Category: Quality Areas

What do you do well?

The key aspect of this NQS Element 7.2.3 is to make sure all educators identify what they do well and discover areas of practice they can improve upon.

Identifying what you do well is easy when we look at the children’s documentation and your curriculum planning. For example, when Cody looks at his curriculum planning he can identify physical activity as one of his main strengths- Learning Outcome 3.

Now ask yourself, how could Cody help other educators in your centre using his strength?

When you identify your strengths through the Learning Outcomes it will also show what you keep away from or areas you could improve. See example below.

You can build a strong team of educators using this method. Don’t forget educators are great at all types of practice that can be taught to others. For example, Kate is great at making resources and has beautiful interactions with children. Kerrie is great at warm loving interactions. Charlee is great at building trust and communicating with children which results in children following instructions.

Teaching other educators your strengths

Try using this six-step process to create a professional development plan for educators.

Cherie thought it was a great idea for Cody to teach her some physical activities for young children.

Exceeding theme 3: Families and community connection

Case Study – Professional Development learnt through visiting specialists

Remember to place in your QIP’s strength section how your connection to community professionals have indirectly created professional development opportunities and new learning for you as an educator. Here are some points below to help remind you of the potential professional development opportunities and learning.

Social Worker

• Ways to assist families obtaining support they need in times of divorce, illness and death

Your experience

____________________________________________________________

Diabetes Educator

• How to administer Insulin
• How to tell when a child is experiencing a “low” or “high” and how to respond
• How to take blood sugar readings
• Information on how to prevent type 2 diabetes

Your experience

____________________________________________________________

Occupational Therapist

• How to use visual aids to communicate with non-verbal children
• How to introduce new experiences to children with sensory processing issues by slowly exposing them to new textures and sounds (eg – rolling a spiky ball on a child who doesn’t like to be touched)
• How to provide experiences designed to increase their core strength to help children increase their sense of balance and co-ordination.

Your experience

____________________________________________________________

Speech Therapist

• How to start with simple words and short sentences so children aren’t overwhelmed
• How to help twins with speech issues by encouraging them to talk when away from their twin, as they tend to rely on each other
• How to ask lots of questions about things relevant to the child – interests, family, pets, friends etc.
• How to sound out words and speak clearly and slowly
• How to match words with pictures/visuals
• How to encourage participation in groups by asking for child’s opinion and encouraging children to talk to each other instead of a teacher all the time.

Your experience

____________________________________________________________

Psychologist

• Understanding behaviours
• Understanding triggers for children’s behaviours
• Gaining a better understanding of autism and how to work with children on the spectrum

Your experience

____________________________________________________________

Continence Nurse

• How to support children while maintaining their dignity
• How to identify symptoms that need further investigation by professionals
• How to support families get professional help for their child.

Your experience

____________________________________________________________

Exceeding theme 1: Practice is embedded

Case Study – Educational leader in name, not in practice

Our educational leader is also our Nominated Supervisors which makes it difficult to find time to discuss ideas, practice and curriculum with her.

Exceeding theme 3: Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and community

The service needs to reflect the unique geographical, cultural and community context and draw on the voices, priorities and strengths of the children and families.

The biggest influence on children’s lives comes from their family and community because they spend far longer with them than at the Service. Look at the curriculum and see if you can identify the below concepts being explored and learning extended as the curriculum plan grows:

• Who lives in the child’s house?
• What type of dwelling do the children live in?
• What do the children eat for breakfast?
• How do they get to your service?
• Who belongs to the child’s extended family?
• Who else is authorised to collect the children?
• What parks do the children play at?
• What coffee shops do the children go to?
• What after school activities do the children go to?
• Which shops do they visit?
• What restaurants do the children go to?
• What doctors do the children go to?
• What hospital have they been to?
• What do they do at home?
• How many bedrooms do they have?
• What toys do they have?
• What books do they read?
• What songs do they sing at home?
• What TV shows do they watch?
• What time do they go to bed?
• What does mum and dad do for work?
• Who are mum and dad’s best friends?

What might families think about the service or educators if they experience these practices?

____________________________________________________________

How will this affect children’s learning?

____________________________________________________________

What changes might you need to do after reflecting in this section?

____________________________________________________________

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 a 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

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

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.

1. GOAL

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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.

Please give this new method and mindset a go and let me know what you think

Reflect

Educational Leader looking through the eyes of other educators. Look through the eyes of other educators you work with and imagine you are them. Do you think you are taking the time to coach them so they understand what you are trying to achieve?

