Early Edition Spring - 2021

EarlyEdition SPRING 2021

Early Childhood Educators’ Day 2021 Member in the Spotlight: Nature Play at Kids World Gilston From Behaviour ‘Management’ to Fostering Wellbeing

We know the early childhood and outside school hours care sector so well, we created a Service Admin Team to provide admin support to our clients.

Our Service Admin Team do the admin you usually do each day.

We take the hassle out of paperwork and make sure you get paid.

What can the Service Admin Team do for you?

Enrolments processing Updating child and family/guardian details Child and staff schedules Processing invoices & collecting your payments Submissions & reconciliation of CCS data Vacancy reporting Processing invoices and payments Weekly CCS funds reconciliation Customised reports for your service Payroll processing (additional cost) Accounts Payable (additional cost)

Call the Service Admin Team!

call 1300 717 028 email support@childcarecentral.com.au.

Service Admin only $195 per wk

(inc. GST and annual CCS Software Subscription)

EarlyEdition SPRING 2021

Cover Image: “Wonder of Water”, Liza and Ruby - Karinya Montessori Children’s House

ACA Qld

Contents

Location: 2/10 Welch Street, Underwood Qld 4119 Mailing: PO Box 137, Springwood QLD 4127 Telephone: (07) 3808 2366 Toll Free: 1300 365 325 (outside Brisbane) Web: www.qld.childcarealliance.org.au Email: qld@childcarealliance.org.au

ACA Qld President’s Report

2

ACA National President’s Report

3

The Woods Kindy Kickers

4

Why RTO and Employer Relationships are Valuable

7

Beach Kindy Bliss

8

A Sense of Belonging: How Sensory Play Sets Children up for Life

10

Educator in Profile: Becky Borg

12

Member in the Spotlight: Nature Play at Kids World Gilston

14

2021 Early Childhood Educators Day

16

Rediscovering the Great Outdoors

20

From Behaviour ‘Management’ to Fostering Wellbeing - A Way Forward

23

CAECE Congradulates

26

Supporter Members Directory

28

Disclaimer: Articles published in this magazine are published as a service to readers and should not be substituted for specific advice in relation to any issue.

While advertising in this magazine is encouraged, ACA Qld accepts no responsibility for the contents of the advertisements. Advertisements are accepted in good faith and liability for advertising content, goods or services supplied is the responsibility of the advertiser.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Executive

Committee Members

ACA Qld Office

President - Majella Fitzsimmons

Linda Davies

Rosa McDonald

Chief Executive Officer - Kate Tully

Vice President - Jae Fraser

Nicole Fowler

Katy Mason

Office Manager - Jen Smyth

Treasurer - Doug Burns

Kerrie Lada

Louise Thomas

Office Admin Assistant - Letitia Berndt

Executive Secretary - Debra North

Pam Maclean

Brent Stokes

Marketing and Communications Officer - Brianna Salmond

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

1

ACA Queensland President’s Report Welcome to the 2021 Early Edition Spring Issue!

We hope all our members and early childhood educators across Australia had an incredible Early Childhood Educators’ Day with their team, children, and families!

We would like to take this time to thank YOU for the difference you make every day to the children in your care and education. Your wonderful efforts in giving our young children the best start in life never go unnoticed.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this momentous day. It was wonderful to see the cheerful and heart-warming photos spread over social media in support of our incredible educators, teachers, and amazing early childhood support superstars – cooks, cleaners, and administration staff. We were delighted to see Early Childhood Educators’ Day receiving news coverage to help spread the word with a big thank you to ACA Qld Vice President Jae Fraser and The Scholars Group for help making this happen. It was fantastic to see all the support and involvement once again by early learning services, departments, and all sides and levels of government.

We would like to thank Cargo Crew for once again providing us with this year’s incredible Early Childhood Educators’ Day merchandise, it was great to see many of you rocking these during the week.

Planning for the ACA Qld 2022 National Conference is well underway.

I encourage you to clear your calendars for the weekend of Friday 3 to Sunday 5 June 2022 for yet another incredible weekend of learning and networking. With other events in the early learning sector facing the unfortunate decision to postpone, we were lucky enough to hold the 2021 National Conference which was another success thanks to the stand-out presenters, exhibitors, and of course costumes! Thank you once again to the ACA Qld committee and

2

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

team for organising such an amazing event and we can’t wait to see what 2022 has in store.

We have continued to meet with the Department of Education on many issues, including the end of the transitional arrangements for ECTs on 31 December. We welcomed the clarifications made recently by the Regulatory Authority and are eagerly awaiting clarification from the section of the Department that manages QKFS funding. We are confident there will be some welcome measures to mitigate the impact of the 31 December changes.

Also, on the subject of ACA Qld’s advocacy, over the last few weeks, our CEO Kate Tully and I have met with several Members of Parliament, particularly about funding issues and workforce shortages. These include Hon Di Farmer, Minister for Employment & Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development, Senator Susan McDonald (Senator for Queensland) and Mr. Garth Hamilton MP (Federal Member for Groom).

Our AGM is on 18 October 2021. (Yes, I know we just had one in February, but that was the postponed 2020 AGM!). Multiple Management Committee positions will be vacated, with some current members standing for re-election while others will retire. If you’re interested in nominating for a position, look out for the Call for Nominations which will come out later in September.

We are also proposing a number of amendments to the Rules to ensure they are contemporary and reflective of the way we manage ACA Qld. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to colleagues and early learning services in NSW and Victoria who are doing it tough with the current lockdown restrictions down south. Please stay tuned for the latest advice from ACA Qld if we are to face any further

restrictions in the future. Please be assured that ACA National is in continuous communication with the federal government to ensure viability in our sector.

Have you ordered your ACA Qld 2022 Diary yet? What are you waiting for!

Only $22.50 for members and $32.50 for others, the ACA Qld Diary is made by the sector for the sector and is the Diary for everyone operating in an early learning service. A reminder that ACA Qld members must be signed into the ACA Qld website to receive member rates. You can order your copy by visiting the ACA Qld Shop qld.childcarealliance.org.au/shop.

Lastly, I would like to thank the committee past and present for the last five years of my time as ACA Qld President. It has been an amazing opportunity to be a part of such an incredible team and to support and advocate on behalf of all ACA Qld members.

Majella Fitzsimmons ACA Qld President

ACA President’s Report The landscape has changed dramatically for our sector.

Over the past month, the landscape has changed dramatically for our sector.

Whilst Queensland’s restrictions easing on Friday 27 August, the whole of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria remain in hard lockdown and the impact on attendances has been swift.

Whilst the Victorian Government has placed formal restrictions on attendance in Victoria (Victorian early learning services are open to authorised workers only plus vulnerable children), the NSW Government has recommended that children stay at home where possible.

Under both scenarios, service providers quickly experienced drops in attendance levels and it became clear that in the absence of any government support, service providers in the affected areas would be facing a financial crisis much like 2020.

ACA’s ongoing monitoring of the situation allowed us to keep the Federal Government informed on this matter and strongly advocate for flexibility and financial support.

We are extremely relieved and grateful for the recent introduction of the new Business Continuity Payments (BCPs), coupled with the recent allowance for service providers in declared hotspots to waive the gap fee to families during this period.

However, the support payments will be contingent on a number of conditions. Eligible services must anticipate, or be experiencing, attendance levels below 50 percent of the reference period, agree to waive gap fees for all families whose children are not attending, maintain staffing levels, agree to a fee freeze for the duration of support and refrain from accessing other Commonwealth Government funded supports.

ACA is in ongoing discussions with the Department of Education, Skills & Employment (DESE) about the finer details of the package, and we continue to advocate for mechanisms that will work best for the sector.

Whilst the financial support will not be available to all services, the new package is still a welcome relief after months of uncertainty, particularly for those services in NSW. We are heartened that there is now a funding mechanism in place which applies to all approved providers across Australia and can be implemented quickly in future lockdowns, should the need arise.

ACA is extremely proud of our sector, and the important role of our educators.

On behalf of our Executive Committee, I would like to say a huge thank you to our early childhood educators for continuing to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the children attending their service and giving these children the best start in life.

We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day or even week of celebrations and positive team spirit.

If you haven’t already, you might like to peruse the photos of celebrations on the Early Childhood Educators’ Day website – www.

EarlyChildhoodEducatorsDay.org. au. There is also an overview of this year’s event from early learning services on page 16.

Paul Mondo ACA President

On a more positive note, Wednesday 1 September was Early Childhood Educators’ Day, which provided a wonderful opportunity to let our valued teams of staff know how much they are appreciated during what has been another unpredictable, challenging year.

