The whole child

Meet Harry. Harry is four and is vision-impaired. He has profound developmental delays. But, Harry is lucky. He attends The Infants’ Home, where he accesses an on-site speech therapist, occupational therapist, play therapist, GP and a team of passionate educators as part of the organisation’s integrated service model. Ingrid Maack reports. Continue Reading →

Amarina’s got talent!

Rattler sees advocacy in action at Amarina Early Learning Centre in Airds, a disadvantaged south-western suburb of Sydney on the cusp of rapid change. The service is operated by Campbelltown City Council—a local government that understands how early education can transform communities and children’s futures. Ingrid Maack reports. Continue Reading →

Goodstart Early Learning: Off to a good start

When Goodstart Early Learning intervened in 2009 to clean up the mess left in the wake of the ABC Learning collapse, the early childhood education and care landscape looked grim. Now, with more than 650 services under its not-for-profit brand, the future is looking bright. Ingrid Maack reports.  Continue Reading →

NQF: Reflective journeys

Rattler talks to a DEC preschool, a community-based service and private long day care centre about the long and winding road to quality improvement. By Ingrid Maack.

The past three years has been an era of rapid change and reflection with children’s services using the reform agenda as a road map to raise quality and drive continuous improvement. Even while still in its draft form, many services began engaging with the National Quality Framework (NQF)—turning the mirror inwards, so to speak, and sparking a spirit of self-study and reflection that is effectively reshaping the sector.

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Step outside – why excursions are valuable

Excursions are valuable for everyone — children, educators and the community. Stepping outside the centre gate is not only an opportunity for children to see the world but also for the world to see what children’s services do. Ingrid Maack reports.

These days it is rare to see young children walking hand-in-hand in our streets and public spaces. As young children spend more hours inside children’s services and fewer services travel beyond the centre gate, children are becoming less visible in our communities.

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Growing up in coal country

On the brink of a mining boom, the town of Mudgee is questioning how its fossil fuel-driven future will reshape the early childhood education landscape. Ingrid Maack visits Mudgee Preschool—one of the biggest early education and care services in NSW.

When I grow up I want to be a miner’, reads the text on a child’s artwork featuring a smiling stick figure with a miner’s lamp and a bag full of coal. The artwork hangs on the wall of a gallery in an exhibition, themed ‘Belonging, Being and Becoming’, organised by staff and children at Mudgee Preschool.

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Where emus run

A child’s drawing of an emu dances across the screen and a small finger points to Wilcannia on a map. Welcome to Barlu Kurli—a preschool where the fruits of two cultures blend. Ingrid Maack reports.

If an emu were to run from Broken Hill to Wilcannia it would take four hours to get there,’ says a child’s voice in the opening scenes of a film made by Wilcannia Central School students during the Wakakkiri Film festival.

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Why kids matter

When you are concerned about a child in your care, how do you know if there is a potential mental health issue? Traditionally, early childhood educators have had little training in understanding mental health… until now.

There is growing awareness and a large body of brain development research that suggest the foundations of mental health are shaped in the early years. However, it is thought that fewer than half of the children who need professional help for mental health problems access the mental health system and get the help they need. (Starr, Campbell & Herrick, 2002.)

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Are staff keeping children safe?

Children’s services staff play a vital role in child protection, but do we have the skills and resources to properly fulfil our role as mandatory reporters under Keep Them Safe? Ingrid Maack reports.

While Keep Them Safe (KTS) has been welcomed as the necessary first step to better child protection, there are calls for clarity on the role children’s services are expected to now play. Continue Reading →