Child times Volume 1 Issue 15 Winter 2013
Holy Spirit Community of Learners in Darwin
Being Child Aware in Childcare As part of the Child Aware Approaches Initiative, Child Australia was funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to develop an online learning resource for educators to help them become more aware of children experiencing, exposed to, or at risk of exposure to abuse and neglect and to see how family violence, mental illness and substance abuse can contribute to these risks for children. As well as building educators’ awareness and confidence, the training module contains information about resources and community agencies that may assist services to learn more about the impact of abuse and neglect on children’s well being and development, and how family violence, mental illness and substance abuse may affect the way that a family functions. We engaged with a wide range of community agencies
and stakeholders to inform both the content and the resources chosen for this module. The module aims to build educators’ confidence to respond appropriately and positively to children and families at risk. It has been linked to the National Quality Framework so that it can contribute to services Quality Improvement Plans. We will launch this free training module in July as part of our on-line learning program. This is an exciting project designed to improve the safety and wellbeing of children (Quality Area 2: Children’s health and safety). It will also assist service’s to strengthen their relationship with families and build community partnerships, both of which are important in the National Quality Framework (Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities).
New PD Calendars Available See page 3
Australia
From the CEO’s Desk Dear Colleagues Welcome to the winter edition of the Child Times. A top priority for Child Australia this year has been to support children’s services in their preparation for or responses to NQS assessments and ratings. With our ear always to the ground listening to the needs of the ECEC sector, we have heard a slight note of anxiety in relation to the assessments. For that reason, we are ready with a range of resources, training, and consulting services to assist educators and the sector more broadly with its professional development needs. While admittedly anxiety provoking, the assessment and rating process is an excellent opportunity for children’s services to receive considered and objective feedback about the quality of its practice. My observation, for what it is worth: the NQS assessments are the real deal, not simply another set of bureaucratic hoops to jump through. The regulatory authorities are approaching the assessment and rating process with a strengthsbased perspective and I am
convinced there is a genuine attempt to use this assessment process to help children’s services improve the quality of their practice. This can only be good for the ECEC sector in its quest to improve quality and build its professional credentials. The big event on the Child Australia calendar for 2013 is the biennial WA ECEC conference scheduled for the 26-27 of October. This will be the third conference Child Australia has hosted and we are excited about the great lineup of international and national speakers we have for you this year. We are introducing something new to the conference program, a Research Symposium to be held on Friday the 25th. The Research Symposium will highlight WA based research projects with a focus on early childhood development and the relationship between research and practice. The conference is always a great networking opportunity so we look forward to seeing you there. We are pleased to be launching Being Child Aware in Childcare; a web based on-line resource Child
Australia developed specifically for early childhood educators. This resource is designed to build awareness of children experiencing, exposed to or at risk of exposure to domestic/family violence, mental illness and sexual abuse. It also builds recognition that substance abuse issues may intersect with these risks. Child Aware is a practical tool that can be used by educators and children’s services to augment other child protection training or used to test the knowledge base of new staff while providing a comprehensive overview of the signs of abuse. All the best,
Dawson Ruhl Chief Executive Officer
HIPPY a winner with Geraldton kids The Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) is a community program which encourages and supports parents to prepare their children for the early years of school, and on Tuesday 23rd October 2012, Child Australia’s HIPPY East Geraldton graduating class of 2012 gathered at the Spalding Family Centre to celebrate the completion of their two year commitment to the program. Child Australia staff were greeted with the beaming faces of the sixteen children and their families and friends as they arrived at the centre to celebrate this historic event. The children were presented with graduation sashes and hats and shown to their seats where they found a personalised place card and a program outlining the afternoon’s proceedings. 2
Following speeches from the City of Greater Geraldton’s Mayor, Mr Ian Carpenter, Child Australia’s CEO, Dawson Ruhl and Rangeway Primary School Principal, Jacqui Quartermaine, the children and their graduating parent were awarded with their very own shiny gold plastic trophy and an individual graduation certificate in recognition of their achievement. After the official business was over, it was time for some music, refreshments and some fun! The face painters were kept busy with requests from the children and the balloon twister created special balloon shapes just for them. We look forward to welcoming the next cohort of HIPPY children and their families for the upcoming two year program. Enrolments are still being accepted so contact the HIPPY Coordinator on 0427 242 615 to enquire.
Child Times Calendar information Our Professional Development calendar for July – December is now available to download from the Child Australia website, keep an eye out in the post as a copy will be sent to you shortly. Upcoming events included in this Professional Development calendar are:
Our new leadership program This series of workshops is aimed at empowering Leaders to embrace the NQF within their services. Taking Charge of the NQF This workshop aims at building on existing knowledge of legal responsibilities and compliances, as well as assisting in the development of the quality improvement plan. Leading and Managing Change This workshop looks at leadership and your organisations purpose and structure with a focus on understanding and managing change. Lead and Develop the Team This workshop will provide opportunities to consider your role and responsibilities as leaders within a professional learning environment and how to use this knowledge to enhance staff outcomes.
HOW TO SERIES
TO HOW SERIES
HOW TO SERIES
How To Develop and Update Policies Successfully (without the stress) tion d Nutri ting an hy Ea s Healt Service oting d Care Prom on an ati uc In Ed
Work He
alth an In Educ d ation an d Care Safety Servic es
Launch of the How to...Professional Development series This series consists of seven booklets and eight workshops promoting key areas of quality provision. Each booklet and workshop relates to the national legislation, the National Quality Standards, the Early Years Learning Framework and the Framework for school age care. The booklets and workshops will be helpful for a variety of professionals working in education and care services. Booklets will be available for services (1 per service) when attending workshops. Workshops available; Developing and updating Policies - This workshop will provide a guide to successfully developing policies and procedures, and encourages critical reflection on your practice.
Each workshop will be delivered in a full day over a 3 month period, with coaching provided to embed the learning and support educators with the allocated project work.
Building Strong Partnerships with Families – This workshop will help you understand some of the key concepts that underpin strong relationships with families. It will also identify some barriers to family involvement in your service.
