Buddy Program Gives Oberon Kindergarten Children a Head Start Before Prep

Since opening earlier this year, our team at Gowrie Oberon Kindergarten, co-located with Oberon Primary School, have developed a Buddy Program with the school where Foundation and Grade 3 students visit the kindergarten regularly, and kindergarten children visit the school in return.

The program, designed to prepare children for school readiness, was a major priority for Kindergarten Manager Sam Hardy when establishing our new service there.

Once the Foundation students had settled into the school routine, they began to spend time in the kindergarten space with their teachers, getting to know the children and establishing friendships. The kindergarten children have also visited the school classrooms, where they made books with the older students and worked on maths tasks alongside them. Last term the Grade 3 students invited the kindergarten children to see their inquiry work on the oceans, presenting their learning to the younger students.

Since the beginning of the program our educators have seen benefits for both age groups. On the Grade 3s’ most recent visit, their teacher noticed that the older students seemed more regulated in the kindergarten environment as the outdoor space offers more opportunities for heavy lifting, movement and digging big holes in the sandpit.

Some Grade 3 students worked directly with the younger children on puzzles, reading and writing. Others joined up all the pipes so the water would run, and the kindergarten children watched and copied them.

Tier 2 students also visit the kindergarten with their Education Support workers. They work in small groups in the vegetable garden, raking and maintaining the yard, which gives them lots of heavy work in our calm setting.

Over the course of the year, Oberon Kindergarten have become a part of the school community, having been invited to join the school’s Christmas concert, with Oberon Kindergarten and the school presenting together. Our families also attended the Book Week parade alongside school families, creating a larger sense of community.

Reflecting on how far the program has come, Sam says our educators and the school staff are now meeting regularly to make sessions more intentional, with specific activities planned and clearer links between the kindergarten and school curriculum. “We’d love to engage with other facets of the school and their learning,” Sam says, “that could be library visits, watching their bike education sessions, or simply engaging with different year levels.”

Sam has also reached out to Assistant Principal Matt Nalder to find out what the needs of the Foundation cohort have looked like in recent years. She’s using this information to help plan for School Readiness Funding, making sure Gowrie Oberon’s approach lines up with what children need before Prep starts.

Although Oberon Kindergarten is a feeder for five different schools, the program gives children who go on to Oberon Primary School a chance to see familiar faces, meet the teachers and get to know how the school teaches before they start. We’re looking forward to seeing where this partnership will lead, and for the positive outcomes this will bring for the children.