Rattler+Broadside Magazine Issue 123, Term 4 2017

Rattler + Broadside

COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING AUSTRALIA QUARTERLY JOURNAL

ISSUE 123 | TERM 4 l 2017

Professional conversations

NEW 8-week PD planning guide · Your votes build the future · Speak up and stay safe · Write a picture book Your NQF Changes at a Glance poster · Talking about self-care · What is an early childhood professional anyway? + much more in your 30 years young Rattler+Broadside

CELA IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COMMUNITY CHILD CARE CO-OPERATIVE

FROM YOUR CEO

A

s I write to you, our returning officer is packing up your ballot papers which overwhelmingly supported three vital resolutions to make us fit for the future.

Pending final approval from NSW Fair Trading, our sadly outdated constitution will be replaced, we will become a company limited by guarantee, and we will become Community Early Learning Australia in all we do, not just as a trademark.

Words aren’t adequate to express my thanks to you, or to describe the relief we all felt in the office as the YES count was announced. As we reported before, the well-subsidised organisation CCCC had been ceased to exist with the end of Australian Government professional support funding in June 2016. The end of LDCPDP funding this year hit us as hard as many other organisations that derive revenue from training – you may even see some of them closing down. That is not the fate any of us want for CELA. We needed to live our promise to you to survive and thrive.

The Board, most of whom have served for many years, acknowledges missing opportunities since 2006 to follow through and update the constitution. The Chair, Wendy Lindgren, joins me in thanking you for giving us the strong, modern governance we needed to re-build and become even more valuable to members than before.

It won’t be easy, and we will need your support. If you love our training and events – encourage others to attend too.

If you’ve got our Directors Manual – update it with the new Essential Guide. If there’s something you want us to offer – tell us!

Have you contacted us to get your 2018 Cert III, Diploma trainee trained in our RTO? Have your looked at our EarlyED HR package to see how it could bring all your staff management onto a single, easy platform?

We cannot offer the huge subsidies of the past, but if we can help you get the grants that reduce your costs so you can still train with us, attend our events, and engage with our professional networking and consultancy.

Investing in your own organisation for your training and resources means you win twice: you are paying for great quality and your fees come back to you in member benefits. We are a membership organisation and you drive our direction. Your membership funds our fabulous communication including, Amplify, Rattler and Broadside, our availability to you by phone, email and social media, and our frequent representations to policy-makers on behalf of you and the children in your services.

Now that we have certainty about our governance, our plans for CELA’s 40th anniversary next year are underway. We hope some of you will volunteer to join us on the planning committee. In Broadside you will learn we are planning an Advocacy Masterclass series in 2018. Modern advocacy may be a new craft – more about influence and engagement than banners and sit-ins – but we cannot lose sight of the gigantic efforts of the past. In this series we will bring together several generations of successful advocates for children across Australia. We will learn from our elders and we will be inspired by young leaders both within and outside the early childhood sector.

It will be a mark of our resilience and our ability to thrive and better represent your needs. Come on the journey – and bring your friends!

Diane Lawson CEO, Community Early Learning Australia

PUBLISHER Diane Lawson, CEO, Community Early Learning Australia EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Diane Lawson, Gerard Moon, Lucy Brown

THIS ISSUE RATTLER+BROADSIDE | ISSUE 123 | TERM 4 2017

EDITOR Bec Lloyd JOURNALISTS Justine McClymont, Cath Fowler

TOP TITLES

ADVERTISING Email communication@cela.org.au for a media kit

New children’s releases from independent publisher Wombat Books

Get ready for 2018 with our CELA experts’ 8-week guide to planning effective PD

CAN’T BUY ME LOVE

MUD-LUSCIOUS 24

DESIGN Taylah Pitkethley, Express Print and Mail PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION David Chamberlain, Express Print and Mail PRODUCTION Bec & Call Communication CONTRIBUTORS Catherine Jones, Kerrie Maguire, Michele Carnegie, Kathleen Herrick, Chloe Chant, Michelle Carrick

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Mud inspires imagination, what else can it do?

WHAT’S IN A WORD?

GREAT GARDENING

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We take a look at what being an early childhood ‘professional’ really means

At your service: the lowdown on worm farming

SO YOU WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR? 10

HR TAKES TO THE CLOUD

Award-winning children’s author, Aleesah Darlison shares her tips on how to start your book

COPYING Email for permission to republish any part of this magazine. This may be granted with attribution. Fair use copying for educational purposes applies.

Circles of security and rebuilding a centre: what matters at NT’s Braitling Neighbourhood Centre Inc.

Annual digital subscription $40 – read on your tablet or computer (no downloads) Annual membership starts at $260 – publications, policies, event specials and much more DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in Rattler are those of the authors and not necessarily those of CELA. CONTACT CELA 1800 157 818 info@cela.org.au www.cela.org.au Building 21, 142 Addison Road Marrickville NSW 2204 @communityearlylearningaustralia @CELAust

@communityearlylearning

ABN 81 174 903 921 Registered by Australia Post Print Post Publication No 100001554 ISSN 0819-9132 ©2017 Community Early Learning Australia Printed on FSC paper with soy-based inks. All print plates and paper waste are recycled.

THANKS Microsoft Corporation provides CELA free software (Community Assistance Initiative).

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Money money money. Learn what most affects job satisfaction in your sector

CONTRIBUTIONS We welcome your stories. Copyright is held jointly by the publisher and the author. We may edit submitted material and republish on other CELA media.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Annual print subscriptions $200 – great for libraries

PD PLANNING

MEET THE MEMBER

BROADSIDE 15-18 Build your advocacy with professional conversation skills online, read the Quarterly Wrap and save your NQF At A Glance poster

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Introducing the EarlyEd HR package & your support team

SELF CARE FOR LEADERS 12

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29

QLD resident, mentor & author Leonie Percy on implementing mindful moments

MARKETPLACE 30 NEW! Unique and boutique products & services you need to know about

AMPLIFY 31 Meet NSW member & Amplify contributor Su Garrett PLUS the TOP TEN Amplify stories so far

AUTHOR GIVEAWAY Aleesah Darlison’s Fox & Moonbeam (p10) is about finding courage.

Sign up for the Greenleaf Press newsletter by 30 November and you could win a signed copy. New subscribers get a 10% discount on Greenleaf’s services (conditions apply).

Email admin@greenleafpress.net with the subject: SUBSCRIBE ME.

Leonie Percy’s Mother Om (p29) is an excellent resource for creating calm with children in any setting.

To win a signed copy, email info@cela.org. au by 30 November using Mother Om as the subject line and tell us in 30 words or less how you create calm for children or adults around you.

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Harrison is a bit different to the other kids.

Each time he tries to speak, he stutters. No matter how hard he tries, his tongue feels tied up in knots. That is, until one day when Harrison discovers his talent ...

Harrison’s Song tells the story of how Harrison Craig (Winner of The Voice 2013) overcame adversity and bullying because he just wanted to share the love and words inside him.

Life is full of brightness for one polar bear cub. But then shadows fall ... and his world changes. The little cub must learn to hope again.

The Whirlpool is a beautiful story about feeling sad and happy, lonely and loved, small and big. This gentle, emotive tale will help children navigate their way through the ups and downs of life.

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Gemma has a new camera! She is visiting the mountains and wants to get the perfect photo.

But at the top of the lookout, Gemma gets the jitters.

Will she let her fear of heights stop her from achieving her dream?

Join Gemma, Marty and their friends as they help Gemma overcome her jitters.

With childhood anxiety skyrocketing in Australia, Katrina Roe’s latest book Gemma Gets the Jitters teaches kids how to cope with these stressful feelings.

If Emily tries to play basketball, she ends up puffing. What can you do when asthma stops you from playing with your friends?

Join Emily and her friends as they find a way she can join in on the fun.

Helping children to understand asthma in a fun & entertaining way.