____________________________________________________

Evaluate the lesson

Some of the pre-schoolers experienced some difficulty grasping the concept of the activity. Dots were very large or close together in lines so when they were joined they did not form an image/shape. Regardless these children were encouraged and praised for their artwork and still painted along their lines, adding to the varying degrees of artworks.

The Nominated Supervisor and Educational Leader worked together to create plans, not just for programming, but also for practice.

Greeting Parents Procedure

When a parent walks into the room in the morning educators must:

1. Make eye contact and say “Hi __________(parent’s name)” and then “Hi”__________ child’s name by physically getting down and looking in the child’s eyes, then giving the child a big hug and welcome.
2. Start an informal conversation and ask things like:
   (a) how the parent and child are
   (b) whether the child had a good sleep
   (c) about anything we need to know eg medication that needs to be administered
   (d) who will be collecting the child in the afternoon
   (e) what they’ve been doing during the week to get curriculum ideas

Use ‘keep them safe and look after them words’ like those in the following script.

Script

Educator: “How are you Nadine and Jackson?  It’s good to see you today.”
Nadine (parent): “Hi Rachel –  say hi Jackson.”
Educator: “Did Jackson have a good sleep?”
Nadine: “Yes, he slept all the way through.”
Educator: “That’s great Jackson. You will have lots of energy to have fun with your friends and learn lots of exciting things. Now Nadine, (use the parents name as many times as you can) is there anything we need to know like giving Jackson medication?”
Nadine: “No, all good.”
Educator:  “What exciting things have you been doing on the weekend or over the week?”
Nadine: “Nan is visiting us from Townsville.”
Educator:  “Wow Townsville is a long way away.”
Educator:  “Who will be picking up Jackson today?”
Nadine: “Daddy will.”
Educator: (look at Jackson and say) “That’s great Daddy will pick you up today. I will look after you and keep you safe until Daddy comes and picks you up. Give mum a big hug and say goodbye and we’ll put your bag in the locker and go and play.”
Nadine: “Thanks Rachel. Have a good day Jackson. I love you.”

Note: I will look after you and keep you safe until Daddy comes and picks you up.

These words come from Dr Robyn Dolby’s research, and it works very well.

If we don’t teach then review, how will we ever know if our educators know? These are the must know procedures. You are to coach your team and then assess/test them. Remember: what you don’t inspect, don’t expect.

Step 1 Educational Leader goes through the steps with educators
Step 2 Educational Leader lets educators practice
Step 3 Educational Leader assesses educator in a real-life situation
Step 4 Educational Leader coaches educator for improvements if required
Step 5 Educational Leader /Nominated Supervisor completes educator’s training plan

That is embedded practice.

Matthew Stapleton, Director of Centre Support

There is one NQS Element that is the backbone of the whole NQS.

Centre Support’s (CS) weekly learning activities (WLA) assists you to meet and exceed the NQS. To achieve this and gain a better understanding of the NQS I have copied points from the NQS guide below with the ways our weekly learning activities guide you to meet and exceed the elements.

NQS Guide: Quality services regularly monitor and review their performance to guide planning and improve service quality.

CS: Our WLAs do this by covering ALL 40 NQS elements with a structure . On Monday I ask you to review your practice with the use of a checklist. On Tuesday I use case studies to make you think and evaluate your practices and create a plan to improve them.

NQS Guide: This creates a shared understanding of the principles that guide the service, and encourages continuous improvement in practice, policies and procedures.

CS: All WLAs should be completed as a team. If one person or room leader is left to complete the WLAs then it won’t work. The assessor will ask educatos questions and educators won’t have the confidence to answer them.

NQS Guide: Quality services regularly update and maintain their Quality Improvement Plan as a dynamic document to guide progress towards improvement. Quality services use the Quality Improvement Plan for continuous assessment against the National Quality

CS: The WLAs do this in two ways. Firstly on Tuesday I get you to create an improvement plan after you reflect on the case study and secondly on Friday where I get you to write your strenghts in relation to the NQS Element.

NQS Guide: Quality services use the Quality Improvement Plan for continuous assessment against the National Standard and the approved learning frameworks, to identify new goals for the service as part of an effective cycle of improvement. Incorporating regular self-assessment and quality improvement discussions in staff meetings encourages educators to participate in reflection on key practices, such as pedagogy and inclusion, and enables all staff members to provide input into planning for continuous quality improvement.

