Our Curriculum
Curious minds.
A world of possibility.
Our curriculum brings together the best of both worlds: the trusted foundation of Australia's Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the creativity of Arkki, a Finnish creative-education program certified by the Finnish National Agency for Education.
Grounded in the EYLF
Everything we do sits on the EYLF's principles of belonging, being and becoming. It guides how we plan, observe and support each child's learning across communication, wellbeing, identity, community and confident, involved learning.
Elevated by Arkki
Where many centres stop at play-based care, we go further. Through our partnership with Arkki, children learn through creative projects — designing, building and problem-solving — that develop the skills the modern world actually rewards: creative thinking, collaboration, resilience and the confidence to have a go. Arkki's philosophy is woven age-appropriately through every room, and delivered as a structured program in our preschool years.
Incursions — learning beyond the classroom
Incursions run on a rotating weekly program and are all included in the $155 daily fee:
- Music and movement
- Sport and fundamental-movement skills
- Wildlife and animal encounters
- Community-helper visits — police, fire and ambulance
- Cultural celebrations and language
- Cooking with our chef
- Gardening and sustainability
- Creative incursions led by qualified Arkki educators
Why it matters
The founders of Smart Steps spent six years, through Kalibre Education, helping school-aged children build skills they could have gained far earlier. Smart Steps exists to lay those foundations from the very beginning — so learning is never catching up, only moving forward.