cawa newsletter june 2014 web

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Childcare Association of WA Inc News Childcare Insight Second Edition 2014

Childcare Insight

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:Message from Executive Officer

CAWA Early Childhood Educators Appreciation Day

Food Safety and Auditing of Child Care Centres

Can You Afford not to Integrate Technology?

CAWA Membership

CAWA Sponsors and Suppliers

Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare

Stress in the Workplace

DISCOVERING…The World through our senses

Raising the bar

NAIDOC Week In The Classroom: A Before, During and After Approach

World Cultural Celebrations

2Issued by H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL No. 235249 Trustee of Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) ABN 64 971 749 321.

hestaawards.com.au

Advancing Pedagogy and Practice

Outstanding Young Educator

Excellence in Building Inclusion

Recognise their outstanding leadership and achievements by nominating them in one of three categories:

Winners will be announced at the awards dinner in Melbourne on Saturday 6 September 2014.

Know someone in early childhood education and care who deserves an award?

$30,000in prizes to be won!*

*Generously provided by:

NomiNatE NoW!Nominations close 20 June 2014

2012 winners, left to right: Louise Simpson representing Buninyong Preschool, and Amy Douglas.

Follow us:

@HESTAECawards

/HESTAEarlyChildhoodEducationCareAwardsFacebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps

Proudly supported by: Proudly presented by:

tickEts oN salE

NoW

1210.HECECA2014_210x297.indd 1 15/10/13 12:06 PM

Childcare Association of WA Inc News - Childcare Insight Second Edition 2014 33

Childcare Insight

Childcare Association of WA Inc

Executive Officer: Rachelle Tucker

Location: Level 1/9 Bowman Street South Perth

Mailing: PO Box 196 South Perth WA 6951

Telephone: 1300 062 645

Web: www.childcarewa.com

Email: [email protected]

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 Association of WA Inc accepts no responsibility for the contents of the advertisements. Advertisements are accepted in good faith and liability for advertising content, goods or services supplied are the responsibility of the advertiser.

President: Lisa GodwinVice President: Anne ChemelloSecretary: Sarah LovegroveTreasurer: Allan MulletCommittee: Frits Grader, Fadi Dorkhom, Karen Stackpole, David Lyons, Natalie GreenAssociate Committee: Coral Callan & Jennifer Kenyon

Management Committee

ContentsMessage from Executive Officer 4

CAWA Early Childhood Educators Appreciation Day 7

Food Safety and Auditing of Child Care Centres 14

Can You Afford not to Integrate Technology? 16

CAWA Membership 18

CAWA Sponsors and Suppliers 19

Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare 20

Stress in the Workplace 23

DISCOVERING…The World through our senses 24

Raising the bar 26

NAIDOC Week In The Classroom 28

World Cultural Celebrations 30

Issued by H.E.S.T. Australia Ltd ABN 66 006 818 695 AFSL No. 235249 Trustee of Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA) ABN 64 971 749 321.

hestaawards.com.au

Advancing Pedagogy and Practice

Outstanding Young Educator

Excellence in Building Inclusion

Recognise their outstanding leadership and achievements by nominating them in one of three categories:

Winners will be announced at the awards dinner in Melbourne on Saturday 6 September 2014.

Know someone in early childhood education and care who deserves an award?

$30,000in prizes to be won!*

*Generously provided by:

NomiNatE NoW!Nominations close 20 June 2014

2012 winners, left to right: Louise Simpson representing Buninyong Preschool, and Amy Douglas.

Follow us:

@HESTAECawards

/HESTAEarlyChildhoodEducationCareAwardsFacebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps

Proudly supported by: Proudly presented by:

tickEts oN salE

NoW

1210.HECECA2014_210x297.indd 1 15/10/13 12:06 PM

4

Message from the

Executive Officer

I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter and took advantage of the public holiday breaks. We are now almost half way through the year and haven’t we seen quite significant things happening in our sector.

Federal Budget News:We have just seen the Government release the budget; Taken from a media release by the Hon. Sussan Ley:

“The Abbott Government is committed to making child care more affordable, flexible and accessible for Australia’s families.

The Budget is part of the Government’s Economic Action Strategy to build a strong, prosperous economy and a safe, secure Australia.

The Abbott Government is delivering $28.5 billion over four years to assist families to access child care via the Child Care Rebate (CCR) and Child Care Benefit (CCB).

The Abbott Government is honouring its election commitment to restore $12.6 million in Occasional Care funding that was cut by the previous government.

This will provide a vital service for many families who need emergency or late notice care. This will particularly benefit rural, regional and remote areas due to seasonal work such as harvesting and shearing.”

“The Abbott Government will deliver the largest-ever government investment in professional development for long day care educators through a $200 million, three-year Long Day Care Professional Development Programme. This funding has been redirected from the previous government’s defunct Early Years Quality Fund.

The Government will better target Jobs Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance and the Community Support Programme so that the Government can repair the Budget and strengthen Australia’s future.

Jobs Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance will provide parents on income support, who require child care, a maximum payment of $8 per hour, and those who undertake study will be eligible to receive assistance for up to 36 hours per week per child. This measure will take effect from January 2015.”

Long Day Care Professional Development Programme:On 10 December 2013, the Australian Government announced that it intended to redirect unallocated funding from the Early Years Quality Fund to a new professional development programme. The Long Day Care Professional Development Programme (LDCPDP) is the single biggest investment ever in professional development for child care and early learning educators in long day care (LDC) services. On 5 May 2014, the Assistant Minister for Education, the Hon Sussan Ley MP, released the LDCPDP Programme Guidelines.

The LDCPDP will fund LDC services to assist their educators to meet the qualification requirements under the National Quality Framework (NQF) and to improve practice to ensure quality outcomes for children. A key focus will be quality and equity.

The programme will have sufficient flexibility to meet educator needs as well as targeting known workforce shortages such as early childhood teachers and long day care educators in rural and remote areas.

The programme will allow services to identify their specific professional development needs in order to support the NQF, adhere to the National Quality Standard and deliver the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) or approved learning framework. Services will be able to use the funding to meet their training and skills development needs and will have the flexibility to do so in-line with the circumstances of their service.

All Child Care Benefit (CCB) approved LDC providers are eligible to apply for this programme, with the exception of providers that entered into a written funding agreement with the Commonwealth under the Early Years Quality Fund (EYQF). Individual educators cannot apply for the programme.