These workshops have been based around the Advanced Diploma in Community Management
Work Health and Safety - This workshop will help you reflect on your current work Health and Safety policies
and procedures, and risk management practice in the workplace, and understand more about work Health and Safety Law and Regulations. Supporting Children’s transitions and routines - This workshop will assist educators in supporting children’s transitions to their service and within the service. It will offer you ideas and suggestions for practice, including links to the National Quality Framework. Creating the perfect play space – This workshop will provoke thought about creatively and achievably using your existing space, materials and resources to provide quality inclusive play opportunities and learning experiences. Promoting Healthy Eating and Nutrition - This workshop will provide you with practical information and best practice guidelines on how to promote healthy eating habits and good nutrition for children in your education and care service. Developing Curriculum and Assessment Process Part 1 – What to consider before planning and documenting – This workshop will look at the foundations and elements of the EYLF and FSAC using NQF documentation. It will help you to consider the values, principles and practices that inform curriculum theory. Part 2 – Curriculum planning and documentation methods – This workshop will offer ideas and guidance along with links to the NQF to assist educators in developing their curriculum and documentation practices. It will enable you to think about current practices and consider new approaches to creating meaningful curriculum and assessment.
The Wheels are in Motion! Registrations Are Now Open We are pleased to announce that registrations are now open for the 2013 WA Early Childhood Education & Care Conference “Wheels in Motion” which will celebrate past achievements and embrace future challenges in the ongoing journey toward delivering an effective, integrated early childhood system. Keynote Speakers We are also pleased to announce the prominent list of keynote speakers who will be delivering the latest findings on early childhood development including: • Dr. Elly Singer, associate professor at the University Utrecht, Developmental Psychology and University of Amsterdam, Education and a member of the board of Trustees of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association; • Charles E. Pascal, an internationally recognised educator with expertise in early and higher education, training, policy development, leadership and organisational development; • Dr. Judy Willis, a former classroom teacher and neurologist and authority on brain research regarding learning and the brain and classroom strategies. • June McLaughlin who is currently leading the establishment of a fully integrated Family and Children’s Centre and also has extensive expertise in service and policy development within early childhood education and care, disability, parenting and family support fields having worked within the Victorian State Government and at the Centre for Community Child Health.
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This a not to be missed professional learning opportunity for early childhood educators, teachers, government, family day care providers, researchers, policy makers and stakeholders. Through a variety of workshops and presentations the conference will focus around the four themes reflecting the child at the centre of effective early childhood education and care; 1. Engaging Families and Community: Encouraging parents as children’s first teachers; 2. Pedagogical Quality: How do we continue to integrate the principles of the National Quality Standards and Early Years Learning Framework into everyday practice; 3. Integration and Collaboration: What does a culture of collaboration and integration really mean and how do they relate to, and support, good practice; 4. Leadership: Leadership is central to creating quality learning environments.
Pre-Conference Research Symposium
We are also proud to announce the inclusion of an inaugural Pre-Conference Research Symposium to be held on 25 October 2013 at Edith Cowan University, Mount Lawley. The symposium will showcase ongoing and recently completed research in the field of early childhood education and care in Western Australia that reflects our local context and contributes to improved outcomes for our children.
For more information and to register, go to www.waecec.com
Farrar ELC Official Opening On Thursday, 8th November, Farrar Early Learning Centre in the Northern Territory was officially opened by the Minister for Education, Robyn Lambley. Before the official ceremony, the minister enjoyed a tour of the Centre where she observed the children and educators. Following the tour of the facilities, Welcome to Country speaker, Ali Mills performed a touching song and the Centre was officially opened by the Honorable Robyn Lambley. The formalities were concluded with closing words from our CEO, Dawson Ruhl, before cupcakes and light refreshments were served. We are thankful to all who attended the celebrations, in particular, Elaine Pavlos who sits on the Board of Child Australia and who travelled all the way from Perth for this festive event. A special thank you to the staff at Farrar Early Learning Centre for all of their hard work in making the day a success. We were proud to mark this momentous occasion and the morning provided us with the opportunity to showcase the centre as well as thank everyone involved in its commission.
Board Visit to the Top End In November, I was privileged to be invited to represent the Board at the official opening of Farrar Early Learning Centre in Palmerston, a growing suburb of Darwin. From a climate perspective probably not the best time of year to visit Darwin, but the hospitality shown by the staff certainly made up for any shortcomings in the weather! During the short trip, I was also fortunate to be able to meet the dedicated, committed and passionate staff who work in both of our Northern Territory centres. The first centre we visited was Bagot, an indigenous community where care and education is provided for children from a wide range of ages. On the day we visited, the centre was full of happy, secure and inquisitive children who had access to exceptional resources and educators. The centre had a lovely atmosphere, where children were engaged in a wide range of wonderful activities. I was very impressed with Kellie and her team who are so ‘in tune’ with the
community that they tend to be the ‘go to people’ for a range of issues. Our next stop was Farrar Early Learning Centre which is a purpose built Early Learning Centre that has been operational since January 2012 and caters for infants through to preschoolers. Once again I found the centre to have a positive atmosphere where educators have a strong focus on ensuring that children feel secure and connected. The Northern Territory Minister for Education officially opened the centre in a touching ceremony following a tour of the facility. The centre looked wonderful and it was obvious that the inclusion philosophy of Child Australia was truly the focus of the centres’ culture with enthusiastic and committed staff providing an exceptional environment for children and their families. The day was a huge success and a great networking event that proved to be an excellent public relations exercise for Child Australia. Many of the Government representatives who
had been involved in the project at various times were able to see the end results – happy, secure children in a stimulating environment. To Jayne and all her staff in the Northern Territory, a really big thank you and congratulations from the Board, you all do a fabulous job! This was a very valuable experience for me as it will help to put the decisions we make at Board level into context and furthers my strong commitment to reaching positive outcomes for Child Australia representation in the Northern Territory. Elaine Pavlos, Board Member 5
Our Time, Our Place
2013 NT OSHC Conference Saturday 10th August 9.00am – 4.30pm Rydges Airport Resort, Marrara
Child Australia, Professional Support Coordinator (PSC) for the Northern Territory, in collaboration with the Northern Territory Department of Education and Children’s Services, are excited to announce this fully funded one day conference to be held at the Rydges Airport Resort on Saturday, 10th August 2013. This conference is aimed at all NT Out of School Hours Care services and will be specifically focused on developing the capacity of the school aged care sector to support 5-12 year old children, their wellbeing, leisure and learning and to explore best practice in light of the National Quality Framework coming into effect at the start of this year. Contact the Child Australia PSC NT for more information.
