About the SHAC

The Story of Us.

Welcome to The SHAC! Our amazing community is a byproduct of our goals, our values and our missions which underpin our each and every action. Learn more about what makes us special by reading below.

Our Philosophy

This Philosophy statement provides the foundation for all activities, policies and procedures of The SHAC. Wherever there is uncertainty as to The SHAC’s policy or procedures on any issue, The SHAC uses these principles and philosophies to help resolve the issue. The written policies and procedures of The SHAC have been developed, and will be monitored and reviewed, with these values in mind.

The SHAC believes that each child has the right to be an active member of the community in which they live, to express their opinions and have their views considered in any decision that may affect them.

We believe that the best interests of the children and their right to play as well as learn and develop in a safe and nurturing environment is the primary consideration in all decision making at The SHAC and is visible in the actions, interactions and daily work with the children.

The SHAC adopts a culture of learning and reflective practice which enables us to support, inform and enrich our decision-making about each child’s wellbeing and development. We believe that children are active learners from birth and through rich, engaging environments and meaningful interactions we can build a foundation for successful lifelong learning.

We acknowledge that parents and families are the child’s primary nurturers, and that respectful, collaborative relationships strengthen the capacity and efforts of families and in turn, The SHAC to support their children and promote each child’s health and wellbeing.

We believe that the intrinsic worth of all children and their families, their strengths and their right to equitable access and participation in the community, is clearly visible in all aspects of The SHAC’s operational practices.

We believe that through working in partnership with children, families, communities, other services and agencies we can continually strive to find equitable and effective ways to ensure that all children have opportunities to experience a sense of personal worth and achieve outcomes.

The SHAC believes that children have the right to have their individual and cultural identity recognised and respected and we value Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as a core part of the nation’s history, present and future.

(created Dec. 2015 - to be reviewed by all stakeholders March 2021)

Our Goals

The SHAC has a number of goals on which our service is based. These goals are based on the outcomes for children as outlined in the ‘My Time, Our Place’ Framework for School Age Care. Our goals are to encourage children to:

• Have a strong sense of identity – The SHAC aims to teach children to demonstrate a capacity for self-regulation, negotiating and sharing behaviours by motivating and encouraging children to succeed when they are faced with challenges.

• Be connected with and contribute to their world – The SHAC demonstrates awareness of connections, similarities and differences between people and how to react in positive ways by encouraging children to listen to others and to respect diverse perspectives.

• Have a strong sense of wellbeing – The SHAC aims to teach children to show self-regulation and manage their emotions in ways that reflect the feelings and needs of others by showing care, understanding and respect for all children.

• Be confident and involved learners – The SHAC aims to teach children to use reflective thinking to consider why things happen and what can be learnt from these experiences by encouraging children to communicate and make visible their ideas, theories, collaborate with children and model reasoning, predicting, and reflecting processes and language.

• Be effective communicators – The SHAC aims to teach children to convey and construct messages with purpose and confidence, including conflict resolution and following directions by modeling language and encouraging children to express themselves through language in a range of contexts and for a range of purposes including leading and following directions