Early Edition Summer 2011 by Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - SUMMER 2012

IS YOUR LUNCH PUTTING YOU AT RISK NEW CHANGES FOR THE NEW YEAR MEMBER PROFILE KINDY REFORMS SELLING OR BUYING A CHILD CARE CENTRE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN IN LONG DAY CARE KASS CONNECTIONS POOR HEALTH & WORK LIFE BALANCE CHANGING STAFF BEHAVIOURS

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - spring 2011

Executive

Committee Members

President Peter Price

Gwynn Bridge

Vice President John Keast

Brent Stokes

Message from Childcare Queensland President

Helen Baker

Message from Childcare Queensland CEO

Is your lunch putting you at risk?

New changes for the new year

Kerrie Lada

Membership Matters

Jae Fraser

Member profile - Playmates Oxley

Treasurer Graham Sagar

Fiona Haber

Secretary Debra North

Kathryn Mason

Christine Mayer

Childcare Queensland

Eco friendly ideas

Location:11/6 Vanessa Boulevard, Springwood

Kindy reforms

Mailing: PO Box 137, Springwood QLD 4127

Promoting Awe and Wonder

Selling or buying a Child Care Centre

Environmental sustainability

Web: www.childcareqld.org.au

School age children in long day care

Email: info@childcarequeensland.com.au

KASS Connections

Poor health and work life balance

Changing staff behaviours

Telephone: (07) 3808 2366 Fax: (07) 3808 2466 Toll Free: 1300 365 325 (outside Brisbane)

CEO: Gwynn Bridge

Editorial

Associate Member Directory

Editor: Julie Fenech Contributors: Peter Price, Gwynn Bridge

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, Childcare Queensland 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.

Message FROM

Childcare Queensland President, Peter Price

elcome

Welcome to 2012. Now that things have settled down from the start of the new year, it is with great pleasure that I announce that Mr. Laurie Lawrence has accepted the position as our first Patron of Childcare Queensland. Personally I cannot think of a better person to hold this position. Laurie has spent a lifetime of service to the young people of Australia, and while he is very well known for his leadership role within all levels of swimming, he has also been equally active with the development of water safety programs for very young children through his “Kids Alive” program. Laurie has always strived for excellence, and maintained the highest standards possible. He has been totally active with his work with children and his dedication and enthusiasm has no limits. It is with the greatest of pride that I welcome Laurie to Childcare Queensland. Last year Childcare Queensland assisted Laurie (and his teacher-daughter, Emma) to develop the “Kids Alive” program into a number of EYLF-styled programs to be used in Kindys and Childcare centres for the under 5’s, and to date well over 400 centres in Queensland alone have taken up these programs. Now the programs are going Australia-wide in 2012, and the aim of Laurie and CQ is that no child in Australia will meet an unfortunate end to their life through drowning. This is an ambitious target and one that everyone should get behind to support in whatever way that they can. The program is aimed at both children and parents. Children are taught to be more aware of water – not only around the beach and swimming pool, but in other places within the home, such as bathtubs, water and electricity, country dams and creeks, etc. Parents are also made aware of the dangers of water for young children, and how to prevent children having access to these hazards. Sometimes it is easily a matter of shutting the bathroom door while the bath is filling, or keeping patio furniture away from near a pool safety gate. The most important lesson is always supervision, and while this

may seem obvious to those in Childcare, lack of supervision is the major single cause of child drowning in Australia. The baby-bath is just as dangerous as the backyard pool, and while many of us think we may know it all, it is never too late to review and update our knowledge. As owners of Childcare centres, we all have a vested interest to ensure that all of our staff are fully conversant with the “Kids Alive” program, and should all ensure that our staff are teaching this program with all ages of our children in our care. If you have not yet used this program within your centres, and wish to know more, please contact the Childcare Queensland office and we will arrange for materials to be sent to you. There is no cost to you for the program, and hopefully so very much to gain. Finally, you do not need to be a registered Kindy provider to be using the program – it is designed for 0-5 year olds, and will be a big help to your staff to meet the new National Quality Framework Standards, with which all staff are now working. The Childcare image of 2012……Are you aware that with the start of 2012, the name “Childcare Centre” ceased to exist? You are now a “Centre for Early Childhood Education and Care”. This is a mouthful, and it is amazing the number of people who have said that they don’t care about a ‘change in name’. Others have said that they have been running educational and developmental programs for years, and they are not doing anything new. It is important that the active image of your Centre, is no longer just considered to be child-minding, daycare, Childcare - or even worse – a day orphanage. These are all terms that have been used in the past by people who were trying to make parents feel guilty for returning to work. Working parents are a basic fact of our society, and in highly developed overseas countries, the ratios of working parents is much higher than in Australia. In some countries, ‘elementary

level education’ is compulsory. We have the opportunity to give our children a early start to their educational process through our “Early Childhood Education and Care” programs, and this is the message that we should be sharing with our existing parents, and our potential parents. The 21st century image of Australian Childcare, needs to be clearly visible to our whole community. It really does matter what message we are giving to our parents, because this message will determine the level of confidence that they have of your Centre. If your Centre is NOT providing educational care, then you are going the way of the dinosaurs. If you ARE providing these programs, then educate your parents as well as your children. Perhaps some of us actually have to lift our game – even put a bit of investment into the future of our business. By doing this, parents will only better appreciate what they are receiving, and perhaps we more agreeable to fee rises in the future.

Peter Price President – Childcare Queensland.

Message FROM

childcare Queensland CEO and Australian CHILDCARE ALLIANCE PRESIDENT, Gwynn bridge

ith

With the New Year came an incredible amount of change for the Early Education and Care sectors across Australia. For Queensland we gained some exceptional advantages for our long day care sector that will enable us to progress more at our own pace on many of the changes. From discussions with members, it appears that the ratio and staff calculations across the service are causing the most difficulty for members and their staff to implement. These ratios have been in place in the other states with Queensland the only state with set group size ratios prior to 1/1/2012. It is a totally different mindset but overall in many services it does have advantages. The important point to remember is that the ratio for the group – and that is any group – reverts to the age of the youngest child in the group. Members have asked about operating two groups together e.g. in the playground. This works using the same system. You can mix age groups together but ensure that you are calculating the correct educator:child ratio for each group and you can again calculate using available spaces in younger age groups. If you are counting children to fill unused spaces in educator to child ratios, you can only count backwards e.g. count the gaps in the youngest groups to fill from additional children in the older groups – not counting gaps in the older groups to fill from additional children in the younger groups. The OECEC has this hyperlink which will be useful in training educators on the educator: child ratios. www.deta.qld.gov.au/ earlychildhood/office/national/podcast.html With the 1 in 2 qualified educators across the service, you can determine where you place your educators. In doing so you must consider the best and safest outcome for children that can be offered. You would assess the situation and ensure that you can explain why you made the decision to place staff in certain areas. There is a lot of work to do in preparing for the new National Quality System and

Childcare Queensland is in the process of securing trainers for workshops to assist members in the near future. Linda McConville, Operational Project Manager of our Kindergarten Advisory Support Service which is proudly funded by the State Government, is very excited about the work she has been doing with services in assisting them to engage with and to operate an Approved Kindergarten Service. Should you require any assistance or just to have a discussion with Linda, please phone 1300 4KINDY. We welcome Julie Fenech to our team as our office Administration Assistant. Julie is extremely competent in her position and it is encouraging to have her enthusiasm and ability behind the Childcare Queensland team.