More information can be found at: http://www.education.gov.au/long-day-care-professional-development-programme

Dear WA Services

Welcome to the second edition of the Childcare Insight for 2014

Childcare Insight


CAWA & ACA News:CAWA and ACA continue to work hard and passionately to represent the best interests of our members, educators and families.

In March this year Lisa & I, as the WA representatives of ACA, went to Canberra along with other State representatives to lobby on behalf of families and members. We met with a large range of politicians to explain the current issues facing the sector and families. The areas of concern we raised were:

• Affordability for families• Vulnerable & Disadvantaged families• Workforce• Planning & Viability• Regulatory Burden

Most meetings were positive, with most of the politicians very aware of the above concerns that the providers and families are facing. Unfortunately we must wait for the recommendations of the Productivity Commission, before we hopefully see some relief in sight.

CAWA & ACA will continue to fight for our members and families. There is much that is being done on a daily basis nationally and locally with ACA and CAWA. We encourage our members to have a voice and to contact the CAWA office if they have any issues or concerns that need to be raised or addressed.

Equal Remuneration Order (ERO) – Wage Claim by United Voice and Australian Education Union

The Australian Childcare Centres Association (ACCA) through Livingstones is representing the Australian Childcare Alliance and at the same time, all State Associations’ members.http://www.fwc.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=caeremuneration

Maggie Dent Workshops:On the 18th & 19th March 2014 CAWA in partnership with CTAS hosted two workshops with Maggie Dent. These workshops were a great success and very well attended.

CAWA NQS Workshop:On April 8th CAWA hosted and ran an NQS workshop on:

• Assessment & Rating – Lead Assessor• Risk management – Guild Insurance• Educational Program & Practice – Penny Major (CA)• Physical Environment & Sustainability – Jenni

Magenta• Leadership & Team Building - Chris Barrett• Panel of ECRU for owners/managers to ask questions

– ECRU

This workshop was filled to capacity and we hope that all that attended left with information of value.

CAWA would like to thank all participants, facilitators, suppliers and of course our main sponsor Guild Insurance.

Message from the

Executive Officer - continued

6

Message from the

Executive Officer - continued

Australian Family Early Education & Care Awards:Congratulations to the WA Finalists for 2014:

Early Childhood Director of the Year• Judith Cluning College Community Child Care Centre • Catherine Jones South Coast Baptist College School of

Early Learning Childcare • Amanda Nicholas Humpty Dumpty • Bobbi Wheeler Milly Molly Mandy’s CAWA Member

and State Winner

Early Childhood Educator of the Year• Michelle Connolly Sacred Heart Early Learning Centre • Anna Creusot St Simon Peter ELC • Bonnie DeRidder Silverwood Child Care Centre • Shari Edwards First Steps Early Learning • Nikita Olivier Dampier Early Learning Centre CAWA

Member and State Winner

Early Childhood Service of the Year• Joondalup Early Learning Centre• South Coast Baptist College School of Early Learning

Childcare WA State Winner• St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School OSHC • St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School ELC • Subicare Child Care

Western Australia’s very best in the early education and care profession have been announced in this year’s Australian Family Early Education & Care Awards. The three state winners have been selected from the impressive pool of 88 finalists from across Australia and are now vying for the prestigious title of national winner in their respective category of Early Childhood Director of the Year, Early Childhood Educator of the Year and Early Childhood Service of the Year.

The awards, now in their tenth year, is the country’s only national annual awards, open to the early

education and care profession and nominations are received from parents, colleagues, managers, family and friends.

To determine the national winner of each category, each state winner will meet with the judging panel to present their promise to ongoing quality improvement and innovation as part of a three day professional development event as part of the Australian Family Early Education & Care Awards 10th Anniversary Gala Celebration at the end of June.

The state winners have been selected following each of them having written a personal submission to the distinguished judging panel to present their achievements in practice and commitment to five key areas aligned with ACECQA’s National Quality Standard (federal government-mandated professional standards for children’s services). These five areas are improving the wellbeing of the children, improving the children’s program, improving the early childhood service, ongoing professional learning and development and improving inclusive interactions and partnerships with families.

This year’s judging panel is made up of Paul Clancy (Judging Chairman and Australian Family Managing Director), Bernadette Dunn (Judge and National Manager, Early Childhood Education, McArthur), Mary A Cottee (Judge and long standing member of the Occasional Child Care Association), Lesley Moreschi (Judge and CEO, Meerilinga Young Children’s Foundation), Kellie McNamara (CEO, Coastwide Child & Family Services Inc) and Dr Sarah Ohi (Lecturer, School of Education, Deakin University).

(Media Contact: Adele Feletto Publicity M: 0413 489 292 E: [email protected])

Kind regards

Rachelle TuckerExecutive Officer

Childcare Association of WA Inc (CAWA)

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33

Childcare Insight


The Hand HolderA Tribute to Childcare Providers

There is no job more important than yours,

no job anywhere else in the land.

Your are the keepers of the future:

you hold the smallest of hands.

Into your care you are trusted

to nurture and care for the young,

and for all of your everyday heroics,

your talents and skills go unsung.

You wipe tears from the eyes of the injured.

You rock babies brand new in your arms.

You encourage the shy and unsure child.

You make sure they are safe from all harm.

You foster the bonds of friendships,

letting no child go away mad.

You respect and you honour their emotions.

You give hugs to each child when they’re sad.

You have more impact than does a professor,

a child’s mind is moulded by four;

so whatever you lay on the table

is whatever that child will explore.

Give each child the tools for adventure,

let them be artists and writers and more;

let them fly in the wind and dance on the stars

and build castles of sand on the shore.

It is true that you don’t make much money

and you don’t get a whole lot of praise,

but when one small child says, “I love you,”

you’re reminded of how this job pays.

~ By Dori Rossmann

CAWA Early Childhood Educators Appreciation Day – May 14th 2014

Awarded with our

own certificate of

appreciation!

Reading our inspirational quotes.

Lucky us! So many treats!

Mmm so hungry!

Enjoying our pampering from our local beautician!

8

CAWA Early Childhood Educators Appreciation Day – May 14th 2014 - continued

On Wednesday May 14th CAWA re-introduced Early Childhood Educators Appreciation Day.The Childcare Association of WA Inc (CAWA) reintroduced this day in recognition of all Early Childhood Educators in WA. This day has been celebrated for many years in the past but unfortunately fell by the wayside.

