EarlyEdition AUTUMN 2021
Visit childcareconference.com.au to register for the ACA Qld 2021 National Conference!
Relationships antidote to anxiety Our Holistic Perspective on the role of Human Resources in 2021 Member in the Spotlight: Perfect Beginnings Bush Kindy to the Beach
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EarlyEdition AUTUMN 2021
ACA Qld
Contents
Location: 2/10 Welch Street, Underwood Qld 4119 Mailing: PO Box 137, Springwood QLD 4127 Telephone: (07) 3808 2366 Toll Free: 1300 365 325 (outside Brisbane) Web: www.qld.childcarealliance.org.au Email: qld@childcarealliance.org.au
ACA Qld President’s Report
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ACA National President’s Report
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Get to Know Your New ACA Qld CEO
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Benefits of Early Swimming Lessons
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Member in the Spotlight: Perfect Beginnings Bush Kindy to the Beach
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Bounce into 2021 Ready to Exceed
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Relationships Antidote to Anxiety
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Our Holistic Perspective on the role of Human Resources in 2021
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CAECE Congradulates
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Educator in Profile: Jacqueline Zerafa
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Evacuation Diagrams in Childcare – Where and How Many?
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Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket!
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Early Learning: A Reflection on The Past
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Early Learning Playground Maintenance
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Supporter Members Directory
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Disclaimer: Articles published in this magazine are published as a service to readers and should not be substituted for specific advice in relation to any issue. While advertising in this magazine is encouraged, ACA Qld accepts no responsibility for the contents of the advertisements. Advertisements are accepted in good faith and liability for advertising content, goods or services supplied is the responsibility of the advertiser.
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Executive
Committee Members
ACA Qld Office
President - Majella Fitzsimmons
Linda Davies
Rosa McDonald
Chief Executive Officer - Kate Tully
Vice President - Jae Fraser
Nicole Fowler
Katy Mason
Office Manager - Jen Smyth
Treasurer - Doug Burns
Kerrie Lada
Louise Thomas
Office Admin Assistant - Letitia Berndt
Executive Secretary - Debra North
Pam Maclean
Brent Stokes
Marketing and Communications Officer - Brianna Salmond
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ACA Queensland President’s Report Welcome to the first Early Edition of 2021! I would like to wish all our valuable ACA Qld members a very Happy New Year. We are looking forward to an amazing 2021 packed full of many professional development opportunities, Early Childhood Educators Day, and our annual ACA Qld National Conference! Over the last few months, ACA Qld has undergone some change; it was with great sadness and excitement that we farewelled ACA Qld CEO Brent Stokes and wished him all the very best on his future endeavours. Creating an exciting opportunity, we would like to officially welcome Kate Tully as the new CEO of ACA Qld. Kate is a seasoned leader with significant experience in strategic thinking and organisational growth, particularly in the non-profit/social sector. We are very excited to have Kate join the ACA Qld team and for those who were unable to attend our Members’ Meetings in February, we look forward to introducing her to you at our National Conference in June. We are excited to announce the office teams for ACA Qld and your College for Australian Early Childhood Educators (CAECE) have moved to a great new location! The new office presents an exciting opportunity to hold all future Committee Meetings, Members’ Meetings and CAECE face to face classes. You can now find us at 2/10 Welch Street, Underwood Qld 4119. Postal address and telephone numbers remain unchanged. ACA Qld continues to meet with State and Commonwealth education Ministers and Departments to advocate for reform to improve outcomes for early childhood educators, service providers, families, and children across Queensland. ACA Qld is working hard in developing an Action Plan to further strengthen our approach to the pressing issue of workforce shortages. Our Action Plan includes advocating with ministers
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and departments, further growth of CAECE to increase the supply of high-quality Cert III and Diploma qualified educators, collaboration with universities to increase enrolments into 0-5 and 0-8 ECT degrees and involvement in training and workforce initiatives at state and national levels. ACA has sent a Pre-Budget Submission to the Commonwealth government to engage in conversation and work towards a solution on this matter. ACA National is planning upcoming face to face meetings and meeting monthly in between to ensure we continue to improve outcomes for the early learning sector. The Department of Education has released the revised Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme (QKFS) requirements, applicable from 1 January 2021. We were very pleased to see a number of important changes that ACA Qld has strongly advocated for, including that approved activities now include: ‘up to 1 hour per day which can be inclusive of the ECT’s lunch break and/or programming time’. This is a great outcome for ECTs and services. ACA Qld held another successful round of Members’ Meetings in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba, and Townsville. We were fortunate enough to have guest speaker Paul Mondo, ACA National President attend via Zoom at both our Brisbane Members’ Meeting and Gold Coast Members’ Meeting / Annual General Meeting. If you were unable to attend a meeting, the virtual Members’ Meeting will become available on the ACA Qld website shortly. The ACA Qld Annual General Meeting was held on Tuesday, 16 February. Thank you to those who attended and voted. We would like to congratulate Nicole Fowler and Brent Stokes on their reelection onto the ACA Qld Managment Committee for another two years. We are proud to announce your
training college, College for Australian Early Childhood Educators (CAECE) has now reached 400 students! We are also thrilled to announce we are engaging in conversations with universities to discuss recognition of early childhood qualifications in the hope to encourage more students to become early childhood educators. This year’s ACA Qld National Conference has an amazing line up of speakers including Maggie Dent, Anthony Semann, Toni & Robin Christie, Dr Kaylene Henderson, Alina Dan and many more! Visit our conference website childcareconference.com.au to view the program and to register! Early Bird prices close 31 March! Membership renewal is fast approaching, and we encourage you to renew your membership to continue receiving amazing ACA Qld benefits! All current Members should have received their renewal invoice via email, which is due for payment on or before 31 March. If you have any questions regarding your membership, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at qld@childcarealliance.org.au or 07 3808 2366. We would like to acknowledge and thank all of our new Supporter Members who have joined ACA Qld. You can find a complete list of all ACA Qld Supporter Members and contact details on the ACA Qld website. In an event of another COVID-19 lockdown, we will continue to consult with the Department of Education and will inform members as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued support.
Majella Fitzsimmons ACA Qld President
ACA President’s Report Moving into a “COVID normal” way of life. Having enthusiastically farewelled 2020 with the hope that the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is firmly behind us, we can all be extremely proud of the efforts we made last year to stand by our families and our teams of staff in continuing to operate throughout the pandemic. More than ever before, early learning has been recognised as critically important for the wellbeing of Australia’s young children and equally important in holding up the Australian economy. The hard work and dedication to the families that each of our services support has very much been acknowledged privately by all levels of Government, as well as publicly on Early Childhood Educators’ Day. With Minister Tehan quickly moving on to a new portfolio in late December, ACA has commended him as outgoing Education Minister, along with his Office for their dedication and support to the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector throughout 2020, especially in protecting families and educators against the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to continuing our positive working relationships with new Education Minister Alan Tudge, along with our key stakeholder relationships on all sides of politics, to raise awareness of the critical issues affecting our sector, particularly in light of a possible federal election closer to the end of the year. The big challenges for our sector in 2021 include the rollout of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine and which sectors will receive it first, navigating through any targeted responses to possible local outbreaks, ensuring the affordability of early learning for all Australian families, ensuring that new services are only built in
areas of demonstrable need and the important issue of ensuring we have an adequate supply of quality, qualified work candidates for our sector’s recruitment needs.