Unfortunately on my return from Canberra I was involved in a car accident which has slowed me down considerably – healing daily and very thankful that it was not worse. Hopefully I will see you around the regions with General Member’s meetings in the very near future. Regards

Gwynn Bridge CEO

Recently I attended the National Children’s Services Forum in Canberra which is a meeting that combines all sectors in Early Educator and Care at a national level. It is vital to hear what is happening throughout the sectors and also to hear of the new initiatives that are constantly being developed. If you have not yet connected with KidsMatter I am sure that you will find some excellent resources on their website: http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au I have met with many of our politicians over the past 8 weeks and have expressed concern for the short implementation period that services have to be fully prepared for assessment. We are seeking through the Australian Childcare Alliance in our Budget submission, an increase of 30% CCB for families with under 3 year old children and a 15% increase for families with children over 3 years. We have also put forward our case for increasing ISS funding and for the government to assist with the shortage of ECT’s in the long day care sector by providing a bonded HECS system that would be a financial encouragement for them to work within early education and care services.

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

2012 National lC Conference Hands Up For The Future

14 - 16 September 2012 Jupiters Hotel & Casino Gold Coast

Is your Lunch putting you at risk? Reproduced with permission of the Food Safety Information Council

ack to work and school: don’t put yourself or child at risk by not keeping packed lunches cool.

The Australian Food Safety Information Council today released a national survey that shows on warm days 8% of workers who take a packed lunch make no attempt to keep their packed lunches cool. Of even more concern, 20% of those with children who take a packed lunch to school don’t provide their children with a frozen drink or ice brick to help keep their packed lunch cool. Council Chairman, Dr Michael Eyles, says that this could be a major food poisoning risk as 79% of adult Australian workers say they take a packed lunch and almost all of households with children say their children have a packed lunch. ‘Packing a lunch for yourself or your child is a healthy and cost effective option. However food poisoning bacteria can grow quickly during hot weather and in the healthier foods, such as salad and cold meat, that we pack for lunch these days,’ Dr Eyles says. ‘You can reduce your risk of food poisoning by simply packing a frozen juice box, water bottle or commercial ice pack with the lunch. Place perishable foods such as cheeses and sandwiches between the frozen items. Leave food refrigerated until just before you leave home. ‘Children’s lunchboxes kept inside the school bag will keep cooler longer especially if the bag is kept away from heat sources such as direct sunlight. There is no need to refrigerate school lunches if they are stored with a frozen drink. ‘Adults should store their lunches in a workplace fridge or cooler bag or esky. Remember to continue to do this in cooler weather as heating in buildings can also raise the temperature. ‘Employers can assist by making refrigerators and coolers available and ensuring a workplace roster for keeping fridges and kitchens clean. They can also supply pens and labels for people to label their food with name and date. Handwashing and drying facilities should be made available in kitchens and handwashing posters put up. This could

drink or ice brick to help keep their packed lunch cool, 1 in 5 say this is not the case.

lead to a reduction in sick leave, not just from food poisoning but also viruses such as colds and flu. ‘Other key lunchbox tips are to ensure you prepare food with well washed hands and utensils and always wash your hands before eating lunch. If you are reheating leftovers ensure they are heated all the way through until steaming hot. Lunchboxes and reusable drink bottles must be thoroughly washed and dried daily. If cracked, split or crazed, replace as bugs will grow in any cracks. ‘Throw out any leftovers that haven’t been refrigerated. If you or your child has food poisoning don’t go to work or school, and avoid handling food for others for 48 hours after symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea stop. If food poisoning symptoms persist, visit a doctor,’ Dr Eyles concludes. The national survey by Newspoll found: •

Four in every five Australian workers (79%) say they have a packed lunch, with skews toward females, those aged under 50, and those with a college education or an apprenticeship.

•

Among those that do take a packed lunch to work a large majority of 77% say that on warm days they store their lunch in a refrigerator at work, and around half say they their lunch is stored in cooler bag or esky.

•

There is some overlap between the two – suggesting that some of those who are putting their lunch in a fridge are using other methods to keep their lunch cool on the way to or from work, or when they are out of the office.

•

Overall more than 9 in 10 who have a packed lunch (92%) use one of these approaches to keep their lunches cool on warm days. Men and those living outside of Queensland / NT are the most likely to fall down in this area.

•

Almost all of those with children in their household say those children have a packed lunch. While most say that on warm days their children have a frozen

•

Those living in the major capital cities appear to be the worst offenders when it comes to keeping children’s lunches cool, with 24% in these areas saying they don’t do this compared with 12% in the regional and rural areas.

Food poisoning results, on average, in 120 deaths, 1.2 million visits to doctors, 300,000 prescriptions for antibiotics, and 2.1 million days of lost work each year. The estimated annual cost of food poisoning in Australia is $1.25 billion.

MEDIA RELEASE: Tuesday 24 January 2012 This article is reproduced with permission of the Food Safety Information Council For more information please see the website www.foodsafety.asn.au or call the Food Safety Information Council media phone 0407 626 688

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

New changes for the New Year

Prepared by – Office for Early Childhood Education and Care

n 1 January 2012, the National Quality Framework was introduced with an aim of providing all children with the best start to life and learning.

The National Quality Framework (NQF) transforms the landscape of early childhood education and care service provision and create a jointly governed, national approach to the regulation and quality assessment processes of long day care, family day care, outside school hours care, pre-Prep and kindergarten services.

Although the scheduled sessions are now complete, information distributed at the sessions is available on the website, including activities services can work through to better understand educatorto-child ratios and determining staffing arrangements to best meet the National Quality Standard (NQS).

As outlined in the Winter Edition of Early Edition, the NQF sees a shift from the previous prescriptive system to an outcomes focused legislative framework. This includes the introduction of a new quality rating system for services and new national standards from 1 January 2012. Key requirements such as qualifications, educator-to-child ratios and other key staffing arrangements will be phased in over time.

A recording of the full presentation is now available on the website for free download, visit: www.det.qld.gov.au/ earlychildhood. The recording offers the perfect opportunity for services that were unable to attend the sessions to hear the key elements of the National Regulations first hand.

With the introduction of a new National Law and National Regulations, early childhood education and care services are busy preparing for the year ahead. You may have read the materials with a highlighter and pen in hand, or downloaded various fact sheets and guides from the website, attended an information session or discussed the changes with your colleagues or your regional Early Childhood Officer. As you continue to read, investigate and prepare for the NQF, here is a short guide to help you better understand the new changes for the New Year. 1. NQF Information Sessions More than 2,500 early childhood education and care sector educators and providers attended the NQF information sessions held throughout Queensland by the Department of Education and Training (DET) in October and November last year. The information sessions provided comprehensive information on the National Regulations and explored the key changes for Queensland specific to long day care, family day care, outside school hours care, pre-Prep and kindergarten services.

January 2012. The ACECQA website (www. acecqa.gov.au) provides a wealth of useful information for families, education and care services and governments, including:

2. A library full of resources

Guides to the National Law and Regulations; • guides to the NQF and NQS; • guide to developing a Quality Improvement Plan (and template); and • various information sheets on the assessment and rating process, determining your Nominated and Certified Supervisors and copies of the approved Learning Frameworks are all available. The Australian Government, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) will be distributing printed copies of the above Guides, in addition to a CD containing a copy of the Guides as well as the National Law and Regulations.

Office for Early Childhood Education and Care

3. Transitional arrangements towards 2012

The Office for Early Childhood Education and Care (OECEC) offers a range of resources to assist services to understand the NQF.

The Australian Government and state and territory governments are working together to ensure that the move to the new national system is as seamless as possible.

Local activities are still underway in some regions to engage with the National Regulations. Talk to your Early Childhood Officer in your regional office for more information.

