At WCIP, we believe in the power of a progressive and innovative approach that guide us on our mission to allow children the opportunity to be active collaborators in their education, filled with experiences of inspiration discovered through their own interest to know and learn. Infused by the Wellington values of kindness, courage, integrity, responsibility and respect, our impactful strategy equips children with a uniquely individualistic and life-long understanding of how to construct learning on their own. At its core, we firmly advocate for an education style that takes careful consideration of how culture, learning methods, play, environmental aspects, intentional teaching, and positive relationships interact together to form the basis of a refined, inspiring, and captivating teaching philosophy.
Through promoting a culture of learners, our aim will always be for the early years and its learning spaces to act as a living organism, a place of shared relationships among children, their families, teachers, and a feeling of belonging in a world that is alive, welcoming, and authentic. The environment forms a critical component of our excellent early years setting and in our school is represented through carefully integrated classrooms, communal spaces, and the outside community, with curated and meticulously selected natural furnishings, culturally rich resources and sustainable provision that encourage an understanding and knowledge of the world around us.
Parental involvement is critical to the creation of the WCIP learning community for children, and we understand the complexity and importance of recognizing and respecting parents as a child’s true primary educator, and that we as educators are positioned as advocates and learners alongside them. We believe that teachers are participators in a child’s learning process and that our role is to guide experiences, open-ended discovery, and problem solving. The intention of the teacher at WCIP is that of listener and observer, to question and consider opportunities that encourage further exploration of a child’s interests, passions, and fascinations, yet ensuring that the essential skills for literacy, mathematics and science are planned intentionally and mapped through our project learning approaches.
We believe that for our school to achieve outstanding outcomes in today’s world filled with its many unique challenges and contextual issues, that a creative, reflective, and strategic approach is needed. That seeing and doing things differently, using imagination and ‘thinking outside the box’ is essential for individuals to continue to improve and flourish. Our aspirations for a world class early years provision, renowned in its field across national and international education will always be ambitious with a strong belief placed on the needs, feelings, thoughts, and experiences of participants at the heart of our educational programme, ensuring outstanding progress for each one of our individual children, families, and educators.
It is with the utmost appreciation that I thank you for allowing us to share in this very exciting journey with you, your child, and your family. We seek to ensure that the essence of Wellington College runs indelibly through the DNA of our own cultural identity. I welcome you to come and experience our setting for yourself.
Conrad Botha
