Maplewood academy's program statement

Maplewood Academy is consistent with all of the Ministry of Education’s policies and pedagogy. We make reference to, and strictly abide by the following throughout our programming:

 - The Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA), 2014

 - How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years, 2014

 - Ontario Early Years Framework

 - Ontario Early Learning Framework

 - Think Feel Act: Lessons from Research About Young Children

 - Early Learning for Every Child Today

Maplewood Academy uses the CCEYA “How Does Learning Happen” document as a guide to achieve the following:

i) Promote the health, safety, nutrition and well-being of the children: At Maplewood Academy, we firmly believe in a well-balanced, and well-rounded lifestyle. We also believe that this lifestyle can, and should be extended to home life as well. Our educators plan for daily physical activities, both indoor and outdoor, and incorporate these activities into the learning experience. Healthy habits are reinforced daily with all students, as Maplewood Academy holds health and wellness to a very high standard. Personal safety is a topic covered daily as well, as it is discussed during the structured Morning Circle time. The topic of proper nutrition is explored several times throughout the ILE curricular themes, and is reinforced daily during meal and snack times.

ii) Support positive and responsive interactions among the children, parents, child care providers and staff: Maplewood Academy promotes an environment in which communication is free and open. This includes dialogue between staff, educators, families and students alike. We firmly believe that communication is always key, and our educators and staff will dedicate themselves to supporting a positive learning environment.

iii) Encourage the children to interact and communicate in a positive way and support their ability to self-regulate: At Maplewood Academy, our educators invest several weeks each semester to ‘build community’. During this important time, our learning goals revolve around encouraging each student to feel comfortable communicating with each other, with their class educators and other centre staff. When challenges arise between students, our educators will often spend time coaching them on self-regulation, independence and problem-solving. 

iv) Foster the children’s exploration, play and inquiry: Maplewood Academy uses the ILE curriculum, which focuses on the inherent curiosity in each and every child. This curiosity is used as the driving force when our educators are planning their lessons. Each lesson is crafted as an exploration of a topic rather than a lecture, which encourages children to feel comfortable asking questions. Children are guided through play, activity, project and interactive lessons and are shown how to discover answers to their own questions.

v) Provide child-initiated and adult-supported experiences: The ILE curriculum, as an emergent curriculum, is driven by the students’ interests, and guided by our expert educators. Our Themes are delivered as an overarching ‘Big Idea’, which is broken down into smaller, bite-sized Topics, and then even further into individual lessons. Each of these lessons, whether they are play-based, project-based or interactive presentation, are crafted exclusively based on the documented observations of the children’s interests in the given Topic and Theme. We encourage each parent to spend time every day revisiting the Topic or Topics explored over the course of that day.

vi) Plan for and create positive learning environments and experiences in which each child’s learning and development will be supported, and which is inclusive of all children, including children with individualized plans: At Maplewood Academy, our educators are experts in working with students of all shapes and sizes. Their experience, combined with the strengths of the ILE, ensures that each of our students are actively engaged in lessons of all sorts. We offer an environment where no student will feel excluded or marginalized, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs or any other factor. Individualized plans will be carefully created for those students who need additional or specialized care in any given area.

vii) Incorporate indoor and outdoor play, as well as active play, rest and quiet time, into the day, and give consideration to the individual needs of the children receiving child care: Our daily agenda incorporates a balanced schedule of rest and play. Each student will participate in at least two hours of outdoor play daily, however, our educators will often plan for outdoor lessons if the weather allows. During rest time, students are encouraged to have a nap in their designated cot, with other quiet activities made available for those who prefer to be awake while their classmates nap.

viii) Foster the engagement of and ongoing communication with parents about the program and their children: The ILE relies heavily on review and reflection, both in-school and at home. Each Theme begins with an introduction letter which provides families an overview of the upcoming Big Idea. Also in this letter are suggestions for activities, conversations or reading that can be performed at home to encourage students even when they’re not in school. Our weekly letters get sent home each Friday, and will provide families with a summary of the Topics and learning goals that were explored that week. These letters also offer opportunities to parents to reach out to us to address any questions they may have.

ix) Involve local community partners and allow those partners to support the children, their families and staff: Maplewood Academy is proud to be able to involve the local and extended community in our learning as often as we can. This involvement includes activities such as visits to the local fire department or police station, a campus visit from a storyteller, or a parent panel during career week.

x) Support staff, home child care providers or others who interact with the children at a child care centre or home child care premises in relation to continuous professional learning: As a licensed childcare facility, Maplewood Academy supports everyone who has an impact on the development of our students’ social or academic skills. This support begins within the centre, where staff are continuously challenged to better themselves by way of online learning, peer evaluations and coaching sessions from our leadership team. Our educators are encouraged to critique their peers with the objective of identifying strengths and areas of opportunity. Action plans are created on an individual basis, so that areas of strength are nurtured, and areas of opportunity can be reflected upon, coached and ultimately overcome.

xi) Document and review the impact of the strategies set out in clauses (i) to (x) on the children and their families: This Program Statement serves as a reference tool for staff and parents alike, as we all share a similar goal; Success for your children. We, just like you, share the view that all children are competent, capable, curious and rich in potential. To effectively review, reflect and improve upon our programming, Maplewood Academy documents as much as possible, saving this documentation either by soft copy, hard copy or both. This documentation is readily available to staff for personal and/or professional development.