Early Childhood Australia’s (ECA’s) DR KATE HIGHFIELD talks about keeping the educational focus while staying safe with young children. Scroll to the end of this blog to find a webcast on the same topic featuring Kate in discussion with Goodstart Early Learning’s Sue Robb (OBE) and Dr Katey De Gioia. Over the last few weeks we’ve […]
In WebWatch we often report on new research relevant for our sector. Last week a post focussing on new research out of the USA generated a great deal of discussion. The research relayed in WebWatch issue 323 focussed on a USA study analysing the use of Play-Doh containing gluten for children who have coeliac disease or […]
The devastating result of the bushfires has left many early childhood services across Australia experiencing hazardous air pollution levels in the last couple of months. As smoke continues to blanket much of the country, we reached out to a number of departments and other services to put together a list of helpful links and resources […]
Protecting children’s right to play Play is a vital avenue for learning and development in young children. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is consulting with early childhood experts to find out how to stop it from diminishing. If you were asked to explain why play is important for children, what would you say? ECA recently asked […]
With a number of states affected by unprecedented bushfires this week and educational authorities closing more than 300 schools in NSW, the message is: be prepared, decide early. Yet what does this mean for early childhood education and care services? Most emergency fire management plans are designed for individuals, families and households. How do you and your […]
The last week has seen a flurry of media releases and reports on the cost of child care and whether the new Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is achieving its goals of making childcare more affordable and boosting workforce participation. The conclusions contained in the media releases and reports often don’t seem consistent, and can raise […]
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day is held on 4 August each year. The 2019 theme was We Play, We Learn, We Belong. In this piece, we share the importance of Indigenous culture and language in the early years through case studies and the series Little J & Big Cuz. This animation follows the everyday lives of […]
Adam Duncan reflects on NAIDOC Week in this repost from Narragunnawali News, expressing reasons why sharing with children about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions is an important part of their education. NAIDOC Week often falls in the school holidays, which can make it tricky for schools and services to be a […]
There is not enough darkness in this world to extinguish the light of one small candle—Spanish proverb We reflect on the light, not only the shadow, cast by events to recognise what is possible: educators already have professional approaches, tools and resources that can support themselves and young children in such moments. The devastating events […]
We have worked together in the South Australia (SA) Department for Education, providing leadership and advice to 10 schools in the remote communities of the Aṉangu (Aboriginal) people. As a team, we have supported early childhood teachers, often new graduates, working in preschools, playgroups and child and family centres in these communities. The Aṉangu Lands stretch […]
