admin, Author at victorianchildcarecentre

August 8, 2020

1.1.2 Child-centred

Each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests are the foundation of the program.

Go through the checklist and be honest so your Educational Leader and Nominated Supervisor know how to help you be the best.

E = Embedded, yes, I do that ALL the time.
K = We know we need to do that, but we don’t do
it all the time.
T = Please teach me how to do it or improve my understanding of why we need to do it.

Curriculum and Children’s Participation	Edu
Do you connect creative activities like painting and drawing to children's families and community eg children draw a representation of their family or family life at the beach, pool, picnic etc?
Do you connect co-ordination, balance, strength and flexibility activities to children's families and community eg sport family members play?
Do you connect language, reading, writing, spelling, letters, word sounds, literacy and number activities to children's families and community eg visits to restaurants/coffee shops or setting the table for dinner etc?
Does the sensory and messy play come from the local natural environment? eg paper bark from a nearby tree, gumnuts from the outside tree?
Do you explore negotiating and co-operative activities and decision making in a way that represents real life eg waiting in a line to see a movie?
Do you use everyday language to extend vocabulary, mathematics and science concepts eg "We’re wiping the tables. Look at the edge. This edge makes the shape of a circle. What does the edge of the other table make?"
Do you connect nutrition and healthy eating activities to children’s culture and family meals?
Do you connect children to their family heritage eg by using maps, stories, words spoken at home?
Do you ask children questions to see what they think a book could be about from the front cover and title (and then identify the illustrator, author, title, cover, first page, date book was published)?
Do you change the tone and expression of our voice while reading stories to engage and stimulate children’s interest?
Do you change your teaching strategies to help children who learn in different ways eg visual, auditory and tactile learners?
Do you help children join group activities?
Do you have daily conversations with families to exchange information about children’s lives and learning?
Do you encourage children to plan activities and experiences?
Can children access resources and equipment without always asking an adult for help?
Do you work with support providers/professionals when appropriate to help children achieve developmental and learning outcomes?

Cody asked the children to pull the tape measure and read the numbers to measure a sting ray, a pin board and different sizes of tape which the children did with increasing skill and confidence. The children put the tape measure on the items, and Cody said make sure we get the zero at the top of the item to get a correct measurement. The children were persistent when overcoming new challenging experiences, by making sure they moved the tape measure to make sure the zero was at the top. Cody motivated and encouraged the children to succeed when they faced the new challenges, trying to get the measurements right by moving the tape measure into the right position.

Today toddler 2 were provided with dominoes as a different way of representing numbers.

Charlee spread the dominoes over a table and asked the children to pick out specific numbers, creating an experience that encouraged them to investigate and solve problems. Emily and Ellie were able to apply their mathematical knowledge and problem-solving skills as they helped each other count the dots on the domino pieces. Matilda enjoyed matching the dominoes together and lined them up along the table.

Charlee displayed how dominoes were set up and then gave each child a turn at pushing them down. Building towers with the dominoes also became a favourite as Ellie and Emily tried to see how high they could get theirs before it fell.

Domino Learning – Extension on Tuesday

Miss Charlee has used dominoes as a way of mathematical learning and to show different representation of numbers to the children. Charlee recognised the mathematical understandings the children had, for example basic counting, and built on this by encouraging the children to build towers and count each brick that was used. Carter had noticed that for each small tower, 3 pieces are needed, and he soon started to line the pieces up and count out 3 for Charlee to put together. Once the tower was built, Charlee encouraged Carter to count how many pieces were used all up. Nella used the trial and error method to overcome the challenge of building a high tower. Charlee gave encouragement and explained the steps by demonstrating and saying ‘2 tall walls then a roof on top’ which Nella soon started to repeat until she built a two-story tower.

Exceeding Theme Core

All educators work collaboratively with the educational leader, and regularly engage with families and the community, to consistently develop and implement a purposeful and responsive educational program that reflects and builds on the knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests of each child. All educators regularly reflect on how these characteristics have evolved for each child, and use this understanding to develop the educational program.

Where is your practice compared to the above statement?

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August 8, 2020

1.1.1 Approved learning framework

Curriculum decision-making contributes to each child’s learning and development outcomes in relation to their identity, connection with community, wellbeing, confidence as learners and effectiveness as communicators

Firstly, what is in a curriculum? The EYLF explains it perfectly.

Curriculum:
in the early childhood setting curriculum means ‘all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events, planned and unplanned, that occur in an environment designed to foster children’s learning and development’. EYLF Page 9

The second part of the element 1.1.1 comes directly from the five learning outcomes in the EYLF.

(a) the child will have a strong sense of identity;
(b) the child will be connected with and contribute to his or her world;
(c) the child will have a strong sense of wellbeing;
(d) the child will be a confident and involved learner;
(e) the child will be an effective communicator.

You will see the above is the five Learning Outcomes from the EYLF. The EYLF gives educators the exact ways to make these curriculum decisions by giving us the right-hand side indicators.

“Educators promote this learning, for example, when they:”

Above copied from the EYLF book

With this knowledge the element is easy to exceed in with a simple two-part process. Firstly, look at what makes curriculum, then use the right -hand side of the EYLF Learning Outcomes for the decision.

