Mary Bailey House Early Education Centre is the work-based education and care service of Santa Sabina College.
Our Early Education Centre is located in the grounds of the Primary Campus. There, in Mary Bailey House (MBH), we provide education and care to children aged from six weeks to six years. We are rated as Exceeding the National Quality Standard and MBH has been proclaimed as a benchmark service by early childhood professionals and academics alike. Our educational program is founded on the national curriculum, The Early Years Learning Framework Australia, which aims to extend and enrich children’s learning from birth through to the transition to school. It also reflects the Reggio Emilia experience which focuses on creating learning environments that support genuine collaboration and enquiry between children, families and educators. Our MBH educational leaders refer to developmental theory and educational research when reviewing and developing the program. Evidence of their engagement with pedagogy includes our Infant Toddler Curriculum, informed by John Bowlby’s attachment theory, and our Literacy Policy, framed on current research into early literacy development.
Our College transition to school program reflects research into school readiness and transition to school programs. Our educators assess and promote school readiness and our College transition activities engage the children in weekly library visits and Santa Sabina music lessons. In Term 4, Kindergarten teachers invite our pre-schoolers into their classrooms so that our children can experience learning at school.
The MBH Mission Statement states that we aim to uphold an image of the child as being strong, competent, full of potential and co-constructors of their own learning.
Our playrooms
Cradle Mountain (six weeks to two years old)
Our Infant Toddler Curriculum informs practices in this playroom where we work in close partnership with parents to support children as they settle into care and form secure attachments with our educators. Two educators work with eight children in meeting their routine needs and in promoting their development in a nurturing environment.
Lilly Pilly Gully (two to three years old)
As toddlers mature their desire to be autonomous grows so the program in this playroom is designed to support emerging independence. Two educators work with a small group of children assisting them as they gradually learn to manage physical needs such as toileting and hand washing. Our educational program is designed to challenge and stimulate learning and development while being responsive to the developing social and emotional needs of the children in our care.
Daintree Rainforest (three to six years old)
Enquiry-based projects are a core component of our preschool program. Our projects engage children in research, study, hypothesising, problem-solving and theorising. They require children to share their thoughts and ideas and to collaborate with others. Three of our educators work in the room promoting school readiness and the transition to school.
- MBH is open from 7:00am – 6:00pm, five days per week, 48 weeks a year.
- Daily fees are inclusive of all meals and program activities.
- To arrange an appointment please phone our Administrator on +61 2 9745 7779 or email f.windon@ssc.nsw.edu.au