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

3

The Woods Kindy Kickers Shani Cai > Early Childhood Teacher at The Woods Early Education Centre

Swimming in childhood has a number of long-term benefits. Swimming enhances personality development, leads to increased enjoyment, health, and development of the ‘whole’ child.

According to research, early swimmers also perform better socially and intellectually.

At The Woods Early Education Centre in Ashgrove, we believe it is crucial that children are aware of both the fun and danger associated with the water. As a result of this, last semester the Kindergarten Children at The Woods began weekly swimming lessons at Stanford Swim in Everton Park. We believe these lessons are the building blocks toward a better future for our children in the water.

4

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

When we initially began our swimming journey, the children were very excited, but also very cautious and had to develop their knowledge around pools, swimming and safe risk-taking skills. As they gradually built up their trust with the swimming instructors and their confidence around the water, the children’s abilities and self-confidence increased, allowing them to celebrate their achievements with each lesson. Now that we have been attending for over 15 weeks, the children absolutely love getting on the bus, giggling and chatting away excitedly before arriving at swimming. The warm, friendly, experienced, and qualified instructors at Stanford Swim have been more than accommodating, building relationships with each child, and assessing their strengths and abilities.

Through engagement in these weekly swimming lessons, our Kindy Kickers have been able to enhance their gross motor skills development and coordination. The children’s stamina, flexibility, and muscle strength have all improved as a result of their participation in this fullbody cardiovascular and respiratory workout, which also improves their concentration. It is safe to say we have a very quiet trip on the way back to The Woods, because the children are absolutely exhausted after learning valuable water survival skills such as floating, treading water and how to get to an exit point quickly and safely.

ORD E NOW R !

HOLISTIC RESOURCES HOLISTIC QIP WWW.HOLISTICQIP.COM.AU

FREE MONTHLY NEWSLETTERS

PRE-ORDER YOUR 2022 DIARIES - DIRECTOR DIARY -EL DIARY -EDUCATOR DIARY

THE HOLISTIC DIRECTOR

THE HOLISTIC CRITICAL REFLECTION

SELF ASSESSMENT OOSH MANUAL

DIRECTOR DIARY

STEM THE HOLISTIC WAY

ONLY $77

This is the most detailed compliance manual that you will find on the market – with over: *300 NQF evidence for an exceeding achievement. *Over 250 QIP Goals and Strategies Over 120 Checklists, forms, templates and surveys to help any director!

ONLY $197

THE HOLISTIC EDUCATIONAL LEADER

A complete guide to How, What and Why Critically Reflect in your service ONLY $147

THE HOLISTIC SCHOOL READINESS

A great resource folder for Educational Leaders, Directors, Managers & Owners ONLY $187

Over 70 Activities to Inspire your room Setups, Program and Projects.

ONLY $127

EL AND EDUCATOR DIARY ONLY $77- EACH

HOLISTIC DOCUMENTATION & DISPLAYS For all Enquiries Please Contact Lisa Dooley, Events Manager

The Holistic Educational Leader Manual – superb for ALL childhood settings will be sure to inspire, motivate & ignite your knowledge of how to be an exceedingly rated Educational Leader. The most successful leaders are those who inspire, motivate, captivate & energise others, they do this by ensuring they have the most current comprehensive information. The Holistic Educational Leader Manual does this & much more. Overflowing with samples, templates & very informative explanations sure to ease the burden of any Educational Leader.

ONLY $187

Ph: 0404 487 017 Email: events@alinadanconsultancy .com

HMC PODCASTS A complete guide to How, What and Why Critically Reflect in your service ONLY $147

It is a great new visual resource coming out that has over 70 displays to inspire you and your educators!Learn how and what to displayFantastic for visual learners!A great resource for all rooms within your service ONLY $137

www.holisticmanagement.net.au

Struggling to support ‘prac’ placement for your studying ECT?

Introducing: Prac Swap ACA Qld’s ‘Prac Swap’ is a free service whereby we seek to match two people needing to undertake a practicum placement (‘prac’) as part of their Early Childhood Teacher (ECT) degree, so that each can work in the other’s service for the period of the prac.

This has the advantage of neither person needing to take leave, and the service not needing to arrange another person to cover an absence.

The Prac Swap arrangement is covered by an agreement for which ACA Qld provides the template. ACA Qld is not a party to the arrangement.

Introducing: Flying Squad ACA Qld’s ‘Flying Squad’ is a free service to assist ECEC services to access suitably qualified, temporary staff. Priority is currently being given to covering absences for studying ECTs to undertake prac, where a Prac Swap is unsuitable or not feasible.

The employment arrangements are a matter between the service and the Flying Squad member. ACA Qld is not a party to any resulting employment agreement.

How do I become involved?

To lodge your Expression of Interest in either or both initiatives, visit the Prac Swap and Flying Squad forms located under Services at qld.childcarealliance.org.au and let us know what you need. We’ll do our best to find you a match!

Any queries can be directed to wass@childcarealliance.org.au.

There is no charge for either service.

‘Prac Swap’ and ‘Flying Squad’ are initiatives of Australian Childcare Alliance Queensland (ACA Qld), proudly supported by the Queensland Government. ACA Qld is the state’s peak body for providers of early childhood education and care services.

qld.childcarealliance.org.au t: (07) 3808 2366 or 1300 365 325 (country & rural)

Why RTO and employer relationships are valuable Mandy Walker > Training & Operations Manager at the College for Australian Early Childhood Educators

Working and studying in Early childhood is like no other career path. Most educators have been a student while working part time or full time at some stage of their career. Balancing work, life and study is a challenge to which there is no one size fits all solution.

Working and studying in early childhood is like no other career path. Most educators have been a student while working part-time or full-time at some stage of their career. Balancing work, life and study is a challenge to which there is no one size fits all solution.

One barrier students may face when studying is having time, support, and guidance in the workplace to ask questions, complete practical tasks or implement plans.

Students who have supportive employers progress much better in their studies as they feel supported and encouraged to complete. After all, it is beneficial for the employer to have quality qualified educators in their team.

The educator, the workplace and the RTO all need to be open, transparent, and flexible for the learner to be successful in their journey.

Some things you can do to be an active part of your educators study journey are: • Have a copy of the educators training plan and due dates.

• Ask for progress notes from the RTO. • Ask to be notified when the educator is not progressing (most RTOs should do this).

• Complete any third-party reports or supervisor reports as requested.

• Provide the RTO with feedback on their assessment practices.

Some things the RTO can do to support you and your educators: • More frequent visits.

• Arrange visits at a time that is suitable to you and your team.

• Send monthly progression reports.

• Request feedback from services on delivery and assessment practices.

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

7

Beach Kindy Bliss Michelle Stanley > The Prince Charles Hospital Early Education Centre

Our Beach Kindy adventures are always a huge success at the Prince Charles Hospital Early Education Centre!

We always start with a group morning tea and we sing our Acknowledgement of Country song to thank and honour our land’s Indigenous peoples. With boundless energy, our children excitedly race off towards the small pools of water, splashing and exploring with shrieks of delight and joyful smiles.

Once all the excitement simmers down, our beach cherubs settle in to enjoy the feel of the soft sand, dig large holes, build sandcastles, search for shells, draw with sticks, observe sea slugs and super crawly crabs, jump and skip through puddles, run like the wind, and get blissfully wet in the biggest sandpit of all time!

On some of our adventures, we have been fortunate enough to learn how to fish with real fishing rods, and some children even tried out the boats they made from recycled materials, to see if they would float! Our children always have such memorable adventures at Beach Kindy. We feel very blessed to be able to offer these natural learning experiences.

8

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

teaching.com.au

12

MONTH

Quality Assured

FREE Freight*

Widest Range

Local Team

Curriculum Aligned

*On orders over $299. Promotional value excludes GST. Offer excludes new projects and international orders.

#BuildingKnowledgeTogether

A Sense of Belonging:

How Sensory Play Sets Children Up for Life Caitlin Murphy > Wearthy

If only we could experience the world for the first time again, with childlike curiosity and affection, with fearless fascination and the absence of judgement, by relearning the truth that our senses so naturally impart on us as children.

The instinctual process of a young body and mind making sense of its surroundings is an awkwardly challenging but infinitely enriching time. It’s confusing and joyous, frustrating and magical, heart-breaking, soul-shaking and confidence-making, but there is a quiet knowing in this delicious carelessness of learning; a trust that nature is so imperfectly facilitating a connection to our environment and encouraging an unhurried belonging to the world through our senses.