In particular, we encourage all of our members to ensure you have a staff wellbeing plan in place. If you need help creating an action plan visit www.headsup.org.au/actionplan.
As we map out our work plans for 2021, it’s imperative that we all look after one another and acknowledge that 2020 was an unusually stressful year for everyone, including families and children.
We wish you and your team a positive start to the year and we thank you for your ongoing support in 2021.
If you haven’t already done so, now would be a great time to familiarise yourself with the resources from two initiatives under the National Support for Child and Youth Mental Health Program – Be You and Emerging Minds.
Paul Mondo ACA President
Be You is a national governmentfunded initiative for educators, aimed at promoting and protecting positive mental health in children and young people. It’s completely free, and available to every educator, early learning service, and school in Australia. To get started, visit www.beyou.edu. au/get-started/educators. The Emerging Minds: National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health supports professionals and organisations working in the health, community or social sector to better support children and parents/carers and improve the mental health outcomes of children aged 0–12 years. To find out more, visit www. emergingminds.com.au. Meanwhile there is no doubt that service providers and early childhood educators are also exhausted from what felt like a whole year of uncertainty and relentless change. While you’re putting your energy into creating a positive mental health environment for your children and families, it’s equally important to focus on your own wellbeing and that of your team.
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Get to Know Your New ACA Qld CEO Kate Tully > CEO, ACA Qld
Please tell us a little bit about you and your history? I first trained as a journalist and professional writer, and worked for many years writing some major publications in the social sector, which I greatly enjoyed. I later moved into management, specifically in the nonprofit sector, where I have worked for more than a decade. I love working in this sector, especially the ability to influence policy and enhance practice. On the personal front, I‘ve survived four times early childhood, school and teenagerdom to now have four children in their 20s – phew! I moved to Brisbane from Toowoomba three years ago, but still have a lot of heart for regional Queensland. I’ve always enjoyed having roles beyond my immediate job responsibilities and currently sit on the Community Services Reform Council and Queensland Plan Ambassadors Council. These help me stay connected to the wider world and bring new perspectives to my work. How did you first become involved in ECEC sector? When my own first-born was not yet one, I had the privilege of working with Quentin Bryce at the then brand new National Childcare Accreditation Council. My first career was as a professional writer, and I produced all the documentation for the Quality Improvement and Accreditation System. Not the content of course – that came from sector experts – but the editing and production and the accompanying workbooks. I’m sure some of our members will remember those blue books with the images of children running across the bottom! That was in the ‘90s. Then in the early 2000s I had moved with my family from Sydney to beautiful Toowoomba, and an opportunity arose to establish and run an early childhood centre there.
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It was a lovely little 29-place centre and I based it somewhat on the Reggio Emilia philosophy that I’d first come across when my children attended Mia Mia at Macquarie University in Sydney. It was the right idea in the right place at the right time – the centre thrived and is still going strong today, many years after I sold it. I love this sector and the critical nature of the work we do in early learning. I’ll never forget reading in the QIAS documentation that we learn more in our first five years than in any other 5-year period of our lives. To me that sums up why what we do is so important. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the sector? I think the sector’s biggest challenge, hands down, is to elevate the status of early learning. Certainly the sector appeared to make progress during the height of COVID when there was a fresh appreciation for early childhood educators and teachers. However, the ongoing perception of early learning as ‘just childcare’ will continue to constrain the sector. The increasingly alarming workforce shortages are the most striking symptom of this problem: people are not attracted to work in a sector that they perceive – rightly or not – to be characterised by low pay, relatively poor conditions, a lack of career path and low status. Sooner or later – preferably sooner! – these shortages will force a shift in thinking and in policy. We have no time to lose. My hope is that ACA Qld can encourage some innovative thinking to finally shift early learning onto a new plane. To contact Kate, call the ACA Qld office on 07 3808 2366.
All Children Count
JOIN ACA Qld Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland (ACA Qld) is a not-for-profit, member-funded association representing the early childhood education and care sector across Queensland. As the peak body we advocate for the interests of children and families and work on behalf of Approved Providers and operators to ensure that families have access to quality, affordable early learning. ACA Qld represents close to 900 early learning (childcare) services, with an estimated 16,500 early childhood educators and teachers, who educate and care for around 190,000 children of 250,000 parents in Queensland. ACA Qld is a reputable source of evidence-based advice to policy makers and a trusted source of practical guidance to service operators.
Who is a member? 3
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Early learning (childcare) services both private and community run Large national providers Supporter members, suppliers of both goods and services to the sector
Why become a member?
ACA Qld membership return on investment:
Membership of Australian Childcare Alliance (National) expert policy & advocacy Heavily subsidised Policies, Procedures and Forms Listing of your service in FindChildcareNow.com.au Discounted professional development including conference pricing Low cost, high quality qualification training through your very own college, College for Australian Early Childhood Educators (CAECE) Free subscription to publications, Early Edition and Belonging and much more...
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Industrial Relations information and advice through Employer Services worth over $600 Heavily subsidised Policies, Procedures and Forms, SAVE over $700 Two ACA Qld conference registrations, SAVE $528 1 Diploma qualification with CAECE, SAVE $625
Conservatively that’s over $2000 worth of savings and it’s only the start!
How do I become a member? Visit Join ACA Qld at qld.childcarealliance.org.au to complete your application. For more information contact the ACA Qld team on 07 3808 2366 or qld@childcarealliance.org.au.