Below is an example from ‘interactions ‘

We will represent the right-hand side of the EYLF learning Outcomes showing what the educator is doing to extend children’s knowledge in blue type. This is your planning/decision process and it shows how you meet element 1.1.1

The Slippery slide

Today Iylah, Charlie and Zayne used the foam blocks as a slippery slide. They transferred knowledge from one setting to another by recognising the shape of the blocks to be the same as a slide.

Sam sat with the children assisting them and talking to them as they shared happiness and humour with each other. Iylah climbed to the top of the block as Sam assisted her to slide down while sitting. Charlie knew he wanted to slide on his belly. He laid down and giggled as he slid to the bottom.

Iylah watched Charlie slide on his belly and wanted to try. She held her hand out towards Sam for assistance. Sam supported Iylah to construct multiple solutions to problems and use different ways of thinking by encouraging her to work out how to move to lay on her belly to slide down the block by herself. Sam suggested Iylah move backwards to make room for her hands to support her to turn around. Iylah had many turns at the slide and experimented with different ways to go. Learning outcome 4.2, 4.3 & 3.1

Look at the examples and start writing like this to show how you are meeting element 1.1.1.

Curriculum – Interactions

Today Sam (Educator), Carter and Adrian used the open ended resources to investigate, take apart, assemble, invent and construct their ideas and made a game. Sam and Adrian worked together to make a ramp out of the planks. Carter saw the opportunity to use this as a ramp to push down some open ended resources like a yoghurt tub which was square in shape. Sam provided Carter and Adrian with exploratory experiences with natural and processed materials.

When the yoghurt tub didn’t roll but slide down the ramp Sam provided Carter and Adrian with round tin cans, rocks, pinecones, milk lids, pom-poms and coffee cup lids to experiment and see if each resource rolled or slid down the makeshift plank ramp.

Adrian and Carter took turns at putting resources down the ramp and cheered each time the resource rolled down.

Learning outcome: 4.4

This morning in our outside playground Slader, Sarah and Aria initiated and joined in play experiences with their peers.

While sitting at the table Miss Ashlee suggested that the children put some sand on the table to draw. “Draw?” Aria repeated as she got a handful of sand and placed it on the table. Slader and Sarah then picked up a handful of sand also. Miss Ashlee spent time interacting and conversing with each child as she asked the children what pictures they were drawing. “Rainbow” Sarah said excitedly. “Patterns” Aria screamed with a big grin on her face. After Joey saw his friends having so much fun drawing he decided to join in. Both Joey and Slader shared smiles with Miss Ashlee.

Trial and Error
During group time Sam showed Nate, Patrick, Eva and Archie how static electricity works. Sam blew up a balloon and ripped up pieces of paper to create the activity.

Sam intentionally scaffolded the children’s understanding of static electricity by modelling scientific language, and talking to the children about how it works by charging the balloon up with friction using hair or fabric fibres where we can see it working as it attracts hair particles, and picks up pieces of paper.

To show the children how friction works, Sam demonstrated this by using the balloon, rubbed on hair which we saw it lift the hair pieces and lift the paper. Nate used the trial and error method to create friction by rubbing the balloon on his hair to lift the paper. When the paper didn’t lift he rubbed the balloon on his hair and asked Sam to help him. Sam provided assistance to help Nate create friction to lift the paper. He was quite excited to see he had created enough static electricity to cause the paper to stick to the balloon.

Who is in the box?

This morning Toddler 2 experienced hiding inside a large box. At first the children explored it. Then Cherie (educator) encouraged the children to take turns at being ‘Jack in the Box.’ When the flaps of the box were opened the child popped up and everyone said the child’s name. The children co-operated and worked collaboratively with the educator. Cherie showed genuine affection, understanding and respect for each child. Aaron, Eli, Eden, Ava and Kloe didn’t want to hop out of the box when their turn was up. The aim of the game was to promote listening and response to verbal cues. It also gave experience at turn taking as the children had to learn to wait for their turn.

Curriculum – Experiences

This morning while outside toddler 2 actively participated in group experiences and showed interest in their peers, while using their physical skills to engage in running races.

We began by running backwards and then we pretended to be different animals. When we were tigers the children began using their hands as claws and roaring like one as well. We soon then changed to elephants and the children would lift their arms up and pretend they were trunks swaying in the breeze.

Emma and Cody (educators) would model explict communication strategies to support children to initiate interactions and join in play and social experiences in ways that sustained productive relationships with other children. When monkeys we scratched under our arms and lastly, we slithered like snakes.

Emma and Cody provided a range of active and restful experiences throughout the morning and supported the children to make the appropriate decisions regarding participation. Emma

Curriculum – Routines

As a part of or daily routine we Olivia, Emma (educator) and Rachel (educator) watered the strawberries. Rachel enabled Olivia to care for and learn from the land. We talked to her and showed her how and why we water the plants so they can grow big and strong to produce flowers and fruit for us to eat.

Olivia felt the water as it spilled out from the spout with her hand. She giggled and said “cold.” She looked at Emma who smiled back as she formed a connection with educators.

Olivia explores the relationship with other living and non-living things by understanding that we as living things, need to water the plants so they can produce food for us. Olivia also explored the relationship between the non-living gardening tools needed to keep the living plants alive as they assist and provide care for it.

Exercise routine

Our normal exercise routine was moved indoors today because it was wet and cold so Kymmy and Emma organised dance. The educators provided resources that enabled the children to express meaning using dance. The children used dance to express ideas and make meaning. We danced to the children’s favourite Baby Shark and some old favourites like Hokey Pokey. We went on to play musical chairs and pass the parcel. These games taught us spatial awareness and accentuated our listening skills.