•

Up-to-date information is regularly uploaded to the website. Check the NQF and Resource pages regularly for updated information. • The A-Z of Early Childhood e-newsletter is distributed monthly and provides ongoing updates on the NQF. You can sign-up at: http://det. qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/ • Early Childhood Officers and Managers are located throughout Queensland and provide advice and support for early childhood education and care services. Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) is the new national body, which will oversee the implementation of the NQF from 1

•

As of 1 January 2012, all existing in-scope services including long day care, family day care, kindergarten and outside school hours care providers transitioned across to the NQF automatically. In December, the DET began distributing NQF transition information to licensees. Services were asked to keep an eye out for the information that directed them to various on-line forms that services needed to complete and return in February 2012, to automatically transition (without fees) to the new NQF. Queensland has also achieved a number of transitional arrangements that will further assist existing long day care services to transition over time to the new requirements including:

•

a Licensee under the Child Care Act 2002 (the Act) is declared to be an Approved Provider; • a licensed centre based service under the Act is declared to be an Approved Service; • any conditions placed on existing licenses will continue in force on Service Approvals under the National Law, where they are consistent with the National Law, including for example rest period conditions; and • staff members and nominees under the Act and Child Care Regulation 2003 who are Directors, Group Leaders or School Age Care and Family Day Care Co-ordinators, will be declared as both a Certified and Nominated Supervisor from 1 January 2012. Services that were licensed prior to 1 January 2011 and can justify the use of a 1:5 ratio for children aged 15-24 months can apply to continue to use this ratio, rather than the national ratio of 1:4 for this age range, until 31 December 2017. From January 2018, all services will need to comply with the new national ratios. Services need to apply prior to 31 March 2012 and the transition information will enable services to make their application. Additional changes under the NQF, such as educator-to-child ratios and qualification requirements, will be implemented over a number of years to ensure there is gradual transition for services. The Key Changes for Queensland fact sheet summarises timeframes on changes through to 2020. 4. Determining staffing roles and responsibilities With 2012 already underway, the allocation of educators and their responsibilities should be top of mind. When making these decisions, keep in mind the National Law requires that a responsible person must be present at all times an education and care services is educating and caring for children.

Who is a responsible person? •

The Approved Provider, if the Approved Provider is an individual - in any other case, a person with management or control of the service; or • The Nominated Supervisor of the service; or • A Certified Supervisor who has been placed in day-to-day charge of the service and has consented to act in this role. Refer the National Regulations: Chapter 2 Approvals and Certificates and the website for full details on the responsibilities, obligations and minimum requirements for qualification and experience needed to fulfil these positions. The transition information provided an opportunity for existing services to advise DET of this important information. 5. Preparing for assessment and rating Although the NQF began on 1 January 2012, you may be aware there has been an extension of the assessment and rating timeframes, and visits to existing services are expected to commence in June 2012 by the Regulatory Authority (DET). Services will be given forward notice of their upcoming assessment and are encouraged to commence development of their Quality Improvement Plan which involves self assessment and identifies the service’s strengths and areas of improvement. As detailed previously, the Guide to developing a Quality Improvement Plan is now available on the ACECQA website (www.acecqa.gov. au) and is a useful resource to assist in the assessment and planning process. Priority may be given to education and care services that are currently covered by the National Childcare Accreditation Council but are not yet accredited or were due for accreditation in 2012. Early Childhood Managers will be determining local schedules for assessment and for services that will receive an assessment and rating visit in June 2012, contact will

be made in March/April to advise when your visit(s) are due, allowing six weeks to update and submit the service’s Quality Improvement Plan. We recognise that the start of 2012 has been a busy time for services as they engage with the new National Law and Regulations. This is why existing services transitioning into the system, and new services approved in January, will have at least four months from 1 January 2012 to develop their Quality Improvement Plan. 6. Professional development and training opportunities Early Childhood Officers have been working with service providers to support the new processes and assist educators to become familiar with the new requirements. Details of further professional development opportunities will be released via the website and A-Z of Early Childhood e-newsletter. For more information on current sector support activities contact your regional office. Industry peak bodies such as Professional Support Coordinator Queensland (PSCQ) also offer a range of support tools and training opportunities to support services to implement the NQF. 7. Your questions, answered For answers to a whole range of questions, read through the online NQF FAQ section which will continue to grow throughout the transition period as new issues are raised and resolved. A few examples of the FAQs found on the website are listed below: •

Who will be responsible for ensuring consistency in assessment and ratings of the NQS? • When can a service expect to be assessed under the NQF? • How much will a Supervisor Certificate cost? For more information about the NQF, visit www.det.qld.gov.au/ earlychildhood.

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS Prepared by Office Administrator

ecember was a month of change in the Childcare Queensland Office with the departure and additions of staff.

We welcomed on board Julie Fenech as our Administrative Assistant and Linda McConville as the Operational Program Manager for our new service the Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS). KASS operates within Childcare Queensland to assist all long day care services throughout Queensland to access advice and support on implementing and maintaining a quality and effective Approved Kindergarten Program. KASS is a free advice and support service for our sector and is funded and supported by the Queensland Government. Over this quarter Childcare Queensland in conjunction with QCAN facilitated a state-wide training program to support all school age care educators (Assistants, Assistant Coordinators and Coordinators) to engage with the My Time, Our Place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Framework for School Age Care in Australia. Delivery has been designed specifically for Outside School Hours Care within the long day care service.

As a new season roles in we are in preparation for the autumn round of Members Meetings. Members meeting are a great opportunity to gain the latest information on our sector and to share ideas. CQ Member Meetings are interactive and informative. If you are new to CQ or have never attended a Members Meeting register to attend to ensure you are armed with the latest information. Meetings will commence in April. Conference is approaching and this year's conference is looking to be bigger and better than any before. The registration brochure and sponsorship prospectus will be available shortly - keep an eye out on our website for all the updates.

Member Profile

Prepared by - Candice Palmer, Centre Manager, Playmate Early Learning Centre

y name is Candice Palmer and I am the Centre Manager of Playmate Early Learning Centre. We are excited to share our centre's events with you all.

Over the Christmas period we all celebrated our Pre Prepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Christmas Concert and Graduation as a centre. Miss Alice and Miss Jodie had had an extremely busy year as we all did getting our little ones ready to venture of into the big wide world. The Educators did a wonderful job in promoting High Quality Care for the children in this room. The Educators had 25 bubbly children a day to extent on their Development and watch them learn and grow day in day out. Our Pre Prep room had a Graduation / Christmas party on the 16th of December. All the children took part in their Graduation which they received their Certificates, Child Portfolios, Scrapbook and their Child Developmental Progress Reports. The children were so proud to walk across the stage and receive their presents from Alice and Jodie. After the children were all presented with this we had to do a quick change of outfit and start our Christmas Concert. The Children sang 3 Australian songs to fit in with our Australian Outback Theme. The children performed in front of their family and friends. The children were asked to dress up in specific clothing which represented and gave the children a different identity to the songs. After the children did their performance we all celebrated in cutting of the Graduation Cake. We all enjoyed a wonderful night celebrating our childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement and leadership they had shown during the year. Miss Alice and Miss Jodie were so proud to send of such a talented class into the Schooling world. Thank you for letting us share our special event with you all. We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We hope you come and visit us at our wonderful centre that we call Playmates. Until next time. From all the wonderful Educators from Playmates Early Learning Centre

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

ECO Friendly ...Ideas to get Early Childhood Services started Excerpt from Illawarra Childrens Services - www. ics.org.au

egardless of the setting - school hall, purpose-built centre or backyard - sustainability is one of the core elements of a high quality service.

When services invest in ECO Friendly sustainable strategies, the rewards will be endless. By teaching our children to respect and love our planet through sustainability we are teaching them to become responsible world citizens.

Tips for…….Energy saving • Turn off appliances when not in use. • Search for energy efficient globes. • Encourage children and staff to dress appropriately for each season to minimise the need for heaters and air conditioners.

• Minimise use of plastic bags for throwing away nappies, small rubbish etc. Re-use your empty bread packaging instead, or wrap in newspaper. • Let children sort recycling products. You can download signs for your bins at www.media. socialchange./net.aurecycling/ • Visit a recycling facility. • Use biodegradable green cleaners rather than toxic chemicals. You can find products at www. sasiclean.com or www.freshgreenclean.com.au • Use recycled materials in your art projects and cubby building

• Invest in shutters and blinds and open doors and windows to keep rooms cooler.

