Create ‘Daily or Weekly Talking Points’ to give you direction and enable leadership

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Case Study: Daily Talking Points To Make Your Service Better

A service wanted to measure what they were doing well and in what areas they could improve. This was in order to monitor their practices and assess whether educators were really living the service’s philosophy in their everyday practice.

The service created Daily Talking Points that all staff in the service reflect on daily to ensure that their practices are meeting the standards of the service’s philosophy. Instead of putting a negative spin on things that the service wasn’t achieving, they wrote everything in a positive manner. This way they became goals to achieve rather than problems that needed addressing.

The service printed one set of points at a time and talked about them during their day. The educators tried to change their practice by implementing the points and sharing with other educators within the room and service how they were implementing the ‘Talking Points’.

Remember educators can’t always see where they can improve and may need some assistance from you by demonstrating, guiding and practicing with them. For example:

What the Room Leader observed that needed improving within the room	How the Room Leader communicated the improvements to educators in a positive way
Our environment is sometimes set up for what’s best for the educator and not the children	Creating enriched learning environment Our resources are set out to be inviting Our resources are rich in learning Children's learning and interest enhance the environment
Educators have been wearing tights to work and not the uniform pants	Our professionalism is always on show We play our roles as educators in our community We take pride in our appearance Our behaviour always reflects our professional role
Educators don’t take enough time to explain a child’s day to family members	Our Families are Our Most Important Asset We have three clients; the families, the children and the government We deliver care and education beyond their expectations We are friendly and anticipate their every need
We don’t always realise that we are here to run a business that needs to make money to cover costs such as wages and superannuation	We know we have three very distinct roles Our service as family Our service as a business Our service as a learning environment We know where our roles start and stop
Occasionally a broken piece of equipment is overlooked	We create the safest service We do our daily safety checklist with meaning We ensure all family members contribute to the safe service We immediately fix, repair and remove things that are not safe
Educators are not doing well implementing EYLF	We implement EYLF We sit, interact and play with children We build and follow upon children's leads to meet EYLF We interact with families to build the EYLF program
Educators aren’t completing paperwork correctly	Our documentation is always completed on time We will do our EYLF programming with the children We will work out innovative ways for children to help complete our documentation (and enhance their literacy skills We will work out innovative ways for families to help with our documentation
Educators sometimes miss opportunities to extend learning	We are always ready to teach We see every moment of the day as a learning opportunity We describe objects, ideas and experiences in great detail and remember children learn when we take the time If we don’t know the answer we see it as an opportunity to learn with the children
Educators are possessive of “their” programming ideas, rather than celebrating them as an achievement for the room	Educators share their EYLF experiences with other educators as part of our professional development We trust educators to support, collect and share great EYLF examples throughout the service We enjoy and celebrate EYLF by sharing We are enthusiastic participants in our in services and training sessions
Cleaning rosters aren’t always adhered to	Cleanliness of our environment is a part of our success All areas are clean There are no revolting smells Children are kept clean
Educators are shy to answer questions about the service on the phone or in person	What We Do All Day Counts In Growing Our Business We recognise that new families come from word of mouth We recognise that new families come from observing our conduct We treat all people in the community as a potential lead to a new family
Educators could know our policies and procedures better so they can answer their own questions	We Measure Our Ability To Perform Against The Regulations, NQS and the Policies We know our policies and regulations by regularly referring to our simplified Regs notes Educators will take responsibility for knowing the NQS and Regs
Too often, new Educators are left to figure things out for themselves. We need a better Induction procedure.	Valuing New Educators It is up to each of us to warmly welcome new families and educators to our service It is important that each of us helps new team members to understand NQS, Regs, EYLF and policies We will do all we can to help new educators and staff understand and value our culture
Educators aren’t paying enough attention to what’s going on in the service	All Of Us At the service Know a Lot About Our Service and Local Community We always know what training and in-services are happening and we will attend to get the most out of our profession We read our bulletin and keep up-to-date with all correspondence We can direct families to local support units and agencies We can support educators with further training and resources
Families could be more involved in the service	We Are Proactive In meeting Expectations Of Our Families and Community We understand how to meet the service’s commitment to children and families We regularly ask families for feedback and take on suggestions We inform the scheme of any families concerns and suggestions The Nominated Supervisor takes on and acts on feedback from educators
Taylor’s mother complained about finding paint all over his jumper in his bag. She didn’t care about the jumper but no one told her when she picked him up for the day.	We Handle All Damages And Loss To Children's Property Promptly We inform parents promptly
A child wearing nappies is brought to the service regularly in his nappy from the previous night. Adele is always still hungry after she has eaten what’s in her lunchbox. It’s not enough.	We inform parents about our expectations regarding children's health hygiene and wellbeing. The educator is entitled to charge parents when insufficient food and clothing supplied We promptly inform both parents and Nominated Supervisor when a child's health or hygiene needs are not met We report and document immediately when are child is injured We report and document child protection concerns immediately to the Nominated Supervisor
The educators are embracing EYLF and getting better at it.	We are “The Very Best Educators …. Guaranteed” We consistently identify and build upon each child's strengths, skills, knowledge and understanding We document each child's development towards and through the EYLF learning outcomes We purposefully present toys, equipment materials in a stimulating way to children that builds skills, knowledge and understanding
There are sometimes harsh words exchanged between our office staff and the educators. They each believe they’re more important	We are always positive about our work, our service, our families and our educators We are courteous and polite to our educators We are courteous and polite to our back of house staff (admin assistants, cooks etc) We are courteous and polite to our families
Educators keep quiet about things that could be improved	We always represent the service We are ambassadors of the service at which we work, inside and outside of the workplace We speak positively of the service and encourage “Only the Best” of our friends and family to join our team We share our concerns about the service with our Nominated Supervisor We maintain confidentiality at all times
The families aren’t aware of our policies and procedures	We orientate our families to the service’s practices and procedures We build trust and relationships with the child that are warm caring and supportive that extends to the families We consistently remind families about policies and procedures
We could be more respectful of our employees. They are referral networks for the service too	We treat all of our employees like customers Treating others with respect creates a positive work environment We are a mirror of how others will react reflecting back to us
We could incorporate more of the children’s cultural backgrounds into our service	We are respectful of each family’s values and culture We acknowledge the community and its context We consider each families perspective and encourage families to share their knowledge of their child We assist each family to develop a sense of belonging
Educators don’t follow procedures when equipment breaks	We do a risk management of all environments children will be in We notify educators immediately of hazards, injuries, equipment failures or assistance we may need We practice safe work habits
A new parent commented that our service is a bit dirty and the toys look old	We maintain all of our equipment and the service in good repair We keep all our equipment and room looking and operating like new All signs and house numbers are prominent We are proud of our service
We don’t need to stop just because the job is done. We need to keep learning and improving	“Good Enough Never Is” We keep our standards and look for innovative ways to improve We embrace change, seeing new ideas as additional building blocks for our success We learn from our mistakes and move on to better ways
Nice comments we hear from grateful parents don’t always get passed on to all educators	We are proud of our team Proud but not prideful, we accept criticisms and positive comments humbly We celebrate success and do our work the service’s way When we hear good things about the service and educators we share the feedback with all

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