Swiss Psychologist, Jean Piaget, is famously known for his work on child development. He believed that through trial and error, children gain knowledge and a basic understanding of the world around them. He called this stage of life the ‘sensorimotor’ - combining natural-born abilities like sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, with physical actions that allow children to build awareness of themselves and their surroundings. Once a baby can open their hand from a fist, it begins – as early as four months old, the senses are sparked and exploration emerges.

Every type of play has the potential to become a sensory activity as play continuously engages a child’s senses, especially outdoors where senses are heightened. We often think our senses are merely the well-known physical ones, but internal senses exist too; like balance, movement, and position. To understand our sense of space, we call this proprioception – enabling us to know that our feet are on soft grass or hard concrete or climbing stairs without looking. With underdeveloped senses maturing over time, each new experience builds nerve connections that grow the foundation of our brains.

10

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

“

“

Children require long, uninterrupted periods of play and exploration.

- Jean Piaget

To support optimal sensory development in children, a new wave of early education was born. It began with a more holistic approach with Montessori, Reggio Emilia and Waldorf (Steiner) schools adopting the philosophy of hands-on, self-directed play - giving children back their power by creatively guiding themselves through learning.

Then the nature play, forest school and bush kindy movement took more children out into the wilderness, which has gained necessary momentum over recent years due to a rise in time spent on screens. More children today are understanding and respecting nature and the environment, plus the interdependence of humans, animals, plants and lifecycles.

Play it Forward podcast guest and Nature Pedagogy expert Claire Warden believes that nature can nurture children and such a connection helps them thrive. She also says that nature allows children to know their place in space and that trees invite children to touch and interact with the environment.

Nature Pedagogy is an understanding of our sense of belonging to land, our sense of working with nature. There is a pedagogical shift when you move outside into nature...it’s learning with nature, not just teaching about it.

- Claire Warden Sharing stories within nature through generations is also a powerful way to connect children to their land, to family ritual and to their own sense of wonder.

Richard Louv’s intergenerational storytelling in Our Wild Calling is the perfect example of this where he writes of Oceanographer Paul Dayton often telling his grandchildren about the time he had a close (and almost fatal) encounter with an octopus. The connection in relationship and the sensory absorption of information can also be a precious developmental process for children. The book is a profound exploration into the awe of animals and how they can transform our lives - another way to develop a deep nature connection with children, through interaction and observation of animals.

Sensory play ideas don’t have to be grand. It can be as simple as exploring the garden or an outdoor sensory walk - noticing colours, spotting bugs, touching leaves or smelling flowers. We are not always blessed with good weather, but we do have great clothing to prepare us.

Getting children outside is paramount, especially in the rain where our senses are awakened. This can lead to splashing in puddles or making mud pies – not to mention the learning opportunities of raindrops.

In our busy world where many of us, especially our children are struggling to find calm and self-regulation, nature offers us our deepest connection – the one we have with ourselves. Once we start identifying as part of nature, our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world strengthens. By encouraging more sensory play in children during their early years of development, we are nurturing an empathetic and limitless growth in the people who will one day be looking after this world that showed us who we are and where we belong.

“

Cherish the natural world, because you’re a part of it and you depend on it.

- Sir David Attenborough

2022 Diary 27.6 cm x 19.8 cm, spiral bound Monthly tabs Monthly National Quality Standard checklists and reminders State and Territory School Term Dates, public holidays Yearly Planner Plenty of writing space for notes, reflections, meetings, family feedback and more National events and activities Important contacts Yearly reference calendars

ORDER NOW

ONLY $22.50 FOR M EMBER S $32.50 for ot hers

Visit qld.childcarealliance.org.au to order yours today!

“

Nature also offers an abundance of risky play opportunities, further developing children’s abilities and limitations. From climbing a tree to jumping in puddles, the outdoors graciously holds children in their natural state of curiosity and learning.

Educator in Profile:

Becky Borg

Meet Becky Borg, who works at Willow Early Learning Centre.

1. What is your role within your service and what do you want to achieve in the next five years?

3. What do you find rewarding about working in the early learning sector?

As an educator at Willow Early Learning Centre, It is my responsibility and role as an educator to ensure care and attention is of the highest standard resulting in Quality Outcomes for children. As an educator, I enjoy assisting children not only to gain knowledge but to analyse, synthesise and evaluate. I thrive on creating an atmosphere that is stimulating, nurturing, encouraging, safe, and adaptive to each child’s individual and unique needs. After being an educator for many years, I enjoy sharing what I have learnt along the way and helping others to feel more comfortable, positive, supported and confident in their roles too.

Working in the early childhood sector has plenty of rewards especially after being in the industry for over fifteen years. I love every minute of it and knowing that we as educators are playing some part in equipping a future generation with the skills of becoming lifelong learners is a huge reward.

Within the next five years, I look forward to continuing to gain more knowledge in best practice and learn more skills to allow for personal and professional growth in both early childhood and business. I would also love to create a children’s storybook using positive affirmations to share among educators in the hopes they could take the opportunity to read and practice these affirmations from the storybook with the children on a daily basis as part of their routine.

2. What/who inspired you to forge a career in early learning?

My inspiration to forge a career in early learning came from a variety of sources. As a little girl, I always wanted to work with children, as I would often play “teachers” with my brothers and family.

Throughout my teenage years, I would spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ businesses which were hostels and nursing homes. I was able to assist and witness firsthand the positive environments created and the impacts that my family had created to give these wonderful people a stimulating, fun, caring, nurturing and loving environment.

Another inspiration was from my Mum who loves her career in a school environment and continues to follow her passion working with children. I began my studies for early childhood in high school and it was during my placement where I absolutely loved and enjoyed the early years learning environment. After finishing year twelve, I began my early years career working as a lead educator with three to five-year-olds while also studying for my diploma.

Being so used to studying and working, I decided to enrol in University where I completed a few courses relating to both education and business. This is when I realised my passion was truly in the early childhood environment.

12

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

From the time you step into the centre to the time you leave, you know you are making a difference to the lives of the children because today’s children are tomorrow’s future generation and we as educators have a huge impact on a child’s life.

Rewarding is witnessing the excitement and smiles from the children from when they walk through our door to hearing the conversations with their parents when they leave about the busy and adventurous day they had, that truly says it all.

Another rewarding part for me is sharing lots of conversations with the children throughout the day. It gives me so much joy to be able to acknowledge and listen to our precious children as they have so much to say, it always makes my day and puts a smile on my face.

4. How would you describe your early learning philosophy?

I believe all children are brought into this world as unique individuals striving to learn and share experiences.

Children to me are the most precious people that live by example. I believe children should be provided with learning experiences that allow them to explore, create, investigate, experience, make choices and foster a sense of independence and achievement. I am passionate about bringing out the best in every child.

I acknowledge that each child is part of a family that includes all adults and children who have significant relationships with that child, and the family are the primary caregiver. I believe it is important to complement the role of the family in the child’s life through staff and families working together in partnership. I recognise the importance of listening to the children to better understand their needs, interests and the contribution they make to their families, the centre and the community.

I believe it is vital to support children and provide them with the opportunities to develop foundation skills as early childhood education is the foundation of a child’s future education.

5. How do you engage the families in your service?

We engage with the families in our service in a number of ways. Our families are involved in every aspect of what we do. I feel maintaining a supportive and respectful relationship with the families allows them to feel not only supported but also empowered in their role as parents. We as educators want the families to feel supported and safe.

We use Storypark as a tool to engage with our parents as well as face-to-face engagement - not only in a professional way but also in a friendly and meaningful way. Families are a huge part of our job.

As an educator, I continue to actively seek and incorporate parent suggestions into our educational program. By incorporating this parents will have confidence in our services and feel that their input is valued. Incorporating and actively listening to families is one way as an educator, we can acknowledge and support a child’s family and culture. I do this by reaching out to families to see if they have any ideas to share or materials that we can implement into our program.

Our centre has an open door policy where our parents can spend as much time at our centre as they like, interacting, playing or sometimes even sharing a special talent or their culture.

6. What is your biggest challenge as an educator and what strategies do you put in place to manage these challenges?

8. What is the most important skill you hope to develop in the children you educate and care for?

I believe the most important skill that I hope I can develop in our children we educate and care for is to ensure they have a sense of belonging and to feel safe and secure in our environment.

As an educator, I believe in giving children opportunities, foundations and skills to become creative individuals so that they are able to not only communicate effectively, but also demonstrate the social and emotional skills to give anything a try, express empathy and show respect not only to others but also to themselves. A child who is confident and comfortable within their own identity and self has the disposition for many greater skills in life. By providing an enriched learning experience, the children will have a love for learning, ask questions, investigate and will be empowered to create an understanding of the world in which we live in.

