | Amanda Spooner Angelita Hochkins Kerry Carradus Mia Jessop Niamh Edgar Rebecca Linfoot Sarah Pitsonis |
| FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION: | Kirsty Sunderland |
| CLEANER: | Tim Hoare |
| BOARD OF DIRECTORS: | Adam Millar Carli Briggs Claire Wheaton Ella Sayers Louise Hatton Naomi Day Rebecca Ramsay |
| The Board of Directors is elected at the Annual General meeting in March each year. | |
Programming
The preschool programs aim to encourage active involvement in the learning process by experiencing a variety of developmentally appropriate activities and resources. The educators utilise the Early Years Learning Framework (2009) and My Time, Our Place (2011) to guide program development.
Our programs aim to foster positive self-esteem, develop social skills, encourage children to think/reason/question and experiment, encourage language development, enhance physical development/skills, encourage/demonstrate sound health/safety and nutritional practices and encourage creative expression within a safe and nurturing environment.
Our Services
| Program | Age/Eligibility | Days | Hours | Fee |
| Preschool | 3 years to 5-year-olds |
Mon-Fri (during NSW school terms) |
8:15am-3:45pm | Non-equity 3-year-olds $62/day Non-equity 4/5-year-olds $42/day Equity 3-year-olds $42/day Equity 4/5-year-olds $37/day First Nations, Torres Strait Islander or Exceptional Circumstances $10.50/day |
| Long Day Care | 6 weeks to 5-year-olds |
Mon-Fri (50 weeks each year) |
8:15am-3:45pm | $105.00 / day $116.00 / day (Casual) |
| Vacation Care | 6 weeks to 5-year-olds | Mon-Fri (during NSW school term breaks) |
8:15am-3:45pm | $105.00 / day |
* Fee relief may be available for eligible families choosing to receive their fee relief from Bermagui Preschool under the NSW Government Start Strong Affordable Preschool initiative.
* Child Care Subsidy (CCS) may be available to further reduce fees.
* We offer casual and occasional care if places are available.
* Our services are closed on public holidays & for 2 weeks during the Christmas/New Year period.
* Click here for Term Dates: NSW Department of Education website
Our Philosophy
Play is essential in the lives of young children. We believe play should be fun, exciting, spontaneous, hands-on, stimulating, relaxing, comforting, challenging and allow children to “just be children”. We believe it is important to provide opportunities for children to experiment, discover, explore, create, investigate, practice theories, solve problems and express ideas with the support of other children and the educators. We believe in celebrating children’s play, discoveries and learning through reflection and meaningful documentation.
Children are capable, resourceful and valued members of the community. We believe children should be encouraged and supported to follow their learning interests with the support of the preschool community. We believe that play is essential to children’s learning and that children learn most effectively within a relaxed environment with meaningful, authentic experiences. We believe young children bring delight and make a valuable contribution to the community and to the world.
Children should be encouraged and supported to make their own decisions and choices and seek to actively develop positive problem solving skills in a success-orientated environment. We believe in providing children with opportunities to discover and learn about themselves, others and the environment in an atmosphere that encourages harmonious and meaningful relationships.
It is important to provide a beautiful environment, a place of wonder, order and peace. We endeavour to provide an enchanting environment filled with art, music, dance, literacy and beauty, that inspires joy, encourages curiosity and instils in each child a sense of aesthetic awareness that promotes creativity and expression. We believe in nourishing the children’s and educator’s soul, creativity and imagination.
A sense of wonder, belonging to and love of the land, nature and animals are critical for young children to develop lifelong respectful, positive and proactive attitudes to our environment and to ensure our sustainable future. We believe in giving children time to play outdoors every day. We believe in the rights of children to be able to feel the land beneath their feet, the sun on their face, experience the natural rhythms of the seasons and breathe fresh air. We believe this is essential to everyone’s well-being and development. We believe in nurturing and protecting our most precious gifts – our children and our planet.
Each child, family and educator is a unique and valued individual. We value and honor diversity and accept and celebrate differences in other people. We believe each person and their family’s values, culture, beliefs, abilities and language should be acknowledged and accepted and reflected in the preschool’s environment.
We believe in building a community that values children, respects their rights and gives them love. We believe in building a community that enables children to develop a readiness for the transition to school and more meaningfully, a readiness for life.
Each individual has a story to tell and by sharing these stories we create relationships and bonds that strengthen and unite us. Learning is enhanced in an environment where you feel you belong. We believe in developing respectful relationships with children, families and staff through open and meaningful communication. We encourage and support children to interact peacefully and collaboratively, express empathy for each other and actively challenge bias and promote social justice.
We believe in supporting and developing a partnership with families to share the nurturing and education of their children. We encourage each family to participate in the preschool community and support and welcome their interest and involvement.
Our community are the children, their families, the educators and all people and services the preschool has made connections with since our establishment in 1975. We believe as part of this community, we have a responsibility to our children and families to establish and maintain a sense of belonging and connection to the land and to our shared Aboriginal history and culture, to actively embrace reconciliation and spread this message. We believe our role is to engage the Djiringanj People of the Yuin Nation in a collaborative authentic partnership with our preschool.
We believe in advocating for the rights of children by promoting awareness of the importance of early childhood education, children’s services and issues relating to young children and their families.
We believe in providing acceptance and support to promote the children’s, families’ and educator’s personal growth and develop their positive self esteem and confidence. We believe that our staff need to work together to provide a pleasant, calm and smooth running environment, where continuity of care is assured and relationships are encouraged and strengthened through mutual respect. We will endeavour to work together to share duties and responsibilities, maintain high levels of supervision, care, safety and hygiene. We will acknowledge our individual strengths and weaknesses. We believe in continuous improvement of practice and skills through ongoing reflection, updating qualifications and knowledge through study, reading and attendance at workshops.