Farrar ELC Welcomes New Director We are delighted to welcome Zoe Davis to the role of Director for the Farrar Early Learning Centre in the NT. Zoe and has worked in the industry for nearly ten years and brings with her a wealth of skills and experience.
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Zoe is a passionate advocate for early childhood education and care and, with her infectious enthusiasm and love of teaching, we are excited that she has decided to continue her pedagogical journey with Child Australia at the Farrar Early Learning Centre.
A Partnership in Community Health The Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) recently initiated a project where the benefits of having a child health nurse based at an early learning centre, were researched. This is an area where children sometimes receive a low score on the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI). The AEDI test assesses children’s readiness and ability for commencing school based on five domains: 1. health and physical well being 2. social competence 3. emotional maturity 4. language and cognitive skills 5. communication skills and general knowledge. If children are not fully prepared, they can begin their education at a disadvantage by not having the skills to cope in a school environment. As part of the project, a CACH child health nurse was placed at Child Early Learning Centre Lockridge (CELC) to work alongside play leaders to assess areas of
developmental need, create engaging activities to increase sociability and to promote play to enhance early brain development in the children attending. The child health nurse allocated time in each play studio, observing and documenting individual children’s learning and developmental progress. The observations were then shared with room leaders and incorporated into curriculum planning and the children’s individual learning journals.
2. Educators have developed skills in health promotion delivery to parents and carers regarding healthy lifestyle choices for the children in their care. Although, the findings have yet to be published, reports to date have been so encouraging that CAHS have decided to maintain the service throughout 2013.
Having a child health nurse based at the centre for one full day each week provided valuable support to both families and staff seeking advice on developmental concerns and information on children with disabilities. It also provided an opportunity to have developmental health checks undertaken on site. The outcomes so far have shown two clear improvements benefitting the health of young children: 1. Educators have gained valuable information regarding infant and child mental health, which is imperative when caring for a child outside the home.
CAHS Child Health Nurse, Carolyn Goodall at CELC Lockridge
PCYC Bike Workshop The Child Australia Lockridge OSHC children have been participating in the PCYC Bike Workshop on Thursdays after school since June last year, and they are loving every minute of it! The program aims to improve the children’s confidence, skills and safety awareness on bikes and scooters. The workshop is open to all children and skill levels and a large group from the surrounding community also attend. The friendly and caring PCYC staff have created a fantastic atmosphere where the children have the opportunity to test out their skills on different sized ramps, test their agility by moving fast and accurately through cones and improve their confidence on a bike or scooter.
The workshop has progressed to a level where children learn and practice at a pace which is appropriate to their abilities. Every week, the PCYC provide the children with experts who demonstrate a variety of tricks and skills which the children can all try out themselves. The workshop leaders are very safety conscious and guide the children to improve their techniques and skills. The improvement in the children’s confidence has been immense. Watching the children’s excitement as they participate and succeed in the activities has been rewarding for educators.
brakes and safety checks. The PCYC Bike workshop has been a great success and something that the children look forward to every week.
The children have also gained skills in maintenance, changing tyres, adjusting the handlebars and 7
Rural Inclusion Support Program RISP in Action Child Australia delivers the Rural Inclusion Support Program (RISP) in rural Western Australia to early childhood services who do not qualify for child care benefit or any other form of Commonwealth funding. RISP is a free professional and flexible service designed to support eligible child care centres in providing welcoming, quality and inclusive environments for young children with additional needs. These include children with disabilities, children undergoing assessments for disabilities, refugees, and children with cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
How can we support? • Personalised centre based inclusion support; • Financial assistance to increase staffing to support inclusion of children with additional needs;
The Rural Inclusion Program is supported by 8
Nicole (educator), Nancy, Aislinn, Charlie and Craig planting their sun flower seeds.
• Professional development opportunities and subsidies; • Links to information, resources, other professional services and local community groups that support inclusive practice; and, • RISP newsletter The importance of inclusion support to services is demonstrated in Nicole South’s Inclusion story from Kalbarri Occasional Care Centre.
“Kalbarri Occasional Childcare Centre is extremely grateful for the inclusion support we receive from Child Australia; it has allowed us to provide support to all the children in our centre in the way of employing an extra carer when necessary.
“We have a wonderful friend Craig, who has been with us for about 3 years and although he needs a bit of extra help, he is a pleasure and an important part of our childcare centre. Our centre’s budget is small and we rely on funding and our shire allowing us the use of the building and amenities, so the Inclusion Support we receive is not only beneficial and extremely important to our centre in allowing us to provide an extra carer, but also for our children to allow them all be included in every daily activity.”
Want to find out more? Guidelines, flyer and forms are available on our website: www.childaustralia.org.au Email us at: risp@childaustralia.org.au Call us on: (08) 9270 6607 or (08) 9249 4333
What is FASD?
• Take photos of toys and equipment and put on containers to help children to know where they belong at pack away time. • Keep noise levels down - turn off radios and CD players.
The FASD Fighters !
• Less decoration in the room is best. Don’t have too many paintings, posters on the walls, or mobiles hanging from the ceiling. These make it very hard for FASD kids to concentrate. • Take photos for routines, e.g.: wash hands, flush toilet, fruit time, lunch time etc. to help kids know what to do. Routine is important.
What is FASD? It is what happens to a child whose mother drank alcohol while she was pregnant. The alcohol causes a lot of damage to the child’s brain and to every system inside their body. The damage is permanent. Some communities call these children “grog babies.” FASD includes these groups: • Foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) • Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) • Alcohol related birth defects (ARBD) • Foetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) If you have any FASD children in your care, here are a few simple ideas that may make the child more comfortable in their surroundings. Making small changes to inside environments such as: • Turn off fluorescent lights; use natural lighting wherever you can.