9. What advice would you give to someone who wishes to start a career in early learning?

My advice that I would give someone who wishes to start a career in early learning is to begin by starting with work experience in an early childhood centre and enrolling into a course. If you feel that early childhood is something where you feel connected too and would enjoy as a career then welcome to the family.

As an educator for many years, I believe the biggest challenge is the time! I believe many educators will agree and share the same challenge. We all know that time goes so fast especially when you are having fun! As an early childhood educator, I endeavour to use every bit of time to the fullest and not waste a second as time is so precious and we can never get it back. Time will never change but how we manage it will help us to create the most successful and engaging learning environment.

As an educator, you are a positive role model and always be aware of the importance of your role. Remember, no day is ever the same and every child is a unique and capable individual striving to learn. I highly recommended attending all professional development courses/webinars as knowledge and experience is crucial and so beneficial.

Never be afraid to ask questions throughout because we all started somewhere in the beginning. Live each day as if it is your last! Remember to live in the moment! Spread love, kindness and happiness every day. Celebrate the achievements no matter how small. Believe in yourself and the rest will fall into place.

If I ever come across a challenge, my dedicated team of professional educators help through the challenges.

Working together, reflecting, documenting, effectively communicating and delegating assists in developing a positive medium for delivering success.

Overall, if you are committed to giving children the best start in life, are energetic, passionate, hardworking, spontaneous, have a positive mindset, engaging, nurturing, devoted, creative, enthusiastic, dedicated and love children then welcome to the most rewarding career there is!

7. How have the challenges you faced helped you grow as an educator?

10. Finally, what’s your fondest memory from your own childhood?

The challenges I have faced have helped me grow as an educator through many ways. No day in early childhood is ever the same and any challenges you face as an individual or as a team will always offer the opportunity to grow and learn.

In regards to time, having time management and organisation is key. We need to remember as educators, what is happening right at this moment and how we can make the most out of this moment. Over the years, I have learnt the importance of being present with the children.

Engage in the moment and listen to what they are saying to you. If you are a passionate and dedicated educator, that will inspire you to push forward to achieve your goals and overcome challenges.

I have so many memories from my childhood that I will cherish forever. I was always surrounded by family and friends where I felt so loved, valued and always enjoyed spending so much quality time together. Some of these memories include staying with my Nanna and Pop, learning to ride a motorbike with my Dad and Uncle, shopping with my Aunty, arts and crafts, holidays, decorating my cubby house, cooking at home with Mum, celebrating life events with all of the family, swimming in the canals and building sand castles on the sand in our backyard.

Thinking back on all these wonderful memories always encourages me to create moments and experiences where the children can feel the same love, joy, excitement and sense of belonging as I experienced through my childhood.

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

13

Member in the Spotlight:

Nature Play Kids World Gilston

If you had visited our service in 2018 you would have found us in the beginning of our Nature Play journey and the implementation of a program lead by our educator Kyra who is known in our community as the Nature Warrior.

We recognised her passion for being outdoors and the benefit it brings to the children. Our greater community of families were incredibly supportive and an integral part of informing our program. A questionnaire was sent home to parents asking what their first positive memory of being in the great outdoors was and with that memory in mind what would they like for their child’s nature play journey within our service. From this point, our program began to take shape. With the installation of a second mud pit, we found some children not wanting to play there for fear of getting in trouble for getting their clothes dirty. That was when the realisation came over our Nature warrior, she would have to show the children it’s ok to get dirty. The day continued with wet and muddy play with both children and educators covered in glorious mud, this was a key moment in our service, the freedom of nature play began to take hold and from there it has continued to grow.

Forward to 2021 and you will find an expansive community garden where children can experience growth and their own influences on the natural world, they can experience healthy food and observe the ever-changing plants.

Chickens and ducks who are instrumental in assisting those children who may need a few moments to calm and enjoy the company of animals while learning responsibility and care. An expansive natural bush setting that helps both children and educators learn how to care for country, play freely and explore the landscape in all its glory.

14

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

Kangaroos that come to eat and relax in the paddock provide an opportunity for the children to sit calmly and discover how animals are so similar to humans, that they have family units and joey kangaroos at play are learning just like children do.

Our latest addition has been the fruit orchard and now with the assistance provided by the Woolworths junior Landcare grant we can expand this area into a pollination and keystone species habitat. We will be installing a native beehive along with solitary bee homes and frog hotels.

This project aims at helping our children learn that their small actions can create big change.

it dance with them in the rain. We are there to offer care and guidance should they need it so they can feel safe and secure. These adventurous little people are capable and nature play allows them to grow, play and learn with all the benefits of childhood.

“

Imperfect action is the best place to start your own nature play journey, the children will love it regardless of how big or small.

– Nature warrior

“

When people come to tour our service, it is often noted how calm and happy the children are, we attribute this to our brilliant educators and the availability of large natural landscapes where the children are free to play and learn in their own time and at their own pace. The children have demonstrated an increased intrinsic want to learn over the last three years. With the added benefit of risky play in our service we have seen the injury rate lower. By holding weeks where we open all our yards to make one, we have seen scaffolded learning at its best and improved relationships between children and educators.

The children may say they are at play, but we know as Einstein said, “Play is the work of children”. They are learning how to regulate their emotions, gain confidence in their abilities, be creative, resilient, improve mental and physical health, handle change, observe their world, learn academically, and increase self-worth. There are so many more learning qualities that can be seen when children are at play. Happily, it is not only the children learning, but our educators are also developing resilience, calm and finding a reconnection with childhood by playing with the children when invited. We have learned to step back and not interfere with the children’s play, to allow them to invite us in.

“

“

ur task is to educate their (our students) whole O being so they can face the future. We may not see the future, but they will, and our job is to help them make something of it.

– Ken Robinson

The first five years we know is the most valuable in a child’s development. This development takes children into their next stage of learning and onto adulthood. Nature play gives the child an opportunity for self-directed learning, to play and learn the way that sparks interest in their soul. The fact is not all brains are made to be academic, if we all learnt the same then we wouldn’t have brilliant, creative and world-changing people. Nature is a place for all brain types to learn, academic and creative can all be submersed in the natural environment and thrive. We have no need to keep children in four walls, to sit them down and teach them, if we are going to give these children the best start to their journey, we need to let them learn naturally and when the occasion calls for

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021 15

2021 Early Childhood Educators Day Robina First Early Learning Centre At Robina First Early Learning Centre we take our appreciation for our educators very seriously as we believe they are the foundation of every centre.

Early Childhood Educators’ Day is a wonderful way to show our respect, thanks and kindness towards the people who take their time to care, love, educate and support our next generation.

At Robina First Early Learning Centre we love to shower our educators on Early Childhood Educators’ Day with an abundance of their favourite things, for example, sweets, treats, coffee, flowers and a personalised poem. Every year we compose an appreciation certificate for each individual educator complete with a beautiful poem written just for them, to show how important they are to us. Words of wisdom and affirmation are stronger than some people realise and we believe just a few words for each individual educator incentivise them to continue being the best educators they can be.

16

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

This year, our Director and Assistant Director organised a beautiful flower arrangement and poem for each educator and personally went around and thanked them for their hard work. It was amazing to see the smiles on each educators face with this surprise. Our centre licensees also treated our educators to a delicious dinner at a local restaurant to show how much they truly appreciated the hard work and dedication educators put in at our centre.

Hatchlings Early Learning Centre Rochedale Early Educators’ Day is a time where we can focus on showing our educators just how special they are and how loved and valued they are for the tireless work they do every day.

This year’s theme “Rain or shine we’re here” was particularly relevant for services across Australia during this pandemic. It drove home how much we love the children in our care by putting our children and centre families above ourselves as we joined with centres across Australia in staying open to support essential workers keep Australia open for business.

We wanted to show the staff how much our families appreciate the care and nurture shown to the children by secretly asking families to write an appreciation note that we added to the thank you wall. Our rain or shine backdrop provided a fun photo opportunity for staff and families to have some fun in the craziness of the world and to make some special memories to reflect on later in the year.

Our centre has recently come on board with Scholars Consultancy Group and even though we haven’t been with them very long we were given a lovely box of appreciation goodies that we know took lots of time to prepare prior to the day. Our new owner also came with a little gift to give the staff to acknowledge and thank them for their commitment, love and dedication to families, children and centre.

The celebrations continued into lunch with a pizza party, and we also want to give a huge shout out to our local coffee shop Thr33 who gave us 10% off for Educators’ Day and our daily supply of coffee!

We also send our heartfelt love and prayers to centres across Australia who this year may have had to celebrate a lot differently than in previous years.