Follow ACA Qld
Dive in from two months old
The Benefits of Early Swimming Lessons Cameron Speechley > General Manager, Rackley Swimming
With Australia’s outdoor lifestyle, almost year-round warm weather and active culture, it is imperative to teach children the importance of safer swimming from an early age. A recent study by Griffith University has revealed swimming has multiple benefits for early childhood development. The study revealed those who participate in swimming at an early age achieve personal milestones much sooner than the average population, regardless of social background or gender. Earlyyears swimming has also been proven to help children develop essential academic, social, and personal skills plus improve hand-eye coordination. Via their integrated approach, Rackley Swimming, a family-run swim school with over 22 years of active industry experience and 26 South-East Queensland based aquatic sites, have adapted their programs to help children develop lifesaving skills, sooner. With safety at the core of learning to swim programs, “the benefits of joining a swimming centre from an early age, ensures children are equipped with the skills and confidence to practice safer swimming - all while having fun,” said Cameron Speechley, General
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Manager of Rackley Swimming. “By helping children develop these skills early on and spreading awareness around the importance of safer swimming, we are also creating peace of mind for the families and local communities.” In recent years, Queensland Children’s Hospital has urged families to be vigilant about safer swimming, especially during the school holidays. Through learning to swim programs, children discover a reinforced water safety focus which helps them develop essential safer swimming skills sooner, while also assisting with improved orientation and water familiarisation. Early learning swimming lessons not only encourage child protection and safety but also positively benefit a child’s health and wellbeing. New friendships, good times, underwater world, endurance and determination are just a few of many skills and experiences a child will establish from swimming lessons.
Once confident in the water, it opens up a whole new world of good times.
From various programs like Rackley Swimming’s baby splash and learn to swim to squads and holiday programs, swimming is an excellent opportunity for children to connect with fellow students from different schools and diverse backgrounds, encouraging new friendships. Once confident in the water, it opens up a whole new world of good times : from swimming at the beach to water parks and water-based activities and allowing children to experience and learn about sea life and the magical culture of the underwater world. Endurance and determination are also fantastic and vital skills a child learns from swimming, simply because you can’t ‘give up’ halfway across the pool or sea. It helps build muscle and lung
capacity, as Cameron Speechley, General Manager of Rackley Swimming, says “Swimming is THE best exercise for building lung capacity, which enables you to take in more information.” If you’re ready to sign up your child or children for swimming lessons but aren’t sure where to start, call your local swim schools and discuss their offerings. Like Rackley Swimming, some swim centres will offer a free assessment for children 3 years and older. In a short 15 minute oneon-one session, Rackley Swimming instructors will help determine your child’s entry-level, as well as discuss their swimming goals. It is the first step in setting your child up for success, and one step strongly encouraged for all early learners.
swimming schools across the country providing excellent swim programs for children. With world-class knowledge and experience, across 26 facilities in South-East Queensland, Rackley Swimming, among other swimming schools, are on a positive mission to make swim safety a priority for all families in Australia. For more information: www.rackleyswimming.com.au
The health, wellbeing, and safety benefits are endless, with many
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Member in the Spotlight: Perfect Beginnings Bush Kindy to the Beach Liz Pennings > Perfect Beginnings Eight Mile Plains
Perfect Beginnings Eight Mile Plains began their Bush Kindy adventure after the 2019 ACA Qld National Conference. Sharon Mumford (Centre Director) attended the Forest School Workshop and was inspired to extend our program to include “Bush kindy”. She believed visits to a local park area would be beneficial for the children in her care. After collaborating with her team, families, and the local community the Bush Kindy program was up and running. Our program started with our Kindergarten children at a council park across the road from the centre. After embedding our program and practices we extended the program through the centre and even had our Nursery children attending. In 2020 we felt confident to move the program down to a larger area in the community that had a running creek, higher trees and established flora and fauna to extend the children’s learning. It did not take long for the children to build fishing rods, crab traps, cubbies and enjoy exploring the natural water source and the treasures that come with it. The team critically reflected on the program and the children’s interests and approached a local business ‘Two Bent Rods’ to see if they could support us in taking the Bush Kindy program to the beach and extend the children’s interests in learning more about our waterways. The program is typically for
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school age children; however, they were excited to give our Kindergarten children the experience. We spent the day pumping for yabbies, net fishing for bait, fishing, learning about the sea life in our area and how to keep them and ourselves safe. Bush Kindy is a fantastic way to educate children about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and customs. Our program always starts with a yarning circle to connect us with the land and acknowledge our first nations people. During our play we have meaningful conversations about the land and the different items and places as well as the people who had been here before us. Uncle Rob supports us by sharing his knowledge and stories of his people, allowing us to extend on this during our program. Bush Kindy is a program designed to promote holistic development of children, supporting their emerging resilience, wellbeing, and confidence. We believe that giving children the opportunity to engage in risky play and allowing the child to lead their learning via enquiry
Bush Kindy is a program designed to promote holistic development. builds a bridge to higher order learning. During our program we allow children to gauge their own risk, trusting them with their ideas and concepts about their capabilities and allowing the children to be in control of their own limitations. Educators may question children in play to prompt them to think about how high they are in the tree, or how close they are to the shore and allow the child to determine when they are unsafe. The children become creative, curious and confident learners as well as being able to problem solve and understand consequences. We are excited to see where our learning takes us with our Bush and Beach kindy sessions this year.
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RTO: 40933
Early learning services
Traineeships & Apprenticeships Requirements Commitment to providing the trainee with 15 hours of paid employment per week and release them for regular paid study time. This can be negotiated at the sign up between the service, the student and the college. CAECE recommends 1-2 hours study time per week for satisfactory progression.
Wage support for apprentices and trainees To assist with the COVID-19 recovery, the Australian Government has announced the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy to support employers engaging new apprentices and trainees. Early childhood education and care services may be eligible to receive a wage subsidy of 50% of gross wages paid for an apprentice or trainee. The subsidy is available for a maximum of $7,000 per quarter for wages paid from 5 October 2020 to 30 September 2021. You may be eligible if:
You engage an Australian apprentice or trainee between 5 October 2020 and 30 September 2021, and the apprentice or trainee:
is undertaking a Certificate II or higher qualification, including Certificate III or Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, and
has a training contract that is formally approved by the state training authority.
Employing a trainee or apprentice is an excellent opportunity to: Engage with the next generation of early childhood educators, Get some generous incentive payments from the Australian Government to support the wages of the trainee/ apprentice and, Start the training process of your future educators at an early stage of their career.
Incentives
Up to $4,000 in incentives (more for mature and aged educators)
You may be eligible for the 50% wage subsidy
Trainee/apprentices who are under 25 years of age can receive fee free training - saving up to $3,180. (Australian Apprenticeships)
For more information visit dese.gov.au/ boosting-apprenticeship-commencements
Enrol a Trainee or Apprentice Today! For more information visit caece.com.au or contact the College for Australian Early Childhood Educators (CAECE) on (07) 3299 5784 or info@caece.com.au.
Industry Partner of Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland
RTO Number: 40933
Proud members of VELG Training
Bounce into 2021 ready to exceed Barry Lehrer > Founder & CEO, ChildHR
Move beyond the COVID reset and get an operational advantage! At many times during 2020 I have heard colleagues, friends and family members reflect on how they have reassessed what is important to them, in both their personal and professional lives. Basic habits once taken for granted have become much-longed-for experiences, and the desire for belonging and certainty is ever-present at home and in the workplace.
the community. By its nature, Exceeding practice underpins continuous improvement and can propel teams forward.