• Make a ‘Dream Space’ in play room for just one person. Cover with soft curtain material. Put in some pillows and a teddy. Encourage children to use it when they need a quiet time away from the noise and activity of the play room.
(L-R) Emily Carter and June Oscar worked long and hard to get alcohol restrictions in their town of Fitzroy Crossing WA., after 13 suicides in 13 months and increasing family violence and child neglect. Emily and June have shown bravery and determination to save lives and change their community for the better. June is CEO at Fitzroy Crossing Women’s Centre.
Educator ideas:
• Share the care of FASD kids. Put a hair scrunchy on your wrist, so everyone knows who is supporting the child’s play and keeping them safe. Hand the scrunchy to another staff member every 1/2 hour. • Use an egg timer for turn taking on the swing or bikes so kids can see how long they have to wait for a turn. Sit with them. • Give them big happy bear hugs. FASD kids have a need for strong skin touch. This also helps their selfesteem. • Keep directions simple, and use with hand actions e.g. ‘hands down’ or ‘bottom on the chair.’ • Use the same words for the same direction every time. For more facts on FASD and these groups go to www.macmh.org and www.region6fasd.ca
Marmingee Hand is from the Fitzroy Crossing area. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Bachelor of Education. Marmingee is the program manager at Fitzroy Valley District High School. She and her partner are also carers of 3 children with FASD. Marmingee spoke at the Kimberley Conference in Oct 2012, and described the high numbers of children with FASD in many communities and towns. As educators, she said we need to know how FASD affects children’s learning and make changes to our service environments and practice to support these kids.
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‘Coming together – to Nurture, Create and Inspire’
The inaugural Kimberley Education and Care Conference took place on the 20th and 21st of October at the Kimberley Training Institute in Broome. The weekend was a raging success with more than 140 registrations from educators and other professionals throughout the Kimberley, Pilbara, Northern Territory and a few from down south. The participants enjoyed a program that
Nominations are now open for the Northern Territory Excellence in Education and Care Awards. These awards have been established to give recognition to educators and services in early childhood and outside school hours education and care who are innovative in their approach and who exhibit an outstanding commitment to delivering a high quality service for children and their families.
was practical and interactive. The program was developed to: • Nurture participants and build confidence by learning from expert presenters • Create understanding and awareness of the learning and quality frameworks • Inspire everyone with new ideas, resources and practical examples
The success of the conference was attributed to the collaboration between the Kimberley Training Institute, Department for Communities, Yorganop, Child Australia, Suzanne Kenton and Suzanne Powell. Thank you to all those who attended and contributed, we look forward to the next Kimberley Education and Care Conference.
• Service Excellence • Excellence in Community Engagement • Excellence in Sustainable Practice Go to the “News” section of the Child Australia website for more information and to download the forms. Nominations close Thursday, 1 August 2013. The awards ceremony will take place on September 18th
Forms can be found on our website for nominations in the following categories: • Emerging Professional Educator • Excellence in Leadership
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Northern Territory Excellence in Education and Care Awards
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cont inue
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Highlighting PSCWA’s Action Research Project Exploring Possibilities for Creating Environments that Promote Engagement in Young Children’s Social Learning Professional Development happens in many different ways. Research has shown however, that whilst there may be differences in the types of professional development, there are common features that underpin the approaches that are most effective in supporting the development and enrichment of early childhood educators’ day-to-day practices. The features of effective professional development recommended are identified as:
• Provide opportunities for us to think critically about the values and assumptions underlying our practice and consider events and situations from different perspectives. • Provide information and knowledge about alternative practices/perspectives at both theoretical and practical levels. • Engage us in investigating real life examples in our own settings.
• The involvement of staff in assessing their own learning.
Exploring possibilities for creating environments that promote engagement in young children’s social learning was an action research project in which these features were embedded.
• The creation of opportunities for staff to apply new knowledge and skills in their own work settings.
The Action Research Project Design
• The creation of opportunities for educators to have a trusted ‘other’ to discuss developing practice.
The professional development project included:
• The extension of the professional development program over a period of time.
(Raban, Waniganake, Nolan, Ure, Brown and Deans cited in Practice Potentials, 2008, p.128) The major review of professional development research for the New Zealand Ministry of Education also emphasised the importance of supporting educators to “gain awareness of our thinking, actions and influence when we want to enhance the quality of our practice.” (Mitchell & Cubey, 2003) This involves participating in professional development programs that: • Provide opportunities for questioning our own experiences and views.
possibilities in their particular service to reflect on three key aspects of their environments. • The organisation and aesthetics of the physical environment • The social interactions within the setting • The temporal aspects of the setting – the routines and timetables Educators from long day care, family day care and rural occasional care services engaged in ongoing learning and reflective practice to intentionally gather information and insights about their practices that may support, inform and enrich decision-making about engagement in children’s social learning. Educators recorded their reflections and planning throughout the program, using a cycle of review – Stop, Continue, Start
• 1 full day workshop • 1 evening workshop, and • on-going mentoring and support from Jodie Smith (PSCWA) and Caroline Fewster (facilitator) • Service visits one month after the program to share the outcomes of the professional learning in the context of each service and community
stop
Describe any practices that you consider could be changed in your environment.
continue
Describe practices and routines that you wish to continue within your environment that engage and inspire children’s social learning and behaviour
start
Describe any new initiatives you plan to include in the design of your environment.
Promoting Engagement in Your Children’s Social Learning A professional learning project focused on designing and creating early childhood environments that engage and inspire children’s social learning. Participants explored
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Highlights of the Action Research from the Educators’ Perspectives and Planning CASE STUDY 1: Goomalling Gumnuts Child Day Centre stop The current set up of beds at that time, i.e. in rows.
continue
always somewhat of a challenge. In reflecting on the knowledge shared at the Social Learning Professional Development, I was aware of the need to think differently about the rest time routines in order to create a more calming and meaningful social routines. By altering the layout of the beds and through introducing ‘bed boxes’, we now have a rest time environment that supports positive behaviours in our children.”
