Early Education & Kindergarten

Monash Early Education Program

The Monash Early Education Program offers a comprehensive, research-based program for preschool age children from 2.8 to 4.8 years (on 1st Jan in year of enrolment) who are diagnosed with a developmental delay or disability.  Students attend the program 2 days per week, from 9am to 2pm.  Many of the children also attend local preschools and childcare centres to complement their centre based program.

The Monash SDS Early Education Program uses an ABA based program called STAR (Strategies for Teaching based on Autism Research) and family-guided intervention model to structure and guide our pedagogy and overall philosophy. Our educational program is based on the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).  In addition, all students have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) which highlights specific goals for each child according to needs.

We provide a school readiness focus with the ultimate goal of giving students all the skills they need, both socially and academically, to ensure a positive and well-planned Prep transition.  The team will work with each child and family to support a smooth transition to your chosen Primary School.  The program is run in a fully equipped modern classroom that allows children to become familiar with a school setting and this increases the transfer of skills dramatically.

Our Program

The Early Education program is individualised to meet the unique needs of each child and family using advanced research and evidence-based developmental practices to provide a high quality level of intervention.

The program addresses the child’s overall development, including receptive and expressive language, cognitive, fine and gross motor, social-emotional, self-help skills and family goals.

We believe that children learn best when they are motivated and having fun! We provide early intervention services based on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) principles in a naturalistic, play based format. Specifically, we utilise Discrete Trial Training, Pivotal Response Training and Functional Routines instruction by focusing on teaching pivotal skills that lead to significant growth.

ABA helps children develop their social, academic, self-help and behavioural skills needed to interact with others and to cope with the challenges of everyday life and school. ABA takes the form of a highly structured program designed to meet the individual needs of each child, while building the foundations for life-long learning.

All teachers are trained in the STAR Program which is a school-based ABA program that teaches children the critical skills needed to succeed in kindergarten, school and the community through the implementation of evidence-based practices in the classroom.

Research reveals classrooms that utilise the STAR program have better outcomes for students with autism and other developmental delays when compared to early intervention programs that rely on their own curriculum.  We work closely with the STAR Company, in which STAR consultants work in our preschool classrooms to provide the highest level of consistent, intensive, empirically-validated support for our students.  As a result, we have created an infrastructure that supports the implementation of uniform assessment strategies, instructional techniques and skill development through the use of evidence-based practices by highly-trained teachers and school administrators.