Our Childcare Curriculum in Ultimo
Our childcare curriculum in Ultimo is built around a simple belief: children learn deeply when they are actively involved in meaningful experiences, supported by educators who know when to observe, when to question, when to model and when to step back.
At Believe Playschool, play creates extraordinary opportunities for learning — but the quality of that learning depends on what skilled educators notice, ask, introduce, model and extend. Our curriculum applies across all age groups, from Nursery through Preschool, with experiences adapted to each child’s stage, interests, strengths and emerging capabilities.
More Than a List of Activities
Importantly, a busy timetable is not the same thing as a strong curriculum. Children can move through painting, puzzles, music and construction all day without those experiences necessarily becoming meaningful learning.
For that reason, our childcare curriculum in Ultimo begins with the child rather than the activity. Educators consider what the child already understands, what they are trying to do, what interests them, where they may need support and what could extend their thinking.
Instead, the activity becomes a vehicle for learning, not the goal itself. A block tower might become an investigation into balance and measurement. Cooking can involve language, sequencing, number, cooperation and independence. A disagreement between children can become an opportunity for communication, empathy and problem-solving.
Play-Based Learning with Intentional Teaching
First, children need time to play, investigate and make decisions. However, play-based learning does not mean educators simply provide materials and wait.
Depending on the moment, educators may observe carefully, ask a question, introduce a new material, demonstrate a technique, add vocabulary, model a process, connect an idea to something the child already knows or intentionally leave space for the child to solve the problem independently.
This balance between child agency and educator intentionality is central to our play based learning in childcare approach. The educator is neither controlling every outcome nor absent from the learning; they are actively deciding how much support will help the child move forward.
We Do Not Follow One Philosophy Rigidly
Likewise, no single educational philosophy captures every child, every age or every learning moment. Therefore, Believe Playschool does not attempt to reproduce one method in its pure form.
Instead, our curriculum selectively draws from ideas associated with Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Steiner/Waldorf, RIE Educaring, inquiry learning and contemporary play-based practice where those ideas are useful for the child and context.
As a result, families may recognise respect for the child, thoughtfully prepared environments, real-life participation, independence, uninterrupted exploration, careful observation, creativity, inquiry and educators who do not automatically do for children what children can increasingly attempt themselves.
The philosophy serves the child — the child is never expected to fit the philosophy.
Individual Curriculum Planning Starts with Knowing the Child
Most importantly, documentation matters when it improves what happens for the child. It is less meaningful when it exists only because a box needs to be completed.
In practice, educators observe children, identify genuine strengths, interests or areas for development, set goals, plan experiences or teaching strategies, implement them through everyday play and intentional teaching, observe what happens, reflect and adjust.
- Observe: What is the child doing, attempting, communicating or avoiding?
- Interpret: What might this tell us about interests, understanding, confidence or development?
- Plan: What experience, environment, question, strategy or opportunity could extend the child?
- Implement: Put that thinking into practice during real play, routines and relationships.
- Review: What changed? What did the child show us? What should happen next?
- Share: Communicate meaningful progress and relevant observations with families.
As a result, our childcare curriculum in Ultimo is not identical for every child simply because they share a room or age group.
Children Can Change Where the Learning Goes
Equally, children are not passive recipients of an educator’s plan. Their questions, ideas and choices can meaningfully change what happens next.
For example, a child might select a different material, invent another solution, ask a question no adult anticipated or become interested in one small part of an experience. Instead of automatically redirecting them back to the original plan, educators consider whether that new direction offers richer learning.
This is inquiry in practice. The educator remains intentional, but curiosity can alter the route. This is another reason play based learning in childcare can be highly structured in purpose without becoming rigid in method. Consequently, play based learning in childcare becomes a genuine exchange between children, educators, materials and ideas.
Mega Projects: Time to Think Deeply
Sometimes, learning needs more than a week. Believe’s Mega Projects can develop over approximately four months, giving children time to revisit an idea, build knowledge, change theories and take the investigation somewhere unexpected.
For instance, the project may begin with an educator observation, a shared interest or a question from the children. From there, experiences can evolve through discussion, construction, books, art, experiments, dramatic play, research, movement or real-world investigation.
Importantly, the project is not required to finish where the adults first imagined. Children’s questions can influence the direction, while educators deliberately introduce new possibilities that deepen the investigation.
Long projects give our childcare curriculum in Ultimo room for memory, persistence, collaboration and increasingly complex thinking.
Our Signature Curriculum Experiences
In addition, our curriculum includes recurring programs and experiences, but each is used as a platform for broader development rather than an isolated activity.
Emotional Resilience
Emotional development is embedded throughout the day. Children receive co-regulation, calm boundaries, support through conflict and opportunities to practise recovery, empathy and repair. Explore our Emotional Resilience approach.
School Readiness & Independence
As children move towards school, the curriculum increasingly supports communication, executive function, self-help skills, social confidence, early literacy, numeracy and the ability to participate in group learning. Explore School Readiness & Independence.
Cooking & Nutrition
Cooking brings together sequencing, measurement, language, sensory learning, fine-motor skills, independence and social participation.