Emily the elephant is one of the characters from the popular title Marty’s Nut-Free Party which was shortlisted in the Speech Pathology Awards and has sold into schools and in families around the country.

HARRISON’S SONG

TOP TITLES Wombat Books has been sharing stories and creating memories with families since 2009. As an independent publisher, we love to find those unique stories that connect us all. We especially look to educate children about the world in a sensitive and topical way.

GEMMA GETS THE JITTERS

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EMILY EASES HER WHEEZES

THE WHIRLPOOL

ANNABEL’S DANCE Hazy mazy oops a daisy, wriggle your ears but don’t go crazy!

Annabel is no ordinary sheep.

She is wiggly and jiggly. Loud noises hurt her ears and no matter how hard she tries, she just can’t fit in with the mob.

Until one day her supersensitive style brings her unexpected attention. How will the rest of the mob deal with Annabel now?

Poignant and humorous, this story of a mud-puddle coloured sheep celebrates our uniqueness.

Can’t buy ME LOVE

How important are wages for your satisfaction?

Catherine Jones is an early childhood teacher, Macquarie University tutor and PhD candidate. She has a strong research interest in leadership, job satisfaction and the overall wellbeing of educators. She shares what she has learned about teachers who had high levels of job satisfaction and how their employers contributed to their happiness.

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F

or almost 20 years I have been a passionate early childhood teacher and am very proud to be part of such a meaningful profession. I’ve never doubted my choice of profession, but my job satisfaction has changed greatly depending on the centre I was employed in. While my own experiences of job satisfaction levels seemed to relate to management and leadership models, along with pay and working conditions, I wanted to find out if this was the case for other early childhood teachers.

In 2016 I started studying the satisfaction of early childhood teachers in long day care services across Australia as part of my Masters degree at Macquarie University. My study aimed to develop a clearer understanding of the factors influencing the job satisfaction of teachers in long day care centres.

The existing research showed that pay and working conditions contributed to educators’ job satisfaction and influenced their intention to leave workplaces.1 According to the latest National Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Census, less than half (48.9%) of educators in Australia who completed the census were satisfied with their pay and working conditions, with only 39.8% of those working in long day care centres happy with their pay.2 Many university qualified teachers working in prior to school settings were also frustrated with the lack of pay equality with school teachers3 and this was being echoed by university student teachers who appeared to be less willing to look for future employment in prior to school settings due to entrenched barriers, in particular poor pay and working conditions.4 However, I suggest that increasing wages is only part of the answer to increasing job satisfaction of early childhood teachers and educators.

Job vs workplace satisfaction The first phase of my study was to conduct an online survey asking

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Teachers who experienced the most satisfaction in their workplaces described centres that had a culture where continual learning, reflection, and questioning was expected and embraced. participants to rate their overall job satisfaction with the early childhood profession as well as their current workplace satisfaction.

I found a large difference between overall job satisfaction and workplace satisfaction. The teachers were quite satisfied with their chosen profession of early childhood, yet many were not as satisfied or were unsatisfied with their current workplaces. Teachers who had high job satisfaction ratings in their current workplaces were much more likely to stay in their centres.

Not surprisingly, teachers who were paid above the award wage also had higher job satisfaction, although it’s important to note that teacher awards vary from state to state.

This finding needs further research to work out whether pay parity with school teachers and/or being paid above the award is the most important wage factor in job satisfaction.

Finally, teachers who had an extra educator in their room for at least part of the day had higher job satisfaction.

What matters most?

The second phase of my study looked at 10 teachers that had self-reported high levels of job satisfaction and a low intention to leave their current workplace. Most of these teachers were paid above the award wage, or had similar pay parity with school teachers, and all had an extra educator in their classroom for at least part of the day.

I really wanted to find out what

gave these teachers such high job satisfaction and what this looked like in their centres. Three major factors that became obvious were: ⊲ a living philosophy ⊲ a culture of continual, reflective learning, and ⊲ a meaningful work experience.

Not all of these teachers described perfect centres, but it was very clear that the these three factors supported their job satisfaction.

A ‘living’ philosophy All teachers articulated the importance of the centre philosophy being a ‘living’ document. The teachers with high satisfaction described philosophies they truly believed in. Teachers also felt that the connection between the centre philosophy document and the actual practice of the centre supported their job satisfaction.

For example, one particular centre philosophy stated how they valued building a sense of belonging and partnerships with families and the local community. In their daily practice, this centre had an optional daily family breakfast on offer, they spent a lot of time visiting the local community and also fundraised for local community groups.

Teachers in the study also talked about the need to maintain the philosophy and described strategies such as making sure the language of the philosophy was incorporated into daily practices. Another key factor was support from upper management,

particularly in supporting the director to provide working conditions, professional training and development to implement the philosophy correctly.

One centre philosophy stated that “educators are given time and resources and use a range of strategies to plan, extend, document and evaluate children’s learning and development.” This is reflected in their practice and, as one teacher said, “we know the plan, we’ve all been involved in creating the plan, we know the strategies, and we know the data that we need to collect. It means we have the time to do it and people have the capacity to engage with the content.”

Finally, careful recruitment of staff and a thorough induction process was seen as important in preserving the essence of the centre philosophy. While these teachers believed the whole team was responsible for keeping the philosophy ‘living’, all teachers interviewed recognised the influential role of the director in being a role model for the philosophy and its values.

A culture of learning Teachers who experienced the most satisfaction in their workplaces described centres that had a culture where continual learning, reflection, and questioning was expected and embraced. They described a culture in which they were trusted to test out new ideas and investigate pedagogical practice. These teachers engaged in active research, attended conferences and participated in a myriad of

professional development activities to develop their knowledge base and skill set.

As one interviewee said, “part of what we do is we’re always questioning each other. It’s not like we are questioning to say, ‘hey, we don’t agree’....for example, if I agreed with a practice someone else is doing, I would still ask questions about it and question why they are doing it, and their educated thoughts behind it. So that we are all practising and thinking about being accountable for the decisions that we’re making.”

Several teachers were beginning to further expand their capabilities by presenting their practitioner research in a variety of forums including conferences. Leadership from the director was identified by all teachers as crucial in supporting a culture of continual, reflective learning.

Teachers felt that their directors facilitated connectedness among the staff, provided an optimally challenging environment with a high level of freedom, trust and choice.

Connectedness and working toward a shared vision was very important in improving job satisfaction levels.

Importantly, what came through very strongly in the interviews was the need for supportive working conditions for a culture of continual, reflective learning to exist and be sustained.

Team meetings and sufficient release from face-to-face teaching were both necessary supportive conditions to increase teachers’ feelings of effectiveness in their roles.

Quality professional development and learning opportunities were also highlighted throughout the interviews as an important way to increase job satisfaction.

Meaningful experiences All teachers expressed how feelings of connectedness among colleagues, children, families, and the wider community impacted on their job satisfaction levels. A sense of belonging and a feeling of unity were often discussed as important.

“I really enjoy building relationships with the families,” said one interviewee.

“I’ve been in the profession for such a long time and have always worked in the local area. I have parents who I taught when they were little...they trust me a lot.”

Meaningful pedagogy and practice supported job satisfaction levels and all teachers in the study felt that having an extra educator in their room, even for part of the day, was vital for meaningful interactions with the children.

Documenting the children’s learning in a meaningful way was also important in enhancing job satisfaction. All teachers said sufficient release from face-to-face teaching was crucial for developing meaningful pedagogical documentation, but not all teachers had enough release time.

As educational leaders, all agreed the extra responsibility would improve their job satisfaction if supported by good working conditions.

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6 things you can do to improve staff satisfaction 1. Wages Think about the wages of educators in your centre. Are they equitable? Do they have pay parity with school teachers?

Can you pay above the award wage?

2. Time and resources Do educators have the time and resources to get their work done?

Do they have quality interactions with children and time to complete meaningful documentation? Can you increase staff: child ratios for even part of the day?

