There has been significant discussion across Australia this week about early childhood education. An ABC Four Corners’ investigation identified serious cases of abuse and neglect at a number of privately operated centres. This has led to a proliferation of further examples and media coverage which highlights the vast differences between centres like the King David School which has a proud tradition of providing excellent care and education and those others that have been assessed as failing to meet the standards that are expected by parents and the wider community.

The heartbreaking cases described in the Four Corners’ report reflect an egregious breach of trust for the parents who rightfully assume that a centre will present an extension of their love and care for their child. These abuses are occurring to our most vulnerable at a time of significant reliance on adult support and intervention. It is also evident that negative encounters at this stage can rob children of vital learning experiences when their brains are at the stage of more rapid development than at any other time in their lives. 

Anyone who visits our Early Learning Centre is immediately overwhelmed by the warmth, compassion, professionalism and purpose that our exceptional staff demonstrate. Perhaps this is why I have found it so jarring and outrageous to hear the examples reflected in the report. While it is easy to take for granted the hard work, discernment and culture that underpins our centre, it is awful to consider that other children are receiving educational experiences that are so far from what is offered at our school.

Early childhood education has been proven to be vital in ensuring positive foundations for future learning. The physiology of human brain development gives us a clue to the importance of positive learning environments at this life stage. Between the ages of birth and 5 years old the child’s brain grows from roughly 25% to 90% of the size of an adult brain. In particular, this is an important time in language acquisition, identity formation and relationship development.    

The emphasis of our educational approach is to enable our students to thrive in their developing sense of identity through rich experiences that explore their family makeups and in their appreciation of Jewish Chaggim, Shabbat and Hebrew. They are guided in their play to form social connections and are learning the vital skills of friendship. 

We are also acutely aware that this stage of early childhood is when the key executive function skills are first developed. Alongside language development, these are foundational enabling skills that provide for access to learning. They form a toolkit of skills which allow our students to prioritise, sort, plan, regulate, focus attention and manage their learning. In order to boost this vital natural process, we utilise the SOWATT learning model which promotes the growth of these key executive function skills and we have devoted significant professional development time to ensuring that our teachers have the requisite expertise to deliver this offering. 

I am just so proud of the warm hug that is the KDS Early Learning Centre. In this time of necessary scrutiny on this vital education stage, I am hopeful that our community truly appreciates the blessings of such a committed and skilled staff, the embracing culture and the dedication to provision of the rich learning opportunities that each of our young students deserve.

Shabbat Shalom,
Marc Light