Have you considered…….

• Provide spray water bottles on hot days and encourage children to cool themselves with them if they feel hot.

• Organising a swap or used items notice board, or market day for families to trade or sell unwanted items – someone’s trash is another person’s treasure

• Encourage children to close doors behind them on cooler days to retain the heat in the room. • Discuss your electricity bills with the children – compare the difference of your energy usage from one quarter to the other and ask for ways you can improve on this.

Have you considered…….. • Inviting the children to help and hang the washing? • Counting the stars on energy efficient rated appliances with the children www. energyrating.gov.au • Reading a thermometer with the children and comparing the seasons? • Making paper fans and encouraging the children to use these on warm days?

Tips for……. Waste Minimisation • Reuse glass, plastic and paper products in the centre—e.g as paint pots, storage containers. • Encourage children to use both sides of the paper • Involve children in basic repair activities rather than throwing things away.

• Offering your newsletter to parents via email? • Replacing disposable nappies with cloth? • Involving your service and children in National Recycling week – 2nd week in November. For ideas and information go to www.planetark.com. au/nrw

Tips for….. Sustainable food practices • Offer seconds and thirds at lunch time rather than serving a large meal • Buy organic products - http://enviro.org. au/ has a list of organic food suppliers from a variety of southern NSW regions. • Provide opportunities for the children to unpack the groceries with you. While doing this discuss how you are going to use all the ingredients and the packaging used in each product. • Organise a “Bush Tucker” walk in your area with your local elders. • Get together with other local children’s services and create a food Co-Op—buy non perishable foods in bulk and order fruit and veggies collectively from the growers. • Grow your own vegetables and herbs in pots

Have you considered … • Supporting local Farmers Markets where you can meet the people who grow the food • Trying to buy locally grown produce? The “100 Mile Diet” website can help you out with some inspiration. www.100milediet.org

Tips for…...Water saving • Empty water trays into a garden bed, or on the grass. • Use tap water for drinking rather than buying water. • Install a rain water tank and a rain gauge. • Discuss your water bills with the children – compare the difference of your water usage and ask questions on how to improve. • Involve your centre and children in World Water Day 23/3/12 and National Water Week on October 16-22 For ideas and information go to www.nationalwaterweek.org.au • Encourage the children to reflect on their water usage – especially in the outdoor environment. • Encourage children to tip left over water onto the garden. • Encourage children to turn the taps off in the bathroom whilst washing hands.

Have you considered … • Encouraging children to soak paint brushes in water when finished so they do not take as long to rinse under a tap of running water? • Providing soapy water and encourage children to wash dolls clothes, material scraps, cloths etc by hand air dry? • Talk with the children about how precious water is, where it comes from, how rain is formed and why we cannot use salt water for gardening • Discuss with the children how in some parts of Australia and the world there is minimal to no rain fall, image how that would feel.

Green play experiences • Involve the children in making their own paint and playdough.

• Encourage parents to bring in boxes - small and large – and use them as building blocks, eg cereal boxes, sultana boxes, muesli bar boxes. • Paint on off-cuts of timber, fabric, stones or leaves instead of paper. Children can collect these things whenever they see them and keep them to use in their art and sculpture • Provide gardening tools and gloves and use a patch of bare earth for children to play in and explore as they would a sand pit. • Install a small bird feeder or other habitat and magnifying glasses in the yard. • Provide pots of pencils, textas, crayons and paints in earth tones e.g ochres, sepias, siennas neutrals and whites. • Build your own scarecrows to protect your veggie patch and inspire creativity.

Have you considered … • Providing whiteboards – small or large instead of paper for children to draw on. • Providing hand held whisks and egg beaters with sand or water play. • Discussing with staff the different kinds of materials you could provide the children with e.g wooden, felt or natural fibre toys. • Discuss sustainability as a whole service approach and not just an add on to your program outside. • Research ideas on protecting animals and plants in your garden visit http://www.fnpw. com.au/ Backyard_Buddies/Backyard_Buddies_home. htm

Gardening, composting and worm farms • Plant a tree on National Tree Day. For more information go to www.deh.gove.au/ biodiversity/month/html • Worm farms and compost bins are excellent alternatives to throwing food scraps in the bin. To get started go to www.sustainableillawarra.

com.au/pdf/Worm-Farm-Fact-Sheet_YourQuestions-Answered.pdf

practice, linking with families and the local community.)

For information about minimizing your food waste visit http://www.bokashi.com. au (bench top compost bin) http://www. scenicrim.qld.gov.au/residents/documents/ Compostingfactsheet.pdf.

• Where can we start? Develop a plan of action and hold a forum with families. • Why do we as a service want to become more “green”?

• Share the responsibility for watering of gardens, flower or pot plants you have in the service with children and staff. • Have watering cans available near your water tank or collect rainwater.

Have you considered … • Growing your own veggies / herbs and using them for cooking is a rewarding experience for children. • For helpful hints for getting started visit www. sustainableillawarra.com.au/Sustainable-Food. html • If you don’t have space at your service get involved in a community garden. To find a community garden in your area go to http:www.communitygarden.org.au

Reflections

References Everyday Learning About Being Green - Early Childhood Australia's Research in Practice Series. Author: Rachael Kinsella Published: 2008 Purchase through Early Childhood Australia Price: $14.95 (approx) Greening Services: Practical Sustainability Author(s): Rachael Kinsella Published: 2007 Purchase through Early Childhood Australia Price: $14.95 (approx)

“One of the most significant responsibilities that professionals have is to support children to retain the sense of awe and wonder that they are born with, to add to that a desire to nurture and protect what is beautiful, and to encourage them to appreciate that there are many possibilities for honouring life and wonders that the world holds. (Stonehouse, 2006)

The Outdoor Playspace Naturally: For Children Birth To Five Years

Ask these questions at your next staff meeting to initiate discussions about developing a sustainable approach at your service.

Climbing the little green steps—How to promote sustainability within early childhood services in your local area.

• What does sustainability mean? What does it mean for our service? Consider in terms of our philosophy, policies and program.

Author: Mia Hughes, Environmental education Services, 2007

• How can we include all children, families , staff and the local community to support our ‘whole service’ approach to sustainability?

Author(s): Sue Elliott (Ed.) Published: 2008 Putting Children First – magazine of the National Childcare Accreditation Council Issue 29 March 2009 (Pages 12-15) is a great article that examines all aspects of implementing a “greener” service.

Available for download at www.wyong.nsw. gov.au

• How could we include sustainability into every aspect of our curriculum? (E.g daily

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - SPRING 2011

Kindy reforms benefit long day care sector Prepared by – Office for Early Childhood Education and Care

s the spotlight shifts to 2012, it is timely to review a year of significant achievement following the long day care sector's hard work towards increasing kindergarten participation in Queensland.

The long day care sector has been a critical part of the Queensland and Australian governments’ commitment and combined investment to advance universal access to kindergarten programs. Initiatives such as increased funding, expanded subsidies and greater teaching opportunities have boosted the success of the kindergarten rollout in long day care services. Since 2009, when long day care services were first able to apply for government funding to deliver an approved kindergarten program, the number of long day care services delivering kindergarten programs has increased each year. Last year around 340 long day care services were approved to deliver kindergarten programs. Now, this figure has increased to 780, creating more than 21,500 additional kindergarten places for Queensland children. In September this year the application process changed so that long day care services can now apply whenever they were ready, instead of waiting for individual funding rounds throughout the year. In doing so, long day care services now have more flexibility and can be more responsive to the needs of their community. To boost kindergarten access for children in rural and remote Queensland, the Department of Education and Training is also proactively contacting services without approved kindergarten programs to advise them of the program’s benefits and assist them with the application process, as required.

