ACA National President’s Report

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.

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. 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. 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. 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. We wish you and your team a positive start to the year and we thank you for your ongoing support in 2021.

Paul Mondo ACA President