We encourage all services to be involved in some way, and next year we will combine with Childcare QLD, who has been doing this for the past 3 years. It is Early Childhood Educators Day and is celebrated on the first work Wednesday in Spring (September).

The aim of QLD & WA is to make this day a National event, so that we can show our appreciation to the dedicated ECE workforce each and every year.

We encourage you to also get your children & families involved in this very special day.

CAWA Members who participated and sent their photos in went into the draw for one of the very kindly donated prizes below:

Childcare Association of WA Inc - 1 of 5 $100.00 Pre Paid Visa Cards

Child Care Centre Desktop - 1 Year Subscription

ECTARC - 1 of 5 Webinar vouchers

HESTA - 1 of 3 $100.00 Westfield vouchers - 1 Hamper filled with goodies

Educational Experience - Hamper

Ecomist WA - Nappy Wrapper Maxi Bin

Modern Teaching Aid - Giant Alphabet Fishing Set

CAWA would like to congratulate all services that got behind this day and celebrated in their own unique way.

Some of what services did for the day:

• Morning tea• Massages• Certificates• Small gifts• Beautician• Cakes• Balloons• Wine Cruise • Dinner• Messages• Plus much more

A Tribute to Child Care Providers

Although you’re not their mother,

You care for them each day.

You cuddle, sing, & read to them,

and watch them as they play.

You see each new accomplishment,

You help them grow and learn.

You understand their language,

you listen with concern.

They come to you for comfort,

And to kiss away their tears.

They proudly show their work to you,

You give the loudest cheers!

No, you are not their mothers,

but your role is just as strong.

You nurture them and keep them safe,

Though maybe not for long.

You know someday the time may come,

When you will have to part.

But you know each child you cared for,

Is forever in your heart!!!

~ author unknown

Childcare Insight


Smileys Outside School Hours CareToday is the day we acknowledge our wonderful efforts” Educators Appreciation Day”. Miley had arrived to the service with a bunch of roses that she picked from her garden at home to give us, saying “Happy Educator’s Day!”. Carlos and Maya came in with six pack of eggs from their chickens at home that they collected for our big breakfast we were about to cook. More children arrived for before school care and joined in on the cooking of the bacon, eggs, muffins and milo.

They all got involved cooking collaboratively, discovering knowing when the food is cooked, and breaking the eggs. Then the time came to eat and enjoy. A large table was set ready with plates, cups and cutlery. It was amazing to see the children developing life skills, even the clean-up and dishes were done by the group. Wow, what a way to start the morning.

Then it was the afternoon care children. ‘It was a dress up day, where the children were asked to come as what they would like to be when they were older. There were footballers, rock stars, actors, teachers even a super hero, just to mention a few. Photos were taken of the children individually, each time with them holding a chalk board with who they wanted to be when they were older.

What a day to reflect on knowing the impact we have on these growing children and seeing smiles on their faces. Watching them learn and grow and their families support thanking us for all we do as they play a special part in our service.

Duncraig Playfun’s 3For Appreciation Day, I presented each Educator with a Certificate of Appreciation and a book mark, which I made from recycled card and paper. On the back of the book mark, there were “10 Signs that you are a Great Educator”, with the front filled with positive words. At lunch time we shared chocolate brownies, which my daughter made. A comments box was placed at the entrance of the Playfun 3’s room, where we collected positive feedback from the members, acknowledging their appreciation of all our Educators.

Thank you for bringing this day to our attention. We should show our appreciation to them more often.

Padbury Education & Child Care CentreWe had a great ‘Early Childhood Educator Appreciation day’ at our Centre.

Our most treasured memories

of the day were written, drawn

or stuck into the acknowledgement books that

we created for each room in

our Centre. The families, children and

fellow colleagues embraced the

opportunity to express how

much they really appreciate

everything the educators do.

This amazing team also did a collection amongst each other to show their appreciation to the

Manager and Assistant Manager by giving a beautiful card, flowers, chocolates and a voucher.

This demonstrates how selfless they really are… a day dedicated to acknowledging them and they

continued to think about and care for others. Thankyou you’re all Awesome!

14th May 2014

We had a fantastic day filled with lots of surprises: A big bright sign at the front of the Centre to be seen by everyone who arrived that day.

We decorated the front desk, with balloons, streamers and photos of all of our shining super stars! We provided a lavish lunch – they all feasted on platters of delicious food.

Our Educators enjoyed a lovely array of cakes for morning tea, topped off with a delicious drink of their choice from KISS Café X

We had over 25 good reasons why we needed to express how much we Appreciate our fabulous team of Educators.

They are all truly dedicated and demonstrate such great professionalism in providing excellent education and care to the children and their families who

attend our Centre.

Thankyou



10


Sparx Early LearningThank you The staff and myself really appreciate it.

I hope that they received even just a small bit of the appreciation that they deserve.

Middle Swan Child Care CentreThe children, together with the Educators, created a large poster to advertise to our parents and the local community that Wednesday the 14.5.2014 was W.A Educators Appreciation Day. On this poster were the Children and Educators hand prints with Comments from the children regarding what they liked about the Educators and the service.

An afternoon tea was held, with the entire centre joining together with all the Educators to celebrate our day. All Educators were presented with the CAWA certificate of appreciation. A red velvet cake was given to us by one of our lovely parents, along with some beautiful flowers, some yummy chocolates and beautiful comments in our Appreciation book.

Childcare Insight


Kids Inn Child CareEducator Appreciation Day – Celebrated with morning tea. Each educator was given a balloon with a special star attached, which had an individual message to the staff about why they were appreciated.

At High Wycombe OSHC, the children have been busy preparing and cooking special treats with Lisa for today’s surprise afternoon tea for Laura, Kirsty, Madison and Witarina. They did really well keeping it a secret from the educators this week. Before afternoon tea, the children gave the educators 3 loud, energetic cheers.

Thank you Kirsty, Laura, Madison and Witarina for all the hard work you have put in at High Wycombe, it doesn’t go unnoticed. The care you provide to the children and all the other little things that you do is appreciated by us all and makes our time fun. From Lisa and the High Wycombe OSHC children.

Smileys & First StepsTo show our appreciation, we asked families and the children to share what they love about their Educators. There were three different sheets/shapes.

• A Shooting Star: the Children’s Voice- ‘What do they love about day care?’

