As the end of the year approaches, one of your priorities as an educator will be supporting children as they begin their transition from early childhood settings to primary school. In preparing for this milestone while, navigating the complexities this year has brought, there are many effective tools to help you provide the best support […]
Skye Children’s Cooperative (Skye) is an early childhood education and care (ECEC) service built on the homeland of the of the greater Kulin Nation. Opened in 1988, Skye has always operated as a community not-for-profit service with all profits reinvested back into the centre for the benefit of the children and the community. For more […]
Knowing you, knowing me: How educators and children at a preschool maintained relationships during lockdown After an enviable COVID-free stretch, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was suddenly plunged into lockdown. Overnight, Hughes Preschool was off-limits to children and families, except those deemed essential workers, and learning from home began. The educator team created physical resources, […]
Since 2017, more than 110 countries have experienced significant protests[i] and Australia is no exception. As COVID-19 vaccination rates continue to rise in Australia, anti-vaccination mandate protests have been growing in response to a perceived infringement of individual rights and freedoms. In Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020, protests were similarly related to perceived infringements, […]
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. It recently released the latest edition of the Education at a Glance report, which provides a global perspective on education and includes information specifically about early childhood education and care (ECEC). What does the […]
From the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, the early childhood sector was tasked with expanding their required health practices to include up-to-date, health information to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among staff, families and children. Despite considerable concern about their own health and safety, educators and providers responded quickly to this new challenge, drawing on their established health knowledge […]
‘Children leave the caregiver; the caregiver does not leave the child.’ Who would have thought that a global pandemic would lead to a world where social normality and early childhood practice was completely transformed? In early childhood, the ‘gate drop off’ quickly became one of the most significant socially normal practices emerging during COVID-19. The practice […]
Less doing means more listening More listening means deeper understanding Deeper understanding means authentic connections Authentic connections mean stronger relationships Stronger relationships mean deeper respect Deeper respect means genuine bonds Genuine bonds mean children being, becoming, belonging! This inspiring quote comes from second year Bachelor of Early Childhood Education students at Victoria University (VU) (Melbourne) after completing their professional placement in […]
Catharine Hydon and Kerrie O’Neill share nine compelling reasons why now is the time for students studying early childhood education and care to be in services doing placement. It’s been bubbling for months but do you realise the gravity of the problem? The niggling concern identified by the pre-service sector that many students have not […]
During the COVID-19 crisis phase, all eyes have been on childcare, but preschool is an equally important driver of well-being and economic security for children and parents—and of economic productivity. Research has found for every dollar invested in preschool, Australia receives two dollars back over the course of a child’s life. Preschool is jointly funded by the federal, and […]