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

17

Bright Beginnings Chermside Early Childhood Educators’ Day for many is a new thing, over the last 28 years we have called it by many names including Superstar Day, Celebrate Day, Show You Care Day and Just Because Day. We have a beautiful centre, with amazing equipment, supportive, committed families, and a strong extended community. Word of mouth is our advertising schedule, neighbours, cousins, extended families, and workplace groups are our clientele. A centre can be shiny and new, or a little worn like us, but we are nothing, without our educators.

Early Childhood Educators’ Day or week as we call it, is a massive celebration at our service. Our director Robyn is the queen of events. She feels that our educators deserve more than one day, and as we have so many part-time educators, she wanted to ensure everyone is honoured.

This year as always, we asked the families and children to write notes to the educators which Robyn scrapbooked into a journal of memories. Robyn then printed an invite for the educators outlining the week’s events: • Individual flower bouquets, chocolates, and self-care packs.

• Sweet morning with divine cupcakes and dessert bar.

An initiative this year was to do something nice for a colleague’s name that you pulled out of a hat. This was so much fun - balloons with notes in lockers, Uber Eats lunches delivered, flowers, Uber car called for educators without cars and gift vouchers. They all remained anonymous, and the diversity and personalised gifts were divine. We also celebrated our centre director Robyn - with a beautiful gift and framed artwork by the children with love notes. One of our traditions is to come together in the foyer and sing a song to the individual.

Some would say why the need to say “thank you”. Easter, birthdays, and Christmas are the traditional times to show you care. Early Childhood Educators’ Week for me is a separate time, to celebrate the extra things that educators do every day to support the families, so in turn, the economy can keep pumping and people employed. If childcare stopped, Brisbane would stop - we are the village and we need to thank the people that open their hearts to the littlest hearts daily.

• Parents donated ingredients for a Mexican lunch with one of our lovely mums offering to cook and present the items for the educators.

• Individualised Zaraffa coffee and doughnuts.

• Pizza lunch.

• Massages.

• A crisp $50 note and goodies bag.

Tugulawa Early Education At Tugulawa Early Education, the “heart” is woven through what we do every day, it features in our philosophy and vision, it forms part of our Acknowledgement of Country, and it is even in our logo. It comes as no surprise that the heart features heavily in our Early Educators’ Day celebrations.

In what has now become a centre tradition on this special day, our team write to one another. Each team member, including everyone from our centre chef, administration person and casual team are allocated another team member to write to. A mailbox is then created (think cardboard boxes, glue and collage bits and bobs!), and it takes up residence in our staffroom in the weeks preceding Early Childhood Educators’ Day. Each person then writes a card to their nominated person, containing a heartfelt message that lets their

18

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

colleague know exactly why they are so important to our team. These cards get incredibly creative, most of them handmade with such care and thought. On Early Childhood Educators’ Day, our Co-Directors open the mailbox and go room to room, hand-delivering the cards.

This small part of our celebration is much loved, shines a light on each person’s personal contribution and with a little sprinkle of attention and care for another, you make their day.

And that is where the heart is.

Kids ELC Early Childhood Educators’ Day is one of the most significant days we celebrate on the Kids Early Learning Centre calendar!

It provides Kids ELC a chance to show appreciation to our dedicated educators for the valuable role they play in educating and nurturing children. It is a profession that requires much commitment and understanding, to support with shaping young minds to be independent, responsible, and caring.

Inspired by the concept of servant leadership, our support office team dressed as ushers this year to visit and show our teams just how much they are valued. We rented two Hummer limos and travelled more than 3,100 km to visit our 12 centres across Queensland in just 17 hours, to ensure we could personally thank every member of the Kids ELC team. SVIP (Super Very Important Person) passes were given to all educators, gifting them a luxurious experience which included enjoying a great time and music, as they connected with their colleagues.

To create a one-of-a-kind experience for our educators, each Kids Early Learning Centre came up with a fancydress party theme, to match our day celebrating how “The brightest stars are those that shine for others!” In addition, our amazing leadership teams enhanced the design of the staff retreats to strengthen and re-energise our positive team cultures.

We were so pleased to see so many hugs and smiles.

Brooke Hammond, one of our educators from Eagleby Kids ELC expressed how blessed she felt to have such supportive leadership, always showing appreciation and gratitude. Kotene also shared that he felt, “Blessed to be part of an amazing tribe, we were showered in love and support from our parents, support office and centre managers.”

Thank you to our Kids ELC team of passionate educators for your wonderful contribution towards early childhood education and care. Every day you create such a fun and educational environment for our children and families.

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021 19

Rediscovering the

Great Outdoors Melita Jones-Fisher > Child and Family Therapist

In recent years, the rise in mental health incidents has become a cause for alarm. Worldwide trends are emerging where more people are being treated and diagnosed with mental health disorders than ever before.

While debates rage around what influences technology, social media, parenting styles and economic status (to name a few on a very large list) have on people’s mental health, parents are often left wondering what action should or could they take now to prevent their children from becoming one of the statistics. Sitting about and waiting for someone to find the answer is probably not the best course of action. Research rarely produces quick answers, and nor should it. However, the problem with sitting idle while waiting for answers means that more and more children (and adults) are at risk of being affected by poor mental health. As such, this article aims to explore one possible course of action parents could consider taking in the interim.

Research versus what we already know It appears society’s view has become, at times, clouded by the belief that research is the pinnacle of future mental health directives. While there is no argument that knowledge is a powerful tool that improves and better informs society, it can, on occasions, act like doctrine that ignores historical facts that have and continue to support positive mental health. Thankfully, trends are starting to

20

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

emerge whereby many, including researchers, are starting to re-examine their understanding of human development and how exposure to experiences such as physical activity can positively impact mental health and overall wellbeing.

What has exercise got to do with it?

For decades, theorists have been fascinated by human development, particularly that of small children. All typically developing children follow a similar path in the way they develop socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically. Research also supports the idea that none of these skills exist independently of each other, meaning that social, emotional, language, cognitive and physical capabilities are all interconnected and are equally reliant on each other to mature to their fullest potential.

A quick conversation with anyone from a previous generation will regale listeners with tales of tree climbing, street roaming, dam building, bike riding, hole digging fun.

Driven by natural curiosity and a shared sense of adventure and exploration, children of previous generations were presented with one of the most amazing gifts – they were able to fine-tune a range of fundamental skills without

even knowing it. To elaborate, let us look at an example.

Children who found a small body of water and set about building a dam in the middle of it did not realise that they were honing their problem solving and higher-order thinking skills, refining their fine and gross motor skills and using their social skills when they worked alongside their peers to achieve an end goal. When their explorations or experiments did not turn out as they wished, children would persist until satisfied, completely unaware that they were incidentally strengthening their resilience levels and learning how to regulate their emotions – two things which are imperative to maintaining positive mental health.

Yet while nothing has changed regarding what children need to become healthy, happy and skilled individuals, the environments which they are raised have, thus meaning that suburbs that once nurtured healthy minds are fewer and further between.

The stay at home sedentary jungle Discarding current coronavirus conditions that are keeping children cooped up indoors, there is no denying that children were already facing a pandemic of their own – often being exposed to environments that are deficit of physical opportunities and stimulation. House plots and, consequently, back yards are shrinking in size, children are not free to roam due to the need for 24/7 supervision, and the lure of technology frequently draws children indoors rather than outdoors. Combined, these factors have been mounting together, starving children of the conditions they need to reach their full potential long before the virus hit.

Bringing the physical world to children In an ideal world, it would be nice to find open plains and wilderness for children to explore. Yet the truth is that many children will not have easy and regular access to such environments. As such, it is going to be up to adults to provide the right type of conditions that support children’s development across all domains.

While those who market toys and activities will try to convince consumers that the only right way is to buy toys and equipment specifically designed to target children’s development, these types of toys lack one fundamental ingredient – creativity. When children use store-bought products their imaginations are immediately limited, confined to thinking about using the product in the way it was intended.

Opposite to store-bought products are the things that can be found in our everyday environments. Sticks can become drum sticks, walls around a sandcastle, broomsticks, swords, pretend campfires, homes for insects, or craft materials which can be used when gluing or playing with playdough. The possibilities are endless. When children learn to discover these endless possibilities they build their curiosity and desire to play and, inadvertently, develop all of the skills previously mentioned that help combat poor mental health.

Neuroscience advancements have identified direct correlations between physical inactivity and those of poor executive functioning. Without experiences that develop a range of skills and abilities, children can fail to develop in typical ways. Yet the consequences for an increased sedentary lifestyle does not end there.

