Element 1.2.3

The following is an example of a Code of Conduct. These types of codes must be negotiated and agreed upon by the service. Please review your Code of Conduct and compare with the one below. Change or add accordingly to your services needs and requirements.

The Approved Provider, Nominated Supervisor, educators, staff members, volunteers and students will uphold the following ethical conduct principles at all times, and promote positive interactions within the Service and the local community.

1. Commitment to our Service philosophy and values, including the promotion of a meaningful connection to the NQF and best practice in early childhood education in partnership with our families
2. Effective, open and respectful two-way communication and feedback between employees, children, families and management
3. Honesty and integrity in all interactions between children, families, employees and managers
4. Consistency and reliability in all exchanges with children, families, employees and managers
5. Commitment to a workplace which values and promotes the safety, health and wellbeing of employees, volunteers, children and families.

Commitment to an Equal Opportunity workplace and culture which values the knowledge, experience and professionalism of all employees, team members and managers, and the diverse heritage of our families and children.

Why are you doing the checklist?

The practices identified in the checklist are what the assessor needs to see you do so they can check you’re ‘meeting the NQS.’ If you embed all the things in the checklist, then you are meeting the Element. If there’s something on the checklist that you’re not doing, then you need to either adjust your practice to do it, or ask for help and training to do what’s on the checklist ie work with your educational leader or room leader who should teach/coach you how to do it.

QIP’s need to have personalised stories about your practice so the assessor can ask you about why and how you do things. The sentences below can be used for Friday’s QIP writing section. Describe ‘how’ you are putting this question into practice

What Regulation goes with this NQS Element?

As there are no specific Regulations for Element 4.2.2 Professional Collaboration,  we suggest you watch this YouTube video which is also available as a podcast on services like Spotify. In this entertaining clip Celeste Headlee discusses the 10 ways to effectively engage in conversation:

1. Don’t multitask
2. Don’t pontificate – assume you have something to learn
3. Use open-ended questions – who , what, when, where, why or how
4. Go with the flow
5. If you don’t know, say you don’t know
6. Don’t equate your experience with theirs
7. Try not to repeat yourself
8. Stay out of the weeds -forget the names, dates, details
9. Listen – with the intent to understand
10. Be brief

Step 1 Critical Reflection
The EYLF and MTOP say “Critical reflection involves closely examining all  aspects of events and experiences from different perspectives.” There is no checklist for critical reflection, it is all about other peoples perspectives.

Select one or more from below or from the checklist to critically reflect upon:

• Do you and your team regularly assess your practice against the service philosophy?
• Would all staff agree you always keep confidential information about children, families and other staff private?
• Would all families and staff agree you’re always polite, respectful and professional when interacting with them or the children?
• Would all staff agree you’re always willing to try new ideas?

You have discovered where your practice is compared to the NQS Guide (comparing what you currently do and the checklist). This is the process of self-assessment. If you have discovered practices, processes, checklist areas you need to improve upon, write them below. This section will be copied into your QIP.

Tyrone’s mum was trying to tell me about her weekend when I was really busy organising an activity and supervising the children. I told her she’d have to leave and maybe I could talk with her later when I wasn’t so busy.

The green text is directly related to the meeting indicators for Element 4.2.2 on pages 220-221 of the NQS Guide

Tyrone’s mum was trying to tell me about her weekend when I (Miss Crystal) was really busy organising an activity and supervising the children. I said I’d love to hear more about what happened, and asked if she could come in 5 minutes earlier than usual to collect Tyrone when I’d have time to give her my full attention. She did and it was amazing hearing about their visit to Grandma’s house. Grandma tied squeezy bottles of paint from the ceiling with string and placed large sheets of ‘butcher’s’ paper on the floor so Tyrone could experiment with squeezing and moving the bottles to create unique masterpieces! I said that was a great idea and we would definitely be trying that with all our children. Thanks for sharing!

Below is a case study that demonstrates how the Exceeding themes 1 Embedded Practice, 2 Critical Reflection and 3 Meaningful engagement with families and communities link into practice. The blue text is based on or directly quotes the exceeding indicators in the NQS Guide pages 222-223.

Tyrone’s mum was trying to tell me about her weekend when I (Miss Crystal) was really busy organising an activity and supervising the children. Promoting open and respectful communication I said I’d love to hear more about what happened, and asked if she could come in 5 minutes earlier than usual to collect Tyrone when I’d have time to give her my full attention. She did and it was amazing hearing about their visit to Grandma’s house. I encouraged her to explain in detail how Grandma tied squeezy bottles of paint from the ceiling with string and placed large sheets of ‘butcher’s’ paper on the floor so Tyrone could experiment with squeezing and moving the bottles to create unique masterpieces! I said that was a great idea and we would definitely be trying that with all our children. Thanks for sharing! I made sure she saw all the children’s efforts and explained how much fun they’d had completing their artworks.

Use the below points to analyse your above exceeding example to see if you have included everything.

1. Write the room location into the strength. This will ensure the assessor knows where to look for your strengths.
2. Write the educator’s name into the strength. This will ensure the assessor knows who to ask about your strengths.
3. Include the child/children’s names in your strength. This will give educators confidence to talk about a subject they know about (the child/ren).
4. Evidence eg learning story, photo that’s easy to access.
5. Write how you are achieving the exceeding themes.
Embedded Practice
Critical Reflection
Engagement with families/community
6. Tell the assessor exactly where to find the location of other evidence they need to see to show how you’re exceeding.
7. Show the assessor the location and time of other practice they need to observe to show how you’re exceeding.

National Quality Framework Policy

We are covered by and value the National Quality Framework which includes the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), the National Education and Care Law and Regulations, and the National Quality Standard covering seven Quality Areas:

1. Educational program and practice
2. Children’s health and safety
3. Physical environment
4. Staffing arrangements
5. Relationships with children
6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
7. Governance and Leadership

Services are assessed and rated on their performance. Rating levels include excellent, exceeding, meeting, working towards and significant improvement required.

We are committed to the continuous improvement of our practices and seek and value input from families and our community, including in respect of our Quality Improvement Plan.