Specialised learning program designed by education experts
World leading education program localised for you
North Star collaborates with FinlandWay®, a renowned curriculum provider from Finland, to deliver all of our educational frameworks. This partnership allows your child the opportunity of being exposed to Finland’s globally acclaimed early education system, which is firmly grounded in university-supported research.
Distinguishing itself from nearly all other childcare centres in Australia, North Star offers an intricate daily learning curriculum meticulously crafted by authentic education scientists and early childhood experts. This curriculum remains consistently updated with the most recent research findings. Through a play-based approach, your child’s educational journey becomes a joyful and natural experience.
our finlandway® curriculum
play-based
Purposeful play can create deeper learning experiences that a child can remember, adopt and apply. In FinlandWay®, play is an integrated part of the program and learning happens naturally within the play.
phenomenon-based
Children view the world holistically; they don’t split learning into school subjects. In phenomenon-based learning children can explore concepts that are part of their every-day experiences and society around them.
participatory pedagogy
Children are the agents of their own learning: our task as educators is to help them acquire new skills and competences through a pleasant, creative and exploratory process.
daily structure
Flexible daily structure that balances child-led play with educator-guided activities, fostering creativity and holistic development through intentional teaching strategies.
Daily Focuses & Daily Routine
The week with FinlandWay®
STORYTELLING DAY
Monday
language & literacy; stories, poems, songs, vocabulary, letters, history, communication, ethics…
EXPLORATION DAY
Tuesday
STEM, geometry, ecology, cultural studies, environmental sciences, coding…
ARTS DAY
Wednesday
expression, creativity, music, visual arts, fine motor skills, drama, crafts…
WELLBEING DAY
Thursday
physical education, gross motor skills, wellbeing, life skills, healthy habits…
RECAP DAY
Friday
social skills, emotional education, cooperation, self-regulation and esteem, reflection…
Daily Routine
Learning Areas
Our daily plans cover progressive, age-specific learning targets from six weeks to six years of age. We follow and implement the Learning Outcomes, Practices and Principles of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) alongside the 5 Learning Areas of the FinlandWay Education Model – The World of Languages, Exploration and the Environment, Art and Creative Expression, Physical and Mental Wellbeing and Social Skills. This supports comprehensive development, learning goals and well-being in all elements of a child’s early learning journey. See below to see the additional learning your child will encounter.
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FINLANDWAY
AU EYLF
FINLANDWAY
The World of Languages
- Language (Interaction, language comprehension, speech)
- Alphabet, vocabulary, linguistic memory
- Mark-making and early writing
- History and heritage, ethics, story-telling
- Multimedia literacy
Exploration and the Environment
- Past and present
- Worldview and ethics
- People, culture and communities
- Natural science and STEM
- Technology, IT, multimedia and coding
Exploration and the Environment
- Ecology, environmental science, sustainability
- Mathematics (numbers, counting, relativity, categorisation, sizes, values, measures, space and time) and geometry
Art and Creative Expression
- Performance and drama
- Musical expression
- Visual expression, crafts
- Verbal and bodily expression
Socioemotional Skills and Self-regulation
- Self-regulation and self-esteem, self-reflection
- Social skills and cooperation
- Conflict resolution and democracy
- Meaning-making and ethics
Physical and Mental Well-Being
- Gross and fine motor skills
- Wellbeing, mindfulness, yoga
- Health and healthy habits, nutrition
AU EYLF
Communication and Language
- Listening, attention and understanding
- Speaking
Physical Development
- Gross motor skills
- Fine motor skills
Literacy
- Comprehension
- Word reading
- Writing
Mathematics
- Number
- Numerical patterns
Understanding the World
- Past and present
- People, culture and communities
- The natural world
Expressive Arts and Design
- Creating with materials
- Being imaginative and expressive
Why is Finnish education so highly regarded?
Find out more by clicking on the the following reputable organisations.
Finnish National Agency for Education
Education Finland
World Economic Forum
Centre of International Education Benchmarking
Incorporating the Australian Early Years Framework
The North Star FinlandWay® program harmoniously integrates international best practices with the diverse early learning frameworks established by the Australian Government. Our comprehensive program is fully equipped to prepare the children for both life and school.
Key values such as responsibility, tolerance, empathy, sustainable development, and inclusion are intricately woven into the fabric of our curriculum design.
Our curriculum incorporates the overarching principles of the Australian Early Years Learning Framework.
FinlandWay’s Partnerships & Accreditation
FinlandWay® is recognised by both Finnish and international authorities as a high-quality, technology-supported Early Education solution.
The FinlandWay® Story
The first five years of life are the most impactful for creating improved life outcomes, be it overall well-being and health or academic achievement. Realising this, FinlandWay®’s founders set out to bring Finland’s early education excellence to the rest of the world, sourcing from their background in education science at the University of Helsinki and impact economics at the World Bank Group and the University of Cambridge.
Based on the latest pedagogical thinking and developmental science, we have selected and tested age-appropriate learning activities that now support and inspire hundreds of young learners around the world. The FinlandWay® methodology is currently in use across a network of schools on four continents in five languages.
We are proud to be certified for quality by Education Finland, the Finnish National Board of Education export agency.
Meet Dr. Jonna Kangas
Dr. Jonna Kangas PhD is the Chief Education Specialist and FinlandWay® Co-Founder. She is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher of Early Childhood Education in the Faculty of Educational Science, University of Helsinki and professor of Early Education at the University of Turku, Finland.
An internationally published author in education science, Dr Jonna’s work has been published by leading science houses such as Elsevier, Taylor and Francis, Springer Science and Sage. She has authored numerous articles in industry-leading journals such as the Journal of Early Childhood Education, Education Management, Australasian Journal of Child Development among others.
All FinlandWay® schools benefit from this academic link to world-leading research and cutting-edge science that we aim to put into practice at our schools around the world.
Through her research and also through her work with FinlandWay®, Dr. Jonna hopes to push the Early Childhood Education field to continuously review its goals and practices to meet the needs, rights and interests of children, parents and educators worldwide.
Dr. Jonna believes that whilst play is natural to children, impactful playful learning isn’t automatic and teachers need to develop skills and methods to both understand play and be able to use and support it in their class.
She believes that children’s voices and personal choice should be heard in education and that children are active agents and makers of their own learning. This ethos is reflected in the respectful and wholesome approach that we have to our students at Nordic Star and at all FinlandWay® schools around the world.
Want to know more about North Star?
Let’s talk! We’d love to tell you more about our childcare centre.