• A Star: ‘Is there an Educator or a team that is special to you or has had a positive impact on your child’s life?’

• A Planet: ‘What aspect of the centre is the most important to your family?’

Families and Children completed them spontaneously, via e-mail, and some of our children completed in their rooms as an experience- sharing what they loved. For our younger children, whom are still developing their language, we used photos and their expression through drawing to share the things they enjoy and appreciate too. Together we made a display that is in our front main foyer- under the heading ‘We love our Educators to the Moon and Back.’ We are planning to leave this up for a few weeks. It is great to share the positive words, and for the girls to hear from everyone what a fabulous job they really do how the smallest things mean the biggest in the eyes of our families and children.

We also held a special dress up day, with the theme ‘What do/did you want to be when you grow up?’ The children and Educators all got involved and had fun sharing their aspirations.

Finally, a dinner was organised for all of the staff between the three centres- First Steps Early Learning, Smileys Child Care and Smileys Out of School Care. The complimentary dinner was a generous way for Lisa to say thank you to her amazing team, and a great opportunity for the girls to unwind, relax and network with others.




Treloar Child Care CentreHere at Treloar Child Care Centre we value our educators and took this opportunity to spoil each and every one of them.

On arrival the Centre Director, Quality Support Consultant and Committee representative greeted each staff member with a certificate of appreciation for their dedication. During morning tea breaks we then supplied a lovely spread of nibbles for the educators to enjoy. And as a final gesture of gratitude, we invited a masseuse to the centre who conducted ten minute neck and shoulder massages for all the staff.

A very enjoyable day had by all.

Childcare Insight

14

Food Safety and Auditing of Child Care Centres By: Edward McCartney

The Food Act requires child care centres that prepare and serve food to develop and implement a food safety plan. Your first thought might be that developing a plan may be time consuming, difficult or even just too hard. However there are many free and simple to use guides available on the internet. A good example is produced by SA Health:

www.health.sa.gov.au/pehs/Food/0804-Food-Safety-Template-Childcare-v2.doc

As the purpose of a food safety plan is to safeguard children’s health and to protect your business, utilising a simple plan is well worth the effort. In most instances, a documented food safety plan comprises of three parts and will likely formalise your existing good practices. The first part includes a description of your business and names of the staff that are responsible for food safety.

The second part describes:

• your food handling activities such as food receipt and refrigerator storage,

• what can go wrong and cause injury (biological, chemical and foreign object food safety hazards)

• how you will prevent or manage the hazards

• what checks and balances you will undertake

• what records you will keep

The third part describes good hygiene practices. These include staff hygiene, training, maintenance and thermometer calibration, cleaning and sanitising programs, pest control procedures, etc.

In other words, your food safety program should document clearly the procedures and practices within your business (i.e. what you do). Your business will be audited against these procedures and practices.

What to expect from an auditorWhen auditors visit, they must follow the WA Health Code of Conduct. You can expect the auditor to be polite and give you feedback about any problems they have identified. If your auditor advises you to do something, they must tell you whether you need to do it to comply with the law, or whether it is good practice. Your auditor should be friendly, approachable, and respectful. The auditor should dress appropriately, listen to you and offer value for money.

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Childcare Insight


Food Safety and Auditing of Child Care Centres By: Edward McCartney

Audit ProcessBeing well prepared will assist both you and the auditor. Before the audit, take the time to read over your food safety plan and ensure that it is up to date. Gather your past 6 to 12 months of records including:

• council inspection reports

• temperature checks

• staff training,

• cleaning

• calibration

• pest control

• annual review or internal audit

An audit commences with an ‘entry interview’ and concludes with an ‘exit interview’. During the audit, the auditor will review:

• the facilities, resources and equipment where you prepare food

• your food safety plan and records

• information provided to you by parents relating to allergens and how you manage allergens

Within 5 days of the audit, you will receive a formal audit report including the evidence supporting the auditors’ viewpoint. If any non-conformances are identified you will have 14 days from the audit date to remedy those. You will need to provide the auditor with examples of the corrective actions taken. After 14 days the audit report is sent to your local council.

Your rights as a centre director include:• using an approved food safety auditor of your choice

• choosing the audit date and time

• timely, fair and equitable treatment with dignity and respect.

• accurate written information provided in a report including an explanation of how the findings were made.

• discussing with the auditor if you believe a mistake has been made

• confidentiality of your business information

• getting value for money

• requesting the frequency of the audit change to annual where appropriate.

Edward McCartney represents Food Safety Plus and is a WA Health Approved Food Safety Auditor.

Food Safety and Auditing of Child Care Centres By: Edward McCartney - continued

16

Professional LearningPRA

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Can You Afford not to Integrate Technology?By: Alison Welsh

With a well practised manoeuvre I navigate through the child proof gate and the code locked door, hands, mouth and arms full of child related paraphernalia including one extremely heavy sixteen month old boy (must cut down on his biscuit habit). My two year old daughter has long since abandoned me to find her friends in the toddler room. I stagger into the foyer with all the best intentions of informing the fabulous staff about the new skills and knowledge my two tiny people have developed lately, when I realise I have around three minutes before I need to be at a meeting, twenty minutes away. And I have weetbix all over my shoulder…again. When I pick them up at the end of the day it will be the same process in reverse, minus the weetbix. This is the case for many busy families who rely on child care while they work.

It’s hard to believe that, with the huge advances in technology we have seen in the last 10-15 years,

so many centres are still wasting time, money and resources to produce documentation that for the most part misses it’s audience. Valuing family input and completing the planning cycle is essential, not just because the National Quality Framework requires it but because families, educators and children need it.

Decisions to move forward and provide alternative methods of communication for families are not easily made. Before choosing a product, leaders must consider the level of skill within their teams, the simplicity of the product and the support available for it’s integration. It also needs to be safe, private and link to EYLF outcomes. As much as there is to consider, there is no question that we must move forward.

Not only must we embrace technology to make our jobs easier, cheaper and more sustainable but we can no longer ignore the fact that children must be guided in developing safe and healthy ICT use.

Childcare Insight


Can You Afford not to Integrate Technology?By: Alison Welsh

It’s our responsibility to ensure that children are exposed to technology in a purposeful way. The same way we teach about healthy foods and moderation, we need to empower children from a very early age to make conscious decisions about the way they use technology.