Over the last decade, increased attention is being paid to the concept of mind, body connection. Gone are the days where this type of concept was only embraced by those seeking a holistic lifestyle. Instead, scientific data is now supporting the idea that active bodies not only promote physical health but also positive mental health. So what does this discovery mean for our children?

One common language shared by children across the globe is play. When children make up their own games they flex their social skills and learn from their successes and mistakes. Furthermore, the natural consequence of play means that children learn how to cope with the unexpected, rally their spirits when something disappoints them, and persist even when the odds are not always in their favour. Unsurprisingly, these are the types of attributes that elevate children towards successful careers and relationships later in life.

Combining the benefits referred to here and with those previously mentioned helps highlight that our need for physical activity is not outdated. Instead, the opposite is true. In order to achieve good mental health, physical skills need to be mastered and nurtured as much as ever. Yet the question remains, how do parents support this need when the space and great outdoors is no longer tapping on their children’s doorsteps. The final section of this article hopes to discover a few ideas.

Childcare Management just got a whole lot easier!

Everything you need to run your Childcare Service administration, capture children’s learning and enhance parent engagement.

Administration

Learning

Community

Analysis

Support

www.kindyhub.com.au EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

21

Granting children the freedom to climb and move indoors can be met with some adult resistance – mainly because the traditional belief is that big, bold movements such as running and jumping are for outside only. Yet there is a rub with this belief – children no longer have access to the outdoors like they used to. With this in mind, letting children build cubby houses and nests out of furniture can provide a simulated outdoor experience.

Instead of dragging logs and wood into place (something which encourages a combination of fine and gross motor development) children can drag furniture together. Instead of finding branches with thick leaf foliage for cubby roofs they can raid the linen cupboard and make a covering that way. The bonus is that once the cubby is built the learning and developmental opportunities do not stop there.

Instead, the building of the cubby is but the first step.

The play that evolves inside the cubby provides additional opportunities which include children coming up with their own role-play narratives and ideas.

Clay and playdough not only give children the chance to build strength in their hands but also replicate the type of play they might engage in if they were exploring the banks of a muddy riverbed. Conversations that come out of these types of experiences help develop language skills and finetune their understanding of social conventions. Naturally, the benefits are not limited to those mentioned here.

While a bath is no substitute for a dam or stream to play in, it still provides just as many great opportunities for exploring and learning. Putting in cups, saucers and (if you are feeling adventurous) sticks into the bathwater provides opportunities for children to increase creativity levels, learn about volume, measuring, mathematical and scientific language, and engage their problem-solving capabilities. It may seem counterproductive to add materials like sticks to bathwater, but it is important to remember that the goal is not cleanliness - it is development and positive mental health. When we build such important connections we are essentially building endless neural pathways, some of which will help children later in life to maintain a positive mindset, even when things get challenging.

22

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

Physical development and mental health in a nutshell Mental health disorders are on the rise. While there are no definitive answers as to what factors negatively impact mental health, a lack of physical opportunities is one possibility that is being explored in this article.

Developments in neuroscience have meant research can identify that physical activity has a positive effect on overall health and development. Sedentary lifestyles influenced by technologies, decreasing yard sizes, and limited outdoor play spaces mean that children no longer have opportunities like previous generations to enhance skills across all of the developmental domains. As such, the answer to promoting health and wellbeing could lie in increasing the amount of movement experiences children have access to. Despite living in environments where physical play is more limited, creative solutions exist. Such solutions include providing simulated experiences such as cubby house building or using outdoor materials inside.

Regardless of the methods used, adults can use their own creativity to set their children up, thus helping them to build an array of neural pathways that they can use now and in the future to sustain positive mental health.

M.J. Fisher Child and Family Therapist B. Soc. Sc.; GradDip Teaching; Dip. Care and Ed. www.whatmjdoes.com What MJ Does

From Behaviour ‘Management’ to Fostering Wellbeing – a Way Forward Sandi Phoenix > Principal Facilitator at Phoenix Support for Educators Pty Ltd

Psychology: The science of behaviour (Carlson & Buskist, 1996) was the first textbook I owned as a bright-eyed undergraduate embarking on my mission to leave the world just a little bit better.

It was printed in 1997, and so did not have a whisper of the yet to be acclaimed Positive Psychology movement.

When I brush the dust off to open this book, that still has pride of place on my bookshelf, I flick through noticing the pages outlining the pathologising and negative focus that was to be my degree. One thing that stands out for me, is the thirty-four consecutive pages dedicated to the science of behaviourism, illustrated by figures of lab studies with a menagerie of animals from Pavlov’s dogs, through to rats in a chamber, and pigeons in a box.

A couple of hundred pages later, the reader is introduced to humanistic psychology across four short pages, one of those concluding that “although the humanistic approach emphasizes the positive dimensions of human experience, and the potential that each of us has for personal growth, it has been faulted for being unscientific. Critics argue that its concepts are vague and untestable.”

From my initial introduction into the world of psychology being behaviourism, it is little wonder that for the first few years of my work with children and complex behaviour, I leaned on the ‘evidence’ from the likes of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), operant conditioning, and behaviour modification methods defined by behaviourists. Fortunately, by the time I moved on to working with teachers and educators, supporting them to find evidence-based practices to guide children’s behaviour, Positive Psychology had gained traction.

The reason for its existence; to guide a redirecting of scientific energy to measure, understand and build those characteristics that make life most worth living (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Positive Psychology’s application to the everyday classroom is yet to be seen on a large scale, nevertheless, we are on the verge of seeing this movement spill into schools and early childhood settings. This will have an enormous impact on the flourishing of children and in turn, humanity.

At the turn of the new century, Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) marked the turning over of a new leaf for the field of psychology, with their paper introducing a framework for a science of Positive Psychology. They boldly predicted the rise of a psychology of positive human functioning that will bring with it a scientific understanding and interventions with a focus on flourishing from individuals to whole communities. The authors claim that “psychologists

have scant knowledge of what makes life worth living” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5), as they have come to focus exclusively on pathology. In this introduction to a dedicated edition of American Psychologist, they paint a picture of chaos and despair should Americans “continue to increase its material wealth while ignoring the human needs of its people and those of the rest of the planet” (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, p. 5).

I have personally been fuelled by this call to action, to advocate for the human needs of our youngest citizens.

In my work as a consultant, often called upon when adults are in crisis about children’s behaviour, I have noticed that these behaviours are children’s attempt to communicate their unmet needs. Children who are communicating their ill-being through behaviours that adults deem disruptive are not something to be managed, shaped, modified, rewarded, or positively reinforced.

We must interpret the behaviour, draw on frameworks,

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021 23

theories, and research to guide our decisions about how to respond in a way that fosters wellbeing, and does not contribute to illbeing.

Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi’s founding paper in the year 2000 pointed out large gaps in our knowledge, and directions for further research. The authors namedrop the philosophical works of the likes of Democritus, Epictetus, and Camus, to name a few and pay homage to the work of humanists ever since. However, as we see very little of such philosophy applied to pedagogy in the modern classroom, we would see the same of Positive Psychology for some time. As inspiring as this announcement of a movement was, it gave few clues about what practices to apply in our work with children, and so, it is still a rare classroom or early learning environment where will see the echoes of Positive Psychology in action.

Just under a decade later, a new term was coined by Seligman, Gillham, Reivich, and Linkins (2009); Positive Education. Their paper Positive Education: positive psychology and classroom interventions, asks us to imagine a world where schools teach both the skills of wellbeing and the skills of achievement without compromising the other. They cite the necessity for this by preceding their argument that depression is more common now than it was fifty years ago, despite the fact that almost everything is better now than it was then (Seligman et al., 2009). Perhaps even more convincingly, the authors argue the reason for teaching wellbeing to children is that “more wellbeing is synergistic with better learning” (Seligman et al., 2009, p. 294). After concluding that wellbeing should be taught in schools, given their untapped potential for such initiatives, the authors also argue that indeed, wellbeing can be taught in schools.

Yet still, we wait for traditional ways of classroom management and teaching to grow into ways that support flourishing. A potential barrier to this is that despite the increased interest in school wellbeing, the field is lacking conceptual clarity and useable frameworks (Waters & Loton, 2019). I believe what we need to see this movement gain traction across Australia are strong foundations and frameworks that will guide programmes, interventions, teachers and educators to successfully apply humanistic psychology, the guidance approach, Positive Psychology, and Positive Education. The Phoenix Cups® framework (Phoenix & Phoenix, 2019) answers this call. With an easy to learn common language, and relevant educator training, this framework allows contemporary psychological ideas and research to be quickly conveyed, considered, and applied in education and care contexts. The Phoenix Cups represents needs as Cups and provides a framework for educators, teachers, and parents, to understand children’s behaviour as their best attempt to meet their need, or fill their Cups. The framework asks adults to imagine each child (and indeed humans, regardless of age) having the ‘Will to Fill’™ five different Cups; Their Safety Cup® (to achieve security), their Connection Cup® (to achieve self-worth), their Freedom Cup® (to achieve autonomy), their Mastery Cup® (to achieve self-competence) and their Fun cup® (to achieve joy).