3. Shared philosophy Do you have a clear, shared philosophy? To what extent does the philosophy match with the actual reality of the centre? Can you include the language in the philosophy into the everyday (e.g. meetings, newsletters, documents)?

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4. Collaborative environment Do educators work in a collaborative environment? How can this be developed?

5. Continual, reflective learning Is there a culture of continual, reflective learning? Are professional development opportunities ad hoc or based on the philosophy and the Quality Improvement Plan? Can you send more than one staff member to a professional development course or seminar? Is there a culture of safe questioning?

6. Support and mentor Does the educational leader have time away from their teaching responsibilities to provide support and mentor other staff?

A personal version of Catherine’s story was published on Amplify as For Love or Money 29/09/2017.

REFERENCES 1. Jones, C., Hadley, F., & Johnstone, M. (2017).

Retaining early childhood teachers: What factors contribute to high job satisfaction in early childhood settings in Australia? NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal: Special Issue “Educators and their Work”, 20(1), 1-18. Retrieved from http://www.childforum.com/research/ nz-international-early-childhood-educationjournal-2017-educators-teachers-workissues.html 2. Social Research Centre (SRC). (2014). 2013 National Early Childhood Education and Care.

Workforce Census. Retrieved from https:// www.education.gov.au/national-earlychildhood-education-and-care-workforcecensus 3. Irvine, S., Thorpe, K., McDonald, P., Lunn, J., & Sumsion, J. (2016). Money, love and identity: Initial findings from the National ECEC Workforce Study. Summary report from the national ECEC Workforce Development Policy Workshop.

Retrieved from Brisbane, Queensland.

4. Thorpe, K., Boyd, W. A., Ailwood, J., & Brownlee, J. (2011). Who wants to work in childcare?

Pre-service early childhood teacher’s consideration of work in the child-care sector. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(1), 85-94.

What’s in a word?

Early childhood professional

BY KERRIE MAGUIRE, CELA A key reform of the National Quality Framework was mandating minimum professional qualifications. But apart from the skills and knowledge gained through tertiary training, what does being a ‘professional’ really mean? How do we define ourselves as professionals and how can we communicate this to people outside the sector?

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ACCORDING TO THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COUNCIL: ⊲ A profession is a disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards. This group positions itself as possessing special knowledge and skills. A profession is also prepared to apply this knowledge and skills in the interest of others ⊲ Professionals are governed by codes of ethics and other professional standards ⊲ Professionalism comprises the personally held beliefs about one’s own conduct as a professional ⊲ Professionalisation is the pattern of how a profession develops.

So these are the definitions, but what does it really mean and how can you apply these concepts in your day-to-day work?

In broad terms, the first thing that defines us as a ‘professional’ within a profession is mastery; mastery of knowledge, expertise and skills.

Take a moment to think about your skills, knowledge and expertise, and then consider the following questions: ⊲ Are you technically competent through formal training as well as mentoring from other experienced professionals in the field? ⊲ Do you seek to continue learning to expand your theoretical and experiential knowledge? ⊲ Do you seek advice from other professionals if needed? ⊲ Do you give advice when you’re qualified to do so? ⊲ Do you mentor and guide younger educators in the profession to pass on your knowledge and expertise?

But it takes more than mastery of skills, knowledge and expertise to be truly professional. To consider this we may need to approach being a professional in a more holistic way, as a set of characteristics or virtues combined with expertise.

HOW PROFESSIONALISM SOUNDS ⊲ Accountability – you deliver on the promises you make and ensure you can do what you say you can do ⊲ Communication – you communicate clearly and effectively ⊲ Integrity – you hold yourself accountable for your thoughts, words and actions, especially when you’ve made a mistake ⊲ Respect – you are polite and respectful to work colleagues.

HOW PROFESSIONALISM FEELS ⊲ Professional identity – you know yourself, understand your motivations and can articulate your passions

⊲ Emotional intelligence – you can regulate how you feel and act in a calm and professional way; you know how to respond not react ⊲ Objectivity – you can look at a situation objectively, recognise what’s happening and understand how it impacts everybody involved. You are aware that sometimes you need to be bigger than the situation ⊲ Dedication – you dedicate yourself and consider what you can do to contribute to your profession and workplace ⊲ Inspiration – you inspire others through your actions and words.

HOW PROFESSIONALISM LOOKS ⊲ Passion – you are passionate and enthusiastic about your

Supporting another’s success won’t ever dampen yours

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work and recognise that this approach can be contagious and create a positive professional culture in your service ⊲ Ethics – you obey the law including regulations that apply to your profession, and you do not cooperate with people who seek to act in an unethical or unlawful way ⊲ Behaviour – you maintain your poise when facing difficult situations, for example, if a co-worker acts in a challenging manner, you don’t resort to the same type of behaviour ⊲ Positive image – you project a positive image which starts with attire, but also includes body language such as eye contact and posture.

GUIDING FRAMEWORKS The following frameworks can assist in guiding workplace conversations about acting professionally and feeling confident in making professional, informed decisions:

⊲ UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ⊲ National Quality Standards and Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations

⊲ Early Years Learning Framework and My Time Our

A professional makes deliberate choices because they have made deliberate preparations

Place Framework

⊲ Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics

INSPIRE CONFERENCE FRIDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2017 (SYDNEY)

A day of inspirational speakers and motivational thinking led by Mia Freedman & Georgina Dent $200 members | $225 non-members | Book your place today!

For more details and to book your place visit our website cela.org.au

CELA IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COMMUNITY CHILD CARE CO-OPERATIVE

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So You Want to Make a

PICTURE BOOK?

BY ALEESAH DARLISON

H

ave you ever considered writing or illustrating a picture book for children? Teachers and early childhood educators are in the perfect position to create stories for young readers. Your everyday experiences, your interactions and observations of children and your educational background provide you with the precise tools you need.

After all, the topics, issues, themes, settings and characters that exist in picture books are right in front of you. In your position, working at the ‘chalk-face’ as they say, you’re able to very clearly see the gaps that exist in the market.

What stories do children in your service need? What aren’t the publishers providing but children and families desperately need? There’s your gap. Write to it. And when you’re seeking inspiration for that irresistibly fun and quirky picture book character who will stay with a reader … well, take a look around your workplace and you’ll see plenty of candidates for inspiration.

KEEP IT REAL The truth is, ideas are all around you. If you keep your eyes, your ears and your mind open, those ideas will start to flow.

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Once you’ve collected enough ideas, you can turn them into stories.

So, get your pens and writing pads out and start taking notes!

For a picture book to work, it must be relevant and believable and also include issues that affect young readers. Even if your main characters will be depicted as animals, the story concepts need to be those faced by children, usually between the ages of three to eight years of age.

WHAT ABOUT THE PICTURES? One of the first questions I’m asked by aspiring picture book authors is, ‘Where can I find an illustrator for my book?’

This is a common misconception people have when starting out. Unless you’re thinking of self-publishing, an author doesn’t need to find an illustrator for their project.

That task is undertaken by the publisher.

What the publisher wants to see from an author are words.

And usually words alone. Your words must stand out. They must sing.

ILLUSTRATION IN ITS OWN RIGHT If your desire is to be an illustrator, you can send your portfolio to direct to publishers. Sample illustrations of human and animal characters, both in black-and-white and colour, are always useful.

You don’t need a story text to accompany your sample illustrations. There are also illustration competitions you can enter, like those run by the CYA Conference in Brisbane each year. If your work gets noticed, you might well just land an illustration gig.

TEST IT OUT A great way to test your picture book is to create a dummy version. Print the text out, cut it up and place it across the dummy version, remembering that a picture book generally has fourteen double page spreads and one final single page spread. You’ll be able to see how your story flows, where you should have cliff-hangers and where the page breaks should be. If your story doesn’t flow properly, is too short or too long, edit it. You should be aiming for around 300 – 500 words for a picture book.