Children of today are exposed to a wide range of technology embedded in their daily experiences. There is no doubt that their lives will go on to include technology that far exceeds anything we can possibly conceive today. Many Reggio Emilia inspired centres have recognised that integration of ICT is essential to allow children to express themselves and communicate through more advanced methods than previously provided.

The Reggio principle that children have 100 languages and limitless ways to express themselves is traditionally translated into opportunities to talk, draw, create, build etc. In today’s world that should also include more updated expression such as through iPad drawing, taking pictures or movies to create a story and communicating their digital journey with an authentic audience.

So do we throw out the books, puzzles, scrapbooks and replace them with iPads? Do we replace every piece of paper in the centre with technology and expect all educators to adapt? I for one would hate for my children to miss out on the valuable and irreplaceable learning that takes place when real objects, natural materials and human beings are the base of the program. There needs to be a balance and there needs to be open conversations with families, educators and management around how each community moves forward. We need to remember technology is a tool and it makes sense that we use it to complete tasks such as creating portfolios, documenting learning, communicating and enhancing learning. Like all tools, the outcome of its use is in the hands of the user. Let’s use it effectively!

Alison Welsh BA (Ed) (Hons) Professional Learning ConsultantPRA Solutions

If you’re ready to move forward contact PRA Solutions for affordable support with; professional learning, online portfolios, supply service and integration of IT or even the world famous FiSH! Philosophy to boost your centre’s positive culture. Email: [email protected] for more information.

Can You Afford not to Integrate Technology? By: Alison Welsh - continued

18

CAWA Membership

Renewal for membership is July 1st 2014 As a member, you join with the large proportion of other providers who share your enthusiasm and commitment to this sector. Established in 1972, the Associations position statement is a “Commitment to keeping members informed with current issues, supporting members with concerns and sourcing material that would benefit the successful running of a service, and that the association will maintain a positive working relationship with all members, and work towards achievable goals.”

During the past year, your membership and participation has helped the Association

• Increase your access to current and up to date information, resources, and discounted workshops.

• Successfully lobby State and federally for better outcomes.

• Employ the services of an Industrial Relations firm to participate in the ERO.

• Representation & participation at key stakeholder meetings

• A voice in the industry

• Webinars

All renewals and new memberships paid between July 1st and July 14th 2014 will go into the draw to win accommodation, airfares & full ticket to the National Childcare QLD Conference held in 2015.

If you have questions about your membership or benefits, please contact our office on 1300 062 645 Monday - Friday. Or you may send us an e-mail at [email protected]

Our members are the visible embodiment of our commitment to change and improvement. It is through your desire and dedication to your profession that the association flourishes. Your membership means a great deal to us.

Our Philosophy:Members of the Association believe:

• All children deserve a safe and secure environment that challenges and stimulates and offers time for discovery, reflection and collaboration.

• Parents have the right to feel confident that their children are being cared for in a safe and proactive environment that caters for individuality and different cultural backgrounds.

• Staff have the right to work in a centre of excellence that are committed to improving the conditions and public perception of child care workers and the industry.

• The community has the right to information and education about the benefits of quality child care for WA children.

• It is our right to have a voice in the future direction of our industry.

Renew or join now:

CAWA Membership prices:

First full centre membership $350.00

Additional centres $60.00 each

Childcare Insight


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To find out more go to: http://childcarewa.com/suppliers many of our suppliers offer discounts and specials for CAWA Members.

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20

Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare By: Ruth Wallace

Early childhood is an important time for growth, and nutrition in particular plays an essential role in a child’s physical, social and emotional development, contributing significantly to good health as an adult. As more than 1 million children now attend some form of early years service, this sector is an important setting, not only for the provision of nutritious foods, but also for the child to learn healthy food habits that will remain with them through to adulthood.

Whilst most Australian children are doing well, the most significant current health issue is overweight and obesity. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported 19% of children aged 2-4 years were overweight or obese in 2009, which can increase their risk of developing chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, and of being overweight or obese in adulthood. Considering that on average, a child will spend 27 hours a week at an early years service, it is essential that the food provided is nutritious and a healthy eating environment is promoted. This is also an ideal setting from which to liaise with families about these important issues.

However, mine and others research has shown that, for a number of reasons, providing nutritious food and promoting a healthy eating environment is not always an easy task for early years educators. WA research from the mid-1990’s established a need for more training and support for the early years industry and from this, the Start Right Eat Right accreditation scheme was implemented. However, whilst running successfully for a number of years in WA and then SA, the scheme lost government funding after the introduction of the National Quality Standards and is no longer operational.

Additionally, anecdotal evidence from educators attending an early years mini-conference in 2011 reiterated this already well known need for more training and better support to enable the provision of nutritious food. Early years directors, food coordinators and educators reported that it was important to them to be able to provide nutritious food, but they did not always have the skills or knowledge to do so.

The first part of my PhD project kept this in mind and set out to establish what early years educators needed to support them in providing a healthy eating environment for the children in their care. An online nutrition-specific resource was thought to be appropriate as the majority of Australian’s have access to and use the internet regularly. It is also a commonly used method for delivering health promotion programs.

Results from the first phase of the project, which involved interviews with 48 educators in WA, established that they were concerned about children’s food preferences, fussy eating and parental influences on the children’s diets. Whilst the educators I interviewed all expressed a very positive attitude towards providing a healthy eating environment, some also expressed their concerns about their own ability and confidence to discuss or teach basic nutrition concepts. There were also concerns about being able to access reliable, accurate nutrition resources via the internet. Educators regularly used the internet to search for nutrition information but readily acknowledged that they could not be sure of the accuracy of the information they found. They also expressed an interest in networking with other centres as a means of sharing ideas and strategies and offering support to others, in an online setting.

In addition to the interviews, a consultancy group was also established. This was comprised of key stakeholders from the industry, such as education services directors, early childhood experts from ECU and other key organisations such as Ngala, Child Australia and Meerilinga. This group also provided valuable insight into the needs of the early years sector, and how to best promote the website once developed.

Armed with this information, and given that the majority of educators access the internet on a regular basis, the research team set about developing the website and the ‘Supporting Nutrition for Australian

Childcare Insight


Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare By: Ruth Wallace

Childcare’ or ‘SNAC’ website was launched on 1st August 2013. The site was initially rolled out to WA long day care services but has since been made available to all types of early years services Australia wide.