Curriculum – Planned Activities

To extend upon the children’s interest in counting and numbers Miss Kymmy J gave the children some dice to roll. Ariah after rolling the dice was counting the numbers on them. Kymmy J recognises mathematical understandings that children bring to learning and builds on these in ways that are relevant to each child by drawing up a copy of the dots in the same pattern as the dice on an A4 piece of paper. Lydiah was able to apply her mathematical knowledge to problem solving, by helping Ariah, showing her which number matched her dice on the paper. When it was Lydiah’s turned she was very confident and told Ariah she didn’t need help. Chase was keen to have a go at rolling the dice and matching the numbers up too.

The children are enjoying the counting activities in the room.

Extending on mathematical ideas

This morning toddler two participated in a different activity with measuring different items from around the room.

Exceeding Theme Core

All educators work collaboratively with the educational leader, and regularly engage with families and the community, to consistently make curriculum decisions which maximise learning and development outcomes for every child in relation to their identity, connection with community, wellbeing, confidence as learners and effectiveness as communicators. All educators regularly reflect on practices to ensure they support the rights of every child to participate and achieve learning outcomes.

Where is your practice compared to the above statement?

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August 7, 2020

How do you know if you are doing a good job?

4.2.1, 4.2.2, 6.1.2

We need to open a space and time to allow our team to communicate. Firstly you are going to discover what your educators think of your room leading skills. Secondly you are going to give feedback to your educators regarding their skills and plan for them to improve.
Room Leader: Ask the following question of each educator in your team.
Do you feel I have coached you to develop partnerships with families eg so you feel confident to share information with them about their child’s learning, to take parents to the curriculum wall and discuss activities, to encourage parents to share information about their child, home routines, daily lives and weekends to create curriculum?

Educator’s Names	strongly agree	agree	neutral	disagree	strongly disagree	Educator’s comments
Courtney	I get very nervous

Educators: Ask the following question of your Room Leader.
After I greet parents, do you feel I have good conversations with them about things like their jobs or hobbies, how their day’s been, what their child learnt, who they played with, their child’s activities and interests outside the service, what’s happening at the family home?

Educator’s Names

strongly agree

agree

neutral

disagree

strongly disagree

Room Leader’s comments

August 7, 2020

How to identify goals to work on – Goal template

Identifying and working to achieve goals is a simple way to help people improve.

The following goals are examples and not an exhaustive list. We suggest you develop goals based on the issues or problems you’re having in your room/service.

Relationships with Children

1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.3, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 6.1.2, 6.2.1

Show children by our actions they can trust us and that we’re always there for them
Improve the quality and amount of information on children and families we share with team members
Increase our expectations for all children and consistently encourage them
Reflect on whether we’re really including each child’s interests in the curriculum
Look for the reasons children act inappropriately and never blame the child
Change teaching practices to work with each child’s strengths and preferred learning styles
Include children in setting rules for the room and outdoor play area
Focus more on teaching children about emotions and feelings
Increase interactions with children who are quieter and less outgoing than other children
Include more activities which are based on children’s cultures and heritage
Implement home visit program for new and current children

Relationships with Families

6.1.1. 6.1.2, 6.1.3, 6.2.1, 6.2.2, 6.2.3

Learn to confidently talk to all parents at drop off and pick up times
Learn all parents’ names
Improve the quality and amount of information on children and families we share with team members
Provide more interesting information about each child’s day and learning with their family
Encourage families to share relevant information by discussing child’s daily routines at service, interests, achievements etc
Increase level of family input and showcase it in our curriculum
Advise all families about our complaints procedure and who to contact
Discuss available inclusion support at next staff meeting
Educational Leader to discuss access to inclusion support with relevant families
Clean up parent library so it’s attractive and has current information on parenting and community organisations
Invite families to an evening sausage sizzle once every quarter
Implement a Facebook Page open to service families only
Review our orientation procedure for families and children to make sure everything covered

Relationships with Community

6.2.2, 6.2.3

Choose several community organisations to develop connections with eg organisations which children or families attend, cultural groups or relevant businesses
Learn more about local support services and organisations

Safety

2.1.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.3

Properly implement a risk management process – identify, assess, remove/ minimise, monitor
Always assess risk of new equipment and activities before involving children
Teach children how to safely use equipment and complete activities
Learn to immediately remove or reduce an identified risk
Understand what effective supervision requires eg constantly supervise children when included in ratios – no phones etc
Always tell team members if moving locations or temporarily leaving the room
Be able to confidently discuss children’s medical managements and risk minimisation plans
Practise our emergency evacuation procedures more often to increase confidence of children and staff
Practise all identified emergencies eg lockdowns

Child Protection

2.2.3

Learn to confidently identify the indicators of abuse and neglect
Ensure everyone’s aware of service visitors and never leave children alone with them
Be aware of what team members are doing and take action if they take children into secluded areas
Learn how to report abuse or neglect
Ensure educators always speak appropriately in front of children

Sustainability

3.2.3

Include more practices which protect and respect the environment in service operations
Include more learning and activities about environmental issues and practices in our curriculum
Ask families for clean milk containers and get children involved in planting herbs etc in them