Look at creating a bed plan that would facilitate children being closer to the educators.
Catherine Pearce – Centre Co-Ordinator
As a result of readings included in the social learning program, I am reflecting on our environment in order to create less cluttered spaces and places. I have introduced visual cues to provide clear expectations for children using the environment.
Child Early Learning Centre Lockridge, Perth
start As a result of the professional development project, I want to engage children in routines and introduce a tidy up time chart so that children can see and feel a sense of belonging to the group and have a particular role in caring for the environment. I am introducing the teaching not telling approach to promoting engagement in young children’s social and emotional learning and have already introduced the “Quiet as a Mouse” social learning program to my service to assist children in their understanding of engagement in social learning. CASE STUDY 2:
CASE STUDY 3:
“By expecting our toddlers to know what ‘sitting nicely’ at mat time should look like, we were not taking into account their levels of social development. Since attending the Social Learning Professional Development and introducing our ‘personal spots’, our mat times have become a time which engages and promotes their social learning and behaviour. Having their photographs on the spots gives the children a sense of belonging and acts as a visual expression of the learning message we are trying to portray.” Leah Shaw – Senior Room Leader A lively culture of inquiry is established when early childhood educators are involved in an ongoing cycle of review, through which their current practices are examined, outcomes reviewed and new ideas generated. (EYLF, 2009: 13)
Educators’ Feedback Educators’ feedback from the project highlighted their individual learning and planning as a direct result of the PSCWA’s social learning action research project... Wongan Hills Cubbyhouse “19 children of mixed age groups (3 months – 5 years) attend our rural education and care service. Having only one sleep room, rest time and the transitions to and from it were 12
‘I was really amazed that we can spend 70% of our time in routine situations throughout the day when working with babies and toddlers – this is going to be my focus in the action research project.” ‘This program has inspired me to adopt an action research style
approach to professional learning with our FDC educators.’ ‘This project has allowed time for me to reflect on the new knowledge I have learnt in relation to children’s social development. I have been able to share this with my educators and we have implemented strategies within our service to reflect the importance of ‘setting children up to achieve’.
Conclusion Researchers confirm that there is an inextricable link between children’s social and emotional competence and school readiness and that social skills and emotional intelligence are crucial to all children’s readiness to learn. (Mitchell & Glossop as cited in Schiller, 2011) Educators in this program demonstrated wonderful ideas and practices that promote and invite meaningful social interactions in their engagement with an action research approach to professional learning. Child Australia invited participants to attend the Early Childhood Australia National Conference in Perth in October to present their findings, planning and practices that they have implemented into their particular service. Congratulations to Western Australian educators – it was a pleasure to work with you in this project and visit your services. Jodie Newton
Caroline Fewster
In promoting engagement in social and emotional learning that invites frequent and meaningful interactions and secure and reciprocal relationships, we are creating the foundation for emotional well-being and social success.
Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge all of the services who took part in the Social Learning Project and thank them for their commitment to professional development opportunities and that dedication to share their learning with others in order to create change.
• Booragoon Occasional Child Care Centre • Child Early Learning Centre Lockridge • City of Bayswater Association
Have you seen the EYLF Practice-Based Resources?
• Elite Family Day Care • Goomalling Gumnuts Inc • Upper Great Southern Family Day Care • Wirrabirra Child Care Centre • Wongan Cubbyhouse
References Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (2011), Guide to the National Quality Standard. Commonwealth of Australia (2009), The Early Years Learning Framework. Commonwealth of Australia (2011), My Time, Our Place. Crowther, I. (2011), Creating Effective Learning Environments, Nelson. Miller, D. (2007), Positive Child Guidance, Thomson. The Early Years Learning Framework Professional Learning Program: Learning Spaces 2, Indoors (2011). Wills, C. & Schiller, P. (2011), PreSchoolies’ Social Skills Steer Life Success. NAEYC.
Supporting the release of the Early Years Learning Framework Practice Based Resources, the Professional Support Coordinator’s Alliance will be offering online professional development to guide services on how to get the most of out of these resources. The Early Years Learning Framework Practice Based Resources have been designed to further support the implementation of the EYLF in early education and care services. This resource pack includes: • Posters – which outline and define key ideas from the EYLF;
Also on the CD you will find a printable Developmental Milestones resource booklet. A useful tool to develop sound professional knowledge to support your evaluations of the EYLF outcomes. ‘A sound understanding of developmental milestones will support educators to effectively assess children’s play and learning’ (Developmental milestones and the EYLF/NQS:p3) Professional development for these resources will soon be available as an online session through www. pscalliance.org.au.
• An Educator’s booklet which explores the role of educators in relation to the EYLF; • Connecting with families – a booklet designed to support engagement with families; • Team meeting package – designed to support thinking and conversations about the EYLF within whole staff teams; • Prompt Cards – designed to support thinking and conversations about the EYLF within whole staff teams; and • A resource CD with printable versions of the posters and booklets which have been translated into 10 languages.
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Do you value and nurture creativity? Why does our creativity seem to diminish with age? Sir Ken Robinson (2009) would argue that academic institutions “are killing creativity.” He strongly believes that our schools value traditional subjects such as English and maths and do not value and nurture the creative spirit. Robinson argues that a decline in creativity sees with it a decline in things such as innovation, problem solving and the ability to navigate new and unfamiliar situations. Our focus on so called “success” equalling materialistic virtues means that as a society, we do not place much value on being creative. This societal value is transferred over to our academic system where learning is focused on those areas that appear to assist materialism. When in fact, if we valued and even encouraged creativity in learning, the next generations would be more than well equipped to deal with the problems that will be presented to us in generations to come. They would, according to Sir Ken Robinson (2009), experience enhanced social development by “enabling the growth of self-confidence, selfexpression and self-esteem.” The next generation would also be more innovative, problem focused, curious and not afraid to take a chance. In the past, these societal values have also influenced the way we engage children in the early years of learning. Have you ever used flash cards? Encouraged end product artwork? Discouraged children from participating in experimental play because of a mess? These are just some of the ways in which creativity can be stifled. “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Pablo Picasso 14
Early childhood teaching is leading the education revolution in realising the value of creativity. We understand from the early years’ brain research that the first three years of a child’s life are crucial, as during this time the foundations are set for future learning. The Early Years Learning Framework (pg15) has responded to this research by stating that learning environments are positive when “it responds to children’s interests and needs” and “they cater for different learning capacities and learning styles and invite children to contribute ideas, interests and questions.” I challenge you to find a vision, practice, principle or learning outcome of the Early Years Learning Framework that cannot be linked to creativity in some way.