The SNAC website provides reliable and accurate nutrition-specific resources, together with online activities. These are designed to up-skill educators about basic nutrition concepts and increase their confidence when teaching these to children and discussing them with the parents. For example, there are many fact sheets covering topics such as dealing with fussy eating, allergies and food label reading – and many, many more. There are also links to other key organisations such as Child Australia, Nutrition Australia and the Heart Foundation.

Ideas for healthy eating activities are offered too. These are designed to help educators with planning activities that promote healthy eating, but are not necessarily focused around mealtimes or eating. For example, there is a water pouring activity that allows toddlers to practice this sometimes messy activity outside, thus building up their own confidence, but also providing the educator with an opportunity to promote drinking water as the healthy option.

Other examples include growing carrot tops, the ‘Eat for Health’ game and ‘Plant Investigators’, which are all linked to healthy eating and sustainability.

A bank of menu planning resources such as menu planning checklists and sample 2 week menu plan are also available to download, together with a raft of nutritious and child-specific recipes. These have been designed and tested specifically for the early years setting. The online activities offered are brief videos and quizzes, which cover topics such as menu planning, basic nutrition concepts and food label reading. These are useful for brushing up on nutrition knowledge and

certificates of completion are available for personal development folders if requested.

It is important to note that these resources and activities are not designed to replace the existing mandatory training but to add value, by offering current and accurate nutrition information wrapped in support.

Lastly, there are a series of discussion boards on the SNAC website (found under the ‘community’ tab), which are designed for educators to share their ideas and strategies and to seek support from the SNAC team and other educators. For example, there is an ‘Ask the Nutritionist’ forum, in which educators are able to pose those tricky nutrition questions that nobody seems to have the answer to. By posing their question on this forum, they will receive an accurate answer, rather than having to trawl the internet and sift through a mountain of information which may or not be correct. The added advantage of posting this question and answer on the forum is that others are then able to share in that information. For example, we ran a forum where we asked educators to share a common food myth they have heard of and then provided them with a correct answer. We had all sorts of queries from the negative effects of artificial sweeteners to ‘does an apple a day really keep the doctor away?’ Check out the SNAC website for the answers! www.snacwa.com.au

There are now over 500 registered users on the SNAC website. Educators are being actively encouraged to access the community forums, and to engage with me and their colleagues, with the aim of building a valuable professional network and fostering a sense of community within the early years industry. The SNAC team encourages you to register as a user and to help us develop this valuable and important early years resource. Your feedback is also highly valuable to the research team, so if you come across something on the site that you like or don’t like, please feel free to leave your feedback. If you require a particular resource that you cannot find on the website, please let the SNAC team know, and we will endeavour to find something to meet your requirements.

Whilst this is a research project, and you are required to register with some personal information, it is monitored by ECU’s Ethics Committee, so your confidentiality is assured at all times. You can even choose a user name that does not reveal your true identity, if this is what you prefer.

Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare By: Ruth Wallace - continued

22

Supporting Nutrition for Australian Childcare By: Ruth Wallace - continued

On a final note, I would like to thank all the ‘snacers’ who have been a part of this project from the start and who have worked with the SNAC team to get us this far. Please do take 5 minutes to register, as we are sure you would also enjoy being part of the SNAC community. Find us at: www.snacwa.com.au

Ruth Wallace has a Bachelor of Health Science (Health Promotion/Nutrition) with Honours, and is an Associate Nutritionist (registered with the Nutrition Society of Australia). She is also a PhD candidate and sessional tutor at Edith Cowan University and sits on the Committee of Management for Nutrition Australia (WA Division) where she engages with voluntary work, offering presentations, cooking demonstrations and other activities, covering all aspects of community nutrition, including early years.

www.snacwa.com.au

about us

» Australia’s largest education recruitment provider since 1993

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transfers and global networking in order to meet skills

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» member of the RCSA (governing recruitment authority)

» assist in the education of 120,000 children every day

convenient ways to place bookings

P: (08) 9320 1688

M: 0428 252 456

E: [email protected]

www.randstadeducation.com.au

why

Randstad EducationchooseOur mission is to shape the world of education through providing highest quality educators and maintain our best practice recruiter status.

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RAN6440.53.PerthAd.PRINT.indd 1 20/05/2014 11:00 amChildcare Insight


Stress in the Workplace By: Chris Barrett

Stress in the workplace is a growing concern for employees and employers in Australia. Figures show that while compensation claims made by Australian employees has fallen significantly, the number of stress related claims have almost doubled!! (source: Medibank)

Stress can also impact employee productivity and can increase absenteeism levels. A new phenomenon called “pre absenteeism”, is imposing a direct economic cost on employers. Pre absenteeism is when people actually turn up to work but are distracted by stressful thoughts, anxiety or overwhelming pressure and are ineffective, like they are actually “absent”. They can pose a serious threat to productivity, workplace safety and the reputation of your business.

Stress-related pre absenteeism and absenteeism are costing the Australian Economy $14.81 billion a year. This also directly cost employers $10.11 billion a year.

Medibank-commissioned research found:

• Healthy employees are three times more productive than unhealthy employees;

• Unhealthy employees take nine times more sick leave than healthy employees.

• Pre absenteeism costs $25.7 billion annually;

• On average, six working days of productivity are lost per year per employee due to pre absenteeism.

To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses. Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things to do right now”), even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?

Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy”)

Smart employers will ensure their staff learn to identify and address their stress levels, both inside and outside the workplace.

Here are five ways to bring more balance to a daily routine:

1. Build downtime into your schedule. When you plan your week, make it a point to schedule time with your family and friends and activities that help you recharge. If a date night with your spouse or a softball game with friends is on your calendar, you’ll have something to look forward to and an extra incentive to manage your time well.

2. Drop activities that sap your time or energy. Many people waste their time on activities or people that add no value -- eg, spending too much time at work with a colleague who is constantly venting and gossiping. You may even be able to leave work earlier if you make a conscious effort to limit the time you spend on the web and social media sites, making personal calls, or checking a bank balance.

3. Rethink your errands. Consider whether you can outsource any of your time-consuming household chores. Could you order your groceries online and have them delivered? Hire a kid down the street to mow your lawn? Have your dry cleaning picked up and dropped off at your home or office? Order your stamps online so you don’t have to go to the post office? Even if you’re on a tight budget, you may discover that the time you’ll save will make it worth it.

4. Get moving. It’s hard to make time for exercise when you have a jam-packed schedule? Experts say that it may ultimately help you get more done by boosting your energy level and ability to concentrate.