More funding to assist those in need The State Government recognised that many services have families who need extra support to take advantage of the opportunities available to their children. In October the government announced that all service providers, no matter where they are located, can now access kindy fee relief for each child covered by a Health Care Card (HCC) or Australian Government Pension Concession card with automatic Health Care Card entitlements. The extension of this kindy fee relief is helping Queensland’s most disadvantaged children enjoy the lifelong benefits of kindergarten programs. The subsidy is worth up to $402 per year for families accessing a kindergarten program at a long day care service, with families also able to access Australian Government Childcare payments. To claim their entitlement, families simply need to show their Health Care Card to their Queensland Government-approved kindergarten program provider. This subsidy is then provided to the service and deducted from the out-of-pocket fees payable by parents. Funding is being backdated to July 2011 for eligible families. The department is promoting the availability of kindy fee relief

through an extensive statewide awareness campaign. This includes billboard placement and print advertisements, and distribution of kindy posters to long day care services, Centrelink offices, medical centres and migrant centres.

Boosting the teaching workforce Teaching opportunities continue to open across Queensland’s expanding early childhood education and care sector as the government makes kindergarten programs available to all children in the year before Prep. To ensure it continues to meet the needs of this growing workforce, the Queensland Government is investing $76 million in the Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Action Plan. This is in addition to the more than $20 million a year in vocational education and training programs currently delivered to existing and aspiring early childhood workers. The plan includes a range of strategies to upgrade the skills of existing early childhood education workers and attract new teachers to work in early childhood services. It is anticipated that by 2014, up to 1000 additional qualified early childhood teachers will be needed to deliver kindergarten programs and comply with the new National Quality Standard. So far, nearly 1300 teachers have been recognised to deliver kindergarten programs in Queensland, and 235 scholarships have been offered to existing staff, including advanced diploma holders, to upgrade their qualifications so they can deliver kindergarten programs. In recognition of the increasing demand for early childhood teachers in rural and remote communities, the plan also features initiatives aimed at assisting employers in attracting qualified early childhood teachers to these locations. The Kindy Beyond the Range Professional Experience Grants allows future early childhood teachers to broaden their skills, knowledge and professional teaching experience in kindergarten programs while being part of a regional, rural or remote community which also benefits from their placement. The grants encourage eligible pre-service teachers to consider working in regional, rural or remote areas by providing $1000 to assist with travel and accommodation while undertaking a placement in a kindergarten program in 2012. The Kindy Rural and Remote Teacher Incentive Scheme will assist rural and remote services attract and retain qualified staff by staff by making available a $12,000 cash benefit payable over two years to eligible teachers. For more information about early childhood education career opportunities, visit www.education.qld.gov.au/hr

Becoming an approved kindergarten program provider

Other helpful resources include:

To be approved by the Queensland Government and receive funding through the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme, kindergarten program providers are required to offer a learning program:

•

Queensland Government Approved Kindergarten Program Provider identifier

•

templates for publishing fees

•

for children in the year prior to Prep (aged at least four years old by 30 June in the year they participate)

•

frequently asked questions

•

A-Z, the department’s monthly online newsletter.

•

for at least 15 hours a week, for 40 weeks a year

•

that is delivered by a four-year qualified early childhood education teacher or a registered teacher with early childhood qualifications

•

aligned with the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline or other education program accredited by the Queensland Studies Authority.

Once approved, services can access a unique identifier (shown) to help parents recognise kindergarten programs that meet these requirements and have been officially approved by the Queensland Government. Services can use this identifier in their own promotional materials to demonstrate their service’s status as an approved kindergarten program provider. In consultation with stakeholders, the department has developed Funded Kindergarten Program Statement of Fees template forms to support long day care services to display and publish their fees for kindergarten programs. All approved kindergarten program providers are to display these completed forms at their centre and publish online their kindergarten program fee information, program hours and other inclusions. The template forms and instructions for their use are available on the department’s website. Requirements for publishing fee information, program operating hours and teaching staff are included in the Guidelines for the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme.

The department has also developed a range of brochures, fact sheets and other materials, which are available on order or via the website, to help services to promote their kindergarten programs. Contact the Kindy Hotline on 1800 4 KINDY (1800 454 639) or visit the website at www.qld.gov.au/kindy

2011 achievements at a glance •

more than 780 long day care services have been approved to deliver kindergarten programs - creating an extra 21,500 kindy places

•

free professional development workshops and online resources for teachers delivering kindergarten programs

•

kindy fee relief for all Health Care Card holders – worth up to $402 per year for families accessing a kindergarten program at a long day care service

•

235 scholarships offered to existing staff, including advanced diploma holders to upgrade their qualifications so they can teachkindergarten programs

•

approximately 1300 teachers have had their qualifications recognised to deliver kindergarten programs in Queensland

•

Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Action Plan $76 million investment up to 2014

•

suite of resources available to promote kindergarten programs

Providing this information helps parents make an informed decision when choosing a kindergarten program for their children. Services without an online presence are to publish their kindergarten program fees on the Childcare Queensland website and should contact that organisation directly. Visit www.det.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood or call 1800 4 KINDY (1800 454 639) for more information about becoming an approved kindergarten program provider.

Extra support for long day care services In addition to kindergarten funding, the department supports long day care services in a range of ways to ensure they continue delivering quality kindergarten programs for Queensland children. The department’s website includes an interactive online Quick Reference Guide to support long day care services to comply with funding guidelines.

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

Promoting Awe and Wonder in Children Prepared by -Dr Brenda Abbey, Childcare by Design

he EYLF and the NQS both emphasise the importance of the role educators play in developing children’s spirituality, particularly the feelings of awe and wonder that humans experience during what are often referred to as ‘nature’s magical moments.’

Anyone who spends even a short amount of time with children would agree that they are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for nature. They are naturally curious and interested, with a great imagination and a special ability to see beauty and good all around them. Watch a baby’s face and you will see this, or listen to a child’s questions: •

"Who makes the rain?"

•

“What does the man in the moon eat?"

However, “if children are to keep this inborn sense of wonder alive, they need the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with them the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in” (Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder). To this I add that the adult – the educator – needs a sense of awe and wonder. After all, we can’t give away what we don’t have.

So how can we resurrect our own sense of wonder?

In my neighbourhood, the parakeets are forever feeding on the blossoms. It’s sheer sensory magic – the mass of bright primary colours, the every-which-way movements of the birds among the branches, the surfeit of busy sounds and the pervasive perfume of the blossoms.

•

Go further afield. Try whale watching. Seeing such huge creatures breech so high and with such power and grace is an inspiring sight that would certainly evoke awe and wonder.

•

Or – go to see the turtles hatch. No words can describe how I felt when I walked along the beach and happened upon several nests with tiny turtles climbing out and then skittering to the water’s edge.

•

Notice the little things – like dandelions or lady birds. Look closer and you will see uniqueness.

1. Revisit your own magic moments Revisit a magic moment from your childhood. Remember it as vividly as you can – what you saw, what you heard, what you felt, smelt or tasted. Recall your emotions and thoughts.

Magical moments that friends have told me about, and given permission for me to share include:

•

• As adults are lives are busy with schedules, work and responsibilities, and the feelings we had for the natural world can easily be eclipsed by them. We need those feelings of awe and wonder back in our day if we are to purposefully share them with children. By sharing I mean model, identify, respond to, preserve, nourish, enrich and sustain moments of magic.