So how do we continue to value and nurture children to be creative within our environments? The only limit is your imagination and your ability to be creative. Start with some of the following ideas to get everyone’s imagination going: • Provide an environment that allows children to explore and play without unnecessary restraints. • Resist attempting to structure children’s ideas to fit yours. Instead value and fit with their ideas. • Do not be judgemental when children express ideas. • Encourage children to be problem solvers. Give them plenty of opportunities to solve problems. Ask questions. Allow them to be curious. • Encourage them to appreciate the beauty of nature. Nature is full of questions that are waiting to be answered.
Reggio Emilia has long valued the artist within the child. However, many still only see creativity as just the arts. It is so much more than this. Creativity can be encouraged in many other ways than just through the traditional arts. Think about the child trying to work out how to build a cubby house out of some broom sticks, a couple of chairs and a blanket. The child constructing a block creation for their city of cars. The child experimenting with the different directions they can spray water from the tap. The child making mud pies in the sandpit. All of these children are participating in creative play. They are being allowed to be curious, hypothesise, problem solve and experiment therefore using their creativity.
• Allow children time to hypothesise experiment and explore. • Value the process not the product. • Promote curiosity and imagination. Allow children to experience different situations and environments to promote their natural curiosity.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
Reference: Robinson, K & Aronica, L. (2009). The element: How finding your passion changes everything. New York: Victory.
Open-Ended Learning Materials and Resources – A World of Possibilities. play’ with no expectations or preconceived ideas to produce a finished article, they demonstrated a range of skills and competencies any educator, parent or carer would be proud of!
Extending children’s learning opportunities can be a creative and rewarding experience, such was the case when a group of 3-5 year old children from Child Early Learning Centre Lockridge visited the PSC resource centre to explore the first of Caroline Fewster’s ‘Pictures of Quality ’ interactive display series.
Pictures of Quality Quality Area 3: Physical Environment This Quality Area of the National Quality Standard focuses on the physical environment. Ensuring it is safe, suitable and provides a rich and diverse range of experiences that promote children’s learning and development.
Quality Area 3: Standards and Elements Standard 3.2 The environment is inclusive, promotes competence, independent exploration and learning through play. Element 3.2.2 Resources, materials and equipment are sufficient in number, organised in ways that ensure appropriate and effective implementation of the program and allow for multiple uses.
Engagement, persistence.
Confidence
Problem solving, commitment
Sustained shared thinking, effective communication
Effective communication, sustained shared thinking, exploration
Curiosity
Open-ended flexible resources support children as competent and capable learners who direct their own learning. Open-ended materials and resources include natural materials, as well as recycled materials. With these types of materials we offer children many opportunities to explore, investigate and problem-solve, while constructing and representing their emerging understandings. Open-ended materials support many early childhood curriculum approaches including; • An emergent curriculum approach • A community of learners curriculum approach • An integrated curriculum approach (Arthur et al 2012:266) To the untrained eye this table of old tubes, paper circles, leaves, pieces of wool and other recycled objects seemed as though Caroline had simply had a good ‘clear out’ and mistaken our offices for a recycling bin. But in the eyes of a child we know they are treasure! The starting point of powerful learning experiences called open-ended play. The children had a fantastic time using the materials and their imaginations to explore, create and discover. Given the freedom to ‘free
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Summarising Each Child’s Learning in Relation to the Learning Outcomes Over a number of months, I travelled around the country visiting many child care services, working closely with services and challenging them to reflect on whether their approaches to planning and documentation are meeting the National Quality Standards. Many educators are doing a great job of collecting information about children, both from families and from observations, learning stories, photos and other methods. They are also tracking the learning in this information that is evident to the learning outcomes. However, in many parts of Australia, one of the gaps that I have noticed is that children’s learning is not being summarised regularly to show the ‘distance travelled’ in relation to the Learning Outcomes and noting that not all observations, photos, information from families or pieces of artwork need to be analysed in relation to the Learning Outcomes at that point in time, or summarised as a way of seeing each child’s progress. The Guide to the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations (Guide 2 in the NQF Resource Kit, ACECQA) states that; “The approved national learning frameworks outline that assessment is a process used by educators to gather information about what children know, understand and can do. This information should be analysed by educators to plan effectively for each child’s learning. For children who are preschool age and under, this documentation should include: 16
• assessments of the child’s development needs, interests, experiences and participation in the educational program • assessments of the child’s progress against the learning outcomes of the educational program. (p.53) For children who are over preschool age, this documentation should focus on evaluations of the child’s wellbeing, development and learning within the educational program.” (p.54)
Element 1.2.1 in the Guide to the National Quality Standard, states that assessors may discuss ‘how educators analyse the information that is gathered about individuals and groups of children to make judgments about each child’s progress towards specific learning outcomes.’