Professional Interactions

4.2.1, 4.2.2

Learn to recognise and use the unique skills and knowledge all team members bring
Improve understanding of professional interactions eg appearance, respect, interactions, privacy
Look for solutions to staffing issues, room routines, cleaning duties etc
Speak directly with a team member about issues of concern and tell them how you feel/why this is a problem for you
Learn to confidently implement the complaints procedure if there’s still an issue after talking with the person
Learn to confidently share knowledge and ideas about teaching practice

Teamwork

4.1.1, 4.2.1, 4.2.2

Improve the level of support and encouragement provided to team members
Get all team members to understand that it is everyone’s job to clean and comfort and care for children
Improve the level of communication between team members so we all know what’s happening and who may need help
Have regular 5-10 minute team meetings

Collaborative learning

1.1.1, 1.1.3, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 5.2.1

Increase opportunities for children to share ideas and knowledge
Be confident to research issues that I don’t know anything about and learn with the children
Rearrange the outdoor spaces so children can engage in small, uninterrupted group play
Collect lots of natural resources for loose parts play and bring inside the room

Intentional Teaching

1.2.1, 1.2.2

Become more aware of opportunities for intentional teaching eg as they emerge from daily activities and experiences
Educational Leader to highlight cases from previous week’s curriculum/documentation showing educators how they could have implemented intentional teaching

Extending learning

1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2,

Look for opportunities to extend learning that can go on for days or even weeks
Learn to extend learning without relying on equipment eg use children’s relationships and connections with community
Educational Leader to highlight cases from previous week’s curriculum/documentation showing educators how they could have extended learning

Physical Activity

1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1, 2.1.3, 6.1.3

Increase the amount of physical activity included in the daily curriculum
Learn to recognise the physical activity that is included in daily activities eg cleaning, getting resources, emptying compost
Implement new activities eg yoga, dance, ball skills
Reduce the amount of time children spend watching TV, YouTube etc at the service
Increase the amount of physical activity which offers challenges to children eg climbing trees

Healthy eating

1.1.1, 1.1.3, 1.2.1, 2.1.3, 6.1.3

Only eat healthy food in front of children
Talk about healthy food more with children eg what makes it healthy, how to cook eat, how it tastes, how to grow it
Improve our service veggie garden
Implement more cooking activities with children
Learn more about the Australian Dietary Guidelines/Infant Feeding Guidelines
Review our menu against the Australian Dietary Guidelines/Infant Feeding Guidelines
Provide more information to families about healthy eating eg simple and quick recipes, info on salt/sugar

Hygiene

1.1.3, 1.2.1, 2.1.2, 3.1.2, 6.1.3

Improve our knowledge about infection control procedures
Learn to always implement infection control procedures
Teach children cough, sneeze, nose blowing etiquette
Learn when we should be wearing gloves
Learn to reduce incidences of cross contamination
Learn how to store perishable food properly
Learn how long perishable food can be kept at room temperature
Increase the number of times the bathroom/toilet is cleaned daily
Make sure the room is clean and tidy at the end of every day
Develop or improve our cleaning schedules
Learn to confidently refuse entry to children who are ill or may have an infectious disease

Physical environment

2.2.1, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3

Display a supervision plan ie where educators must stand in the outside play area
Sand the wooden cubby house to remove all splinters of wood
Ensure all educators know how to clean and maintain the sandpit,
Replace sliding door so children can move more easily from indoor to outdoor environment
Implement progressive morning teas which allow children to move freely around environment and activities
Design a dry creek bed for outdoor area

Learning Documentation

1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.3, 7.2.2

Learn to write less but make it more meaningful
Learn not to repeat what’s in a photo
Learn how to document progress or achievement of learning outcomes
Keep portfolios up to date so there is no mad rush at the end of the year
Involve children in completing their learning documentation
Keep a current record of children’s progress against the learning outcomes
Improve the way we display our learning documentation to encourage family involvement

Business Practices

7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3, 7.2.1, 7.2.2, 7.2.3

Improve our recruitment and induction practices
Hold monthly staff meetings for all service staff
Invite all staff members to contribute to staff meeting agenda
Complete annual professional development appraisals with training plans
All staff members can calculate ratio requirements for children at service
Improve management systems to ensure staff always have appropriate qualifications and child protection clearances eg diary system and registers maintained
Work on Quality Improvement Plan every week
All staff contribute to Quality Improvement Plan
Progress notes are added to Quality Improvement Plan every week where relevant
Improve the security of personal information
Ensure that records which are archived for certain periods in line with the Regs are accessible and easy to identify
Ensure all staff members know what a serious incident is
Ensure all staff members know that complaints about a breach of the law or that the health or wellbeing of children is being compromised must be reported to the Department

Business Documentation

7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.2.3

Look up those policies and procedures we’re not very familiar with
Use the ACECQA Guide to the Regulations to become more familiar with the Regulations
Use the Use the ACECQA Guide to the NQS to become more familiar with the NQS
Make it easier to access our policies and procedures, and the Regs/NQS
Develop an organisation chart which clearly shows who everyone reports to
Develop a new Statement of Philosophy which is based on our core values

