Learning Environments • Gowrie Victoria

What are Learning Environments?

For more than 85 years, Gowrie has demonstrated how thoughtfully designed spaces, routines and relationships can support children’s learning, wellbeing and sense of belonging.

We believe every environment has the potential to inspire curiosity, independence and meaningful learning. Whether in expansive outdoor settings or inner-city locations like Gowrie The Harbour in Docklands, we create environments that respond to children’s interests, encourage exploration and promote a strong sense of agency.

Learning Environments in Our Centres

Our learning environments are intentionally designed to give children genuine choice and opportunities to lead their own learning. This means:

flexible, responsive spaces that encourage exploration, creativity and a strong sense of agency
open-ended resources and accessible environments that support children to make meaningful choices about how, where and with whom they play and learn
balanced, unhurried routines and uninterrupted periods of play that allow children to become deeply engaged in their learning
inclusive environments where children see themselves reflected through images, languages, resources and materials that celebrate their culture, family and identity
environments that are continually reviewed and adapted to respond to children’s changing interests, strengths and needs.

Professional Learning on Learning Environments

Building on decades of demonstrated practice across Gowrie services, we have developed a comprehensive professional learning program that helps educators create environments that are purposeful, responsive and engaging for every child.

The program combines a six-part eLearning course with workshops, webinars and coaching. In 2025/26, we also supported 39 educators in this area through our SRF coaching program.

In this program, participants will learn to:

Explain how physical, temporal, relational and organisational dimensions of the learning environment shape children’s learning, wellbeing, engagement and sense of belonging
Identify features of well-designed spaces, routines, relationships and materials that promote curiosity, agency, inclusion and participation
Evaluate learning environments from different perspectives to assess how well they support children’s engagement and outcomes
Analyse current practices across space, time and relationships to identify opportunities for more responsive, flexible and intentional approaches
Apply evidence-informed, practical strategies to design and sustain environments that are purposeful, inclusive and responsive to children’s changing interests and needs.

The program can be accessed via Coaching on the School Readiness Funding menu or as a standalone professional learning program.

School Readiness Funding (SRF) Coaching

Experience Our Practice

For more than eight decades, educators from across Australia have visited Gowrie services to experience high-quality early childhood practice firsthand.

Our Study Tours provide the opportunity to explore our learning environments, observe practice in action and engage in professional conversations with experienced educators. Tours regularly showcase how inspiring indoor and outdoor learning environments can be created in a range of settings including city-based services such as Gowrie at The Harbour in Docklands.