Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in Rockingham recently underwent an assessment for its Early Learning Centre (ELC), coming out the other end of the process with the impressive National Quality Framework rate of ‘Exceeding’.

The school’s ELC was started in response to existing needs of the school community, and to attract and support enrolments.

The Pre-Kindergarten program was transformed, and in 2017 the school took over operation of an on-site Outside School Hours Care service that had been run by the Parish, creating a wrap-around service to support the needs of school families and the local community. The school has since seen a significant increase in enrolments in the early years.

Star of the Sea CPS Acting Principal, Mauricio Da Silva, said that the school’s objective was to provide a fully comprehensive education for all students.

“As a Catholic school we aim to be of service to the needs of our community,

“Our ELC is the first phase of this journey. We are aiming to provide a service to enhance the safety and wellbeing of students, staff, parents and community members,” Mr Da Silva said.

In order to earn the ‘Exceeding’ rating across seven quality areas in the National Quality Framework, Star of the Sea ELC educators spent two days with assessors – one involving a visit to the ELC, and the second in an online meeting.

The educators were able to showcase their practices and expand on their vision for working with the children, families and communities, making enough of an impression through the process to achieve the highest rating.

Star of the Sea ELC Business Manager, Rhiannon Vreeken, said that the improvement journey of the centre did not stop with the achievement of the quality rating, and that staff were continuing discussions around how to better meet the needs of the children.

“Striving to exceed is a shared passion for everybody at our centre,” Ms Vreeken said.

“Our vision underpins everything that we do. For us, the journey is never finished,

“No matter what rating we achieve, we will continually review our practices and remain open to change and improvement to provide the best quality care for the children in our Centre and community.”

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