Even if you’re not an artist, you can draw sketches to accompany the text while you’re road-testing it. Read the story aloud to yourself.

Read the story aloud to children. See whether they enjoy it, what works and what doesn’t. You have a captive and keen audience who will love you reading to them and who can provide invaluable feedback.

Revise if necessary – and it will be necessary!

STORIES ARE PERFORMANCES One thing to remember is that a picture book shouldn’t just be read. It needs to be performed. As an early childhood or OSHC educator, you’re probably already aware of this.

You’ve seen what books work with children. You know what they love to have read to them, sometimes repeatedly.

Deconstruct the books that work and apply the best parts to your own story.

Several key ingredients to make your story irresistible to young audiences include text that is word perfect and truly ‘sings’, text that resonates, alliteration and onomatopoeia.

You may wish to throw in a ‘blue page’ where the odds seem stacked against the main character, but from which they ultimately recover to deliver that other key ingredient in a picture book for young children: an ending that offers hope and happiness.

LEARN THE BUSINESS Learning about the craft and business of writing is crucial. You should look at enrolling in a picture book writing workshop to give you some basic guidelines on where to start.

Once you know the rules, you can apply them to your own story ideas.

PICTURE BOOK WRITING TIPS ⊲ Write about what you know. Write about what you love. ⊲ Be a bower bird collecting ideas wherever you go. ⊲ Find the gaps in the market. ⊲ Take the familiar and give it a new twist. Always provide a fresh look at the topic you’re dealing with. ⊲ Ignite our imagination. You’re writing for children who see magic in the everyday. What magic can you share with them? ⊲ Plan before you start. It will be the key to your success. ⊲ Create memorable characters. ⊲ Engage and empower your child readers. ⊲ Gently weave life lessons into the narrative. Never be didactic.

AUTHOR BIO Aleesah Darlison is a multi-published, award-winning Australian children’s author.

She has written over thirty-five books for children including picture books, chapter books, novels and series. Aleesah has won numerous awards for her writing including the 2015 Environment Award for Children’s Literature (Non-Fiction) and an Australian Society of Authors (ASA) mentorship.

Her latest picture book is Fox & Moonbeam, a story about finding the courage to step out of the shadows and into the light.

Published by Wombat Books: www.wombatbooks.com.au.

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Meet the

MEMBER BRAITLING NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE INC

Braitling Neighbourhood Centre Inc is a 57 place long day care service in Alice Springs and a CELA member since 2012. Rattler editor Bec Lloyd spoke to director Ruth Wilson about stories that are important to her team today.

R

uth Wilson doesn’t hesitate when asked what’s happening at Braitling: “Preschool! After a conversation we had during our latest compliance visit we realised no one else was running a preschool program in this area, so we have launched one.”

As our interview proceeds, it’s clear that Ruth, business manager Annette, and the Braitling team of 11 educators and a cook, are good at making things happen.

A community based service, Braitling is named for its suburb in the north of Alice Springs – not too far from the Telegraph Station.

“We thought about splitting the days across preschool days and ‘normal’ days,” Ruth continued.

“Then we realised we could easily adopt the preschool program as part of each day of the week so no one misses out.

“We’re implementing the Northern Territory Preschool Curriculum for the four year olds this year but from next year it will be for both three and four year olds.”

PRIMARY CARERS Braitling’s other focus is building secure attachments between educators and the babies and toddlers in their care.

“I’m a great believer in circle of security and that babies need intimate connections with adults,” Ruth said.

“One of our approaches is to divide the babies into four

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groups for observations and each of those educators adopts a primary care role for the group.

“We stagger meal times, nappy changes and sleep times so the children remain in small groups with their primary carer most of the time.

“It’s a closer experience – it increases the number of occasions where there are direct connections, eye contact and communication between adult and child.”

REBUILDING So confident is Ruth as she describes the service, her staff and their programs, it’s a surprise to hear she didn’t intend to be in the job.

“I’d been a director years ago, but I had a long gap with my children and when I moved back to Alice I took a job on the floor here while I worked out what I wanted to do.

“Then I left because I needed major ankle surgery, but while I was gone the director resigned and the committee called me at the hospital to ask me to take it on.

“Even then I’d have refused except I was the only one qualified and the centre might have closed without a director.”

That’s no exaggeration. Ruth recalls that, for numerous reasons, Braitling was insolvent, with a huge tax debt and a desperate need for renovation, particularly of the giant sandpit that formed its outdoor space.

Three things stand out to Ruth as turning the situation

around. While she was still in hospital in 2014 the committee secured funding approved by then Australian Early Childhood Minister Kate Ellis to undertake major renovations of the yard and buildings.

There was also approval, after a scoping exercise, to considerably expand Braitling’s infant enrolments and overall places grew from 42 to 57.

And then there’s Annette: a Braitling parent and corporate finance specialist, Ruth convinced her to take on the role of business manager at the centre.

“Annette’s just magic with money. We have a surplus now: money in the bank!”

ROUGH START Beginning again as a director was still hard. Ruth remembers: “I came back here wearing a moon boot, construction all around me, the former committee had resigned… All I had were a lot of folders in a box and when the building finished the folders came out and I just had to start again.

“I cried a bit in the first three months, but you just have to get on with it, don’t you?”

The culture of support and companionship Ruth and Annette fostered helps everyone.

“Every single person here is now qualified and one of my diploma educators, Lauren, is working on her teaching degree,” Ruth said.

“We provide a lot of support for study and we value staff in other ways like dinners, morning teas and lots of appreciation.

“Partly because it’s such a demanding job but also because Alice is such an isolated town your work can be everything social to you, too.”

RECRUITING SECRETS Like many isolated directors, Ruth expects regular staff turnover and recently had about a third of the team leave around the same time.

“One went to an indigenous preschool for more of a challenge, one’s partner was missing the ocean, and the other was a lovely success story: we supported her through her diploma studies and now she has gone to Adelaide with Goodstart,” Ruth said.

“I don’t have a lot of trouble recruiting because I am a big supporter of the RSMS (Regional Sponsored Migrant Scheme).

“The educators who come to us through RSMS are usually from cultures with great respect for children. Currently we have people from India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines they bring a beautiful calm energy with them.”

Photo opposite: (L) Ruth Wilson and a young friend (R) Ruth and Annette, her business manager

From July 2 2018 a new Child Care IT System will be implemented.

Are you ready?

Call now 1300 014 42 8 ourxplor.com RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 13

THANK YOU! for reading, contributing to and sharing your Rattler magazine for 30 years and 123 issues.

Rattler + Broadside

COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING AUSTRALIA QUARTERLY JOURNAL

1987

ISSUE 123 | TERM 4 l 2017

2003

Professional conversations

NEW 8-week PD planning guide · Your votes build the future · Speak up and stay safe · Write a picture book Your NQF Changes at a Glance poster · Talking about self-care · What is an early childhood professional anyway? + much more in your 30 years young Rattler+Broadside

CELA IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COMMUNITY CHILD CARE CO-OPERATIVE

2007

2016

2017

WE CAN’T WAIT TO START CELEBRATING CELA’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY WITH YOU NEXT YEAR! Why is it called Rattler?

The original editor’s notes tell us Rattler’s name came about because it’s noisy about the issues you care about, it sounds like battler for you hard-working educators, and it rhymes with tattler too – telling tales about education for three decades so far.

NEW fully digital Rattler subscriptions available to members and others with a birthday special price: $40 for four issues!

Details @ www.cela.org.au/rattlerdigital RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 14

Broadside FACTS FEED PROFESSIONAL CONVERSATIONS Advocacy for children in the Information Age is as much about online discussions and media influence as it ever was about sit-ins or protest signs. You can shout slogans out loud in a street march, but how can you be heard through the white noise of the internet?

As we plan for CELA’s 40th Anniversary Advocacy Masterclass series, we’ve been talking about professional conversations. How to have them, how to listen to them, how to be heard in them.