For early learning leaders, looking after our educators has never been more important, and it is a great opportunity to take time for your own reflection, reinvest in your people and build happier teams.
Smart technology is crucial for high-performing teams, and the right solution can have the power to see services excel and gain an enviable operational advantage.
Recognise and value your most precious resource While 2020 seemed all about surviving, this year offers the chance to refocus on building thriving teams, recognise the value in your people and do what it takes to set your service apart. We can all get lost in the demands of HR administration, compliance and regulation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly added another layer of complexity to that. And while good administration is vital to success, it is significantly more powerful when combined with recognising the value in your people and empowering them to grow with you. Just a few months ago, leadership in the early learning sector was firmly focused on rebuilding cohesive teams, adjusting to new ways of communicating and getting back to some of the basics in order to reset. Now that the way forward is somewhat clearer, the focus can shift to leading teams on the path of continuous improvement, operational advantage and effective people management. For many operators, that success begins with a commitment to embedding Exceeding practice principles under the guidance of The National Quality Framework (NQF), designed to deliver the benefits of effective, efficient teams while continuing to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s. Lara Rose runs her own early learning service and has seen the ripple effect of Exceeding practice flow through: “Our systems are so important to us because we actually understand the effect that good systems have on the floor. So having systems in place, having procedures in place, having a flow means that the Director can direct, the teachers can teach, the educators can educate.” What is Exceeding practice? Exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) requires early learning operators to go above and beyond what is expected, to ultimately improve the quality of education and care services. Exceeding practices are deeply embedded in operations, informed by critical reflection and shaped by meaningful engagement with families and
How can technology support best practice HR?
Having the right tools integrated into their daily duties can help team members be more engaged, more efficient, feel genuinely valued and improve staff retention. What makes a good HR application? Effective HR applications enable streamlining of your HR operations with technology and automation - creating consistency, embedding best practice principles and pursuing good governance standards. The importance of using a HR platform that not only specialises in HR but is specifically designed for the early learning sector means you ride on the experience of users in your own sector. With the right tools, you can give yourself the peace of mind that correct and appropriate documentation is in place to meet not only the specific modern awards HR policies and procedures appropriate to your sector, but also your obligations to meet Areas 4 & 7 of the National Quality Standards. While visibility of data and information may initially scare some employees, the benefits of consistency, streamlined processes and centralised records can be empowering, and ultimately contribute to highly effective people management and improved efficiency across your centre. Your people are your most valued assets, and people management can be the most important tool you have at your disposal - if it is done effectively, efficiently and with a focus on genuine collaboration and growth.
Barry Lehrer has built successful tech companies from the ground up, including DiffuzeHR and ChildHR. After two decades of experience running small businesses, he now combines his extensive business marketing and HR experience with a passion for growing and sharing game-changing tech solutions.
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Relationships antidote to anxiety Maggie Dent > Author, Educator, and Parenting and Resilience Specialist
There are many reasons why children today struggle more with anxiety than children decades ago. Some of those include the push down of formalised learning, increased testing for children, overscheduled childhoods, more parents working out of home and a more uncertain world. In Australia we know that after ADHD, anxiety is the second most common mental disorder among children and teens with 6.9% or 278,000 Australian children and adolescents aged 4-17 having anxiety in the previous 12 months. Anxiety is completely normal for humans because our number one biological drive is to survive and continue our species! So anything that appears as a possible threat to survival, whether imagined or real, triggers our amygdala – our brain’s threat centre. It does this by flooding the body with neurochemicals particularly cortisol and adrenaline so that our body can quickly remove us from that threat. There is healthy anxiety, which can increase our focus and give us the extra energy we may need to complete a certain task, meet a deadline or manage a roomful of toddlers! For our children, anxiety becomes problematic when it impedes their growth and development. Just as little ones are learning to walk, talk, feed themselves, toilet themselves and play with others, they are also laying down important, calm neural pathways that can help them manage the often irrational, spontaneous anxious moments under five. Developmentally they are supposed to be anxious and worried about things in their world to keep them safe and yes that means they get upset when they lose their special comforter or you give them the wrong-coloured cup! When the EYLF was first created as a guide for those who worked in the early years to ensure high-quality care and education for children under five, the first overarching theme was belonging – followed by being and becoming. Attachment theory has helped to guide the science of child development to fully understand that the number one need for any child is a strong, safe sense of bondedness with a key caregiver. This obviously starts most often with a parent figure and for children transitioning into early childhood education and care, the process of feeling they belong in a different environment, with different grownups is a highly anxious experience. Our ‘lamb’ children – who tend to be more sensitive – tend to struggle more in this area. Separation distress and separation anxiety are not a sign of poor parenting or a weak child. Indeed it can be seen as a sign of a very strong healthy attachment relationship and the more closely educators’ work with the family the better the outcomes for the child. Until an early childhood environment feels predictable, and the educators feel bonded as secondary attachment adults it is safe to assume that all the children will experience
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some form of anxiety. This may come out in different forms of behaviour such as being clingy, overly reactive, aggressive, using loud voices, meltdowns and issues around toileting with more frequent accidents. Some children can become quieter and withdrawn and mistakenly seem to be travelling okay. One of the most common mistakes that both parents and educators make around children who are struggling with anxiety, is to minimalise it. “You’re going to be fine!” or “ There’s nothing to worry about” are common phrases from well-meaning grown-ups. Another common mistake is avoidance where we just tend to protect the child from the experience that causes them to feel anxious. Essentially, overcoming childhood anxiety that is developmentally normal or problematic, needs safe, empathetic grown-ups in homes and early childhood settings. These caring grownups who can then guide our little ones to find ways of being braver. Gradually, stepby-step they can learn small habits that allow them to conquer anxiety, most of the time. Anxiety’s best antidote is warm, caring relationships.
See Maggie Dent at the ACA Qld 2021 Conference!
Maggie Dent is one of Australia’s favourite parenting authors and educators, and host of the ABC podcast, Parental As Anything. She is presenting at the ACA National Conference at the Gold Coast in June 2021. maggiedent.com
See Alina Dan at the ACA Qld 2021 Conference!
Our Holistic Perspective on the role of Human Resources in 2021 Alina Dan > Author, Presenter and Mentor - Holistic Management and Consultancy
More than ever, we need to pay very close attention to not only Who we employ but How and Why. It is imperative that as an organisation we take the time in the initial phases of the recruitment process as it sets the best foundation for future building of connections, skills and knowledge. Having strong connections with team members leads to a better understanding of service values, builds mutual respect which enables achievement of greater outcomes overall. The culture of the team is fundamentally the heartbeat of any organisation. We have never experienced a more important time to design culturally appropriate job advertisements, tailored inductions and meaningful ongoing professional plans as we are at the moment. The ‘old fashion’ approach to advertising, inducting and appraising has almost no value, definitely no significant impact, within the current society trends and values. This is even more evident when we observe how our increased awareness and understanding of emotional intelligences, instigates us to change our practices around employing, mentoring and guiding.