24

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

These five Cups are symbolised by five distinct icons and colours to help adults remember each of these important basic human life needs.

The needs proposed by the Phoenix Cups framework have been chosen based on evidence emerging throughout the 21st century about which needs are most important and which needs drive human behaviour via the a Will to Fill, or the will to meet the need (Friedrich Nietzsche, 1901; Schopenhauer, 1819). Maslow (1943), posed a widely accepted theory of human motivation, assuming that all behaviour is motivated to meet Physiological needs then Safety needs (illustrated by the Safety Cup in the Phoenix Cups framework), then Belongingness and Love needs (illustrated by the Connection Cup), then Esteem needs (illustrated by the Mastery Cup and the Freedom Cup), and to Self-actualise (illustrated by the ‘Skill to Fill’™ all Cups). Dr William Glasser (1998), proposed five basic human life needs that drive all human behaviour; Survival (illustrated by the Safety Cup), Love (illustrated by the Connection Cup), Freedom (illustrated by the Freedom Cup), Power (illustrated by the Mastery Cup), and Fun (illustrated by the Fun Cup). What was interestingly novel about Glasser’s Choice theory was the assumption that rather than a common hierarchy of needs, humans all have individual, genetically inherited, needs strengths profiles, with some people having a stronger need for Love (for example), while others might have a stronger need strength for Freedom. This needs strengths profile is illustrated in the Phoenix Cups framework by the notion of a unique ‘Cups profile’ whereby one person might have a bigger Connection Cup, while another might have a dominant (large) Freedom Cup. Other ideas influencing the Phoenix Cups framework include work from the Guidance approach (Gartrell, 2004; Hoffman, 1990; Kohn, 2006; Porter, 1999, 2014), and Dr Louise Porter’s (2008) comprehensive model of human needs symbolised as a tree with the trunk representing Safety and Survival needs, then Self-esteem, and branches representing Belonging, Worth, Competence, and Autonomy.

Finally, the emerging field of Positive Psychology is providing further fodder for this theoretical model, namely the findings of Ryan and Deci (2000) who postulate three innate psychological needs. These needs include Competence (illustrated by the Mastery Cup in the Phoenix Cups framework), Autonomy (illustrated by the Freedom Cup), and Relatedness (illustrated by the Connection Cup), which when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health, and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and wellbeing.

With this plethora of research, evidence, and literature, the shared language of the Phoenix Cups communicates a practical, visual, and simple to grasp framework. This approach is successfully being utilised to understand children’s behaviour and foster wellbeing in education and care services around the world.

In reflection, what an exciting twenty-three years it has been since that first lecture I attended. We are living in a time where the noble ideas of humanistic psychology, and philosophers of antiquity, are being rigorously studied and have hence found themselves moving from philosophical ideas to robust science. From the announcement of Positive Psychology to its natural evolution into Positive Education, there is plenty of evidence that it is now time for educational institutions to push children’s wellbeing to the forefront of their mission. Just as Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi (2000) called upon Americans to stop ignoring the human needs of its people, I ask teachers, educators, carers, and parents around the world to join me in thinking deeply about the human needs of our youngest citizens, and how we can design educational settings, from the early years up, that fill children’s Cups, not empty them, and foster children’s flourishing.

Sandi Phoenix BPsychSc, is the principal facilitator at Phoenix Support for Educators Pty Ltd www.phoenixsupport.com.au and founder of The Phoenix Cups framework www.phoenixcups.com.au

References Carlson, N. R., & Buskist, W. (1996). Psychology: The Science of Behavior (5th Edition ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Friedrich Nietzsche. (1901). The Will to Power.

Gartrell, D. (2004). The power of guidance. Delmar, Cengage Learning.

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice theory (1st ed.). Harper Perennial.

Hoffman, M. L. (1990). Empathy and justice motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 14(2), 151-172. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991641 Kohn, A. (2006). Beyond Discipline (10th anniversary ed.). Association for supervision and curriculum development.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Wilder Publications Inc. Phoenix, S., & Phoenix, C. (2019). The Phoenix Cups: A Cup filling story. Phoenix Support Publishing.

Porter, L. (1999). Behaviour management practices in child care centres. University of South Australia.

Porter, L. (2008). Young Children’s Behaviour (1st ed.). MacLennan & Petty.

Porter, L. (2014). A comprehensive guide to classroom management. Allen & Unwin.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and wellbeing. Am Psychol, 55(1), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.68 Schopenhauer, A. (1819). The World as Will and Representation.

Seligman, M., Ernst, R., Gillham, J., Reivich, K., & Linkins, M. (2009). Positive education: Positive psychology and classroom interventions. Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 293-311. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27784563 Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology. An introduction. Am Psychol, 55(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.5

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021 25

RTO: 40933

Con ‘grad’ ulates CAECE is delighted to present recent graduates who have completed their Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care.

Over the last quarter we have had the opportunity to congratulate CAECE graduates from both our Diploma and Certificate III qualifications. With the ongoing support from our lovely CAECE trainers, students have been guided to achieve their goals in becoming fully qualified educators.

If you, or someone you know, are interested in studying and working towards your qualifications in early childhood education and care, our friendly staff and trainers are willing to guide and support your early learning journey! For more information please contact our team on 07 3299 5784 or email admin@caece.com.au.

CAECE would like to congratulate the following graduates and wish them all the best for their future as an early learning educator!

CAECE graduates for the last quarter: Candice: Petit Early Learning Journey Burdell 2 - Diploma (Trainer Lainie & Susan)

Maikki: A Country Garden Early Childhood Centres - Diploma (Trainer Kellie)

Ellie-Mae: Rupertswood Early Learning Centre - Diploma (Trainer Lainie & Susan)

Makayla: A Country Garden Early Childhood Centre - Willow House - Certificate III (Trainer Kellie)

Grace: Little Scholars School of Early Learning Ashmore - Certificate III (Trainer Sonja)

Taylah: Cubby Care Early Learning Centre Beenleigh - Diploma (Trainer Melissa, Karla & Sonja)

Jasmine & Caitlin: Educating Kids Childrens Centre – Certificate III (Trainer Lainie & Susan)

Thalia: Play & Learn Upper Coomera - Diploma (Trainer Karla & Sonja)

Jorja: Pandas Childcare Centre - Diploma (Trainer Karla & Sonja)

Zali: Rupertswood Early Learning Centre – Certificate III (Trainer Lainie & Susan)

Karlie: Cubby Care Early Learning Beenleigh - Diploma (Trainer Karla & Sonja)