•

Pumping for yabbies with his father. He described a sea of soldier crabs marching across the sand. He was that young boy again, and his voice caught as he spoke of his amazement at the sand just covered with this moving mass. Picking vegetables from her grandmother’s prolific garden very early in the morning. She recalled the smell of the vegetables and the newness of the little tomatoes she ate as she stood in the garden. She can still feel the cool, wet roots of the lettuce her grandmother handed to her; and see the brightly coloured stems of the bushes and bushes of rhubarb. She has never liked eating rhubarb but said her heart jumps whenever she sees rhubarb in the shops. Seeing an osprey’s nest, then watching the mother return to peeping babies.

2. Spend time in nature The magic moment we revisited simply happened upon us, and we can certainly invoke these memories when fostering awe and wonder in children. However, we need something more. We need to spend time in nature so that we have recent magic moments to enrich our responses to children. •

•

Perhaps you live near a beach or some bushland. Take regular walks there and you will find you will be constantly amazed.

3. Become a lifelong student of nature Another suggestion to reawaken your sense of awe and wonder is to become a lifelong student of nature. So easy with today’s technology where we can bring into our lives through the internet many sights not otherwise available to us.

•

A photograph of a double rainbow, or a majestic iceberg.

•

A video of an amazing waterfall with its sounds and colour.

•

A photograph of a double rainbow, or a majestic iceberg.

•

A video of an amazing waterfall with its sounds and colour.

•

Animals who sometimes have attributes that transcend belief and give them persona (e.g. father penguins, with their young, taking turns to absorb the cold at the perimeter of the group, and mother penguins recognising their babies in the crowd after months away). Now that is awe-inspiring.

4. Idle time and watch the world go by Another way to reawaken our sense of awe and wonder is to be still every now and then – to "do nothing" – just watch the world go by. Stress, distractions, and the fast pace of life have cluttered our minds. Time away from all of this helps us allay the chaos of today and allows us to wonder at our world. •

Lie under a tree, and just be – aerobics for the soul.

•

Listen to a relaxation tape.

5. Create Creativity is therapy. Communicating through art is known as ‘the language of the soul.’ You might like to:

• •

Paint, write, act, dance, play music … or learn pottery or some other craft. Garden, cook, or beautify your house – everyday creative arts that bring the same result – if your mindset is right.

tempo changed, they were drawn into intense looking and I sensed each had times of ‘being in the moment’ – of totally involved. More than a year later, Julianne, the older child, still had the loveheart and the special shell on her dressing table. Her little face became very intent when she said – “Remember, Mami, when I found this” and then moved close and whispered “it’s very, very special, you know.” Putting it together to facilitate awe and wonder in children 1. Responding to children

When we recall our childhood magic moments and purposefully reawaken our own sense of awe and wonder, we know that magic moments can happen at any time. As educators, we anticipate these moments in our work with children. We mentally rehearse our possible response because it has the potential to either deepen the magic for a child with, say, a dragonfly or a frog, or whisk the magic away. We know that children, just as we did and should again: •

Find wonder in anything and everything.

6. Spend time with children

•

Share their feelings readily and candidly.

It may seem strange to suggest to educators who work all day with children that they should spend time with children. However, if we really think about it, the time we spend with children has many parameters – the Childcare setting which may or may not have many natural elements, the number of children, our ever-present sense of vigilance that comes with the requirement to supervise and react – are just a few.

•

Can be totally involved in the current moment (not planning ahead or thinking about the past).

•

Do not need, and often do not want, lots of information and explanations before accepting anything new.

•

Can spontaneously create something extraordinary out of the ordinary (e.g. a twig can become anything).

Spending time with children in nature away from the centre gives us unfettered and unqualified time.

•

Can imagine they are someone else, somewhere else at any time and in any place.

The best way to explain this is that, as a grandparent, I allow myself to ‘just be’ when I am with my grandchildren.

2. Share your delights in nature with children authentically

One day I was on the beach with them. Initially they ran around excitedly. Practically everything they found was new and exciting – a fairy petal, a polished stone shaped like a loveheart, or a special colour. After a while, the

each family and invited them to be part of its tag and release. The educator involved the children and their parents in recording: the day and date; temperature; wind conditions; sex of butterfly; and, the precise time it was released. The children listened intently to her every word and followed her every movement. One little boy (four years) told me that this butterfly would fly the distance it takes a big jet plane five-and-a-half hours to travel.

3. Encourage children to share Ask the children to tell you about the awesome things they see, hear, feel, smell and touch away from the service. It could be the sounds of the beach, the taste of watermelon, or the silkiness of a kitten. They may bring in a shell or an interesting leaf. Delight in their contributions.

Conclusion Simply put, as educators, we need to recapture our innate sense of awe and wonder at what is around us so that we can transfer this gift to children. After all, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away” (Anonymous).

Brenda Abbey is a Childcare consultant. She is the author of Managing compliance in Childcare services: The essential guide for Queensland practitioners. Brenda has also co-produced the DVDs EYLF: Putting it into practice and EYLF: Programming and documentation made easy, and in addition Terminology Poster Packs for MTOP and the EYLF. All products are available on her website www.childcarebydesign.com.au

While in Montreal, I visited a Family Day Care service. The educator had been very interested in monarch butterflies for a number of years. She evoked the children’s interest through hatching a monarch butterfly. When the butterfly emerged on a Saturday, she rang

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

Debtors - Selling or Buying a child care centre business Prepared by - Daniel Armfield, Associate, Porta Lawyers

As a general rule, it is best wherever possible for the buyer and seller to agree on a Contract so that on Settlement there is a â&#x20AC;&#x153;cleanâ&#x20AC;? break and the seller has no further involvement in the business, especially in terms of pursuing debts and contacting clients. An apportionment of debtors and creditors which is reflected in an adjusted purchase price is always a more desirable outcome.

In general, debtors and creditors of the business up to the Settlement Date remain the responsibility of the seller.

Debtors

Creditors Creditors of the seller are usually for toy supplies, cleaners, maintenance and consumables. These debts remain with the seller unless some agreement is reached with the buyer. For example if the seller has ordered some new playground equipment which still has not arrived and been installed, then there may be an agreement that the buyer will take on this debt. Once again these matters may be the subject of negotiation between the buyer and seller.

In terms of debtors, it is rare that Childcare centres are sold with any apportionment for stock. However, if the seller has, for example, ordered and received a large shipment of consumables, eg, computer equipment, cleaning equipment, toilet paper etc, then this might be apportioned in the sale price, or taken into account as an extra payment for the value of stock at settlement.

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A further consideration for buyers is to ensure that the sellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direct debit facilities are cancelled at settlement to avoid the seller claiming any continued payments from parents and crediting them towards the sellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debtors.

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Debtors of the seller are usually fees which are payable by parents up to the date of Settlement. If fees have been paid in advance, and cover a period beyond the Date of Settlement, then these can be apportioned on the Settlement Date as an adjustment to the purchase price. However, where fees are in arrears they cannot be apportioned if they are unpaid. Put simply, one cannot apportion money which is not there. The seller will want to retain the right to pursue these debts for an unlimited time. The Buyer on the other hand will require that the seller pursue these debts for a period of say 30 days with the reasonable assistance of the buyer, after which, the seller must write off these debts. This is to prevent an over zealous seller from pursuing parents for outstanding debts, who may still be parents of the centre and could result in parents being lost to the centre. It is prudent and in the interests of both parties that the seller deliver to the buyer at Settlement a list of all the parent debtors and the amounts they owe up until and including the date of settlement.

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ltimately, it is up to the buyer and seller as to what is agreed in the final Contract. Accordingly, how the Debtors and Creditors of the Centre are to be dealt with or apportioned should be negotiated with the other party along with other important issues prior to the signing of the Contract.