There has never been a more important time than now to understand that an effective, driven and joyful team requires a holistic approach: 1. A strong and embedded Strength Based Approach 2. An active and evolving Wellbeing Curriculum 3. And lastly, an interactive Development Program The Strength Based Approach is one of the most effective ways to build a team culture that is consistently focused on what team members can do, do well and can further excel. It starts right from the job advertisement level, continues through the induction period and continuously evolves throughout the employment period.
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The Wellbeing Curriculum is an approach that supports development of resilience and self-regulation. It explores different strategies to ensure that mental wellbeing is prioritised, discussed and embedded. Most importantly, is a collaborative approach that aims to protect and prepare educators for overcoming challenges. The Development Program is an approach focused on supporting and challenging educators to build their knowledge and skills. Above all, is an opportunity to focus on growth and various possibilities for all team members.
Employee recruiting and training plays an integral part of any employee’s journey within a service. Whilst many organisations focus on the initial training plan for a new employee, most fail to consistently invest in ongoing inductions and development programs. Employees like to feel valued, acknowledged and needed within the workplace and it is therefore imperative to continue to fine tune and upskill employees whilst also providing mentoring (not monitoring) through a Holistic Perspective.
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NATIONAL CONFERENCE Early Education...An endless adventure 4 - 6 June 2021 - The Star Gold Coast #ACAQld2021
Join us for an incredible conference weekend which includes a standout line-up of speakers, dedicated Approved Provider Panel Discussion, Workshops and our ‘Under the Big Top’ Gala Dinner!
All ACA Members receive Member pricing to the ACA Qld National Conference.
REGISTER NOW TO SECURE YOUR PLACE! Visit childcareconference.com.au for more information and to register.
Congradulates... RTO: 40933
CAECE is delighted to present recent graduates who have completed their Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. Over the last quarter we have had the opportunity to congratulate CAECE graduates from both our Diploma and Certificate III qualifications. With the ongoing support from our lovely CAECE trainers, students have been guided to achieve their goals in becoming fully qualified educators. If you, or someone you know, are interested in studying and working towards your qualifications in early childhood education and care, our friendly staff and trainers are willing to guide and support your early learning journey! For more information please contact our team on 07 3299 5784 or email admin@caece.com.au.
CAECE would like to congratulate the following graduates and wish them all the best for their future as an early learning educator! CAECE graduates for the last quarter: Aimee: Little Scholars School of Early Learning Ashmore – Diploma (Trainer Sonja)
Juanita: Kingston Tiny Tots Early Learning Centre – Certificate III (Trainer Meaghan)
Annette: Perfect Beginnings Child Care Centre Eight Mile Plains – Diploma (Trainer Karla)
Kaylan: Barefoot Early Childhood – Diploma (Trainer Lauren)
Ashleigh: Coomera Clubhouse for Early Childhood Learning (1) – Diploma (Trainer Sonja) Chloe: Petit Early Learning Journey – Burdell 2 – Diploma (Trainer Lainie)
Samantha: Kids Corner Early Learning Waterford – Diploma (Trainer Meaghan)
Dannielle: Goodstart Early Learning Riverside Gardens – Diploma (Trainer Lainie)
Sarah L: Little Scholars School of Early Learning Deception Bay – Diploma (Trainer Lauren)
Ella: Little Scholars School of Early Learning Yatala – Traineeship with Certificate III (Trainer Sonja)
Sarah W: St Mary MacKillop Early Learning Centre Mundingburra – Diploma (Trainer Lainie)
Hayley: Little Scholars School of Early Learning Deception Bay – Certificate III (Trainer Lauren)
16
Nadine: Little Scholars School of Early Learning Yatala – Traineeship with Certificate III (Trainer Sonja)
EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2021
SAMANTHA
SARAH. L
HAYLEY
ELLA
CHLOE
DANNIELLE
JUANITA
SARAH. W
ANNETTE
ASHLEIGH
NADINE
KAYLAN
AIMEE
EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2021
17
Educator in Profile:
Jacqueline Zerafa
Meet Jacqueline Zerafa, who works at Rising Stars Early Learning Centre in Redbank. 1. What is your role within your service and what do you want to achieve in the next five years? My current role within my service is Assistant Educator in the Nursery Two room alongside my Lead Educator, catering for up to 8 babies a day. In the next 5 years I would like to continue with my studies by going on to complete my Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, to help develop more knowledgeable information about working in the childcare sector. 2. What/who inspired you to forge a career in early learning? My Big Family! Growing up there was always busy weekends/holidays with lots of family and friends. I was always helping my uncles and aunts with their babies when I was a young teenager. I have 6 children of my own and 15 Grandchildren. There are many things/events and people that finally led me towards this career path. My Daughter Kylie and the staff at Rising Stars played a big part in me kick-starting my career in the childcare sector. I was given the opportunity to work at this centre and received lots of encouragement from staff members as well as my Trainer, especially Kylie (my daughter) who helped push me on my harder days. I am grateful to all the people who helped me to get my studies up and running to go on and complete my Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care. 3. What do you find rewarding about working in the early learning sector? What I find rewarding is being able to see each individual child grow and learn in their own unique ways. Being able to create a fun educational and supportive environment with a cultural variety for them to enjoy and hopefully carry with them into the future. I also feel rewarded getting to know the families and forming connections with them inside the centre as well as outside in the community.
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4. How would you describe your early learning philosophy? I believe that young children are happy, energetic, and playful human beings. A child’s role in their development is to have fun at the same time as learning to make good choices, learn to socialise, learn academically, mentally, and enjoy life. I would like for the children in my care to accomplish anything they have set their mind too and learn skills that will help assist them in their journey of life. I hope to help children and their families in my care, learn, develop, and communicate well within the community and centre. 5. How do you engage the families in your service? We use KidsXap which is software that helps the service with enrolments, attendance, Quality Improvement Plans, incident reports, medical records, and learning observations. Providing the families with access to see daily updates, photos and any notes or news from the centre. Parents also can message us through this app when required. At our centre we are always happy to greet families at drop-offs and pick-ups, we understand how important face to face communication is to families. 6. What is your biggest challenge as an educator and what strategies do you put in place to manage these challenges? I still find my biggest challenges as an educator (sometimes in life, like writing this profile was a challenge) is self-confidence. I still find myself seeking guidance and/ or approval when I am making any choices. I am what I like to call “old school” so I have had to learn some new techniques on how to communicate with children, “different eras create different times” although the fun in the challenges we are given is the learning, no matter our age, we are always learning. 7. How have the challenges you faced helped you grow as an educator? Having had to face my challenges in my mature age has made me eager to achieve more knowledge and confidence in myself. It has also taught me to feel pride in my
achievements. I now like to take this knowledge into the classroom with me in the hopes that children in my care learn and realise that anyone can achieve anything they desire in life. 8. What is the most important skill you hope to develop in the children you educate and care for? The most important skill I hope to teach any child is kindness, equality for all humans, and the resilience to cope in an unkind situation. I believe everyone should learn and accept “to err is human“. Show a little kindness, but don’t forget yourself in the process. 9. What advice would you give to someone who wishes to start a career in early learning? Firstly, I would say this would be the most rewarding career path a person may achieve, as long as you have the passion and drive not only to help teach, but to learn from our younger generation. You should always feel privileged that a family is comfortable enough to leave their child in your care, and you should respect and honour that privilege.