CANDICE

26

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

ELLIE-MAE

GRACE

JASMINE & CAITLIN

JORJA

KARLIE

MAIKKI

MAKAYLA

TAYLAH

THALIA

ZALI

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021 27

Supporter Members Directory Service

Contact

Email

Phone

Web

Accounts Advantage

Wanda Reynolds

wanda.reynolds@accountsadvantage.com.au

07 3209 8266

www.accountsadvantage.com.au

Make it Cheaper

Mark Pollard

markpollard@makeitcheaper.com.au

02 8077 0005

www.makeitcheaper.com.au

Peter Price & Associates

Peter Price

peter@peterprice.com.au

07 3376 3411

www.peterprice.com.au

ShineWing Australia

Jeremy Wicht

jwicht@shinewing.com.au

07 3085 0888

www.shinewing.com.au

Felix Sekulla

Felix.Sekulla2@anz.com

07 3947 5326

www.anz.com

Lincoln Bridge

lincoln@childcare4sale.com.au

0424 370 025

www.childcare4sale.com.au

Ausplay Playscapes

Dean Kneebone

dean@ausplay.net.au

07 3879 4444

www.ausplay.net.au

Bunnings

Rob Walton

rwalton@bunnings.com.au

07 3452 5677

www.bunnings.com.au

Giarola Architects

Ray Giarola

ray@giarola.com.au

07 3878 3330

www.giarola.com.au

Grass to Go

Mark Rogers

mark@grasstogo.com.au

0407 799 808

www.grasstogo.com.au

Jardine Architects

Greg Jardine

greg@jardinearchitects.com.au

07 3229 9322

www.jardinearchitects.com.au

Jorgensens

Tim Cox

info@jorgensens.com.au

07 5597 6620

www.jorgensens.com.au

Mathiou Services

Jamie Mathiou

connect@mathiouservices.com.au

1300 363 423

www.mathiouservices.com.au

Mollard Property Group

Wendy Mollard

wendy@mollard.com.au

03 9225 5254

www.mollard.com.au

Scope Protective & Data Solutions

Peter Karadimas

peter@spds.com.au

1300 172 673

www.spds.com.au

Surface Pro

Janet Osbourne

admin@surfacepro.net.au

0418 741 507

www.surfacepro.net.au

Timberplay

Sally Alderton

info@timberplay.com.au

07 5563 3755

www.timberplay.com.au

Wearthy

Caitlin Murphy

hello@wearthy.co

0456 780 201

www.wearthy.co

X-Alt Solar

Brian Mills

brian@x-altsolar.com.au

0402 658 313

www.x-altsolar.com.au

Absolute Support Training & Resources

Darlene Wadham

darlene@absolutesupport.com.au

0488 666 455

www.absolutesupport.com.au

Elite Childcare Management

Debbie Thompson

enquiries@elitechildcaremanagement.com.au

07 3054 5999

www.elitechildcaremanagement.com.au

G8 Education

G8 Education Team

07 5581 5336

www.g8education.edu.au

Giggletree Pty Ltd

Samantha Ahearn

samantha@giggletree.com.au

07 3482 2490

www.giggletree.com.au

Guardian Early Learning Group

GEL Team

contact@guardian.edu.au

1300 217 570

www.guardian.edu.au

Kids and Adults Learning

KAL Admin Team

info@kal.net.au

1300 783 880

www.kal.net.au

QLECS (Qld Lutheran Early Childhood Services)

Ann-Marie Davis

admin@qlecs.org.au

07 3511 4079

www.qlecs.org.au

Ready Now Resources

Louise Thomas

louise@readynowresources.com.au

0410 456 607

www.readynowresources.com.au

The Scholars Group

Brent Stokes

brent@thescholarsgroup.com.au

1300 018 308

www.thescholarsgroup.com.au

The Help2Group

Karen Burgess

support@thehelp2group.com

0423 529 779

www.thehelp2group.com

Kimara Schulze-Prenzler

kschulze-prenzler@guildinsurance.com.au

07 3230 8501

www.guildgroup.com.au

Giovanni Porta

giovanni@portalawyers.com.au

07 3265 3888

www.portalawyers.com.au

Rostaboss

Angie Cooper

info@rostaboss.com.au

07 5647 3443

www.rostaboss.com.au

Expect A Star

Amanda Lawson

amanda@expectastar.com.au

1300 669 653

www.expectastar.com.au

1Place Childcare

Martin Bing

support@1placeonline.com

1800 416 431

www.1placechildcare.com

Child Care Central

Melissa Hurley

support@childcarecentral.com.au

1300 733 667

www.childcarecentral.com.au

Accounting, Bookkeeping & Financial

Banking Services ANZ Business Bank Brokers Childcare4Sale Building & Property

Consultants & Management

Insurance Services Guild Insurance Legal Porta Lawyers Staff Recruitment

Software & IT Support

28

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021

Service

Contact

Email

Phone

Web

ChildCareCRM

Chuck Gibbs

cgibbs@childcarecrm.com

02 8880 0404

www.childcarecrm.com

ChildHR

Barry Lehrer

barryl@diffuze.com.au

03 9115 3900

www.childhr.org.au

Intellikid Systems

Jamie McVeigh

jamie@intellikidsystem.com

0458 034 402

www.intellikidsystems.com

Kangarootime

Sharyn Fewster

aus@kangarootime.com

1300 993 226

www.kangarootime.com

Kidsoft

Kidsoft Team

di@kidsoft.com.au

1800 827 234

www.kidsoft.com.au

Kindyhub

Darryl Winder

darryl@kindyhub.com.au

1300 859 470

www.kindyhub.com.au

Penelope QIP

Steve Collier

steve.collier@penelope.com.au

1300 435 962

www.penelope.com.au

Rubiks iT

Andre Campbell

support@rubiksit.com.au

07 5613 1889

www.rubiksit.com.au

Safe Food Pros

David Fien

david.fien@safefoodpro.com.au

0430 142 456

www.safefoodpro.com.au

Storypark

Matt Tunnicliffe

matt.tunnicliffe@storypark.com

0413 186 181

www.rubiksit.com.au

Toddle

Ash Sachdev

hello@toddle.com.au

0402 425 661

www.toddle.com.au

Xap Technologies

Sean Murphy

sean@xap.com.au

1300 543 792

www.xap.net.au

Kayleen Tolley

info@physikids.com.au

0414 559 997

www.physikids.com.au

Child Care Super

Ben Fagan

bfagan@guildtrusteeservices.com.au

1800 810 213

www.childcaresuper.com.au

HESTA Super Fund

Joanne Fenton

jfenton@hesta.com.au

07 3223 4906

www.hesta.com.au

QIEC Super

Kate Graham

kgraham@ngssuper.com.au

0437 516 830

www.qiec.com.au

ABC School Supplies

Graham Bone

info@abcschoolsupplies.com.au

07 3823 2999

www.abcschoolsupplies.com.au

Modern Teaching Aids (MTA)

MTA Team

sales@teaching.com.au

02 9938 0411

www.teaching.com.au

Officeworks

John Rizk

grizk@officeworks.com.au

0439 284 173

www.officeworks.com.au

Pre-School Equipment

Karen Clark

info@preschoolequipment.com.au

1300 555 972

www.preschoolequipment.com.au

Step4

Katie Kennard

katie@step4.com.au

1300 720 353

www.step4.com.au

Taren Cleaning Supplies

Murray Stanton

murray@taren.com.au

02 9668 8978

www.taren.com.au

The Brand Makers

Beau Worsley

bw@thebrandmakers.com.au

07 5563 3786

www.thebrandmakers.com.au

Think Education Supplies

David Knibbe

david@thinkeducation.com.au

07 3376 3497

www.thinkeducation.com.au

ACE Community Colleges

Robyn Keenan

robyn.k@acecolleges.edu.au

07 5520 3026

www.acecolleges.edu.au

Australian College of Teacher Aides and Childcare (ACTAC)

Erin Winsbury

enquiries@actac.com.au

1300 511 455

www.actac.com.au

Australian Compliance Management

Michael Demicoli

michael@auscm.com.au

1300 206 006

www.auscm.com.au

College for Australian Early Childhood Educators (CAECE)

CAECE Team

info@caece.com.au

07 3299 5784

www.caece.com.au

Clear to Work

David Fien

david@cleartowork.com.au

0430 142 456

www.cleartowork.com.au

Early Childhood Training and Resource Centre (ECTARC)

Jan Langtry

info@ectarc.com.au

02 4223 1111

www.ectarc.com.au

Farran Street Education

Adrian McLean

education@farranstreet.com.au

1300 366 896

www.farranstreeteducation.com.au

In Safe Hands Educators in Safety

Michael Pecic

enquiries@insafehands.net.au

1300 794 644

www.insafehands.net.au

Inspire Education

Kirsten George

ECE.Trainers@inspireeducation.net.au

1800 506 509

www.inspireeducation.net.au

ParentTV

Sam Jockel

sam@parenttv.com

0401 198 625

www.parenttv.com

PECE Program - Powered by Triple P

The PECE Team

contact.au@peceprogram.net

07 3236 1212

www.peceprogram.net

Phoenix Support

Sandi Phoenix

admin@phoenix-support.com.au

1300 361 243

www.phoenix-support.com.au

PST Training Store

Danielle Peters

danielle@thetrainingstore.com.au

1300 399 665

www.thetrainingstore.com.au

Herron Todd White

Simon Fox

simon.fox@htw.com.au

07 3002 0900

www.htw.com.au

Trivett Childcare Valuations

Darren Trivett

dtrivett@trivettchildcare.com.au

0419 776 008

www.trivett.net.au

Sports and Fitness Physi kids Superannuation

Toys, Resources & Suppliers

Training Providers

Valuers

EARLY EDITION > SPRING 2021 29

HR Software Partner of

What does a REAL HR solution provide?

A clear and consistent process for managing your employee’s lifecycle through positive HR best practice

Supports Fair Work compliance with systemic processes from on-boarding to separation Delivers and maintains industry-specific employment documentation for you to use

Enables best-practice people management initiatives that demonstrate a transparent approach

Leads your HR approach to a position that attracts, supports and motivates your people

Explore these ChildHR operational advantages

8153/0821

Find them at childhr.com.au/aca or call 1300 410 340