CS: The WLAs cover all of this as mentioned previously. Don’t forget we start every week with some goals that can be matched to NQS Elements.

NQS Guide: Establishing and maintaining a culture of ongoing reflection and self-review offers challenge, inspires motivation, and supports positive levels of staff satisfaction.

CS: Every Thursday we critically reflect from different perspectives which includes children, educators, families and theorist. This reflective process should create a change in practice.

NQS Guide: This provides opportunities for all staff to improve their practice and programming, which contributes directly to improved learning outcomes for children.

CS: The WLAs cover all of this as mentioned previously.

NQS Guide: An effective cycle of continuous improvement includes reviewing:

• the extent to which the service meets or exceeds the National Quality Standard
• the performance of all staff members
• how the service and its practices are delivered in accordance with the Early Years Learning Framework and/or the Framework for School Age Care (or other approved learning frameworks)
• the outcomes for children at the service against the learning outcomes in these frameworks
• feedback and complaints from children and families.

CS: The WLAs cover all of this as mentioned previously.

NQS Guide Exceeding Theme 1, embedded practice.  All members of the service team:

• are able to explain how the service’s performance evaluation process consistently supports their learning and development goals and growth as professionals, including how a tailored professional development plan provides a focus for continuous performance improvement;
• are able to discuss and demonstrate how they actively participate in the service’s ongoing self-assessment and quality improvement process, and how this process drives continuous improvement in service quality and enhances outcomes for children and families

CS: The WLAs cover all of this as mentioned previously.

Exceeding theme 3: Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and community

NQS Guide says to get gexceeding we need to:

• support families and the community to participate meaningfully in the service’s quality improvement processes, including the development and review of the Quality Improvement Plan;
• The service supports and enables families and the community to provide feedback on quality improvement processes, and this feedback is actively considered as part of the regular cycle.

These points are difficult as families don’t give feedback on the QIP easily, but they do have a big influence on quality improvement.  Below is an example of how the centre worked with family feedback to improve the centre’s practices and staff professional development.

Family feedback to assist with curriculum
Asher is cooking fried rice for his family tonight. Ash added all the ingredients to the pan and practised cracking the eggs. Asher’s verdict is “it smells delicious!” 19 July 2018. Reflecting upon the family input led to children preparing lunch at least once a week.

This morning Cody, Rocky and Charlie prepared lunch for our preschool room. Rocky and Charlie were excited to make their own lunch especially since they love playing in their kitchen. Rocky and Charlie engaged in their own learning and development (LO 4.3) by following instructions that Cade (the centre’s chef) sent us along with all the ingredients to make lasagne. Cody asked Rocky and Charlie if they have ever made lunch before. The boys responded, “no we haven’t.” Cody replied, “this will be the first time we make lunch together.” We continued to place the mince, lasagne pasta sheets and white sauce in the dish. We went through the ingredients. Cody asked, “Rocky what is this?” and Rocky responded, “it’s mince.” Cody responded, “yes Rocky that’s correct. Do you know what this is Charlie?” Charlie then responded, “yes, it is pasta.” The boys layered the pasta sheets. Cody provided opportunities for Rocky and Charlie to construct materials as a strategy for learning (LO 4.4) as we built our lasagne for our friends to eat. We finished making our lunch and we sent it back to Cade to put in the oven.

When it turned up for lunch Rocky and Charlie were so happy with their job of making lunch that their smiles would not leave their faces.

Other educators in other rooms reflected upon the success,  and this led to every room preparing their food at least once a week. Reflecting further Chef Cade and educators now have a daily program called Junior Master Chef where small groups of 4-5 children with an educator prepare meals with Chef Cade.

Which led to the chef enrolling in a Diploma of Early Childhood with the intent to go onto an early childhood degree. All this from family input into the curriculum.

The element 7.1.3 wants each individual who begins work at the service to have a clear understanding of their role, responsibilities and the expectations for their performance. They should be encouraged to engage with the philosophy and context that underpin the operation of the service as early as possible. A comprehensive induction process plays a critical role in creating and maintaining a positive and professional culture.

Case Study – Putting out fires. The Nominated Supervisor is always putting out fires, never gets things completed and educators don’t do much as they are waiting for someone else to make a decision. The educators turn around and say “we can’t do that because nobody ordered the craft paint last week…. We need more equipment because they broke that 3 weeks ago….. We can’t go on excursions because no parent has signed off on the form.” Behaviour problems take up a lot of time and stressed educators have used all their sick leave.