In many cases, educators are observing and recording children’s learning, linking it to the most appropriate Learning Outcome(s) and using that information to plan for further learning. The requirements outlined above do not require that every piece of documentation be analysed in relation to a Learning Outcome, but it does mean that the information that has been collected about each child, needs to be analysed and regularly summarised to show each child’s progress in relation to each Outcome. This information then
assists in planning to support further learning, as well as helping to identify if particular aspects seem delayed. Many educators will remember completing regular developmental summaries on each child under the headings of gross motor, fine motor, cognitive, social, emotional and communication. This is where we would summarise our observations to show how each child was progressing. The analysis required in relation to the Learning Outcomes is very similar. We are now looking at each of the five Learning Outcomes and summarising what we know about each child. Summative Assessment is a more formal way of describing these summaries. As with other aspects of documentation, there is no specified way that these summaries need to be documented. It’s up to each setting to decide what works best for them and their families. For more information on the assessment of children’s learning in relation to the Learning Outcomes you might find the e-Newsletter that I wrote on this topic helpful. It includes examples of the way some settings are completing this analysis. To see the newsletter and for additional information see the NQS PLP e-Newsletter No. 40. Summative Assessment – taking the analysis of collected information further at http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia. org.au/nqsplp/e-newsletters/ newsletters-36-40/newsletter-40/ Heather Barnes, Early Childhood Consultant and Trainer
Social Engagement A typical rest time in an early learning centre would see children sleeping in rows, head to toe, with educators struggling to offer attention to all of those children. Now imagine if the beds were arranged in a circle with all the children lying toward the centre, with an educator positioned in the middle chatting amongst this social group. As I watch the children in our room relaxing on their mattresses, socialising with one another before drifting off to sleep, I thank Caroline Fewster for sharing her knowledge of social learning in early childhood with me. A few months ago I was given the opportunity to take part in the Child Australia PSCWA Social Learning Project. This professional development training provided in depth information about the importance of social and emotional development in early childhood, and explored ways in which educators can provide children with social and emotional learning opportunities in children’s services settings. This
professional development was delivered in such an inspiring manner that I returned to work the following day motivated to implement change within our service. I collaborated with my colleagues and together we determined that we could use routine times to promote and enhance children’s social engagement and emotional development, and so we set about creating change within our play studios. To begin we rearranged our mattresses to provide the children with a relaxed and social sleeping arrangement. We designed bed time boxes for each of the children, filled them with quiet yet intriguing activities to explore whilst settling down to sleep. We provided each family with a small photo album to take home to fill with family photos we then added the albums to the bed boxes. We made personal spots for our children so they each had their own special place to sit at group time, which we arranged in a circle allowing the children to engage socially during this time. We are
OSHCwa – About Us We are currently restructuring the Western Australian branch of the National Out of School Hours Services Association (NOSHSA) to be known as OSHCwa. OSHCwa provides opportunities for the WA OSHC sector to network together, share ideas, have conversations and develop support and strategies.
to our unique approach to OSHC in WA. By having our own state peak body, we can address the dedicated needs of our services at both a state level and a national level through our membership of NOSHSA.
Our aim is to provide representation and be the voice for the school age care sector in Western Australia. OSHCwa will advocate to Government bodies on behalf of OSHC services and aims to raise the profile of OSHC within both the community and Government sectors.
This year has seen great change for the OSHC sector in Western Australia. Although we have only been in operation for just over 12 months, we have been empowered by the support that we have received from other working groups and organisations within the children’s services sector of WA. The feedback we have received to date highlights the value of OSHC in the community.
OSHC services operating in WA have identified issues that affect their services including, state regulation, the resources boom and distance and isolation which have all contributed
On Saturday 24th of November we held our first OSHC conference entitled “The Wonder Years.” The event was well supported and educators participated in seminars
currently in the process of creating place mats with the children to be used at meal times. It has been amazing to see how these subtle yet significant changes have impacted on the children. The rooms are abuzz with social interaction, we have seen progression of pro social skill development within the children, and have delighted in the glorious feeling of belonging we and the children have toward our centre. I highly recommend that all educators take up the opportunity to explore social learning within their service. Leah Shaw Child Early Learning Centre Lockridge
led by Robyn Monroe Miller, Tracey Blaszkow (Kidsafe), Child Australia Training and Research Institute (CATRI) and representatives from the Education and Care regulatory unit.
Contact information OSHCwa is comprised of a committee of representatives and peers from the OSHC community. We meet several times a year and welcome anyone who is interested in joining. OSHCWA is open to all WA OSHC services and their school age care educators. We look forward to welcoming you to OSHCwa! For more information please contact Lisa Bevan on bevan.lisa@cathednet.wa.edu.au or access our OSHCWA groupsite on http://oshcwa.groupsite.com
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Our Journey to Success In the Northern Territory, assessment visits are well and truly underway and some services have now received their ratings. The following story describes the journey taken by the Stuart Park Child Care Centre as they share their thoughts and reflections on the road to receiving their Exceeding Rating. In preparation for our assessment visit, one of the most important things our team did to begin the process was to gather all the information and feedback from every aspect of our centre – parents, management, children and educators/staff. It was really important to us that everyone’s views were heard and respected and this gave us the starting point to determine what areas we needed to work on and what we knew we already excelled in. We had lots of professional development in regards to curriculum and behaviour guidance, as this was something that became evident during the development of our Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). Lots of team meetings and brainstorming followed! Prior to the assessment, and as to be expected, the whole team was quite nervous. For a lot of younger educators and for those who had not been through a similar process, it can be fairly intimidating having external visitors analysing your practices but the meetings were a great way for us to talk about all the Quality areas and build up each other’s confidence and share each other’s knowledge. To ensure that we were able to demonstrate to the assessors our knowledge and understanding of the Regulations and Standards, it was very important that we had immersed ourselves in what they meant to us and our service dynamics. It is important to recognise that knowing what suits our families, might not suit other Services and therefore, we had to be able to articulate how and why we do the things we do. Ensuring that we continue our professional development in areas of programming and child development will be the key to the program we provide to our children. We are 18
continuously revisiting our QIP to ensure we are still providing a high quality education and care service. Some advice I would give to other services is to BE PREPARED! Don’t leave things until the last minute and expect to able to ‘wing it.’ There is a good old saying: you reap what you sow. Other advice I would give is to ensure you are building solid networks with other professionals within the sector. The more educators and directors that can help each other, the better. The NQF has been designed to give children the best possible start to life. As PROFESSIONALS, the more we do to support their learning and development and ensure each child is valued and respected for who they are and who they can become, the better outcomes we will see in the future! As a service, including management and parents, we are extremely proud of the effort we put in and the recognition we received with our final rating. To achieve Exceeding on our first Ratings and Assessment was an unbelievable feeling and a credit to our entire team. We certainly celebrated after the fact! Rachel Betts Stuart Park Child Care
“But I don’t speak English... how can I belong?”