It brings us quickly to one of the most accessible advocacy tools available today: engaging in professional posting, commenting and conversations on news and social media sites.

Your individual contribution can inspire the like-minded and convert or at least calm the critics. So why not share your knowledge and correct misconceptions on mainstream media too?

A Facebook post about the value of Pyjama Day can escalate to 600 responses within a morning on the EYLF/NQF discussion group, but critical comments posted on news sites and TV Facebook accounts are often left undisputed.

For instance nothing but agreement to a comment like this: I’m confused. How can all those stay at home mums or dads who don’t send their children to day care manage to raise their children without special day care qualifications?

Broaden the conversation

Australia’s children need a wider range of dissenting voices against ignorant attacks on quality early learning. CELA’s role includes taking a frontline stand, of course, but keyboard warriors can and do dismiss ‘industry lobbies’ out of hand, and hard as we try we can’t be everywhere, all the time. Every time you leave an independent, knowledgeable comment we all get stronger.

How can we help?

One thing CELA can do to support your professional conversations online is to make it easy for you to access evidence. We can keep creating infographics like the one on page 16 that highlights features of the latest Australian education report card.

We can also prepare evidence ‘cheat sheets’ which you can pull up as you need them. The first ones are now hosted on the Amplify blog. Search the new Fact File category on the sidebar for typical criticisms and evidence based responses.

Here are some examples: Confronted with, ‘Kids don’t need education, they need playtime’, can you go beyond, ‘Play is learning’ and quote the rate of brain growth in the first five years? 90% of all brain growth occurs before school age, according to Harvard’s Centre on the Developing Child, and 60% of a baby’s energy is spent in brain development. Shouldn’t we make sure playtime amplifies that growth?

If asked, ‘Why is child care so expensive?’ can you quote the relatively low investment Australia makes into early education? Australia invests 0.5% of its GDP in early education, about half what New Zealand spends. We’re in the bottom quarter of all OECD countries for early childhood funding, that’s why it’s so expensive.

2018 Advocacy Masterclass Series In 2018 we mark 40 years of commitment to children and educators. It’s time to honour the people who crafted this profession and to celebrate the inspired leaders who drive advocacy forward today.

Join a truly professional conversation, hear pearls of wisdom, and gain new skills in our Advocacy Masterclass series next year.

Register your interest now for the planning committee or to help host an event in your area. Email info@cela.org.au by 24/11/17 with the subject line ‘40 Years’.

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When told, ‘There’s no proof that early childhood education has long-term benefits’, what about the PISA results of 15 year olds? OECD PISA tests show 15 year olds have better results if they have attended preschool. 2015 PISA Science results show teenagers with two years of preschool are well ahead 12 years later. (adjusted for demographics).

Let’s finish with a myth, ‘Preschool works for a while but it fades out, they’ve proved it’. What critics call fade out, experts call ‘catch up’ - when non-preschool attendees are exposed to quality primary education they may gain lost ground. Work

by Nobel Laureate James Heckman and others proves quality preschool effects last well into adulthood.

Protect yourself Assuming you feel confident with all the evidence you need, or that you can find it in a hurry, a legitimate fear of online repercussions might still hold you back.

On external sites, the potential for attack might be too much to contemplate.

We hear you, and we know online commenting isn’t for everyone. If you want to know more before you venture forth we have put a short guide together based on a number of ‘protect yourself’ articles, official advice, and wise sources, including social justice journalist Ginger Gorman.

1. Be prepared.

Critics of quality ECEC and OSHC are not experts in the sector, so have some solid facts ready before you comment. Check out our evidence files (click the ‘Fact File’ category on Amplify) or go to two of our favourite sites: heckmanequation.org and mitchellinstitute.org.au.

2. Always be yourself - unless you don’t have to be.

Most news websites and blogs encourage you to choose a screen name for your comments. You need to register with a real email address, but this won’t be displayed. There’s no reason you can’t be Preschoolie123 and still make your point.

People will judge your comment by its content.

3. When in doubt, delete.

Part of being safe online is to be polite and precise. If a little voice inside your head is saying maybe you’ve gone too far, listen to it! Remember what the Obamas say: when they go low, we go high.

4. Be prepared to talk to group admins or use the report button.

While social media platforms don’t proactively patrol online arguments, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn all give you the ability to report an inappropriate comment or simply block or mute the commenter. If you’re on a special group and things get heated, you may be able to contact an Admin or Moderator to seek intervention.

5. Turn it off at night.

Getting caught up in endless debate isn’t effective advocacy, but it can be hard to stop replying if someone else’s comments are setting off alerts on your phone every few minutes. Use a ‘do not disturb’ or ‘night switch’ function to give yourself a break.

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6. Report serious threats to ACORN or the police.

You must not engage with people who threaten you, and if you encounter someone like that there is a growing body of legislation designed to protect you and stop them. Get some screenshots and report it to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network www.acorn.gov.au

Senator Leyonhjelm believes childless Australians shouldn’t subsidise ECE.

Case study: Senator David Leyonhjelm and the accidental advocacy of Chloe Chant.

In January this year the Senator claimed on The Project that qualifications were unnecessary because educators only needed basic skills such as wiping noses.

Watching him talk, after a long and complex day, educator Chloe Chant saw red and penned an open letter to the Senator on her personal Facebook timeline. It was shared by some of her friends on the giant EYLF/NQF group, and then shot around the internet like mercury.

Within 24 hours, Chloe had her first appearances on television and radio, was being quoted and republished on news sites in Australia and overseas, and was giving heart to everyone who felt abused and betrayed by such contempt from a political figure.

Chloe told CELA: I am proud now that I persisted despite my fears and allowed powerful media to carry my central point – that Early Learning is not, and should never be, just child-minding but a measure of a nation’s self-respect.

To all those who have expressed their gratitude that I expressed their feelings, I say thanks. It’s great to feel that validation. But more importantly, it’s great to feel that Australia might at last be addressing the issue of how critical these early years are to developing healthy dispositions for learning, success in later life, and, happiness.

QUARTERLY WRAP August 29: NSW Early Childhood Education Directorate issues new advice about its assessment process for Persons in Management or Control of a Service, confirming there is flexibility in sessions especially for small, remote and community run services September 12: OECD Education at a Glance 2017 report tracks better PISA results for 15 year old students who’d attended ECE, showing those with at least two years of preschool gained significantly better science results.

September 14: NSW Parliament amends the Public Health Act to remove parents' conscientious beliefs as grounds for exempting children from mandatory vaccination requirements when enrolling in early learning services, including preschools.

October 5: Northern Territory releases a 10 year plan to put children at the heart of its decision making, Starting Early for a Better Future, open for consultation until 1 December October 10: Independent returning officer advises an overwhelming Yes Vote from members for the CCCC Governance Restructure. Pending final approval from NSW Fair Trading CCCC changes name to CELA, the cooperative becomes a company limited by guarantee, and our constitution will be updated and lawful.

Got a story to share about online advocacy? Contact us via Amplify on the CELA website.

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 17

NQF changes at a glance

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Ultimately, the aim is to make children’s early education sparkle through meaningful growth in every educator’s practice.

A Goal Without A Plan Is Just A Wish

By Michele Carnegie, Kathleen Herrick & Kerrie Maguire The Professional Development (PD) Plan is one of our new Rattler+Broadside features. Every quarter, our talented learning and development specialists will share a PD outline that you can use with a group or build into your own professional growth.

To begin we are offering a plan to make a plan: it’s a step by step approach to preparing an effective PD plan for your team or yourself in 2018. Michele, Kathleen and Kerrie’s eight-week outline is a manageable way to ensure you have built your plan and set it in action before the new year begins.

Developing a Professional Development Plan for 2018 Finding great educators, administrators and cooks can be hard, but it is sometimes even harder to keep developing your team’s skills and help them feel engaged in their roles.