What is not embedded practice?

In 1974 William Oncken Jr. and Donald L. Wass used the analogy of monkeys to describe what happens to your time. They observed that many problems arise because staff don’t know how to deal with their problem and then they decide to throw their problem (or monkey) onto others. Imagine all the problems you are given as, time wasting, wriggling, demanding monkeys on your back that were never your monkeys but which you need to do something about it. These monkeys come in all different breeds.

For example, you get a call from the preschool room as a child’s behaviour has become a monkey ready to be thrown onto your back. In you go and out you come with a little monkey named Jackson. You are now a monkey entertainer which leaves you no time to do what you need to do as Jackson the monkey is in your office. Then you may make the mistake of going into the toddler’s room and the room leader says “we have a problem.” They describe this problem in great detail and want you to do something about it. This is the trainee breed of monkey, who doesn’t have the skills to do anything. They can’t interact with children, can’t do a nappy change and don’t have the skills for early childhood.

Now you have two time wasting, wriggling, demanding monkeys on your back, but wait, a parent is now ringing to give you another monkey in the form of a lost item of clothing. You put the phone down, turn around and an educator is in tears at your door as she throws you her monkey before walking out the door. This is a magical, just appeared, sickness breed of monkey.

See how Oncken and Wass describe the monkey plague that becomes your management chaos so beautifully.  Let us suppose that ten educators are so thoughtful and considerate that they let two monkeys leap from each of their backs to yours in any one day. In a five-day week, the Nominated Supervisor will have picked up 100 screaming monkeys—far too many to do anything about individually. So you spend your precious time juggling educators’ issues (monkeys) while leaving no time at all to do what a Nominated Supervisor has to do. Welcome to the world of early childhood.

What should have happened?

Educators in the preschool room needed to step up and increase their skills in building relationships with children and managing challenging behaviour. In my experience most, if not all, behaviour problems come from disengaged educators who can’t build relationships with families, which in turn means they can’t build relationships with children. These educators are then unable to create curriculum that is meaningful to the child. What they create is something that is easy for them eg getting activities out of the storeroom and plonking them on tables without engaging with children. The child becomes bored out of their brain and disengaged. Through their behaviour (which is the only way many can communicate this type of problem) they tell educators that the rubbish from the storeroom doesn’t interest them and they’ll behave this way until they get another form of attention.

The trainee problem comes from the room leader not having enough structure in the room for educators and trainees, and not taking the time to show rather than just tell them exactly what is required as part of their job. The phone call is an extension of this problem, in that educators are not being held accountable to their job and room leaders are not managing their room and children.

The sickness problem comes from not effectively managing educators’ sick leave (eg allowing excessive sick leave to be taken) or not enforcing sick leave policies.

Start identifying the monkeys and when people throw their monkey onto your back. Use the next page to help assist you.

Matthew Stapleton, Director of Centre Support

Efficient and effective systems

Efficient and effective management systems allow the service to identify and manage organisational risks in a timely manner and carry out risks assessments as required to manage foreseeable risks to children’s safety and wellbeing. Effective management systems support the educational leader, nominated supervisor and educators in their planning, delivery and reflection on the educational program, and the development of strategies to continuously improve. When educators have adequate time and administrative support to perform their roles, they can focus on delivering a quality service to children and their families.

 Confidentiality and records management systems

Services are required to safely store and maintain the confidentiality and currency of information provided
by families, service staff and other stakeholders. This builds families’ confidence in the service’s records management practices and is an indicator of the level of professionalism at the service.

 Administrative systems

The approved provider is required to:

• Ensure that the service operates in compliance with the National Law, the National Regulations and the National Quality Standard
• Liaise with the regulatory authority when required. The approved provider must ensure that there are adequate systems in place to maintain the effective, compliant operation of the service.

Complaints management system

An effective complaints and grievance management system confirms to staff, families and the community that complaints and grievances are taken seriously and investigated promptly, fairly and thoroughly. Effective management of complaints may inform quality improvement processes and is an efficient way of considering and acting on feedback from families.

 Notifying the regulatory authority of operational changes, incidents and complaints

The approved provider must notify the regulatory authority of certain circumstances and information, including any:

• significant changes to the operation of the service
• changes relevant to the fitness and propriety of the approved provider
• complaints that may impact on the regulatory authority’s consideration of provider or service approvals
• complaints alleging that a serious incident has occurred or is occurring while a child was or is being educated and cared for by the service, or the National Law has been contravened
• serious incidents that occur at the service
• any incident where the approved provider reasonably believes that physical or sexual abuse of a child or children has occurred or is occurring while the child is being educated and cared for by the service.