Business Practices

7.1.1, 7.1.2, 7.1.3, 7.2.1, 7.2.2, 7.2.3

Improve our recruitment and induction practices
Hold monthly staff meetings for all service staff
Invite all staff members to contribute to staff meeting agenda
Complete annual professional development appraisals with training plans
All staff members can calculate ratio requirements for children at service
Improve management systems to ensure staff always have appropriate qualifications and child protection clearances eg diary system and registers maintained
Work on Quality Improvement Plan every week
All staff contribute to Quality Improvement Plan
Progress notes are added to Quality Improvement Plan every week where relevant
Improve the security of personal information
Ensure that records which are archived for certain periods in line with the Regs are accessible and easy to identify
Ensure all staff members know what a serious incident is
Ensure all staff members know that complaints about a breach of the law or that the health or wellbeing of children is being compromised must be reported to the Department

Reflection

1.3.2, 7.2.1

Learn to reflect on better ways to do things during daily activities
Learn to think about things as if I was a child, parent, colleague etc – how might I feel, what might I think?
Develop a mindset of continuous improvement – there’s always a better way to do things

Select two goals

August 7, 2020

What are your educators doing at any given time?

The Story of Cinderellas

Cinderellas is a magical long day care service that had two incredible people working there together for the past 30 years. These two women were so in tune with each other few words were needed as they did this magical dance in the rooms and outdoors with each other. They knew exactly what to do to make a day flow. If one did a task, for example ran grouptime, the other set the room up for the next experience. This magical teamwork flowed because they both knew exactly what was needed when working with the children. When a little mishap occurred, which it always will with children, the flow continued with the issue easily resolved. Each educator could step in and do the other’s job when required – no asking or directing. They just knew what was required, could sense all problems and solve them before they even occurred. One time a child was doing something they weren’t supposed to. Facing the opposite direction the educator, without looking up from wiping the tables, redirected the child who was about to climb the bookshelf to a more appropriate area. The child looked amazed as the educator appeared to have eyes in the back of her head.

Managing Educators’ Time to achieve positive outcomes

Unfortunately, Cinderellas doesn’t exist in most services, especially with our high staff turnover. Don’t panic – a proper run sheet for the room can make any service a Cinderellas. While a routine is a broad-brush stroke of the day, a run sheet breaks the routine down and assigns jobs to specific educators to ensure the routine is completed. Please note strict routines with exact times like this are not needed for everyone or every room. However, walking into a room where it is complete chaos because no educator knows what to do indicates the room requires a run sheet.

See below Emma’s run sheet that she needed to create for her room.

Time	Main Activity	Support Activity 1	Support Activity 2	Support Activity 3
6.30	Family grouping
8am	Outdoor play, greet parents, get weekend sheetsWho: Emma H
9am	Positive story for behaviour Who: Emma H	Nappy change Who: Cherie
9.10am	Helper chart Who: Emma
9.20am	Progressive morning tea Who: Cherie	– Welcome (Good morning) – Who is here today activity – What do you want to do today? A-frame plan with children Emma H	Planned physical activity – outdoors Who: Tayla	Set up for group time Who: Eliza
9.50am	Children clean as per helper charts Who: Eliza	Transition from Outdoors to indoors Who: Tayla	Assist with transition Who: Cherie
10am	Planned group time (Topic/interest/family input) Who: Emma H	Set up room Who: Tayla
	Word wall Who: Emma H
10.40am	Free play as planned with children A-Frame indoor/Outdoor
11.10	Direct children to pack away
11.20am	Small group/Table activities Table 1 – Name recognition/writing Eliza	Table 2 – Art and craft table Who: Cherie	Table 3 – Will change depending on interests/family input Who: Tayla	Group 4 will complete an activity on the mat Who: Emma H
12pm	Yoga or brain gym Who: Tayla	Put beds out Who: Eliza	Nappy change/rest nappies Who: Eliza
12.15pm	Lunch set up by children as per helper chart: Who: Emma H
12.30pm	Quiet time/Rest time Who – Emma H	Sit with resting/sleeping kids Who: Eliza	Clean up after lunch Who: Tayla
	Look at the strength tree Who: Eliza	Mop the floor Who: Emma H
	Write on curriculum Who: Tayla	Bathroom Cleaning Who: Cherie
	Curriculum Who: Cherie	Set up for lesson plans Who: Eliza
2pm	Lesson plans (Small groups) Who: Emma H	Lesson plans (Small groups) Who: Cherie	Lesson plans (Small groups) Who: Tayla
2.30pm	Group time – What was the best thing about school today? – What didn’t you like? – How can we make it better? Who: Eliza	Nappy change/remove rest nappies Who: Tayla	Write on curriculum Who: Emma H
	Add new words to word wall Who: Tayla
3pm	Progressive/Afternoon Tea Who: Tayla	Singing/Dancing/dramatic play Who: Cherie	Curriculum Who: Eliza
3.30pm	Refer to Helper chart – recycling, watering plants Who: Tayla	Bags packed, shoes, hats and sunscreen on Who: Cherie	Tidy lockers & take washing to the laundry Who: Eliza
	All parents taken to the curriculum wall and described children’s learning Who: All staff
	A-Frame – Choose again what the children want to do Who: Eliza
4pm	Outside Play Who: Cherie	Outside play Who: Tayla	Clean room: Eliza
4.30pm	Go inside and remaining children discuss what they want to do tomorrow Who: Cherie
5pm	Prepare the room with the children Who: Eliza
6pm	Finish

August 7, 2020August 11, 2020

What is coaching?