Meaningful professional development is one of best ways to make staff feel valued and keep them growing in their work.

Poorly planned or irrelevant PD, however, is just a waste of time, budget and goodwill.

What will 2018 look like for your workplace? For a start, your PD budget might be squeezed. The Commonwealth closed its long-running professional support programs in June 2016, removing extensive subsidies that had cut the cost of training to many educators for more than a decade. If you’re in long day care, the temporary boost of Long Day Care Professional Development Program (LDCPDP) funding has also ended.

Your PD needs won’t be less, though. You need to be across some major operational changes like the National Quality Framework amendments and the Jobs for Families changes to fees, hours, and systems.

There are changes that time brings naturally. In 2018 many services will manage the retirement of Baby Boomers who, as they leave, may take half a century of experience and knowledge with them. How will you prepare for that loss?

At the other end of their careers are the Millennials – young women and men entering early and middle years education who were born this century, or so close to it that they don’t remember a year that doesn’t start with a ‘2’. Accustomed to information being available to them whenever they need it, and highly attuned to the wider world, Millennials quickly adopt professional skills they deem relevant but just as quickly tune out any opportunities that don’t reflect what they think they need.

At various points between entry and retirement, you will also have staff with diverse backgrounds, various outside work pressures, multiple talents and specialties, and a range of language and literacy skills.

Put it all together and creating a PD Plan that works for everyone can feel like a massive challenge, especially if you need to include staff in the planning process (and you know you really should). The biggest tasks can be achieved, however, if we break them into manageable chunks.

On the following pages we offer an eight week plan to help you identify your learning and development needs in 2018.

You can follow the plan week-by-week, or adapt it to whatever time you have available. Either way, our experience shows that engaging your staff in the planning process can inspire, influence and inform them, even before any training takes place.

Meaningful PD supports retention of staff, individual and team growth, promotes forward thinking and addresses strengths and weaknesses of the service and provides an opportunity to fill gaps. Ultimately, the aim is to make children’s early education sparkle through meaningful growth in every educator’s practice.

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 19

Week 1 Week 2 Evaluating 2017

Pulling the Guiding Tools Together

Have a conversation with your educators about the professional development they have participated in over the past year and identify what worked and what didn’t and why. Be open to all kinds of professional development in this discussion including informal peer-to-peer learning that might be an area to pursue in formal training in 2018

With your philosophy at the front of your mind, review your Quality Improvement Plan to determine areas that you have identified as a team where you need external support to meet your goals. Did your 2017 budget adequately meet your learning and development needs? Will you need help to tailor your training to meet your 2018 budget? Include your bookkeeper, admin staff or committee treasurer in this discussion – don’t just assume you can’t afford to do what you need.

Week 5 Week 6

Competency Audit

Turn the team around and ask what skills can the director focus on in 2018. If you have a management committee or board, could they benefit from some development too?

Brainstorm potential gaps in practice, management or governance that could be improved by engaging in learning and development. Identify if anyone needs their qualifications upgraded? What’s your succession planning look like? Do you need to schedule or enrol in Identify and Respond; First Aid; Anaphylaxis; Cert III and Diploma; Bach Teaching.

HIT THE

Who’s Supervising the Supervisor?

BOOKS There are thousands of management books to help you plan professional development for yourself or in a team, but not many with a focus on the early and middle years education sector. This year we completely overhauled the much-loved Directors Manual, renaming it the Essential Guide and publishing issues for both NSW and Australia.

Check out these shortcuts to the relevant sections.

Get your updated edition from our online shop, for either NSW-specific or Australia-wide advice.

Chapter 5 – Managing Staff p133 A. Recruiting and retaining good staff p136 B. Ethics p154 C. Industrial relations and employers’

responsibilities p158 D. Managing for good performance p168 E.

Professional development for directors and staff p172

Chapter 11 Leadership p 309 Effective Leadership p 312

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Week 3 Week 4 Collaborative Contribution

What’s Changing in 2018?

Provide a space where all educators can contribute to the process by writing their learning and development wish list on a whiteboard or butchers paper. There should be no judgment at this stage – the refinement process comes later. Provide another space (it could just be a notebook) where everyone can share the barriers they perceive to their training. These can go beyond being time-poor or the cost of training and include questions of confidence or role statements: does your cook want to train as an educator? Does your office manager wish they could run a session for the committee members?

Does the New Year mean different educators in different rooms? Try this … gather your team leaders and brainstorm the skills and competencies required of educators who are transitioning into different rooms. Consider the profile of your enrolments and the particular needs of children that require additional support. Review staff appraisals – what requests or identified gaps need to be acted on? From this list, identify any coaching or mentoring requirements as well as determining face to face, group learning and development needs for your educators.

Week 7 Week 8 Prioritising?

As a team, refine the list to priority areas (group or cluster, cull and refine) and determine what mode of delivery suits the PD you’ve all decided upon. Some examples are joining in face to face training with other services; having trainers customise and deliver at your service; join lunchtime or recorded webinars; one-onone mentoring or coaching; conference and seminar sessions.

Celebrate your Professional Development Plan for 2018!

Book it and share it! This is the real commitment to all the planning: make sure each person who has to enrol in a course has the information they need, and work with a credible PD provider who can manage all your bookings in one place. Once you’ve committed to the agreed training, display the plan so everyone (including parents) knows what they can look forward to in 2018. Remember that if you work with a not-for-profit provider you know you are getting the best possible value for your PD budget.

Looking for more help?

Get in touch for advice and access to a self-assessment tool or find out how we can work with you or your whole service to develop cost effective PD that puts a sparkle in children’s early education. info@cela.org.au

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 21

SKILL UP ...in the work you love.

Our courses support flourishing careers and advance senior professional development.

Community Early Learning Australia offers individual learning solutions We’re a nationally-recognised Registered Training Organisation with over 15 years experience providing relevant, expert professional development to the Early Childhood Education and Care sector. Our courses deliver up-to-date qualifications and professional development for today’s skilled workforce.

Study to suit your needs Choose your flexible learning option: Face-to-face Distance education Traineeships

Customised workshops Webinars Podcasts

Individual units Any unit from the courses listed at https://training.gov.au/ Organisation/Details/90842# can be studied separately – contact us to discuss how study modules can work towards certification.

As a Registered Training Organisation we have the following qualifications available: CHCPRT001 Identify and Respond to Children and Young People at Risk CHC30113 Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care CHC50113 Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care BSB42015 Certificate IV in Leadership and Management BSB51915 Diploma of Leadership and Management HLTAID004 Provide an emergency first aid response in an education and care setting CHC62015 Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management

NESA endorsed courses: CHCPRT001 Identify and Respond to Children and Young People at Risk Critical Reflection & Assessing Children’s Learning Ethics & Professionalism - (4 part series) Effective Engagement & Communication in Children’s Learning Family Inclusion in Children’s Learning Introduction to the NQF and the EYLF

CELA is also a Local Area Network partner with Little Scientists, offering the following workshops: Water, Air, Engineering, Colours Light and Vision, Maths These courses are a day for each module and can be booked into through the Little Scientists website: www.littlescientists.org.au

Customised sessions At CELA we provide workshops that can be customised to the needs of your service and educators.

We cover all aspects of the NQF and EYLF. Our workshops are generally 2.5 - 3 hours and can be held after hours, on Saturdays or as a part of your pupil free days, staff training days or conferences.

Our facilitators have extensive experience in the early and middle childhood sector including LDC, Preschool, Occasional Care, OSHC. Customised sessions include but are not limited to: advocacy - supporting children and families maintaining a viable business mandatory reporting integrated Aboriginal Perspectives and culture sustainability - beyond the worm farm stages of child development mental health and educator wellbeing professional conversations and engagement documentation - theory to practice guiding children’s behaviour professional enquiry critical reflection leadership compliance and the management committee

Registered Training Organisation 90842 | ABN 81 174 903921

For more information please contact us: For more information please contact us: 1800 1571800 818157 or 818 email training@cela.org.au | www.cela.org.au or email training@cela.org.au | www.cela.org.au

CELA LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

SPECIALISTS

Michele Carnegie

Kerrie Maguire

BRINGING SPARKLE TO YOUR PRACTICE, YOUR TEAM, YOUR CHILDREN Meaningful Professional Development supports staff retention, individual and team growth, promotes forward thinking and addresses strengths and weaknesses of the service and provides an opportunity to fill gaps. Ultimately, the aim is to make children’s early education sparkle through meaningful growth in every educators practice.

