ACECQA Newsletter Issue 2 2020

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Support for bushfire-declared communities from the Australian Government

Updated emergency and natural disasters assistance webpage

The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s emergency and natural disaster assistance webpage continues to be updated with information and resources as they become available. Mental health support resources, including Beyond Blue’s Be You initiative and Emerging Minds’ Educators resource pack: Supporting children after bushfires, were recently added to the page.

Funding available for drought and bushfire affected services

To support recovery efforts for drought and bushfire affected communities, the Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) Special Circumstances program supports services affected by natural disasters, or unforeseen circumstances or viability issues that risk closure and consequential market failure for the community.

This program includes $5 million for services affected by bushfire and a further $5 million for services in drought affected areas.

Services may seek funds for a range of activities, for example establishing temporary child care premises, temporarily meeting operational costs and addressing health and safety requirements.

For more information and to apply, visit the CCCF Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity webpage.

Stay in the loop

For up-to-date information on emergency and natural disaster assistance from the Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment, as well as other important information, subscribe to the early childhood education and care email newsletter.

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Who’s who and what can we do?

Community partnerships based on consultation and collaboration contribute to children’s inclusion, learning and wellbeing (p248 Guide to the National Quality Framework).

What lasting impact can we have on the way children, families and community connect?

Quality Area 6 of the National Quality Standard (NQS): Collaborative partnerships with families and communities focuses on creating supportive, respectful relationships with families and communities. It recognises these as fundamental to achieving quality outcomes for children.

We know that establishing and maintaining authentic connections can help services build relationships with, and between, their children, families and community.

If you map your service’s existing connections and partnerships, which individuals, groups and organisations would be listed?  Are there gaps? Who is missing? How might you and your service community plan to make these connections and partnerships happen? 

Aligning with Outcomes 1 and 2 of the approved learning frameworks, Children have a strong sense of identity and Children are connected with and contribute to their world, building strong connections can result in many positive outcomes for children, families, educators and service leaders.

For example, opportunities exist to use these connections to enrich and inform the programs delivered, educator practices and service policies, as well as to support children to respect and value diversity and be active citizens in their community.

We have seen many examples of strategies used to identify, prioritise and build strong connections. For example, one service invited families to be part of a community focus group to identify issues in the local community of importance to the children and families (such as creating a useable path through a nearby park for prams and people with disabilities). Collaboratively, the group was able to identify some options for raising and resolving the issue.

Another service was contacted by the local council to contribute to the renovation of a community playground. Children drew and shared with council their ideas for the playground in the initial stages of the redevelopment. The children’s ideas informed the planning, designing and building of an inclusive skate park for young children and people with disabilities. The design included a flat wide path surrounding the skate bowl and a smaller area for beginners. Children also submitted a report to council promoting the inclusion of a bike path, which was accepted as part of a future redevelopment plan.

If you are in the early stages of developing community connections, you might like to consider: 

• Checking your local council website for upcoming opportunities to be involved. For example community health programs or proposed changes to local facilities such as the library
• Starting a conversation with local services to share children’s ideas and suggestions about possible improvements in the community
• Revisiting Quality Area 6 of the National Quality Standard for more information and suggestions
• Reading ‘It takes a village to raise a child’: The role of community We Hear You blog.

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Research

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Innovation

This new section of our newsletter will explore innovative practice and innovation in the sector. This month, we are exploring engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).

Exploring STEM and STEAM

Innovation is part of the continuous improvement journey, bringing fresh perspectives and original thinking to issues. Innovation is essential in a rapidly changing world and provides children with new ways to develop knowledge, skills, dispositions and capabilities supporting their capacity to thrive, and be life-long learners and innovators themselves.

Hands-on STEM/STEAM-based experiences are recognised for their potential to promote children’s creativity, inquiry, iteration, persistence and problem-solving capacity. Young children are naturally curious and STEM/STEAM learning is consistent within the holistic, play-based approach of the approved learning frameworks. The successful Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) initiative for children in preschool, and Little Scientists are great examples of STEM concepts and practices in action.

Jescott Montessori Preschool, an Excellent-rated service in South Australia, provides an example of a collaborative STEAM program in practice.  Families were interested in the STEAM programs being offered in their local primary schools, and spoke to the educators about what they could do to introduce it to their children. The service collaborated with families to introduce a project called Full STEAM Ahead. The project included professional conversations, family involvement in planning activities and seeking donations of recycled products for projects. Families also volunteered in the classroom to demonstrate applications and to assist with the construction of in-depth projects. The service supported their families’ interest in STEAM by:

• creating an experiment and resource guide to inspire and empower its families to conduct STEAM experiences at home. It includes simple steps and common ingredients found within the home.
• providing a STEAM DVD to each family. The DVD, made collaboratively with children for families, is a celebration of the service’s STEAM practices and includes examples of children’s learning during the project.

This project was recognised as one of the many exceptional practices identified in the process of awarding Jescott Montessori Preschool the Excellent Rating – the highest rating a service can receive. Find out more about their Excellent Rating.