Coaching

I often hear people say ‘they’ don’t know what ‘they’ are doing and ‘they’ have no common sense. However, what I usually see is a lack of experienced educators teaching less experienced educators. So I’d like to work with you on the process of coaching.
What is coaching?
Coaching can be used to develop people’s skills, improve their performance, explore goals and correct inappropriate conduct. It typically takes place as a conversation between two people and focuses on an agreed goal. The coach then helps the other person to learn new things themselves rather than having new ways imposed on them. This approach is more likely to provide a lasting result.
How do I coach someone?
The GROW model – think about

GOAL – what you want to achieve
REALITY – what’s happening now
OPTIONS – what you could do –
WAY FORWARD – what you’ll do

Practical Example
Mandy’s been a trainee for 6 months. She’s a hard worker, studying well and is forming great relationships with the children and team members. Her portfolios and programming are coming along nicely – but some families have said they’re not happy with her communication.

GOAL

Mandy and her Room Leader Tracy discuss the family feedback. They agree Mandy needs to become more confident communicating with families and set a timeframe of 4 weeks.

REALITY

Tracy and Mandy discuss:

how Mandy feels when a parent approaches her
what Mandy thinks her role is in building strong partnerships with families
her understanding of service policies and procedures on communication

OPTIONS

Tracy and Mandy brainstorm ideas and develop a plan involving:

training in relevant policies and procedures
Mandy to stand with Tracy while Tracy models appropriate communication with families
Tracy to support Mandy while Mandy speaks with families and then provide constructive feedback

WAY FORWARD

Nominated Supervisor speaks to parents after 4 weeks. They acknowledge a marked improvement in Mandy’s confidence, saying she now talks with them about their child’s learning. Nominated Supervisor implements a regular parent feedback tool to monitor all educators’ communication.
Mandy now has aspirations to be a Room Leader one day and continues to grow in confidence.

Tracy has added communication with families to all weekly meeting agendas to maintain the focus on communication.

Coaching plan in action

Coaching can be used to develop people’s skills, improve their performance, explore goals and correct inappropriate conduct. It typically takes place as a conversation between two people and focuses on an agreed goal. The coach then helps the other person to learn new things themselves rather than having new ways imposed on them. This approach is more likely to provide a lasting result.

How do I coach someone?

GROW model steps	Write out your steps to meet your selected goals
1.GOAL – what you want to achieve
2.REALITY – what’s happening now
3.OPTIONS – what you could do –
4.WAY FORWARD – what you’ll do

August 7, 2020August 11, 2020

Who to talk to about what?

Practical Management – Who to talk to about what?

What I find in most services is educators asking the wrong person for help because they don’t know who does what. I’ve talked about runny poo on many occasions because I’ll never forget the time I watched five people waste so much time investigating a child’s runny poo and collectively attempting and failing to decide what the best action was to move forward. When people don’t know who to talk to, they waste their own time and that of all the other people who should not be involved.

Educators

Educators talk to their Room Leaders about:

their roster
room routines
training needs
curriculum eg planning, activities, extending learning, intentional teaching
children’s portfolios
learning documentation eg learning stories, child reflections, strength trees, photos
assessing children’s learning
room displays
cleaning responsibilities
resources and equipment - new or replacement
difficulties with other team members they can’t resolve directly with the person
any issues that affect their job
difficulties managing children’s behaviour
service operations
their own special skills, hobbies etc so these may be used to strengthen the curriculum (can be areas not related to childcare)
policies or procedures
learning outcomes, NQS elements and Regs
individual children eg health needs, children’s medication and/or medical plans, interests, comfort routines, family structure
individual families eg jobs, names, family structure, hobbies, holidays
how to improve everyday skills and procedures eg teaching, documenting, reflecting, talking to families, managing and interacting with children, identifying behavioural needs, time management
feedback for Quality Improvement Plan
templates and forms
record keeping and filing

Educators share information with other educators about:

their own special skills, hobbies etc so these may be used to strengthen the curriculum (can be areas not related to childcare)
children and families that other educators may not know (only appropriate information, nothing that breaks confidentiality or is not needed to be said i.e. gossip)
things they’ve learnt from training/professional development
better ways to do things eg including children’s names in the stories they’re reading
their movements during the day, especially if supervising children. For example I’m taking Ava in for a Nappy Change now…I’m taking these four children to the printer to get or learning stories.

Educators talk to Educational Leader about:

curriculum eg planning, activities, extending learning, intentional teaching
compiling children’s portfolios
completing learning documentation eg learning stories, child reflections, strength trees, photos
assessing children’s learning
their reflective practice and critical reflections
their own special skills, hobbies etc so these may be used to strengthen the curriculum (can be areas not related to childcare)
learning outcomes

Educators teach, coach, then assess trainees in:

policies and procedures
learning outcomes, NQS elements and Regs
curriculum eg planning, activities, extending learning, intentional teaching

compiling children’s portfolios
completing learning documentation eg learning stories, child reflections, strength trees, photos
assessing children’s learning
making beautiful room displays
their cleaning responsibilities
their knowledge about individual children eg their health needs, medication and/or medical plans, interests, comfort routines, family structure
their knowledge about individual families eg jobs, names, family structure, hobbies, holidays
everyday skills and procedures eg teaching, documenting, reflecting, talking to families, managing and interacting with children, nappy changing and toileting, the correct way to complete an incident/accident form if they were a witness
templates and forms used
record keeping and filing

