The A.B Paterson College Early Childhood Centre has established a relationship with the above services in order to connect parents directly to the key person in charge, to support families towards a good outcome. These relationships assist in maintaining and fostering positive, safe and supportive community partnerships between the home and the centre. Creating such relationships builds trust with each child and their families, to the point where they are comfortable to reveal any doubts either large or small to the educators (McArdlle, 2009).
Features of the region/town:
The centre is located in Arundel on the Gold Coast with an area population of 10,351(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). The area is viewed as an ‘aged population’ as 65.8% of the resident population are aged 40 years or older with 14.2% being aged 0 to 14 years and 20% aged 14 to 40 years (ABS, 2013). The average family composition consists of two parents and two children with 45.1% of the population being married with at least two children (ABS Census, 2015). Research (ABS, 2015) shows that 60.9% of the area population are Australian born, with 14.3% speaking another language in the home and only 1% being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The main language other than English, spoken in the home is Japanese at 12.2% and Mandarin at 2.1%. Furthermore, 45.8% of people had both parents born in Australia and 42.1% of people had both parents born overseas. The most common responses for religious background are Catholic 23.2%, no religion 21.9%, Anglican 20.9%, Uniting Church 4.6% and Presbyterian and Reformed 4.2% (ABS, Census, 2015). Additionally, 57.1% of the area population are employed full time, 31.0% employed part-time and 7.0% remain unemployed (ABS, 2015). The Gold Coast City Council 2013 Census shows that the median income for the average family with two children is $2, 147 and those without children, $1, 829. The transport options in Arundel vary with the majority of the population owing their own car (69.8%). Additionally, 6.6% are passengers in a car, 1.4% use the bus, 1.4% walk and 1.0% own or drive a truck (ABS, 2015). It is evident from these statistics that Arundel is considered as a higher-income community (ABS, 2015). Therefore, children enrolled at the centre are more likely to articulate a strong sense of their own personal belonging as well as develop strong links between the service and the wider community (McArdlle, 2009). Furthermore, positive community environments, such as Arundel, assist in enhancing the …show more content…
Firstly, surrounding the centre are three local playgrounds, where children and their families can access on a regular basis. These playgrounds include, two slides, sand area, flying fox and climbing areas, suitable for all age groups of children. Adjacent to the centre is a local Gold Coast Council oval. Not only does the centre utilise this oval on special occasions, such as ‘teddy bear picnic days’ but many local events such as junior hockey and soccer matches are conducted on this oval. Furthermore, behind the centre is a public parkland with open grassed areas, that is used for many not for profit events such as Riding for Disabled (see services below). The centre also utilises this parkland for special occasions such as ‘mini Olympics day’ and ‘running races day’, where the children leave the centre and walk over to this
Features of the region/town:
The centre is located in Arundel on the Gold Coast with an area population of 10,351(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). The area is viewed as an ‘aged population’ as 65.8% of the resident population are aged 40 years or older with 14.2% being aged 0 to 14 years and 20% aged 14 to 40 years (ABS, 2013). The average family composition consists of two parents and two children with 45.1% of the population being married with at least two children (ABS Census, 2015). Research (ABS, 2015) shows that 60.9% of the area population are Australian born, with 14.3% speaking another language in the home and only 1% being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The main language other than English, spoken in the home is Japanese at 12.2% and Mandarin at 2.1%. Furthermore, 45.8% of people had both parents born in Australia and 42.1% of people had both parents born overseas. The most common responses for religious background are Catholic 23.2%, no religion 21.9%, Anglican 20.9%, Uniting Church 4.6% and Presbyterian and Reformed 4.2% (ABS, Census, 2015). Additionally, 57.1% of the area population are employed full time, 31.0% employed part-time and 7.0% remain unemployed (ABS, 2015). The Gold Coast City Council 2013 Census shows that the median income for the average family with two children is $2, 147 and those without children, $1, 829. The transport options in Arundel vary with the majority of the population owing their own car (69.8%). Additionally, 6.6% are passengers in a car, 1.4% use the bus, 1.4% walk and 1.0% own or drive a truck (ABS, 2015). It is evident from these statistics that Arundel is considered as a higher-income community (ABS, 2015). Therefore, children enrolled at the centre are more likely to articulate a strong sense of their own personal belonging as well as develop strong links between the service and the wider community (McArdlle, 2009). Furthermore, positive community environments, such as Arundel, assist in enhancing the …show more content…
Firstly, surrounding the centre are three local playgrounds, where children and their families can access on a regular basis. These playgrounds include, two slides, sand area, flying fox and climbing areas, suitable for all age groups of children. Adjacent to the centre is a local Gold Coast Council oval. Not only does the centre utilise this oval on special occasions, such as ‘teddy bear picnic days’ but many local events such as junior hockey and soccer matches are conducted on this oval. Furthermore, behind the centre is a public parkland with open grassed areas, that is used for many not for profit events such as Riding for Disabled (see services below). The centre also utilises this parkland for special occasions such as ‘mini Olympics day’ and ‘running races day’, where the children leave the centre and walk over to this