In this three part series, Rattler takes a deep dive with a range of services who have achieved Exceeding ratings in all seven Quality Areas to share with you how they reached this high standard. In our March edition we shared the story of Narooma Preschool, in July we wrote about St Luke’s Preschool in Dapto, NSW. In this edition we put a spotlight on Forrest Out of School Hours Care in the ACT. BY CAROLIN WENZEL Quality Rating: Excellent nly three Out Of School Hours Care (OOSHC) services in the country currently hold the Excellent rating and Forrest OOSHC is one of them – a first for Canberra. It was recognised for its collaborative partnerships with professional, community and research organisations; practice and environments that enhance children’s learning and growth; positive workplace culture and organisational values, sustained commitment to professional development and support of educators.
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Forrest OOSHC was also recognised for its application of Playwork principles and practices that actively support children’s rights. For example, since 2017, educators who apply to work at the service have been interviewed by a panel of children who are given agency to develop their own questions, take notes and have input into the decision making in the selection of new educators.
called ‘Beyond The Fence’ which saw children going out of the school grounds to an adjacent nature strip to climb trees, build dens, cubbies and forts. The Educational Leader at FOOSHC, Kylie Keane, then embarked on her first overseas study tour to the UK where she discovered Playwork which she felt aligned perfectly with My Time Our Place. Since then she has led the team on a journey of discovery as they strive to adopt a Playwork approach. “Though we will never be able to truly embody Playwork due to being an education and care setting in which children are not free to leave as they wish, we strive to embed Playwork and its guiding principles as much as possible,” says Director Ali Sewter. “Play is led by the child; it’s freely chosen and intrinsically motivated. The role of Educators is to protect the play-cycle; we have a system of Dynamic Risk Benefit Assessment which empowers the children to take control and have agency.” Parent and P&C Vice President Tui Davidson describes the service this way: “Children are encouraged to enjoy their play, uninterrupted by adults. They enjoy a large space and make their own games and play worlds. Educators hang back and observe – as the children make, do, invent, have a fun time and make new friends. It’s a very organic process.”
The service has existed in the grounds of Forrest Primary School in different forms since 1974 when it began as an Adventure Playground by the ACT Education Department. This meaningful partnership with The ACT Education Directorate continues today providing quality outcomes for children. In 2014 educators reflected on how to meet children’s needs for more challenging play and started a program
RATTLER ISSUE 132 | NOVEMBER 2020 | 11
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EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM AND PRACTICE
“We program for the possibilities of play, and we protect the play-cycle,” explains Director Ali Sewter. “If we see particular interests of children we extend them. For example, one child had loved fishing with his grandad, and had been missing him when he moved to Darwin. An educator observed him making fishing traps for when his grandad returned. He was trying to get twigs to bend to make a trap. The educator found reeds and grasses and boiled it and left it out for him to discover and utilise.” The educators at FOOSHC do all they can to support a child’s right to be heard – Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children’s voice is facilitated by inviting children to put their suggestions and feedback into a comments box, these are then posted on sheets on a wall, which also invites them to write up what they liked and didn’t like that day or week. Educators always respond – they read all the suggestions, reflect on them, discuss them. For example, one of the requests one day was for an excursion to the lake to paddleboard. The educators’ response was, “What a great idea, Yes we’re working on it and currently we are doing a site visit and writing a risk benefit assessment” Children are invited to contribute to writing the risk benefit assessment.