Educators talk to Nominated Supervisor about:

personal illness, injury etc that affects their work
difficulties with other team members that they can’t resolve directly with the person or with the help of the Room Leader
any issues that affect their job if Room Leader can’t resolve them

Educators talk to Administration Manager about:

pay issues
qualifications eg updating First Aid or Child Protection Clearance, working towards qualifications
enrolment of children information relevant for their room

Trainees

Trainees talk to Educators and the Room Leader about:

rosters
policies and procedures
learning outcomes, NQS elements and Regs
curriculum eg planning, activities, extending learning, intentional teaching
compiling children’s portfolios
learning documentation eg learning stories, child reflections, strength trees, photos
assessing children’s learning
making beautiful room displays
cleaning responsibilities

individual children eg their health needs, medication and/or medical plans, interests, comfort routines, family structure
individual families eg jobs, names, family structure, hobbies, holidays
how to improve everyday skills and procedures eg teaching, documenting, reflecting, talking to families, managing and interacting with children, nappy changing and toileting, how to complete incident forms
templates and forms used
record keeping and filing
service operations

Trainees talk to Administration Manager about:

holiday plans
pay issues
qualifications eg working towards qualifications

Trainees talk to Nominated Supervisor about:

sick leave
personal illness, injury etc that affects their work
difficulties with other team members that they can’t resolve directly with the person or with the help of the Room Leader
holidays

Room Leaders

Room Leaders teach, coach, then assess educators and trainees in areas that need improving eg:

relevant policies and procedures eg nappy changing and toileting
learning outcomes, NQS elements and Regs
basing daily program on family input and children’s lives, extending learning, intentional teaching
compiling children’s portfolios
completing learning documentation eg learning stories, child reflections, strength trees, photos
assessing children’s learning
making beautiful room displays
their cleaning responsibilities
their knowledge of individual families eg parents’ names and jobs
everyday skills and procedures eg documenting, reflecting, talking to families, managing and interacting with children teaching, identifying behavioural needs, time management, how to complete incident forms

Room Leaders talk to educators and trainees about:

rosters
their training needs
room routines
curriculum eg planning, activities
resources and equipment - new or replacement
managing children’s behaviour
service operations eg information they’ve learnt that team members may not know
their own special skills, hobbies etc so these may be used to strengthen the curriculum (can be areas not related to childcare)
policies or procedures
learning outcomes, NQS elements and Regs
individual children eg their health needs, medication and/or medical plans, interests, comfort routines, family structure
individual families eg jobs, names, family structure, hobbies, holidays
feedback for Quality Improvement Plan
information they’ve learnt about children and families

information they’ve learnt while completing training/professional development better ways to do things eg speaking to children at their eye level their movements during the day, especially if supervising children Room Leaders talk to Administration Manager about: new families and children eg enrolment information holiday plans pay issues qualifications eg updating First Aid or Child Protection Clearance templates and forms used record keeping and filing service operations Room Leaders talk to Nominated Supervisor about: personal illness, injury etc that affects their work difficulties with team members that they can’t resolve directly with the person educator and trainee training needs any issues that affect their ability to manage the room or do their job

Families

Families talk to Nominated Supervisor about:

issues they can’t resolve with Room Leader
service operations
complaints, suggestions, feedback
obtaining information to support parenting and families
problems with educators they can’t resolve with the Room Leader
complaints related to the Room Leader
content of policies and procedures

Families talk to Administration Manager about:

enrolment
fee payments
child’s attendance
planned holidays
updated information eg current enrolment, immunisation, emergency contact details
service operations
parent information library
location of policies and procedures

Families talk to Room Leader about:

their child’s learning and development
what’s in learning program
their child’s learning records
their child’s friendships and groups
their child’s social interactions
behaviour issues
service operations
obtaining brochures or contacts which support parenting and families

Administration Manager

Administration Manager talks to Room Leaders about:

updated information for children and families (relevant to teaching and relationships)
students, volunteers and relief staff
location and supply of forms and templates
filing of records

Administration Manager talks to Educators about:

qualifications eg updating First Aid or Child Protection Clearance, working towards qualifications

Administration Manager talks to Nominated Supervisor about:

complaints, suggestions, feedback
late fees
budget
relevant staffing issues eg staff holidays
students, volunteers and relief staff
staff rosters
new enrolments
terminating families
occupancy rates

Nominated Supervisor

Nominated Supervisor talks to Administration Manager about:

students, volunteers and relief staff
financial information eg budget

occupancy rates

Nominated Supervisor talks to Room Leader about:

difficulties with staff they can’t resolve directly with the person
training needs – their own and those of educators and trainees
management of room
children’s curriculum, learning documentation and portfolios
communication with families
feedback for Quality Improvement Plan

Nominated Supervisor talks to Educational Leader about:

children’s curriculum, learning documentation and portfolios
communication with families
educators’ training needs

August 6, 2020August 11, 2020

Using core values for non-performance

File Note: Core Values

Re: Record of meeting with ;regarding not meeting our core values

Today at <insert time>, I met with <insert employee’s name>. Also present was <insert names of any other people at the meeting>.

During the meeting I explained to <insert employee’s name>that she had not met core value <insert core value/s>when<insert description of behaviour discussed>.

<Insert employee’s name> said in response that <insert details of what you believe the employee said/advised/explained>.