CELA PD CALENDAR As CELA’s General Manager of Sector Development, Michele Carnegie has extensive experience in developing and leading programs that grow the professionalism of educators across all service types, irrespective of location.

With a particular interest in rural and remote education, Michele specialises in assessing policy impact and adapting to change, which is underpinned by a clear understanding of the education sector. Leading a passionate team with vast expertise, Michele strives to deliver sustainable and lasting change in early education, through Advocacy, Learning and Development and Resources.

Kathleen Herrick

Kerrie Maguire has over 20 years’ experience in Early Education and is a skilled facilitator across a range of delivery methods, combining her love of adult education with a deep understanding of the National Quality Framework, Learning Frameworks and Supplementary regulations. Kerrie is a resourceful problem-solver who applies her broad skill base across ECEC practice, programming, documenting, effective communication and team building, in LDC, Preschool, OSHC and Mobile Children’s Services. She fosters a passionate belief in the significance educators have in the lives of children and in all those she works with.

Louise Black

Choose from a wide range of training options that hit the mark on the real issues identified by educators (to be released October 2017)

RTO The CELA difference. Our RTO supports students to grow into professional educators through individualised workplace support.

We offer Certificate III and Diploma in Early Education and Care, Advanced Diploma in Community Sector Management and Identify and Respond to Children and Young People at Risk.

Trainees may be eligible to access NSW Government funding under Smart and Skilled.

CUSTOMISED PD Build your team through specialised Learning and Development. You choose the date, duration, location and topic and content tailored to meet the particular needs of your team.

ONE TO ONE MENTORING

With qualifications in ECEC and Workplace Training & Assessment, combined with wide-ranging experience working in the sector, Kathleen trains our CERT III and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. She is proficient at tailoring training to the needs of services and the individual, in the classroom, workplace and via distance education. Kathleen has a passion for advocacy and social justice and building the capacity of the sector.

With a background in local government as a Teacher Director and as a validator and trainer with the National Child Care Accreditation Council, Louise Black brings many years of sector experience. She has been an integral part of the Learning and Development team at CELA and specialises in quality assurance and training needs analysis, across all service types, designing customised training to meet the specific needs of individual educators and teams.

Louise also leads the CELA Little Scientist program and is passionate about the professional growth of educators.

Based on sound educational practice and specialist expertise, our mentors provide one on one sessions to support the individual educator’s professional progress.

EVENTS Our exciting events include conferences, retreats and networking that promise to inspire, challenge and invigorate your personal professional growth.

DON’T FORGET to check your membership information is up to date to ensure you are on the mailing list!

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 23

SPRING when the world is mudluscious when the world is puddlewonderful

thanks to e.e. cummings

What can

MUD PLAY DO? RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 24

- encourage creativity - build immunity - soothe anxiety - extend motor skills - create solveable problems - discourage perfection - be puddle-wonderful fun!

Worms

AREN’T YUCKY

Looking for a compact, affordable way to incorporate sustainability in your curriculum and encourage children’s empathy for living creatures AND share your efforts with staff and families?

Maybe a worm farm is the solution.

A worm farm is an excellent early learning resource that can fit just about anywhere. Worms fascinate children, and keeping a worm farm is an easy way to recycle food scraps in any service.

Let’s begin by taking the ‘yuck’ out of worms and gaining an understanding of how important these animals are to a healthy eco-system by recycling food scraps, minimising food waste that goes to landfill as well as creating natural organic garden fertiliser.

While there are many different species of worms, we can categorise all worms that live in soil, including worm farms and compost bins, as earthworms.

Earthworms eat soil, organic matter and food scraps and decompose this matter into rich garden fertiliser. They create tunnels in soil to enable water, air and nutrients to circulate keeping our earth healthy.

WORM ANATOMY

⊲ no arms or legs - they use their muscle segments (annuli) and fine hairs (setae) on their body to move along ⊲ no eyes, ears or nose - they use vibration to sense danger ⊲ no teeth - they have a gizzard that is used to grind up foods

LIFE CYCLES

⊲ the complete life cycle of the worm

can be observed in a worm farm – from capsule (egg), and young worm to adult ⊲ a capsule looks like a tiny golden grape seed: finding them means more worms and a healthy worm farm

RECYCLING

⊲ recycling food scraps, creating something new from something old: worms turn food into highly nutritious soil for our garden ⊲ reducing waste that goes to landfill is important in minimising air pollution (methane gas) and water pollution (leachate)

NATURAL GARDEN FERTILISER

⊲ worms make two products that can be used to regenerate and feed the soil: vermicast (aka Worm Poo) and worm leachate (aka Worm Tea, Worm Wee or Worm Juice), ⊲ these products are abundant in beneficial microorganisms and enzymes that support the quality and structure of garden soil

HOW TO BE CAREFUL WITH WORMS ⊲ please remember that worms are living things just like us so handle with care ⊲ worms are sensitive to light and heat, so minimise their exposure and put them back in the soil as soon as possible ⊲ a worm will not grow back if it is cut in half, it will die ⊲ if you find a worm on a footpath, carefully help it find its way back to soil – worms love soil

This story first appeared on our subscription blog, Little Green Spade and was written by Michelle Carrick of the Seed, Harvest, Spoon Foundation. Look for more great gardening advice in future Rattler+Broadside issues and on the new Little Green Spade category of the Amplify blog, you can also buy your little green spade seasonal diary’s in our shop.

LIFE SKILLS

⊲ children learn how they can contribute to a healthy planet by recycling food scraps in a worm farm ⊲ when children learn this skill from an early age, they are more likely to continue this habit into adulthood ⊲ children learn responsibility and empathy when they care for worms – caring for living things fosters a connection and respect for nature

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 25

INTRODUCING

your HR in the cloud Launched as a premium membership package for CELA, EarlyEd HR has become a one stop shop for all your HR needs from the first letter of offer, full on boarding support, professional development, performance management and exiting the role. CELA experts such as Cinzia Immuni and Ann Leadbitter will be there to guide and support you.

Cinzia, pictured right, with a Masters of Applied Science, PROSCI certified in Change Management and experience in the corporate and ECEC sector as an operations director, is applying her expertise in project management and business leadership, heading up CELA roll out of our EarlyEd HR system and our consulting services.

Many of you will know Cinzia from her leadership work in CELA Start Strong sector support and know she brings great skills and knowledge to work with our members to ensure successful service outcomes.

CALL US ON 1800 157 818 TO TALK ABOUT HOW EARLYED HR SUPPORTS BUSY DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES IN EVERY KIND OF SERVICE. RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 26

Ann, pictured left, leads CELA’s HR support and advice for our new EarlyEd HR cloud based HR management system. Ann is a Human Resource professional with more than 30 years experience across a range of government and not for profit organisations and is recognised for the delivery of the highest level of operational HR advisory services to staff, managers, and members at all levels of a service, from front line staff to executive management. Ann brings vast experience and a commitment to community via her voluntary work at the Cancer Council in support of the most prioritised need of our members – people management.

The Director of Jacaranda Preschool in Sydney’s south, Louise Murfet, took up the 30 day free trial of EarlyEd HR after enjoying a demonstration at CELA’s stand at a recent conference. Louise was particularly pleased that relevant awards can be imported for instant reference, as well as the customisations each workplace can make, such as creating groups of staff allocated to a room name. There is no other HR support software that so completely meets the needs of long day care, OSHC, FDC and preschool services.