Documented policies and procedures

The service should ensure that policies and procedures are well-documented, maintained and easily accessible to staff members and families. This supports the service to implement practices that are based on the service’s policies and procedures. Regularly reviewing policies and procedures in collaboration with families supports a shared understanding of the service’s practices.

Risk management and employing fit and proper staff

Fitness and propriety describes a person’s suitability to be involved in the operation of an education and care service. Prior to granting provider approval or service approval, regulatory authorities assess whether the applicant applying for provider approval is fit and proper to provide an education and care service. The approved provider is responsible for assessing a person’s suitability for the roles of nominated supervisor and responsible person at the service. The approved provider, nominated supervisor and responsible person must remain fit and proper for the service to operate under their management.

Checking and maintaining accurate records that relate to the fitness and propriety of all staff assists in safeguarding children against risks to their safety and wellbeing.

The NQS guide says (a) we need to develop a written philosophy that is based upon the ‘guiding principles’ of the National Quality Framework and the National Law and (b) our statement of philosophy should serve three purposes.

1. underpins the decisions, policies and daily practices
   of the service
2. reflects a shared understanding of the role of the service among staff, children, families and the community
3. guides educators’ pedagogy, planning and practice when delivering the educational program.

First, we need to discover what that National Law says in relation to ‘guiding principles’. Please note the Law sits above the Regulations.

Reviewing your philosophy – Part 1

The NQS Guide says educators need to be meaningfully involved in reviewing the service’s statement of philosophy. Read your current philosophy then discuss it with your team and answer the questions in the next column.

After the review process you may need to subtract or add to your philosophy.

Review your philosophy in relation to the ‘guiding principles’ of the National Law.

Can you find point (a) in your philosophy?
(a) that the rights and best interests of the child are paramount;

___________________________________________________

Can you find point (b) in your philosophy?
(b) that children are successful, competent and capable learners;

___________________________________________________

Can you find point (c) in your philosophy?
(c) that the principles of equity, inclusion and diversity underlie this Law;

___________________________________________________

Can you find point (d) in your philosophy? (d) that Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are valued;

___________________________________________________

Can you find point (e) in your philosophy? (e) that the role of parents and families is respected and supported;

___________________________________________________

Can you find point (f) in your philosophy? (f) that best practice is expected in the provision of education and care services.

___________________________________________________

Reviewing your philosophy –  Part 2. The NQS Guide says ‘A statement of philosophy’ underpins the decisions, policies and daily practices of the service. Let’s focus on the ‘decisions’ and ‘daily practices’ in relation to the National Law and your philosophy.

Here are some examples and on the next page is where you can add your own practices.

Reviewing your philosophy –  part 2. The NQS guide says ‘A statement of philosophy’ underpins the decisions, policies and daily practices of the service. Let’s focus on the ‘decisions’ and ‘daily practices’ in relation to the National Law and your philosophy

The checklist below covers the basics of meeting the NQS Element. You need to be doing all of this or you may receive a working towards rating for this element. The most important part of the checklist is to ensure ALL EDUCATORS can do and show great practice plus they understand the element and can describe to other people and make them understand why you do things to meet the outcome of the element

Case Study 1 – Helping children when they have feelings of distress
This morning, Charlee recognised Aylarah showing feelings of distress at drop off as she openly communicated her need for comfort by opening her arms and asking Charlee (educator) for a hug. ‘Do you want to read a book?’ Charlee asked, initiating a one-on-one interaction with Aylarah. ‘Yeah’ Aylarah replied as she searched for a book to read. Charlee spent time interacting and conversing with Aylarah as they both sat down reading the books. Charlee was able to weave Aylarah into the book and express how the characters were feeling and ask Aylarah if she was feeling like them and what they would do in that situation. Soon after Aylarah was feeling much better and went off to play with the other children.