In order to assist <insert employee’s name> to meet our core values, I <insert details of what steps you have taken or offered and any deadlines, targets, expectations that you have set the employee for improvement>.

e.g. In order to assist Jane Doe to meet our core values, I arranged for her to shadow me while I performed the task so she could observe the expected behaviour.

At the end of the meeting I <insert details of anything else that occurred at the end of the meeting, for example if you gave the person a warning letter or if you set a date for a follow up meeting you should note that here>.

e.g. At the end of the meeting I informed Jane Doe that if her performance did not improve a First Written Warning would be issued.

Signed:_______________________________________________ Date:______ /_______ /

Print name:

August 6, 2020August 11, 2020

What are core values?

Core Values

What are core values? Core values are a description of the behaviours that you value in your service. Good leaders recognise that core values help achieve quality practices and implement practices to ensure their employees meet these values at all times. The best way to develop core values is to identify what annoys you and what you repeatedly need to ask educators to do.

How to use core values

Use them in your job descriptions
Use them as a tool to discover what your educators are doing well or where they need to improve
Use them as file notes for non-performance.

What annoys you and what you repeatedly need to ask educators to do	Rewrite the annoying aspects and repeated requests into a positive statement
Educators are grouped together talking and not supervising the children.	Children are always supervised.
OMG what was left up against the fence - a collection of items that could become a ladder.	We immediately remove unsafe elements or make them safe.

Core Values

We are always professional

1.1 we are polite, respectful and thoughtful to everyone

1.2 we are well presented, clean and well groomed

1.3 we speak positively about our Service, Educators, Staff and Managers

1.4 we maintain confidentiality at all times

We are a strong, respectful and happy team

2.1 we support and respect each other, sharing knowledge and ideas

2.2 we take responsibility for our role and duties

2.3 we work with others to achieve common goals

2.4 we communicate achievements and concerns with the appropriate people

2.5 we embrace change and continuous improvement

We value our families and local community

3.1. we always greet and interact with families

3.2 we know their names, occupations and hobbies

3.3 we represent our Service with pride at work and in the community

3.4 we know our families and community are our most important asset

3.5 we are always working to connect families and communities with our Service

3.6 we discuss each child’s interactions, achievements and interests with their families daily

3.7 we consider each family’s perspective

3.8 we always encourage family input and explain how this is used to develop our curriculum

We build strong, trusting and loving relationships with children

4.1 we use “Attachment Theory and Circle of Security”

4.2 we greet each child by getting down to their level, using their name and looking into their eyes

4.3 we use Robyn Dolby’s method of receiving children ie “I’m here to look after you and keep you safe until Mum/Dad returns”

4.4 we treat each child with respect, take the time to listen to them and engage with them during the day and especially in play

Our children are always safe and clean

5.1 children are always supervised

5.2 children are clean and well-presented when collected

5.3 children’s belongings are packed before they are collected

5.4 we immediately take action to remove or reduce any identified risk

5.5 we know each child’s medical needs and allergies

5.6 infectious or ill children are always sent home

5.7 we always follow all our policies and procedures

Our play, learning and work environments are always safe, clean and inviting

6.1 we regularly complete risk assessments for all areas

6.2 we immediately remove unsafe elements or make them safe

6.3 we ensure all areas are tidy, organised and welcoming, including the yard

6.4 we remove broken and dirty resources

6.5 we always adhere to service cleaning schedules

We take every opportunity to showcase the quality of our Service

7.1 we display children’s learning in a visually appealing way

7.2 we celebrate learning activities and achievements with children and families

7.3 our environment setups are like ‘shop windows’ which showcase the amazing learning children engage in when families are at work

7.5 we talk to families every day about children’s activities and learning

We are ALWAYS the best Educators we can be

8.1 we are ALWAYS trying to improve our practices

8.2 we are open to new ideas

8.3 we take advantage of professional development and learning opportunities

8.4 if we don’t know something we co-learn with the children

8.5 we regularly reflect on our practices and service operations with a view to continuous improvement

8.6 nothing is ever ‘good enough’, we can always improve

8.7 we don’t use stencils or produce ‘same same’ art

8.8 we interact with children in small groups

We know the Regulations, Policies and Procedures thoroughly

9.1 we know there is a Regulation, Policy or Procedure for everything that happens at the Service

9.2 if we’re unsure of the Regulation, Policy or Procedure we know where to find out

9.3 we know following the Regulations, Policies and Procedures achieves the best outcome

We complete our documentation on time

10.1 we complete learning documentation and our curriculum with the children

10.2 we design innovative ways which encourage families and children to help complete learning documentation

10.3 we complete incident reports and other compliance documentation immediately

10.4 we document each child’s progress in achieving the EYLF/MTOP learning outcomes

August 6, 2020August 11, 2020

Discover who is taking your time and how to get it back

Time Machine

Who stole your time?	Educator	What was the issue?	Runny Poo
What is the real cause of the time theft?	The educators are afraid to call the parents and tell them they need to collect their sick child, so they involve me to: Look at the poo Make the decision - call the parents Cop the abuse from the parents
What would it look like if it was different?	The educator comes into my office and says: “Jackson is unwell. He has runny poo. I’ve double checked with Staying Healthy, found the parents’ contacts, and have backup numbers ready too. I’m about to make the phone call. Are you okay with that? I can see you are busy?”
How can you implement this?	Double check the policies. Check the procedure for unwell children. Train all educators on how to use procedure. Train educators in dealing with abusive parents. Implement.