5. Remember to relax. Don’t assume that you need to make big changes to bring more balance to your life. Try setting realistic goals, like trying to leave the office earlier one night per week. Slowly build more activities into your schedule that are important to you. Start a manageable exercise routine, (15-30 minutes). Make a point of adding yourself into your calendar!!!

24

DISCOVERING…The World through our senses By Darlene Wadham and Samantha Sutton

Our senses allow us to experience and explore our world. We learn and understand our world by what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Understanding how each of our five senses, combined with the vital senses of the Vestibular (balance) and Proprioception (body position), is essential for development and growth.

Sensory development begins in the womb and continues through life. Senses develop at different rates and can be dependent on experiences. Balance is the first of all senses to develop, as every mothers movement is felt in the womb. Once born, babies have no awareness of sound, movement, touch or sight; each is ‘fused together as a single experience or feeling’*.

SIGHTSight is the least developed of all the senses when a baby is born. Newborns only see blurry shapes. By 3 months, they will start to recognise familiar faces, even at a distance. They are most focussed when the object is 20-35cm away, for example during feeding. As they are still developing the ability to differentiate colours, they depend on the contrast of light and dark shades to distinguish colour and form. Strong visual extremes such as black, white and red colours captivate and will hold a baby’s attention longer and encourage visual development. As their vision improves, babies have better eye coordination and will start tracking moving objects. Providing visual stimulation to newborns is critical to the development of the vision centre of the brain and the optic nerve.

Support visual stimulation with:

• Mirrors - babies love looking at themselves.

• Books with bright colours and obvious shapes.

• Black and White contrasting items with strong geometric patterns.

• Bright, highly visual mats during tummy time

• Hanging mobiles for babies beginning to learn to track.

SOUNDBabies begin to hear while they are still in the womb; sounds from within their mother’s bodies, and those that come from the outside world. Babies recognise frequently heard sounds - including their mother’s voice and music, and prefer them after birth**. By three months, babies begin to look directly toward sounds and may gurgle in an attempt to communicate.

Support auditory stimulation by:

• Singing to help them learn about volume, tone and pitch.

• Mimic their sounds and encourage them to mimic yours.

• Play music to suit the mood – soothing for bedtime, active for play time. Music played whilst baby was in the womb may also be comforting.

• Introduce rattles and musical instruments such as drums and shakers.

• Talk as you go about everyday activities like dressing, changing nappies and bathing. This will help build foundations for speech and language.

TASTE AND SMELLTaste and smell offer ways to experience the world and often stimulate an emotional response - think of the taste of homemade cake or smell of the sea breeze. Newborns prefer sweeter smells and tastes. Their sense of flavour is a combination of both the taste and smell perception. Unlike other senses, taste diminishes as we mature but does offer us the ability to differentiate tastes better. Introducing a range of foods early will build on this development and help discourage fussy eating. The development of taste and smell also serves to protect us from dangers like poisons or fire.

Support taste and smell development by:

• Use pieces of fabric with familiar scents e.g. mother’s smell to help babies settle

• Expose babies to new foods early and often. Include different textures.

• Go outside, explore the garden and smell different flowers, herbs and plants.

• Talk about smells and tastes – “this smells/tastes sweet, sour, bitter or yummy”.

• Provide toys for babies that they can safely explore with their mouth. Always ensure that toys are clean and don’t pose a choke hazard.

Childcare Insight


TOUCHBabies like to reach for and touch everything! They explore the world around them by experiencing how things feel: soft, hard, squishy, warm or cold.

Touch begins in the womb and is probably the most developed of all the senses when a baby is born. Our skin is the largest organ as such we are sensitive to active touch experiences. Research has proven the importance of touch in a child’s development. “Numerous studies have shown that infants deprived of touch contact (in early infancy) become lonely, isolated and troublesome children***”. Personal connection through touch helps babies to feel secure and loved.

Support development with:

• Hugs and gentle touching, stroking and massage.

• Rhymes that touch baby’s fingers and toes – Round and Round the Garden and This Little Piggy are two favourites.

• Introduction of different textures and temperatures: soft feathers, hard blocks, the cool feel of a window or wet washer.

• Discussing how the different textures/temperatures feel as you go about every day activities. Babies connect words to what they learn through their senses, helping both hearing and speech development.

• Getting Messy! Goop, playdough, and water play are fantastic for babies - Always under supervision of course.

Each child has a different sensory response. Some may have senses that are more heightened and may not react well to loud noises or certain textures. Provide an environment that does not overstimulate but supports and nurtures the senses. * Sally Goddard Blythe, “Why our children roll and tumble” First Steps magazine (Australia). Issue 13** Lois Barclay Murphy, PHD, with Rachel Moon, MD, ”babies and their senses”, Zero to Three Journal*** Dr. Lin Day 2008 “ Baby Sensory The power of Touch”

DISCOVERING…The World through our senses By Darlene Wadham and Samantha Sutton - continued

26

Raising the bar By: Jennie Magenta

When we were children, we thought, acted, and spoke like children. When we became adults, we grew up and put childish ways behind us (well some of us did!)Our own personal lives change as we grow older. Why should our careers and jobs be any different?

There have been many changes in our industry over the years. Having the courage to learn and change may not necessarily make you happy or be easy, however with the right attitude and actions it will help you to further develop your skills and knowledge and continue to develop you personally and professionally. When you stop and look at what is happening in the industry, apart from the huge responsibilities of caring for children 3 months – 8 years and further on to 12 years, and the research around early brain development, it is evident that you do a very important job that requires a high standard of skills and knowledge to ensure the best outcomes for the children and families you serve. Even the terminology has changed. You are now referred to as ‘educators’. How does that make you feel?

As I speak with educators, I have become increasingly convinced that it is they who need to change the way they view their work role. Gone are the days of child minding and being labelled a ‘day care worker’; looking after children has become serious business. Whilst the amount of change and growth in our sector presents us with great opportunities for increasing the quality of our services, adapting to and working positively with change and trying to keep up to date with theory and research is indeed a challenge. Professional development or as we like to call it , Career Development, when planned and implemented effectively, is a key tool that can be used to support educators, share successes and continuously improve our service delivery.

Staff need the understanding that a culture of continuous improvement leads to excellence and the development of new attitudes and skills which can be integrated into daily practice. However, services may often neglect the second goal of professional development, which requires that new ways and skills become a part of the vision, systems, policies, and daily life of the service. If not, many new ideas and innovations fade and are forgotten over time. When educators strive to accomplish the goals of professional development, children, families, staff members, and services reap the benefits.