Case Study 2 – Class Rules
Over the last two days, Miss Tamara has been discussing with the children how we treat our friends and the things we should and shouldn’t do at school. Tamara has been modelling communication strategies to support the children in initiating interactions and joining in play experiences to sustain productive relationships with other children through discussions and scenarios. The children have begun to create their own ‘class rules’ and learn to read the behaviours and signs of others and respond appropriately. Slader and Eva decided that if we upset our friend or want to show them how we feel we can cuddle them. Tamara also engaged the children in a discussion about respectful and equal relationships such as when a child dominates the use of resources (LO2.3). Jadzia then added to our rules by saying “we be fair and share.” Sarah recognised the contributions she could make to the shared project (LO3.1) by saying “What about we don’t run inside too?” We will continue teaching the children skills and techniques to enhance their capacity for self-expression and communication (LO5.3) through more discussions and scenarios on learning to be kind to our friends and the things we will tolerate in our room together.

Case Study 3 – Learning How to be a Good Friend
Extending on from creating class rules (11.4.18), Miss Tamara sat with the children today to provide another opportunity for the children to engage in a meaningful learning relationship (LO4.4). Tamara did this through questioning how we can be a good friend to others. Aria began to then make connections between her own feelings and others (LO5.4), saying “you stop them from crying”. Tamara continued to ask the children how they can be a good friend to others. Hadley was telling Tamara her input as Tamara looked away for a moment. Hadley moved her head back and said “Look and listen” Tamara valued Hadley’s input and laughed, looking at her to finish “when they talk.” Sarah added “you give hugs and cuddles.” Slader began openly communicating his need for compassion (LO1.3) reaching out his arms for a hug from Nella before Sarah joined in too. Issy and Ivy began to bicker to each other as Issy didn’t want a cuddle from Ivy. Tamara then taught the children if their friends are hurting or upsetting them you say “Stop, I don’t like it.” Ivy demonstrated this well to her class mates.

Which child’s name is used the most in your room?

Why? Is it because you have to instruct this child the most, usually in a way that is moving them on from an inappropriate behaviour? When we talk about behaviour we say we need to meet the child’s needs, but what does that really mean? Try the method below to change the behaviour in your room meet children’s needs.

1. Know the child from many different perspectives
2. Write ideas to create curriculum for this child
3. Implement these ideas
4. Evaluate and adjust
5. Repeat

Case study 3 Jackson the non listener, swearer, rude……
To meet Jackson’s needs we need to know him and create curriculum just for him. We need to look at this from:

• Jackson’s Perspective
• Parent’s Perspective
• Educator’s Perspective
• Director’s Perspective

Step 1 what do we know about Jackson?

• comes to the service 5 days a week
• lives with his mother and big sister
• loves trucks, diggers and heavy machinery
• has a room full of toy trucks, diggers and heavy machinery
• has many pets including birds of all different types
• went to see the snow on the weekend
• loves spending time at Pop’s farm
• sings with a microphone at his Grandparent’s place
• is great around animals. I’ve seen him walking with cows and sheep
• knows a lot about hand raising animals
• loves fixing mechanical things with his Pop
• finds building easy. He loves to build and fix things
• helped his Pop and Mum build their bird cage at home
• loves to climb. He climbs trees, the tyre tower, on and off the tractor
• has lots of energy.

Step 2 – Write ideas to create curriculum for this child

Step 3 Implement these ideas.
Remember the guiding principle is ‘Meeting the Child’s needs.” Jackson’s needs are he wants to be a part of this learning environment and do what the adults are doing. Jackson needs to:

• Be listened to. He needs to tell you and everybody how much he knows about his world
• Be a teacher. He wants to show and help others understand about animals and farms because he gets so much pleasure from being on the farm and hanging out with Pop
• He is always helping Pop and his Mum do things and fix things so he wants to show you how good he is at that.

Jackson to give the class lessons
Get Jackson to give a lesson about what he knows eg raising lambs, cows, fixing bikes etc. Also at the same time get Jackson’s friend who has a huge interest in pigs to talk about them.

The lesson needs to be 1 minute of Jackson talking, 1 minute with the group of children and educators asking questions and sharing knowledge. This can continue for as long as needed, but ensure you keep going around in one minute blocks. This will encourage turn taking.

At this time educators write down what the children know.

Jackson says “sheep need help because their mother loses them.” Jonty says “the lamb’s wool is soft.” And it goes on and on.

After the lesson add pictures and get Jackson to display the documentation eg hang them in the hallway. Remember he needs to be in control of this lesson, putting it together and displaying it.
Jackson and friend are to then take a friend, one at a time, to the display and teach them more about the lambs and pigs. For example Jackson takes Charlotte to learn more about lambs.

Then welcome them back. “Thanks Jackson for bringing Charlotte back. Now Charlotte can you tell me what Jackson taught you about the lambs? Great teaching Jackson. Ask another friend to go out and learn more about lambs with you.”

