Element 6.2.1: Transitions

National Law and National Regulations underpinning Element 6.2.1 Section 175 Offence relating to requirement to keep enrolment and other documents

What Element 6.2.1 aims to achieve

Transitions in early childhood education settings occur:

• from home to the education and care setting
• between rooms and groups in a setting
• between settings
• from education and care settings to school
• between routines and experiences.

Transitions offer opportunities and challenges for children as different spaces and settings have different purposes, expectations and practices. Working collaboratively with families, other educators, and other professional services, educators support children to actively prepare for transitions between settings and experiences by:

• helping children to understand the expectations, routines and practices of different settings, and building resilience to feel comfortable with the process of change
• sharing information about each child’s learning, strengths and interests to support educators in a new setting or group to build on these foundations
• building on children’s prior and current experiences to help them to feel secure, confident and connected in their new setting or group (Early Years Learning Framework, p. 16; Framework for School Age Care, p. 16).

Assessment guide for meeting Element 6.2.1 (for all services)

Supporting smooth transitions

Assessors may observe:

• children:
  • experiencing positive transitions within the service, between services and between the service, home, preschool/kindergarten and/or school

being supported and appropriately supervised when being transported to or from the service by car, bus, train, tram or on foot

educators on different shifts in centre-based services communicating with each other about: children’s experiences earlier in the day information shared by families about their child.

Assessors may discuss:

• the strategies in place to ensure:
  • children are supported when:
    • moving from one group to another
    • moving between settings
    • returning to the service after an absence
    • transitioning between routines and experiences

they arrive at the service at short notice or unexpectedly

• excursions are positive and safe learning experiences for children
• the strategies and processes used to support:
  • children’s positive transition to formal schooling
  • children requiring additional support in their transition to school and to specialist services
• how road safety education and any active transport initiatives are incorporated into the program
• how families are involved in decision-making regarding transitions within the service (for example children moving to a different educator, room or group)

how: information from families about their child’s attendance/non-attendance at the service is communicated to educators responsible for transitioning children between school and the service information is shared between educators working in the before-school and after-school components of the service the service works with families to support and manage children’s attendance at extracurricular and sporting activities

processes in place to ensure families are able to access alternative education and care if their usual educator is unavailable.

Assessors may sight:

• examples of summaries of the child’s progress towards the learning outcomes when transitioning between different age settings
• examples of plans and statements to assist children in making positive transitions from the service to formal schooling
• written procedures for releasing children from the service and ensuring that they are released only to authorised nominees
• records of children’s arrivals and departures, with the signature of the person responsible for verifying the accuracy of the record and the identity of the person collecting the child

evidence that in centre-based services, shifts are planned to maximise continuity of education and care for children

documented procedures for transitioning children between school and the service, including a procedure that addresses enrolled children who have not arrived at the service.