Through conversation with culturally and linguistically diverse families, we learn about their needs and perspectives, and their thoughts and feelings when arriving in Australia and entering an Education and Care (EC) setting for the first time. We asked some CaLD families what would help them to feel a sense of belonging in their child care community. Their key message was that they belonged when they were listened to and informed, and could see demonstrated respect for cultural diversity. Cultural competence, respect for diversity and collaborative partnerships are all features of a high quality inclusive EC Setting.
Your relationship with families begins at enrolment when you get to know them and share important information. This might seem a little challenging if families have limited or no spoken English. As well as the obvious language barrier, there may also be differences between your world view and theirs and different understandings about child care, curriculum and parental participation. Investing time in your enrolment and orientation process helps you to: • have clear mutual expectations
what gives el welcome and fe to u yo s lp What he belonging? you a sense of ence owledge my pres • When you ackn as an equal • Being treated ed • Not being judg rmation to and given info • Being listened trusted trust and being • Being able to e with my child ors communicat at uc ed g ein Se • nguage y child’s first la using some of m cultures spect for other re g ein se d an g • Feelin d free • Feeling safe an e music, y my culture, th jo en to le ab g in • Be ns and language food, celebratio elves and our ucation for ours • Access to ed children t my child’s educators abou by d ke as g in Be • od and drink ey sleep, what fo routine, how th they can have actices y child rearing pr m t ou ab d ke as • Being about play, ors ask my child • Hearing educat they like songs and stories
• gain information to help settle children and guide curriculum planning • build your partnership with families
Tips for Practice Prepare for enrolment If the family speaks little or no English, you might be unsure if you can make yourself understood. You may feel that you need to use an interpreter or the family might prefer to use one. Call the PSC or your ISA for more information about bicultural support, including interpreters and bicultural support workers. • Find out if the family has someone who can assist them as an interpreter such as an extended family member, friend, settlement agency or someone in their community. • Think about the information that you want to share during enrolment and how to make it easy to understand for families with limited English. You might prepare a Visual Orientation Book; a sample bag containing 19
a spare set of clothes, nappies, labelled bottle or cup to show any new family what should be in their child’s day bag; photographs of families signing in and out; or a pictorial clock to show your opening and closing times. • Develop a list of the key words and phrases important in your setting and find out from the family how they say these words and phrases. You could use pictures or photos to support your discussion. www.translate. google.com and www.babelfish. yahoo.com are useful tools to translate key words and phrases. They also have audio for you to hear and master the correct pronunciation. Translator apps for your phone and Dictaphones can also be useful tools. At enrolment learn about: • Cultural or religious customs or practices important to the family. Don’t rely on a cultural profile or what you have learned from another family with a similar background. • The family’s child rearing practices and routines. Discuss how they can be continued in your setting. If this is not possible, explain why and what you can do instead. • The family member responsible for and allowed to make decisions about the child.
What else can help? • Explain your play based curriculum as some families may not understand or value the importance of play for learning. • Translated materials for families to learn more about early childhood education and care in Australia. The Early Years Learning Framework can be downloaded in 20 different languages at www. deewr.gov.au/earlychildhood/ policy_agenda/quality/pages/ earlyyearslearningframework.aspx
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Some things to remember • Your words or accent can be a barrier to communication. Check that the family understands what you have said. Avoid asking “Do you understand?” Instead, ask families to tell you what they understand or need to do. • Some families may not be able to read or write in their own language. • Some questions may seem intrusive, especially if there is a language barrier. Explain why you are asking for information and how it will help you to meet their child’s needs. • You may have to explain or show/display the practice or expectations along with your policies and procedures on more than one occasion, particularly if the family has no previous experience using early childhood settings.
Links to the National Quality Framework Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities Standard 6.1 Respectful supportive relationships with families are developed and maintained Standard 6.2 Families are supported in their parenting role and their values and beliefs about child rearing are respected Respect for diversity and cultural competency are key principles and practices of the EYLF and FASC
Australia
Child Australia Locations Head Office – WA
5 Carson Road Malaga WA 6090 PO Box 2562 Malaga WA 6944 Phone: (08) 9249 4333 Fax: (08) 9249 4366 Email: admin@childaustralia.org.au
Head Office – NT
13 Bishop Street Woolner NT 0820 PO Box: 37645 Winnellie NT 0821 Phone: (08) 8941 4966 Fax: (08) 8941 6433 Email: darwin@childaustralia.org.au
Geraldton
Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) Parent Pathways 75 Mitchell Street PO Box 2713, Geraldton WA 6530 Tel: 08 9923 2840 Fax: 08 9923 0277
Kalgoorlie
Lotteries House Cnr Wilson & McDonald Street PO Box 10381, Kalgoorlie WA 6433 Tel: 08 9270 6620 Fax: 08 9091 6211
West Pilbara Mobile Children’s Service Lotteries House Unit 10/2 Leake Street PO Box 2491, South Hedland WA 6722 Tel: 08 9172 1722 Fax: 08 9172 3098 Email: wpmcs@childaustralia.org.au
Bagot Community OSHC
Bagot Indigenous Community, Darwin PO Box: 37645 Winnellie NT 0821 Phone: 0450 460 423 Fax: (08) 8941 6433 Email: bagotoshc@childaustralia.org.au
Child Early Learning Centre Lockridge
36 Diana Crescent Lockridge WA 6054 Phone: (08) 9377 1676 Fax: (08) 9377 1676 Email: lockridgeelc@childaustralia.org.au
Child Lockridge OSHC
34 Diana Crescent Lockridge WA 6054 Phone: (08) 9377 1676 Fax: (08) 9377 1676 Email: lockridgeoshc@childaustralia.org.au
Farrar Early Learning Centre
3 Gurd St, Farrar NT 0830 Phone: (08) 8932 8472 Email: farrarelc@childaustralia.org.au