A child’s role in their development is to have fun at the same time as learning to make good choices, learn to socialise, learn academically, mentally, and enjoy life.
10. Finally, what’s your fondest memory from your own childhood? Growing up in a big family environment always surrounded by cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, my parents and my two brothers whom I have always been very close too. These are times I will always be grateful for and I feel very privileged to have such wonderful memories of not only family, but close friends who are still in my life to this day.
EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2021 19
Evacuation Diagrams in Childcare: Where and How Many? > Australian Compliance Management
The health, safety and wellbeing of children is the primary responsibility of Early Childhood Educators and early learning (childcare) providers. To make it easy for providers to keep their charges safe, the sector needs clarity around where Evacuation Diagrams should be placed and how many are required. We need to remove as much “interpretation” as possible from the three documents that reference the requirements for, the placement of, and the responsibility for Evacuation Diagrams. One would believe that with all these words surrounding such an important aspect of Emergency Management, that the understanding would be clear. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The three main reference documents on this subject are: • AS 3745-2010 Planning for Emergencies in Facilities • BFSR-2008: Building Fire Safety Regulations – (Queensland Only) • Education and Care Services National Regulations 2012. We have listed extracts from the relevant documents to attempt to answer the question:
Where should evacuation diagrams be displayed and how many are required? AS 3745-2010 Within this Australian Standard, which is referenced by the Workplace Health and Safety ACT, the number and location of Evacuation Diagrams is defined by each organisation’s Emergency Planning Committee (EPC). Evacuation Diagrams should be displayed in locations where occupants and visitors are able to view them. BFSR-2008 (Queensland only) Evacuation Diagrams must be displayed along the path to each exit of the building and must be displayed in a conspicuous position. The number of Final Exits to the building must be considered when determining the number of Evacuation Diagrams to display.
In both the Australian Standard and Queensland’s Building Fire Safety Regulation, an Exit or Final Exit is defined as being an exit to a place of safety outside the building.
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National Regulations The approved provider of an education and care service must ensure that a copy of the emergency and evacuation floor plan and instructions are displayed in a prominent position near each exit at the education and care service premises. Over the past 12 months we here at Australian Compliance Management (ACM) have had countless numbers of urgent enquiries from our early learning (childcare) provider clients, seeking additional evacuation diagrams to be displayed adjacent to all doors of an early learning (childcare) service, including: • Bathrooms • Toilets • Storage cupboards.
All these requests have referenced the National Regulations and in particular, Regulation 97.4 It should also be noted that in most cases, these enquiries have come from our NSW and Victorian services. In all cases, the Department appointed Authorised Officer has assumed from the regulations that “Each Exit” means literally every exit from every room within the service. ACM believes that this confusion comes from the lack of definition within the Regulations of what an Exit is. In both the Australian Standard and Queensland’s Building Fire Safety Regulation, an Exit or Final Exit is defined as being an exit to a place of safety outside the building. To assist our clients, our team at ACM approached ACECQA for some guidance on this particular question and were directed to some individual State Based Fact Sheets on this topic: Queensland: The Department of Education has posted a Fact Sheet on this topic. https://bit.ly/qld-factsheet
“Services should note that section 2 reflects the requirements of Regulation 97 that evacuation diagrams be placed at each exit of your service premises (i.e. the doors that are used to exit and enter your service premises.” Here at ACM, we would advocate for a more rational and safe approach by requesting the Authorised Officer to take note of the actual content of the Evacuation Diagrams, the current location of the Diagrams, and attempt to evacuate the building given the information provided. This will allow them to make a common-sense, logical decision on whether there is adequate information provided to facilitate an evacuation, rather than quoting Regulation 97 and threatening a breach should the provider not place a diagram next to each door and cupboard in the facility. In conducting an assessment, perhaps the Authorised Officer could consider the policies, systems, and training in place to ensure staff, clients and visitors are up to the task of
evacuating everyone safely in the event of an emergency. Systems like PlanSafe provide a Best Practice solution for the early learning sector and should be assessed accordingly. Looking for help with your Evacuation Diagrams? Should you need some assistance in preparing compliant Evacuation Diagrams, do not hesitate to contact us here at Australian Compliance Management. We have a team of designers and guides who live and breathe Fire Safety and Emergency Management, state of the art, fully compliant Emergency Evacuation Diagrams, and online learning solutions. Our job is to listen, work through the pressures and frustrations you are experiencing, and come up with options and solutions to keep your people, your precious young charges, and your property as safe as possible.
EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2021
21
2021 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE Do you exemplify the three Pillars of Excellence?
The Awards for Excellence promotes commitment to professional development and community spirit. HESTA, ACA Qld and CAECE aim to support the advancement of passionate and dedicated early childhood educators who strive for continuous improvement and excellence.
Three award payments available!
$1000
$750
$500
APPLY NOW!
Plus tickets to the ACA Qld 2021 Confere nce Gala Dinner!
NOMINATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 7 MAY 2021 Nominate online today via caece.com.au. 07 3299 5784 | info@caece.com.au
RTO: 40933
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket > Elston Private Wealth
In the past year or so, thousands of self managed super fund trustees have been sent letters by the ATO warning them that their investment strategy might breach super fund rules. These letters have gone to funds where 90% or more of the fund is invested in a single asset class. Sometimes, even a single asset! The strongly worded letters inform the trustees that their fund may not meet the diversification requirement of the Super Industry Supervision (SIS) Act. It warns that an administrative penalty of $4,200 could be levied.
if the Australian economy lagged the rest of the world. And, even though a particular share you own might be performing well, if you have too much invested in it, you could be caught out if its fortunes change.
So, why is the ATO so worried about this? And is diversification really that important?
Even cash has its role. While the current environment means the return is basically zero, there weren’t too many people complaining about too much cash when COVID hit the equity markets in March and April 2020.
