MercyCare / Child Care / About Child Care / Diversity and Inclusion

Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion

At our centres we see diversity and inclusion as a strength, something to learn from and embrace.

We appreciate, gain knowledge of and celebrate multicultural Australia and see our community as an integral part of this rich, diverse and cultural tapestry.

We are committed to educating children about different cultures from an early age so they grow up to be inclusive individuals who will thrive living in a multicultural society.

Many of the children who attend our centres come from a whole array of different backgrounds and cultures. This makes for fantastic learning opportunities as our families are often happy to assist our exploration of different cultures by contributing or participating in our learning experiences. We embrace diversity and inclusion in our child care centres in so many ways including learning about and celebrating significant cultural days, making connections with community groups, and embedding learning in our everyday activities from books to cooking.

Engaging children in Aboriginal culture

As part of our reconciliation journey, we engage head, heart, hands and spirit to recognise the unique place and role of Australia’s First Peoples, their leadership and contribution to Australia.

We believe engaging children in the Aboriginal culture of their local area is a vital part of understanding the world around them.

Aboriginal customs and traditions are embedded into learning activities across our centres, from beginning their day of fun and learning with an Acknowledgement of Country to planting a bush tucker garden.

During storytelling activities, children have the opportunity to build their knowledge of the Wadjuk language, learning key words that they can practice in other activities, such as music and singing.

Our bush tucker gardens are something the children take enormous pride in, learning about our edible Indigenous plants and using ingredients in their Mini Chef endeavours.

Incorporating Aboriginal traditions and culture into everyday activities and having visual representation of it throughout our centres are part of welcoming Aboriginal families to our centres and making it a culturally safe place for their children.