Environmental sustainability Reproduced with permission from Illawarra Childrens Services - www. ics.org.au

Green Play Experiences x Make

children responsible for watering gardens, flowers or pot plants in the service x Make story books about reusing and recycling x Provide gardening tools and gloves to play in a patch of earth

x Establish x Grow

a vegetable garden at your service

your own herbs in small pots or gardens

x Set

up a worm farm for your food scraps x Establish a compost system and involve children in the process

Reuse

x Install

Waste Minimisation x Reuse

glass, plastic and paper products x Encourage children to use both sides of paper x Introduce children to sorting recycling products

Involve your service, children and family in National Recycling Week, National Water Week, National Plant a Tree Day and Clean Up Australia Day

recycled paper x Use children's artwork as wrapping paper

Sustainable Food Practices

x Purchase

x Buy

locally grown produce

x Grow

your own vegetables, herbs and fruit

x Start

a food cooperative with other services

x Where

possible buy organic products

x Empty

water trays/troughs into garden beds

x Install

a rainwater tank x Collect rainwater in buckets and reuse in the centre x Discuss water bills with the children and compare the difference in water usage from one quarter to another x Encourage children to soak paint brushes in water when finished to reduce cleaning time under running water

Energy Saving x Discuss

the stars on energy efficient rated appliances with children

x Turn

off appliances when not in use x Invite children to help hang out the washing. Talk about the best conditions to hang washing outdoors and where to situate an indoor drying rack for best results x Encourage children to close doors behind them to retain heat on colder days x Discuss electricity bills with the children and compare electricity usage

Recycle

a recycling facility x Offer newsletters to parents via email

Reduce

x Visit

Water Conservation

Reuse

a small bird feeder x Build scarecrows with the children to protect veggie patches x Provide whiteboards for children to draw on instead of paper

Gardening and Composting

Reduce

Recycle

Environmental Sustainability

e& a safe, secur g in t a e r c r hild Ideas fo e for every c r u t fu le b a sustain

www.ics.org.au CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

School Age Children in Long Day Care Connecting with My Time, Our Place Prepared by - Kylie Brannelly, QCAN

y Time, Our Place – Framework for school age care in Australia is linked to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and extends the principles, practices and outcomes to the contexts and age range of the children and young people who attend school age care settings. Long day care educators who have been engaging with and implementing the Early Years Learning Framework are well placed to transfer this knowledge across as they work with My Time, Our Place due to the explicit connections between these two learning frameworks. This is further supported by the relationship between the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum identified in the paper, Foundations for learning. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) and the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) commend Foundations for learning to education professionals as a basis for discussion and thoughtful reflection on the contributions of the EYLF and the Australian Curriculum to early childhood practice. (ECA-ACARA, 2012) Educators in long day care are acutely aware of the need to take holistic approaches to

their roles and responsibilities, focussing attention of children’s physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as well as cognitive aspects of learning. Taking a holistic approach also includes understanding the connections between children, families and communities including school. Such acknowledgement is important because when a child’s day includes participation in both school and care, educators need to be attuned to children’s needs as they transition from one place to another, particularly when the care setting and the school are isolated from each other. Collaborative partnerships with other places such as schools which are an important part of the school age child’s belonging, being and becoming enables educators to be responsive and holistic in their approaches to providing meaningful leisure time for school age children. After all, the school age care setting is about complementing rather than

duplicating the school day. (Cartmel, 2010) Long day care educators will also look for ways o achieve the outcomes as articulated in My Time, Our Place and the EYLF for school age children. In these settings, educators support children to develop a strong sense of identity through establishing secure and respectful relationships. Educators allow school age children to develop their autonomy through collaboration and listening to children’s ideas and interests. They facilitate appropriate opportunities for school age children to engage in and create spaces for play (environments) that support their growth, development and emerging independence. Positive interactions between children and between adults and children are encouraged and school age children are viewed as actively contributing citizens in the group, thus creating connections between

children and their world. Through being viewed as contributing citizens, children begin to understand the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. A strong sense of wellbeing is fostered in long day care settings when children are given opportunities to take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing. Children are encouraged to make healthy food choices and understand the benefits of physical activity. They are also encouraged to become attuned themselves to their feelings and emotions and signs of feeling unwell and further being able to articulate or express these thoughts to others. As school age children participate in long day care settings, they are exposed to many opportunities to become confident and involved learners. The planned and intentional aspects of the program including its activities, experiences, routines and events all enhance children’s learning through developing their dispositions such as curiosity, creativity, imagination, enthusiasm and persistence. School age children are given opportunities to resource their own learning and transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another. The setting facilitates effective communication as children collaborate with others and express ideas. Case study With the introduction of My Time, Our Place the Educators at Sunny Coast Long Day Care OSHC reflected on how they presently

engaged with the school age children who attended their service. At this time there was no dedicated OSHC worker, just whoever was on late shift. The children tended to spend their time indoors in the shared space of the Kindy Room. Following participation in professional development around My Time, Our Place the educators started to engage in critically reflective conversations about how the service was going to ensure the outcomes of My Time, Our Place were being met for their ‘schoolies’. The educators decided to collaborate with the children and explore their ideas and interests. The children expressed an interested in having an area of their own where their ‘things’ wouldn’t be preserved for them. Management agreed that it was important for children’s sense of identity to feel safe, secure and supported. The quarterly resource budget was allocated to the ‘schoolies’. Suitable furniture including larger chairs and tables were purchased and a dedicated staff member was employed to work with the children. The group expressed strong interest in resources that were appropriate to their age and competencies such as Lego and art and craft materials. Such simple strategies had a profound impact on the children’s engagement in the program. The director of the service noted that there was an extreme change in the behaviour of the children which had previously been a challenge and was now no longer an issue. In addition to this, children’s attitudes towards

OSHC at the service changed and they actually wanted to come. In reflection My Time, Our Place provides all school age care educators with the opportunity to reflect on practice and explore new ways of thinking and working with all children. As educators reflect on the principles, practices and outcomes, particularly as they relate to the planned and intentional aspects of the program, they become open to the possibilities and opportunities presented by these elements. This is further enhanced when school age children are valued as active, capable and competent citizens within the service’s community. References: Cartmel, J. L. (2010). School Age Care in Australia. Australian Government DEEWR. COAG. (2011). My Time, Our Place - Framework for School Age Care in Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org. au/pdf/ECA_ACARA_Foundations_Paper/ ECA_ACARA_Foundations_Paper_FINAL.pdf accessed 24/1/2012 http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org. au/pdf/ECA_ACARA_Foundations_Paper/ ECA_ACARA_Foundations_Paper_FINAL.pdf accessed 24/1/2012

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

KASS CONNECTIONS Prepared by - Linda McConville, Operational Project Manager, KASS

ntroducing Kindergarten Advisory Support Service (KASS) – A project initiative operating within Childcare Queensland, proudly funded and supported by the Queensland Government.

KASS operates within Childcare Queensland to assist all long day care services throughout Queensland to access advice and support on implementing and maintaining a quality and effective Approved Kindergarten Program. My name is Linda McConville and I have been engaged as the Operational Project Manager for the Kindergarten Advisory Support Service. My background is in teaching and working in the Early Childhood field for the past 30 years including schools, kindergartens and director in long day care in both metropolitan and rural/remote services and more recently as a validator with NCAC. I commenced my employment with Childcare Queensland to manage this project in December 2011. Since then I have been establishing the project, developing documents, making contact with relevant organisations and services. Our purpose: •

Provide support and advice to assist Long Day Care Services access and meet the requirements of the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme

•

Assist services with business support and advice to attract and retain Early Childhood teachers

•

Provide support and advice for the delivery of quality kindergarten programs in accordance with the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme policies

We offer: •

A free advice and support service for our sector (specific workshops or intense support may incur a small fee)

•

Face to face meetings

•

Telephone discussions

•

Electronic media such as Facebook, online forum, website access, email

•

Links to other agencies

•

Resources

•

Monthly newsletters (with networking opportunities)

•

Facilitation of group discussions

•

Advertising of Early Childhood Teacher positions on Childcare Queensland website

•

Assistance to engage an Early Childhood Teacher for your service

Check out the Kindy link on the Childcare Queensland website that will continue developing as we emerge further into the project including an online forum, Early Childhood Teacher register, downloads of newsletters, resources, QKFS updates and more. A monthly newsletter will be produced with information regarding KASS, latest updates, profiles and information from the field. I am currently looking for services who would be interested in contributing to KASS newsletters with profiles of successful Kindergarten programs. Please contact me if you are interested via phone or email. I will be contacting services by phone, email or face to face meetings to discuss any aspect of their Approved Kindergarten or the barriers that they are encountering in getting their Kindergarten operational. If I have not contacted you, don’t feel you have to wait. If you have any issues or successes you would like to discuss, please feel free to contact me at KASS any time via phone, mobile or email. I am excited and enthusiastic to be operating this project and will be supporting licensees, directors, teachers and educators as I commence working my way around all areas of Queensland. All contacts made have been positive and have exhibited a willingness to participate and assist with KASS. As KASS develops I expect a very busy, event filled calendar and a successful project.

