Welcome to Darlo Play Centre

Welcome to Darlo Play Centre. Darlo Play Centre is a non-profit, community based organisation sponsored by the Darlinghurst Public School P & C Association Inc and is managed by a sub-committee of the P & C.

The Service provides a before and after school care service to the children who attend Darlinghurst Public School.

The Centre caters for up to 120 children in the morning and 120 children in the afternoon. Read more about Darlo Play Centre in our 2023 family handbook.

We have received the following quality rating from the NSW Department of Education for providing before and after care services. It confirms that Darlo Play Centre meets the National Quality Standard, providing quality education and care in all seven quality areas:

Please click here to see the full breakdown of the rating.

Darlo Play Centre adheres to the Education and Care Services National Legislation. To read the latest version of this legislation please click here.

The Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority works with all governments to provide guidance, resources and services to support the sector to improve outcomes for children. Please visit their website to learn more: https://www.acecqa.gov.au

About Darlo Play Centre

 Statement of Philosophy

Our purpose is to optimise children’s innate affinity with learning to make choices, the basis of social wellbeing. We want children to discover what really interests them, and to get involved in their interests, whatever they may be.  Darlo Play Centre offers children a group context in which to do this. It is our priority to support children to make the most of the relationship-building they can do, because all their learning depends on their social skill.  We provide three differentiated programs so children can do things they like doing. We respect children’s competence and we base everything we do on the assumption that children are ‘wired’ to seek quality outcomes. Our job is to facilitate and resource their projects and to scaffold their broadening interests.

Drawing on ‘Productive Pedagogies’ thinking, we leverage the knowledge children generate to make Darlo Play Centre a space that truly belongs to them. To succeed in this effort, we acknowledge the net of care consisting of families, and by extension, the school, that wraps our service in support. Darlo Play Centre owes its vigour to families.   We respect that families know what works for their children. We see our service as partnering with this knowledge to help children become good at choosing what they do in their free time. We are committed to co-planning, co-programming and co-learning. We are attuned to children’s voices in this process.

Darlo Play Centre aims to model the principles and practices of sustainable living. We seek to lighten our ecological ‘footprint’, to be mindful of our heritage, to be respectful and appreciative of our differences, and above all, to celebrate children’s rights to enjoyment, education and choice of pathways connecting them to the future.

Aims & Goals

The Aims & Goals we facilitate at Darlo Play Centre are to encourage children to:

Have a Strong Sense of Identity

Darlo Play Centre aims to teach children to demonstrate a capacity of self-regulation, negotiating and sharing behaviours by motivating and encouraging children to succeed when faced with challenges.

Be Connected with & Contribute to their World

Darlo Play Centre aims to teach children to demonstrate awareness of connections, similarities and differences between people and how to react in positive ways by encouraging children to listen and to respect diverse perspectives.

Have a Strong Sense of WellBeing

Darlo Play Centre aims to teach children to show self-regulation and manage emotions in ways that reflect the feeling and needs of others by showing care, understanding and respect for all children.

Be Confident & Involved Learners

Darlo Play Centre 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 and theories, collaborate with children and model reasoning, predicting and reflecting processes and language.

Be Effective Communicators

Darlo Play Centre 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.

NSW Department of Education – Education and quality ratings

The NSW Department of Education sets a benchmark for the quality of education & care services. The standard is divided in to 7 quality areas. For a breakdown of our rating please click here.

Educational Program & Practice

50%

Children's Health & Safety

75%

Physical Environment

75%

Staffing Arrangements

75%

Relationships with Children

75%

Collaborative Partnerships

75%

Governance & Leadership

50%