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 27

We love to help our partners reach their (and our) loyal audience of early childhood educators and stakeholders, through print and online advertising, partner content and sponsorship.

We can help you reach a wide and active market through our trusted communications tools: Rattler, Amplify and CELA events.

CELA offers a range of advertising options to suit everyone from micro-business through to national organisations, reaching educators, administrators, coordinators, cooks and directors, as well as regulatory authorities, unions and political offices. Options range from a spot in our weekly digital newsletter or low cost listings in Marketplace, to one-off or regular page placements and partner content in Rattler Magazine.

Our mission is to promote relevant and useful products and services to our national membership and the wider early and middle years sector.

To discuss your particular requirements, special packages and to advertise, please drop us an email at communication@cela.org.au

RATTLER 123 | TERM 4 2017 | 28

Amplify!

Advertising with

CELA

Rattler + Broadside

COMMUNITY EARLY LEARNING AUSTRALIA QUARTERLY JOURNAL

ISSUE 123 | TERM 4 l 201 7

Professional conversations

NEW 8-week PD planning guide · Your votes build the future · Speak up and stay safe · Write a picture book Your NQF Changes at a Glance poster · Talking about self-care · What is an early childhood professional anyway? + much more in your 30 years young Rattler+Broadside

CELA IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY COMMUNITY CHILD CARE CO-OPERATIVE

SELF CARE

for Leaders

AS LOIS LANE ONCE SAID TO SUPERMAN, MID-AIR: “YOU’VE GOT ME, BUT WHO’S GOT YOU?” This October we extend our much-loved NSW directors events and host our first directors’ retreat in Queensland. Rattler spoke to one of the presenters, Leonie Percy, new Queensland resident, creator of Mumfulness, podcaster at Magnetic Mama, and author of, among others, the Mother Om Book.

Leonie will also be a speaker at our November INSPIRE event, see page 9 for more information.

WHAT’S YOUR CONNECTION TO EARLY AND MIDDLE YEARS EDUCATORS? I’m a mum who’s incredibly grateful to the educators who look after my children, but also I previously owned a children’s yoga company and worked with about 50 services across Sydney.

I worked with directors and educators almost every day and my appreciation for them just grew and grew.

HOW CAN EDUCATORS IMPLEMENT MINDFULNESS WITH CHILDREN? Make mindfulness part of your daily routine! Children might start every day with 10 kinds of stretches, or deep breathing. At rest times, younger children are often already in a routine of slowing down with peaceful music or a story or back rubs.

DO YOGA SESSIONS HAVE A NOTICEABLE EFFECT ON CHILDREN? Yes! Educators would tell me that when children did morning yoga and a short meditation it reset their sleep patterns.

Reports were always that the children were calmer for that day.

Yoga also helps children fight against illnesses, and we all know what a big issue illness can be for early childhood services!

WHAT IS SELF-CARE FOR DIRECTORS? Self-care is essential for everyone in education, but many directors and leaders particularly need a focus on caring for themselves, not just their team, the children and the children’s families. When we give out all our energy and don’t leave any for ourselves we become overwhelmed and depleted. We can’t help others the way we want to and there’s a real risk of burnout.

Leaders need to create practical boundaries: they can’t be isolated from the people around them, or remove themselves for long periods of time, but small, practical moments of mindfulness can be added to every single day.

CAN YOU GIVE US AN EXAMPLE?

we’re not really aware of them because it’s all so day-to-day.

Mindfulness is being full of the present moment. Mindlessness is autopilot.

A BUSY DIRECTOR MIGHT FEEL THEY HAVE NO TIME FOR SELF-CARE? Four mindful moments a day, a few minutes each time, is enough to reset your focus on yourself. Start with deep breathing at the beginning and the end of your day, and add in that mindful cup of tea twice a day and there you are!

ANY FINAL WORDS? As a mother and a person who has worked alongside hundreds of educators and directors I really think the work you do is PHENOMENAL. You are shining lights and without what you do, families like mine and a million others just couldn’t manage.

Sure: make a ‘mindful’ cup of tea - where you really focus on the teamaking and nothing else. Set out what you need, and relish the steps it takes.

Watch the steam rise from your cup.

Really taste that first sip. It can be a beautiful moment.

About 48% of the time we are on autopilot, which means we are physically there but not mentally there.

Things are happening around us but

This article was originally published on Amplify and has been adapted for print.

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Su Garrett is a CELA member and the director and franchisee of Explore & Develop Annandale. Her excursion stories, co-authored with educational leader Lauren Kenny, have been some of the most popular articles on CELA’s Amplify blog.

Meet the

AMPLIFIER

In fact, Let’s get out of here: a story for anyone who’s ever wanted to take children beyond the safety gate, is currently number one in our top 10 list.

1. What made you decide to approach us?

3. Did the process of writing about your experiences for an outside audience have any effect on you or your colleagues?

I saw the call out in Amplify and it is one of our Service Goals to share our knowledge. Knowledge is also one of our philosophy points – so what an opportunity! I know that for educators to have their work published gives them a great sense of value so I thought we would reach out to you.

I think that any process of really thinking about documenting your process and practices does in essence force you to think about how and why you do what you do. This was a great catalyst for reflection and we have also continued to document this excursion journey as it is continued to evolve in our service.

I think that we now feel more valued and have more courage to share our practice with the world again. www.cela.org.au/amplify

2. What happened after the stories were published?

We have had several conversations with other services through Facebook, emails and phone calls all wanting to get some more information about how we do our excursions and generally wanting to engage and support our practice.

AMPLIFY

Countdown with

Since we started the Amplify blog six months ago we have shared around 140 stories, introduced 30 new guest writers from all over the sector, and watched an average of 100 new subscribers join the newsletter list each week. We share the weekly summary with about 20,000 readers around Australia and the stories are viewed about 1000 times per day. What a blast!

Here’s our countdown of the top 10 most viewed stories on Amplify in its first six months, with a few surprises – who knew an IT fact sheet would be so interesting?

10

CELA’S SIMPLE GUIDE TO THE COMMUNITY CHILD CARE FUND GRANTS, CELA WRITERS, 14 AUGUST

9

KEEP LOVE AND PASSION WHERE THEY BELONG, JENNIFER RIBAROVSKI, 16 MAY

8

REMARKABLE DIFFERENCES WHEN CHILDREN LEARN OUTDOORS, BEC CAREY AND SARAH HAMMERSLEY, 17 MAY

7

A BUSH YARN OF CALMING ANXIETY IN THE OUTDOORS, BELINDA HIBBERT, 28 JULY

6

ARE WE SPOILT BY CHOICE? OVERSUPPLY LOOMS, DIANE LAWSON, 22 JUNE

5

CHOICE FOR CHOICE’S SAKE IS NO CHOICE AT ALL, REBECCA THOMPSON, 2 AUGUST

4

GOVERNMENT RELEASES NATIONAL FACT SHEET FOR NEW IT SYSTEM, 6 JULY

3

WHEN TWO POLICIES COLLIDE: IMMUNISATION AND UNIVERSAL ACCESS, CELA WRITERS, 17 AUGUST

2

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, WHAT’S PROFESSIONAL ABOUT PJ DAY? MOLLY RHODIN, 11 JULY

1

LET’S GET OUT OF HERE! BEYOND THE SAFETY GATE, SU GARRETT AND LAUREN KENNY, 8 JUNE

Find all the links in one place here http://bit.Ly/amplify1st10

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Insurance issued by Guild Insurance Ltd, ABN 55 004 538 863, AFSL 233791 and subject to terms, conditions and exclusions. Guild Insurance supports your association through the payment of referral fees. This document contains general advice only and doesn’t take into account what you currently have, want and need for your personal circumstances. It is important for you to consider these matters and read the Product Disclosure Statement. GLD3248 Children’s accident protection press ad 06/2015.