ENGAGE WITH KASS TODAY

We have set up a Facebook page for KASS, so please have a look, post a comment and share with your friends. In the first month of operation KASS has assisted a number of long day care services, supported several Early Childhood Teachers and will be in contact with many more services and teachers throughout Queensland.

20 Ch

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ezidebit.com.au | Call 1300 763 256 |QUEENSLAND info@ezidebit.com.au CHILDCARE NEWS - Summer 2012 21 Childcare Business Matters Full Page Ad 140110 indd 1

14/04/2010 3:46:21 PM

How Poor Health and Work Life Balance is Draining Workplace Productivity Prepared by - Dr. Paul Lanthois, director of The Work Life Balance Foundation

ustainability seems to be a real buzz word at the moment. Businesses are seeing the benefits of wiser, more energy-efficient use of our resources combined with recycling and other greener initiatives. But business is yet to really apply this sustainability concept to its most valuable resource...its workforce. To me, workforce sustainability is about teaching people to juggle. We all need to juggle work, family commitments and keeping ourselves healthy. When we can juggle these things effectively you can work at your desired intensity without it compromising your quality of health and home life. That’s true workforce sustainability.

I am often confronted by business owners and managers who roll their eyes at the expectation of businesses having to teach their employees how to be healthy and have a healthy work life balance.

I absolutely agree with the bosses. An employee’s health and work life balance is their own responsibility. But here’s problem...

...Your work, your home life and your health all affect each other. If Childcare providers wait for their employees to discover a healthy, balanced and sustainable lifestyle for themselves it can severely limit business growth through sluggish productivity, work stress and will affect the quality of Childcare that is provided. (Who would want to leave their children in the care of someone tired, burnt out and grumpy?)

But how much does poor health and a poor work life balance cost business?

I have reviewed the most recent Australian and overseas studies that examined the impact that poor health and lifestyle has on business productivity (1-4). Based on this review I concluded that for every Australian worker at least 24 working days of lost productivity per year occur due to poor wellbeing of employees and unsustainable lifestyle practices...

Most employers think that the largest cause of productivity loss is the result of staff absenteeism. Wrong...

Presenteeism is the loss of productivity that occurs when employees come to work but aren’t fully functioning due to illness, injury, distraction, stress etc. Basically presenteeism occurs when you are at work but you’re not really there. So what causes presenteeism? Poor health, poor work life balance, unhealthy lifestyles, poor stress management skills, poor relationship skills all create massive strain on our personal and family lives, but the lack of this health and lifestyle skills are the main causes of presenteeism. This is creating a massive productivity hole for business. But the good news is that these skills can be taught... ...If Childcare businesses took it upon themselves to provide healthy lifestyle and life balance skills and training to their employees they would be rewarded with immediate productivity benefits. A Queensland council provided their employees with such training and created a 4-12 fold reduction in sick days, a 13.7% increase in wellbeing and energy levels, an 11.9% increase in work productivity and a 9.2% increase in employee morale and home life satisfaction. (Add to this the savings through improved employee retention.) These figures alone show that Childcare companies stand to make substantial productivity gains by creating a culture of sustainable wellness and work life balance within their organisation. That process can start with you by improving your own health and work life balance.

Dr. Paul Lanthois is the director of The Work Life Balance Foundation (www.WorkLifeBalanceFoundation.com ) helping business to achieve healthy balance sheets through healthy balanced employees. He is the author of the corporate wellbeing guide From Burnout to Balanced in Four Weeks. References

1. Economic modelling of the cost of presenteeism in Australia, Econtech 2007 2. The Cost of Workplace Stress in Australia, Econtech, August 2008

Studies in Australia and the US have found that presenteeism costs business four times the amount of absenteeism.

So what is presenteeism?

3. Hilton, M. (2004). Assessing the financial return on investment of good management strategies and the WORC Project. The University of Queensland. 4. J Occup Environ Med.Vol5, No4, April 2009 Health and Productivity as a Business StrategySTMENT OF GOOD

changing 'staff' behaviours Prepared by - Ryan Meldrum, Expect A Star

n any one early childhood facility you can have upwards of 150 children who will be attending the centre across the week, each with their own unique characteristics, interests and behaviours. The exciting and rewarding part of the role of an educator is identifying these for each child, having a certain level of influence over their development and the ability to shape their future. At each centre amongst all the children that attend there may be different levels of behaviour issues that need to be managed. To handle effectively you consider the appropriate course of action, work with the families and invest your time on producing the best outcome for the child.

As you can see from the list above to change behaviours it is not all about spending extra money, instead by allocating some of the budget you can do some great things with limited spend. You often find clear direction and expectations will weed out any staff who choose to reflect poor behaviours.

So when considering supporting the children we want the best possible team in place from Director level through to the room assistants. However at many centres there can be more issues with the behaviour of the staff than the 150 children within a centre. This can be caused by many factors including:

Even if you have a high performing centre where your staff are stable, committed and reliable, you can introduce some or all of the above to keep that ‘fresh and exciting’ feeling about working at your centre. Unfortunately we all need to accept that there is a large number of vacant early childhood roles across the country giving people choice if they are not satisfied with their current role or centre. We have found with the large number of centres we work with who are pro-active about their work environment and staff benefits are well positioned to retain their existing staff or if there is a change, attract the best staff available at the time.

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Poor day to day management

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Lack of direction

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An underperforming team

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Absence of a positive culture

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Bad habits

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Boredom and complacency

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Bad diet, sleep and exercise

This article is not about how to identify the shortcomings or the historical performance of your team. You all know that a lack of cohesion or a staff member being difficult has a negative impact on the centre. The article is designed to make the start of 2012 as positive as possible and for the outcomes to influence the culture and performance at the centre.

You would also imagine that if your staff are positive, excited, happy and motivated this will be a reflection on the centre and filter through to the children currently enrolled and families that will be enrolled in the future. As we all work together to adopt the recent changes in the sector we need to support each other to make the lives of educators as rewarding as possible. I ask you to accept the challenge for 2012 and make your staff enjoy every day that they work at the centre both individually and as a team. Please email ryan@expectastar.com.au if you would like our next 10 tips that can assist in changing behaviours!

Here are our top 10 tips for you to consider: 1.

Set team goals for the year with milestones along the way

Encourage staff contributions at team meetings

Acknowledge staff who go over and above on a daily basis

Create or introduce an incentive program based on parents feedback on their performance

Set an allocation of the budget to team based activities

Introduce a mentoring program to encourage career advancement and further training

Provide the occasional hand written thank you card to staff

Run an MVP (most valuable player) award where staff nominate their peers throughout the year

Offer fresh fruit each day in the staff room

10.

Be as accommodating as possible for the family arrangements and pressures of staff

CHILDCARE QUEENSLAND NEWS - Summer 2012

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