Repeat the process. This will create trusting relationships and Jackson will have a sense of achievement and a sense of your approval.

What are you doing well in the relation to the NSQ element 5.2.1?
That is the first question we need to ask ourselves every time we look at an element in the NQS. Once we have identified this we need to write it onto our QIPs as a strength. The second thing we need to do is identify where an educator, a room or a whole centre may need to improve, then work out a way to train everybody so they are meeting and exceeding the element.

Below I’ve pulled apart the NQS element and placed what may be observed if you were looking at the children. The second column shows an example and the third column shows what educators could be doing to meet the element 5.2.1. Evaluate the example by identifying the points you can see occurring in the children and educator sections.

The checklist below covers the basics of meeting the NQS Element. You need to be doing all of this or you may receive a working towards rating for this element. The most important part of the checklist is to ensure ALL EDUCATORS can do and show great practice plus they understand the element and can describe to other people and make them understand why you do things to meet the outcome of the element

Case Study – Look at the UN Rights of the Child, select an article then evaluate to see if it is in practice at the service.

Maalaa brought in her Aboriginal dancing skirt that she made at home. Maalaa demonstrated how to do some aboriginal dancing with her peers. To follow on from this, Miss Eliza helped the preschool children make their own Aboriginal dancing skirt.
Clair, Maalaa’s mother, has identified the bush food that grows in the centre’s car park and which she and Maalaa pick and enjoy eating together. The centre was unaware they had native bush food in their car park. The owner planted the food because it was drought resistant.
Below are some fantastic resources created by the QLD Government to assist us to build connections to meet the rights of our Aboriginal/Indigenous children. I’m using both Aboriginal and Indigenous words because some First Australians use the term Aboriginal, and others use Indigenous.

QLD Foundations for success website http://www.foundationsforsuccess.qld.edu.au/ right to know culture and identity http://www.foundationsforsuccess.qld.edu.au/core/building-learning-bridges This relates to Indigenous children .

This morning Haley promoted a sense of community within our early childhood setting using an app on her
phone to explore Wiradjuri words. ‘Bali’ meaning Baby. The app is a word translator with a variety of words that you can listen to in the Wiradjuri language. Haley placed two babies on the mat and sat her phone next to them before pressing play on the translator. Ivy and Madeline turned their bodies to identify the sound before crawling over, following the noise.

Ivy reached for the baby as Madeline kept crawling towards the voice coming from Haley’s phone. Haley pronounced “Bali” herself, pointing to the babies as Madeline and Ivy actively listened to what Haley was saying, showing their understanding with a smile.

Madeline wasted no time in joining us on the mat to listen to the sound herself and began to positively engage with Haley, ivy and Madeline to form new friendships on her first day back in the nursery this year.

This morning we had a search for a new Wiradjuri word to further promote a sense of community within our room. Using the Wiradjuri word translator, Kymmy searched for the word “share” as we wanted to incorporate the word we use within our everyday routine in the Tommy Turtles room.
Kymmy pressed play on the translator before it voiced the meaning of “share with me” in the Wiradjuri language which was pronounced as Bundyi. The children watched and actively listened as Kymmy played the voice over and over in between saying it herself. Throughout the afternoon we have been encouraging the children to share items they found around the room as we repeated the word again. The children happily handed over items as they shared and broadened their understanding of the world they live in.

The core of this element’s exceeding theme is:
All educators ensure children’s rights and dignity are always met by working with families, each other and the educational leader to reflect upon their interactions with children. All Educators consider issues of social justice, respect and equality when creating their curriculum and ensuring it has meaning to their local community.

Exceeding theme 3: Families and community connection
Mass media is a part of our community and we need to think about how it connects to our local community, families and children, especially when we look at –

Firstly, discuss with all the educators you work with the types of media your children come into contact with. Create a list below.

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Choose a few of those media forms and ask the following questions.

Do you think your chosen mass media gives us reliable information?

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What do you think the children understand from this form of mass media?

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Children’s TV shows are a part of mass media. Select one the children talk about watching. Do you think there is an underlying hidden message?

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Are genders represented in a stereotypical way in the TV shows or are they being challenged?

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For children to participate they need to form trusting relationships with caregivers and other children to feel securely attached. “Attachment theory” was first proposed by John Bowlby (1907 – 1990). He proposed that children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others because this helps them to survive. Secure attachments let the child develop in a positive and confident way. Insecure attachments adversely affect the child’s learning and social and emotional development.