The Super Industry Supervision (SIS) Act regulations require super fund trustees to give consideration to an appropriate investment strategy and clearly document the reasons behind their investment decisions. Included, is the requirement to consider the investments as a whole, including “the extent to which they are diverse or expose the fund to risks from inadequate diversification”. So, the regulators clearly think that diversity is important. So much so, that it has been put into law that super fund investors need to consider it. While there can still be good reasons why a less diversified strategy might be appropriate, it usually makes good sense to spread your risk. The main reason for investing across different assets is to reduce the chance of a bad event from impacting your entire portfolio. Conversely, by having a broader exposure, you are more likely to have exposure to growth opportunities that you may otherwise miss out on. This applies to both the different asset classes, as well as assets within a particular asset class. For example, if you only had Australian shares, your returns would suffer
So, by spreading your investments across different asset classes, it is possible to reduce volatility, minimise risk of loss, get exposure to more opportunities and limit the impact of adverse market cycles. At Elston we believe in diversification and constructing portfolios according to an individual’s goals. While everyone wants to make as much as possible, each person also has liquidity requirements and limits as to the amount of risk they can withstand. As the ATO is right to point out, rarely is the optimal strategy to invest into just one asset class. If you would like more information about how Elston can help you diversify your portfolio, don’t hesitate to contact us on 1300 ELSTON or email info@elston.com.au to speak to one of our advisers.
EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2021 23
Early Learning: A Reflection on the Past
Janine Schokman > Early Childhood Teacher and Licensee of Bright Beginnings Chermside
My name is Janine Schokman, and I am an early childhood teacher and licensee of Bright Beginnings Chermside. As our centre enters its 28th year, I thought I would reflect on the changes which have occurred within our early learning sector over this time. My mother and I designed, built, and opened Bright Beginnings Chermside in 1993 when interest rates were in the high teens. It was a very difficult process to gain a bank loan as women were not known as financial operators. Before 1992, the Child Care Benefit payment was only available to community centres. Once the government realised they required greater numbers of women in the workforce, the Child Care Benefit became available to families with children in privately owned childcare. Prior to building Bright Beginnings Chermside, I attended the private childcare owners meeting. At this meeting, I was informed of the oversupply of childcare services in Brisbane and that my service would not survive. There were already a few private operators at this time; Rascals, Nurseryland, Mother Duck, ABC Learning and Queensland Childcare Services. In the 1990s the Brisbane City Council dictated centres not to build on main roads due to noise and traffic. All new centres had to be on one level, 75 children per licence and co-located to a school. We needed to prove there was a need for the service through statistical data before council approval was given. Chermside had a state school and was known as an elderly suburb so when we decided to build,
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it was on the site of an original farmhouse where the previous owner donated the land for the state school. These days it seems on every busy road there are new centres, and we often wonder where are all the children coming from to fill these services? And also, the qualified educators with enough experience to create magic? Bright Beginnings Chermside was initially opened with two licences, a 75 and a 26. With two licences, you needed two separate entrances, two kitchens, playgrounds, laundries and two Directors. Which is why you may notice some double centres are operating from two buildings. When Bright Beginnings Chermside first opened, we were supplied with an equipment list of what needed to be provided right down to how many 1-metre by 1-metre cushions per room. Cloth nappies from Brisbane Nappy Service were delivered to our service and had to be folded using nappy pins and pilchers to keep them in place. There were no wipes at that time, instead, we used face washers, washed terry towelling training pants and washed everything with Milton within an inch of its life. When I was designing the playgrounds, I engaged the prominent playground designer of the time. She told me it was horrific that the licence was for over 50 as in the
early 1990s the majority of centres were community and under 50 places. When we initially opened, my playgrounds included multiple different textures and levels. We had a sandpit, mud patch, heavy landscaping with native plants, natural grass, and swings. In 1993, some services were built with pools for swimming lessons and I see that this now has once again returned to many services in 2021. As Hamilton Road was classed as a major road, we had to complete several sound reports. The council initially wanted a full two-metre brick wall around the centre as a sound buffer but luckily, my grade 9 debating skills enabled me to negotiate moving it just around the front of the large playground. They did however make us dig lower than the road to also create a sound buffer. At Bright Beginnings Chermside, we had a large number of babies enrolled, some were just 2 weeks of age! All cots had bumpers and quilts and some children had asthma which required the use of their nebulisers daily. There was also a small number of children who suffered from anaphylaxis which back then was not as well-known as it is now. State schools provided 5-day-fortnight free preschool, and there was a perception that this was “real” learning even though we had the same teacher qualifications. Inclusion support was available, and the agency provided the educator who was employed by them. The associate diploma was offered by TAFE full-time or part-time at night. A large proportion of staff had waivers as they were not qualified, and everyone worked full-time as there were no wage percentages in those days. In terms of paperwork there was no access to computers, so all fees were paid in cash or cheque and forms were filled in manually which took a tremendous amount of time.
Centrelink letters were mailed out and there was no cap on hours attending. In 1993 the daily fee was $25, and educators were paid weekly in cash. CCS was paid every three months in one lump sum based on two previous quarter’s usage. So, you were always either paying back or asking for extra. If parents did not sign with their full name on the sign in / out sheet and the centre had an audit you were not paid. I was forever chasing signatures. All programming was completed by hand and was the same circle of planning and individual observations. Parent monthly newsletters photocopied and rooms abuzz with plastic colourful Little Tyke items. We would take photos and drop them off for processing at the local Woolworths and hope the photos were good enough to include in the observations. We had blue tacked posters all around the service as the belief was colour is needed to learn. Education Queensland had a teacher support office in Stafford which allowed educators to access multiple resources to help with the creation of plans and programs for the service. As I did not have an early learning service to show future enrolments before the opening of Bright Beginnings Chermside, I visited homes of potential families and explained to them my dream of Bright Beginnings Chermside and why it was an amazing early learning service for families and their children. Unfortunately, my mother and I call ourselves the dinosaurs in childcare as owner independent operators are very rare. I am grateful Bright Beginnings Chermside are still providing families with a choice in this ever-growing corporate world.