Weekly Obstacle Course & Physical Challenge
Regular physical challenges support balance, coordination, motor planning, strength, confidence, persistence and the experience of trying again.
STEM & Building
Construction and STEM experiences invite children to predict, test, compare, solve problems, redesign and discover that an unsuccessful attempt can provide useful information.
Baby Sensory Experiences
For babies, sensory experiences are adapted to developmental readiness and supported through responsive relationships rather than overstimulation or pressure to participate.
Believe, Belong, Community & the Responsibility Chart
Real classroom roles give children opportunities to contribute, remember, communicate and participate in the life of the group. Read more about Believe, Belong, Community.
Music, Movement & Creative Expression
Music, movement and art support communication, imagination, physical coordination, self-expression and the freedom to represent ideas in different ways.
Literacy and Numeracy Without Turning Childcare into School
Importantly, Believe intentionally teaches early literacy and numeracy. However, we do not believe young children need a worksheet-heavy version of primary school pushed down into early childhood.
For example, letters, sounds, vocabulary, storytelling, numbers, quantity, patterns, measurement, sequencing and reasoning can emerge through books, conversation, projects, construction, cooking, games and everyday routines.
As children approach school, more structured experiences are introduced where they are developmentally appropriate. Even then, the goal remains understanding and capability rather than producing work that simply looks academic. In this way, play based learning in childcare remains compatible with deliberate preparation for school.
This is how play based learning in childcare can coexist with deliberate teaching: learning goals are clear, while the method remains meaningful to young children.
Children’s Art Should Look Like Children’s Art
Similarly, a row of almost identical craft pieces may look neat on a wall, but similarity does not tell us how much thinking belonged to the children.
Instead, creative experiences at Believe can allow children to choose materials, combine ideas, experiment with technique, change their mind and create something different from the child beside them.
Educators may teach skills or introduce a process, but the child’s decisions should remain visible. Therefore, we are more interested in the thinking behind the work than whether every finished product matches an adult example.
Real Capability Requires Adults to Know When to Step Back
Ultimately, one of the most important curriculum decisions an educator makes is whether to intervene.
Sometimes a child needs a demonstration, a question, encouragement or direct assistance. At other times, the educator should wait. At other times, the most useful teaching decision is to wait.
An adult can tie the shoe, finish the puzzle or resolve the disagreement faster. Nevertheless, adult speed is not always the educational goal. When children have time to attempt manageable challenges, they practise persistence, coordination, judgment and problem-solving.
This balance is central to our childcare curriculum in Ultimo: children receive support without being routinely denied the opportunity to become capable.
The Curriculum Is Different at Every Age
Nursery
For babies, curriculum grows through responsive relationships, movement, sensory exploration, communication, routines and close observation. Educators adapt experiences to the individual baby rather than expecting a group of infants to follow the same timetable of learning.
Toddlers
Toddlers are developing independence, language, physical capability and strong ideas about what they want. Therefore, the curriculum creates opportunities to move, communicate, imitate, explore cause and effect, participate in routines and practise emerging social skills.
Tweenies
Meanwhile, as children become increasingly social and capable, learning can expand through inquiry, imaginative play, problem-solving, projects, language, physical challenge and greater responsibility.
Preschool
Preschool combines inquiry and play with increasing intentionality around independence, social capability, communication, early literacy, numeracy, executive function and transition to school.
What We Want Children to Carry Forward
Ultimately, a curriculum should shape capabilities, not simply fill a portfolio.
Across the years at Believe, we want children to become increasingly:
- curious;
- capable;
- independent;
- emotionally resilient;
- creative;
- communicative;
- socially confident;
- willing to keep trying when learning becomes difficult.
These qualities develop differently in every child. Consequently, success is not measured by making all children look or behave the same, but by recognising genuine growth in the individual child.
Our Curriculum FAQs
Is Believe Playschool play-based?
Yes. Play is central to learning. At the same time, educators use intentional teaching to extend language, thinking, physical skills, relationships and independence.
Do you follow Montessori or Reggio Emilia?
Believe does not rigidly follow one philosophy. We selectively draw from ideas associated with Reggio Emilia, Montessori, Steiner/Waldorf, RIE Educaring, inquiry learning and play-based practice where they are useful for the child and context.
Is every child’s program the same?
No. Educators observe individual children, set goals and adjust experiences and teaching strategies according to what they are seeing.
Do you teach literacy and numeracy?
Yes. Early literacy and numeracy are taught intentionally through meaningful experiences, with increasing structure as children approach school.
Do children use worksheets?
Our curriculum is not worksheet-heavy. Young children can learn letters, sounds, number, pattern, measurement, reasoning and language through play, projects, books, conversation and real experiences.
What are Mega Projects?
Mega Projects are longer investigations that can develop over approximately four months, allowing children to revisit ideas, deepen knowledge and influence where the project goes.
How do families know what their child is learning?
Educators share meaningful observations, progress and relevant planning with families rather than treating documentation as an end in itself.
See Our Curriculum in Action
A curriculum document can describe intentions. The more useful test is what you see educators and children actually doing: questioning, attempting, building, negotiating, creating, revisiting ideas and learning through real participation.
Families can see Believe Playschool in action through a tour or our Free Childcare Experience for children aged two to four.