Children who are securely attached look confident. They may be quiet or energetic, but they participate fully in all the learning and development opportunities. They have good relationships with adults and other children and have the confidence to seek help when needed.

When children feel safe and secure, they will explore. If they feel threatened or wary, they will seek comfort from a trusted caregiver and have less interest in exploring and learning.

Children who are insecurely attached may be withdrawn or quiet. They may not engage with other children or adults and focus on activities more than relationships with people. They are unlikely to ask for help. Some children with insecure attachments crave attention and will engage in attention seeking behaviour. This makes it hard for them to concentrate on activities, rules and other people.

As a group, discuss the points below. Do you:
⦁ Set up a familiar place in your room that will be the drop off place for the child and parent every morning?
⦁ Ensure you are there when the child walks in?
⦁ Ensure you get down to the child’s height so you can look into their eyes when you greet them?
⦁ Make an honest effort to acknowledge all children and parents when you greet them and use their names?
⦁ Explain to children you will come back when you go to the toilet, lunch or leave the room?
⦁ Build trusting relationships with children with a hug, a conversation or warm looks and responses at all times of the day?
⦁ Tell children they are doing a good job and say you are there for them?
⦁ Always notice when children need your help?

After reading about Attachment Theory and discussing the points above, what does your practice for NQS element 5.1.1 look like compared to the element and the three exceeding themes?

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Exceeding theme 3: Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community. The biggest influence on children’s lives comes from their family and community. When we understand more about the child’s family we can build a stronger relationship with the child and ensure they feel supported and included. Use the list below to learn more about the children you care for and educate.
⦁ Who lives in the child’s house?
⦁ What type of dwelling do the children live in?
⦁ What do the children eat for breakfast?
⦁ How do they get to your service?
⦁ Who belongs to the child’s extended family?
⦁ Who else is authorised to collect the children?
⦁ What parks do the children play at?
⦁ What coffee shops do the children go to?
⦁ What after school activities do the children go to?
⦁ Which shops do they visit?
⦁ What restaurants do the children go to?
⦁ What doctors do the children go to?
⦁ What hospital have they been to?
⦁ What do they do at home?
⦁ How many bedrooms do they have?
⦁ What toys do they have?
⦁ What books do they read?
⦁ What songs do they sing at home?
⦁ What TV shows do they watch?
⦁ What time do they go to bed?
⦁ What does mum and dad do for work?
⦁ Who are mum and dad’s best friends?

Exceeding theme 3: Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community.

In the picture above, the educator is trying to see the world through the parent’s eyes. This is critical reflection because you are asking, “how could others’ knowledge (parents’ view) allow me to better understand the child?”
What’s unique about each of your families eg culture, heritage, work, lifestyle, hobbies?

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How do you use these unique features to strengthen the relationship with the child/ren?

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What have you changed because of this different viewpoint and critical reflection?

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Exceeding theme 2: Practice is informed by critical reflection. The NQS Guide wants all educators to demonstrate self-awareness and be purposeful in the consideration of the theoretical perspectives that influence their pedagogy and the practice across the service.

In the above picture, the educator is trying to see the world through her team member. This is a critical reflection and Exceeding Theme 2 because you are asking, “what questions do I have about my work? What am I challenged by? What am I curious about? What am I confronted by?”

People bring their emotional life and past experiences to work. It doesn’t have to affect work if you can identify it and work on it. An example that might help you understand this idea better is related to Attachment Theory. It is well documented that adults can repeat the process of ‘disorganised attachment’ from their childhood with their children. What isn’t as well documented is this cycle can be broken once people have identified the issue and are taught how to address it.

Working with children creates a huge emotional response in educators and Professor Peter Elfer from the UK has been researching how ‘Work Discussion’ groups can help educators deal with the range of emotions they experience in centres. He says working with young children requires a deep level of emotional engagement and with all our differences with family background, experience and expectations we need to create a space to have a ‘Work Discussion’ that consists of educators coming together to discuss their emotional wellbeing.

To connect the above ideas and Element 5.1.1, discuss the emotions educators can experience when working with children. Here are some points to guide the discussion:
⦁ Has there been a time when your emotions stopped you from being responsive to children and having meaningful interactions to build trusting relationships?
⦁ What behaviours might you see from an educator when they are emotionally afraid to build trusting relationships?
⦁ How could Educational Leaders and Nominated Supervisors emotionally support educators?