EARLY EDITION > AUTUMN 2021 25
Early Learning Playground Maintenance > Guild Insurance
There is a lot more to an early learning centre playground than just fun and games. They provide a great deal of benefit to children in developing their physical skills as well as their confidence and imagination. However, like many areas of an early learning service, they unfortunately do not come without risk. The Education and Care Services National Law requires early learning services to protect children from harm and any hazard. Therefore, it is recommended that any products purchased, including both equipment the children play on and other materials around the playground such as softfall, meet relevant Australian Standards. Another way to manage the risk of a playground and increase its lifespan is for services to put a maintenance program in place. A maintenance program will provide early learning staff with information regarding what equipment is to be inspected, how often, what is being looked for during these inspections and what to do if there are any problems. This structured approach will create consistency between staff members and make it more likely the inspections will be done as and when they should. What is a maintenance program? All early learning services should create a maintenance program for that individual service. There is no one exact way this should be done as it will vary according to a range of factors such as the type of equipment in the centre, the age of the equipment and the climate of that location. Daily checks of playground equipment should be occurring in every early learning service. This is required to be sure no damage has occurred with the regular and frequent use of it. However, it’s also worth undertaking a more thorough and detailed inspection less frequently. This might occur every three to six months or more frequently if required. Services should also undertake inspections
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when significant events, such as storms or vandalism, have occurred as they may cause damage to equipment. When undertaking any inspection and maintenance program always: • Follow the manufacturer instructions for any repair, service and cleaning. • Keep a record of the inspections undertaken and any repairs needed and then carried out. • Carry out additional unscheduled checks following any significant event, such as a storm or vandalism, which may have caused damage to playground equipment. Help is available… There are a range of organisations available to assist with playground safety. To be sure your playground has been installed and is being maintained in the safest and most appropriate manner, consider engaging experts. Installers of playground equipment will often provide maintenance programs. There is also a range of organisations, both private and government, in all states and territories who offer playground safety information as well as inspections. Guild Insurance Limited ABN 55 004 538 863, AFS Licence No. 233 791. Guild Insurance supports your Association through the payment of referral fees for certain products or services you take out with them. This article contains information of a general nature only, and is not intended to constitute the provision of advice.
By working together, we’re stronger than ever The natural world is inspiring at the best of times. When things get tough, there’s a lot we can learn from nature. Throughout the past year, communities across Australia have banded together to support each other however they can, and that spirit is truly inspiring. That’s why Guild and ACA Qld are working closely together to make sure that you have what you need to get through this, for right now and well into the future. Visit guildinsurance.com.au to find out how we are moving as one towards a brighter tomorrow, for you and your community.
C= 67 M= 56 Y= 52 K= 30 R= 81 G= 85 B= 88
C= 0 M= 100 Y= 49 K= 20 R= 196 G= 8 B= 75
Insurance issued by Guild Insurance Limited ABN 55 004 538 863, AFS License No. 233791 and subject to terms, conditions and exclusions. Please refer to the policy wording and policy schedule for details. For more information call 1800 810 213. EAR152829 ACA Qld Early Edition FP Ad 01/2021
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www.kangarootime.com
Kidsoft
Kidsoft Team
di@kidsoft.com.au
1800 827 234
www.kidsoft.com.au
Penelope QIP
Steve Collier
steve.collier@penelope.com.au
1300 435 962
www.penelope.com.au
PTC Phone Tech & CommBerinda
Brodin Dalglish
brodin.dalglish@ptc.net.au
0476 668 889
www.ptc.net.au/business
QK Technologies - QikKids
QikKids Team
sales@qktech.com.au
1300 367 770
www.qikkids.com.au
Rubiks iT
Andre Campbell
support@rubiksit.com.au
07 5613 7889
www.rubiksit.com.au
Xap Technologies
Sean Murphy
sean@xap.com.au
1300 543 792
www.xap.net.au
Kayleen Tolley
info@physikids.com.au
0414 559 997
www.physikids.com.au
Child Care Super
Kylie Hancock
khancock@guildtrusteeservices.com.au
1800 810 213
www.childcaresuper.com.au
HESTA Super Fund
Joanne Fenton
jfenton@hesta.com.au
07 3223 4906
www.hesta.com.au
QIEC Super
Kate Graham
Kgraham@ngssuper.com.au
0437 516 830
www.qiec.com.au
ABC School Supplies
Graham Bone
info@abcschoolsupplies.com.au
07 3823 2999
www.abcschoolsupplies.com.au
Modern Teaching Aids (MTA)
MTA Team
sales@teaching.com.au
02 9938 0411
www.teaching.com.au
Officeworks
John Rizk
grizk@officeworks.com.au
0439 284 173
www.officeworks.com.au
Pre-School Equipment
Karen Clark
info@preschoolequipment.com.au
1300 555 972
www.preschoolequipment.com.au
Step4
Katie Kennard
katie@step4.com.au
1300 720 353
www.step4.com.au
Taren Cleaning Productes
Murray Stanton
murray@taren.com.au
02 9668 8978
www.taren.com.au
The Brand Makers
Beau Worsley
bw@thebrandmakers.com.au
07 5563 3786
www.thebrandmakers.com.au
Think Education Supplies
David Knibbe
david@thinkeducation.com.au
07 3376 3497
www.thinkeducation.com.au
ACE Community Colleges
Robyn Keenan
Robyn.k@acecolleges.edu.au
07 5520 3026
www.acecolleges.edu.au
Australian College of Teacher Aides and Childcare (ACTAC)
Erin Winsbury
enquiries@actac.com.au
1300 511 455
www.actac.com.au
Australian Compliance Management
Michael Demicoli
michael@auscm.com.au
1300 206 006
www.uscm.com.au
Child Wise
Paola Piccinno
paola.piccinno@childwise.org.au
03 9079 0427
www.childwise.org.au
College for Australian Early Childhood Educators (CAECE)
CAECE Team
info@caece.com.au
07 3299 5784
www.caece.com.au
Early Childhood Training and Resource Centre (ECTARC)
Jan Langtry
info@ectarc.com.au
02 4223 1111
www.ectarc.com.au
Fluid First Aid
Gayle Guthrie
gayle@fluidlearning.com.au
1300 976 276
www.fluidfirstaid.com.au
In Safe Hands Educators in Safety
Michael Pecic
enquiries@insafehands.net.au
1300 794 644
www.insafehands.net.au
Inspire Education
Kirsten George
ECE.Trainers@inspireeducation.net.au
1800 506 509
www.inspireeducation.net.au
National First Aid Institute (NFTI)
Liz Bryant
liz@nfti.com.au
07 5443 1966
www.nfti.edu.au
ParentTV
Sam Jocket
sam@parenttv.com
0401 198 625
www.parenttv.com
Phoenix Support
Sandi Phoenix
admin@phoenix-support.com.au
1300 361 243
www.phoenix-support.com.au
PST Training Store
Danielle Peters
danielle@thetrainingstore.com.au
1300 399 665
www.thetrainingstore.com.au
Triple P
Nikki Rassalski
contact@triplep.net
07 3636 1212
www.triplep.net
Herron Todd White
Simon Fox
simon.fox@htw.com.au
07 3002 0900
www.htw.com.au
Trivett Property Group
Darren Trivett
dtrivett@trivettchildcare.com.au
07 3216 1011
www.trivett.net.au
Software / IT Support
Sports and Fitness Physi kids Superannuation
Toys, Resources & Suppliers
Training Providers & Consultants
Valuers
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