We know from the evidence at home and abroad that the quality of staff is crucial in delivering high quality early childhood education and care. 17 hours is the average amount of time children spend in early childhood education and care. There are 13,899 approved services operating in Australia and 869,770 children are in approved early childhood education and care. (Source: Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations and ABS Australian Social Trend)

All of us learn throughout our lives. It starts from the day we are born. It is now recognised that the early years of life are the most important for learning. That’s when the foundations for the future are laid, and when we begin moving down the path that will take us through childhood, the teenage years and ultimately into adulthood. Maintaining the quality of early childhood educators is critical to these early years and therefore, any effort to improve their skills knowledge and our practices are an investment not a cost.

Jenni Magenta | Director

Axiom Training Corporation (Pty) Ltd [email protected]

PO Box 133, Mount Lawley, WA, 6929 Mobile: 0488 771 010

Childcare Insight


Raising the bar By: Jennie Magenta - continued

Are you an educator? Are you a Teacher? Do you work in a school? Do you work with children? Children’s services? Family day care?

Axiom Training Corporation Pty Ltd provides a wide range of professional development that is relevant, high quality and current to industry standards and practice.

Our Training team is made up of highly skilled, qualified industry specialists, with a passion to equip educators to be at the fore front of care and education practices in providing the best outcomes for children and families Australia wide. For convenience we can come to your service to speak at a staff meeting, or present at a professional development day.

2 hour workshopsEmbedding sustainability in practice

Today’s buzz word is ‘Sustainability’. But what does that exactly mean? To embed sustainability into our everyday work environment, means as educators we must believe it is an important issue, then we must role model this practice in everything we do. This workshop looks at adopting a ‘whole service’ approach and explores our conversations with children and finding creative ways to address sustainability.

Engaging environments in the early years

The environment is considered to be the third teacher. It is also the first impression

Made when entering program space. It tells others what we are doing.

The environment we are in affects our moods, ability to form relationships, effectiveness in work or play—even our health. In addition, the early childhood environment has a very crucial role in children’s learning and development. This workshop looks at creating play-based learning environments.

Creative expression

A fun interactive workshop where educators are able to explore the benefits of being creative and the experience of open ended activities.

Challenging behaviours

There are many factors that contribute to children’s behaviour. This workshop looks at strategies and considers the uniqueness, personality and skill development of children that can help us to understand behaviour.

Customised workshops

Our specialty is working with you to design specific training that is customised to your staff and service’s interest needs and context. We listen! therefore you maximise your valuable time by attending training that is relevant and interesting for everyone.

Professional Development days

Want an all-day seminar/training? Axiom Training Corporation Pty Ltd is able to assist. We are flexible and will endeavour to fit into your time frames.

Phone one of our consultants to discuss your needs.

Guest speakers

Looking for a guest speaker? Axiom Training Corporation Pty Ltd can visit your classroom students, community group or employees and speak on a wide range of topics, such as working with children, workplace health and safety, team work and Leadership.

Call us today to book a workshop!Mb: 048 8771 010

28

NAIDOC Week In The Classroom: A Before, During and After Approach By: JJ Stranan

Each year Australians celebrate the history, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during NAIDOC Week. The week’s events range from formal ceremonies to fun community entertainment, giving Australians from all walks of life an opportunity to acknowledge, support and learn more about Indigenous communities. Of course, you don’t have to attend an organised event to enjoy NAIDOC Week. Why not bring Indigenous cultures into your classroom with the use of themed stories, songs or creative arts? The resources you acquire or create with NAIDOC celebrations in mind can be used again and again to form part of your ongoing commitment to a vibrant and inclusive multicultural learning space.

Before As NAIDOC Week approaches, do a little research about its origins. There is a comprehensive website that outlines how the original National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee was formed and how the national week of celebration evolved: http://www.naidoc.org.au/. Prepare your NAIDOC Week celebrations by sourcing colourful, authentic Dreamtime stories for kids, traditional musical instruments, or posters that showcase Indigenous art and design. Each year a different theme is chosen for the week to reflect important issues. These themes provide an ideal springboard for developing activities to include within your curriculum – for NAIDOC Week and for the rest of the teaching year.

During During NAIDOC Week, the sky’s the limit for the ways in which you can help young children understand and express Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

• Help kids draw the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flags, and discuss the symbolism of the shapes and colours.

• Enjoy Dreamtime stories or Indigenous artworks.

• Research the meanings of Aboriginal place names in your area.

• Invite an Indigenous elder to do a Welcome to Country presentation at your school or kindy.

• Study the life story of a popular athlete or actor who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Young children make sense of the world through things that excite them – like music, food, animals and games.

All of these elements can be brought into play to celebrate the ancient history and the vital contemporary cultures of Indigenous Australians.

After One of the risks of any national week of acknowledgement is the temptation to ‘tick the boxes’, and then put those resources away until the following year. But understanding of one’s own cultural background and the diversity of cultures within Australia are now key outcome requirements of the Early Years Learning Framework, so multicultural education is increasingly an everyday part of life in the classroom. As you move on from your NAIDOC Week celebrations, consider leaving a few posters on the wall, or rotating Dreamtime tales through your regular story time sessions. Show children that we all have cultural stories to share and that our differences are something truly worth celebrating at any time of year.

NAIDOC Week is a wonderful chance to recognise the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our society.

Childcare Insight


There is a huge range of meaningful and exciting events to take part in, but it’s also possible to celebrate on a smaller scale using creative resources that can enhance the way you connect with diversity in the classroom, on a daily basis rather than just once a year.

NAIDOC Week In The Classroom: A Before, During and After Approach By: JJ Stranan - continued

30

World Cultural Celebrations

June 29th International Mud Day

http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/working-groups/nature/international-mud-day/

July 6-13th NAIDOC Week

http://www.naidoc.org.au/

http://www.naidocperth.org/

Books:

Me and My Dad by Sally Morgan and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

Loongie the Greedy Crocodile by Lucy and Kiefer Dann

Look See, Look At Me! By Leonie Norrington

The Old Frangipani Tree at Flying Fish Point by Trina Saffioti

August 16th – 22nd Book Week

http://cbca.org.au/

http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/libraries/

Childcare Insight

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