The best of early childhood news! This issue of ECA WebWatch features child safety. In this issue: reach out and help Anglicare draft changes to the 2012 National Construction Code Volume One and Two new Refugee status report reveals challenges for children students help build better future for isolated children support needed to ensure kids’ access to grandparents getting ‘em young: How early does mental health intervention need to be? the dark legacy of child abuse can a playground be too safe? safe from the start Foundations magazine Issue 6 Policy Brief—Five Years On. Plus regular ECA WebWatch items: EYLF Professional Learning Program update ECA Greenwatch quality–assured early childhood resources resource of the week conferences and dates the ECA values statements.

If you have a trusted resource you would like to share with other ECEC practitioners in the field, we would like to hear from you. Email us to start sharing. Email us if you have an ECEC-related conference or event that you would like to publicise in ECA WebWatch and on the ECA Events Calendar. Join the ECA WebWatch mailing list. Access previous editions of ECA WebWatch. Go to the Early Childhood Australia homepage.

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Appeals

Reach out and help Anglicare

Anglicare assists the needy through 20 services, spanning from childcare to out of home support and child protection. But unless a steady stream of volunteers continues to donate their time, the worthwhile service is in jeopardy. Read on to find out how you can help. Call 4823 4000 to register your interest.

Early childhood news

Draft changes to the 2012 National Construction Code Volume One and Two

The draft changes for the 2012 edition of the National Construction Code Volume One & Two—Building Code of Australia (BCA) are available on the Australian Building Codes Board website for public comment and to give BCA users and other stakeholders advance notice of proposals that may take effect from 1 May 2012. Changes are being proposed that may impact on newly constructed or renovated early childhood centres. The period for comment closes on Monday 1 August 2011.

New Refugee status report reveals challenges for children

A new Refugee Status Report—the first report into the welfare of Refugee children and young people in Victoria—has found that these people face challenges in the areas of health, safety and education.

Students help build better future for isolated children

Have a look at this fantastic project run by the Melbourne University Faculties of Architecture and Education, to provide an early learning centre and an educational program for the young children in the Wakathuni community in remote Western Australia. Read the full article.

Support needed to ensure kids’ access to grandparents

A recent study by Dr Maged Rofail and Professor Margaret Sims highlights the importance of grandparent–grandchild relationships and suggests that ‘acting in the best interests of the child requires the legal system to put more effort into supporting the grandparent–grandchild relationship rather than allowing the relationship to fracture on the understanding that attempting resolution [between grandparents and parents] will stress parents.’ Read the full article.

Getting ‘em young: How early does mental health intervention need to be?

This article looks into the early intervention of mental disorders, how environmental factors in early childhood impact on brain development and how treating early symptoms is likely to helps young children avoid developing more serious disorders later on. For more information on the important role early childhood educators play in improving children mental health go to www.kidsmatter.edu.au.

The dark legacy of child abuse

This article suggests that ‘a hidden history of child abuse may lie behind the myriad social problems that afflict Australia, from its high rate of depression to its high rate of homelessness’, highlighting that the answer to this problem lies in providing sufferers of child abuse with help instead of expecting them simply to ‘get on with it’. For information about child abuse, help and support, visit www.napcan.org.au.

Can a playground be too safe?

This article challenges the removal of risk from playgrounds. ‘Even if children do suffer fewer physical injuries—and the evidence for that is debatable—the critics say that these playgrounds may stunt emotional development, leaving children with anxieties and fears that are ultimately worse than a broken bone.’

Supporting ECEC practitioners

Safe from the start

The Safe from the Start project offers a training program and a Safe from the Start resource kit, which provides therapeutic ways of working with young children aged 0–5 who have been affected by family violence. This training program and resource kit is based on recommendations from a ‘States of Mind’ research study conducted at the University of Tasmania into the specific needs of children who have witnessed family violence.

Foundations magazine Issue 6

The latest edition of Foundations magazine focuses on ‘change’—Transitions to school ... Children’s behaviour—an emotional response gone awry ... What is social inclusion for families in an early childhood setting? Read this and previous issues of Foundations for free here. If you would like to share your ideas or are interested in contributing to Foundations magazine, please contact Project Officer Ellen Newman at: ellen.newman@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au.

Policy Brief—Five Years On

The Royal Children's Hospital latest Policy Brief—Five Years On, focuses on looking back over the first five years of policy brief publications, to review what has been achieved to date and how much there is still to do. Access previous editions of Policy Brief in the Policy Brief Archives.

EYLF Professional Learning Program update

New free resources

Read the two new articles now available in the 'Resources' section on the EYLF PLP home page. These were recently published in Every Child magazine Vol. 17 No. 2 and are titled Developing a space for belonging and Catering to diversity.

For more information and resources please visit the EYLF Professional Learning Program website.

EYLF PLP Workshops

Early Childhood Australia would like to communicate that there will be no further EYLF PLP Workshops after the last of the 65 scheduled Workshops has taken place on 6 August 2011. The Thinking about practice: Working with the Early Years Learning Framework planner, presentation, videos and handouts provided at the Workshops will be available for free download on the EYLF PLP website when all Workshops have taken place.

The EYLF PLP has many other resources available to help with the implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework and we encourage everyone to take advantage of them. Early Childhood Australia also encourages services to explore the Early Years Learning Framework support being provided across Australia by the Professional Support Coordinators as well as tap into the resources available on the Commonwealth Government websites www.deewr.gov.au and www.mychild.gov.au.

ECA Greenwatch

The little green schoolhouse: Thinking big about environmental health and ecological sustainability in K-12 schools in the U.S.

This report created by The Green Schools Initiative in the United States, outlines a vision for making individual schools, districts, statewide educational efforts, and a US school system that is healthy, joyful, and sustainable.

Quality–assured early childhood resources

All of ECA's publications are peer-reviewed by early childhood experts, so you can be assured that all our publications are of the highest quality, and relevant to you and your work. Here are some suggestions for those interested in reading up on children’s emotional wellbeing and providing support in stressful times:

Nurturing the spiritual child: Compassion, connection and a sense of self

By embracing children's spirituality, early childhood educators and carers create new possibilities for optimism, mindfulness and contentment.

Stress in early childhood: Helping children and their carers

Reducing stress opens up more opportunities for positive experiences—for both children and the adults who care for them. Stress in early childhood: Helping children and their carers offers practical and effective strategies for stress management.

Resource of the week

Take advantage of this week’s special—10% off the regular price for The exceptional child, a resource about the complex and often confusing world of understanding and working with children who have special needs. This book is usually priced at $120.95, but for this week (27 July–2 August) it will be available for $108.85. Don’t forget to enter the promotional code: ECARW3, into the shopping cart in order to get the special price. The prices quoted above include postage and handling.

Conferences and dates

NIFTeY/CCCH 2011 Conference—28–29 July
National Aboriginal and Islander Children's Day—4 August
A national professional development tour featuring international presenter Associate Professor Mary Louise Hemmeter—7–22 August
Two Ways Together: Building a safe child welfare system for Aboriginal children—11 August
Lessons in Action: Advocating for the rights of Aboriginal children—12 August
Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health expert forum—12 August
Beyond Tomorrow—2011 ECMS Conference—16 August
Going Green in Early Childhood Conference—18–19 August
C&K 2011 Toowoomba Conference—Thinking Big and Acting Up!—20 August
The R.E. Ross Trust Seminar: Memory, Attention, Trauma and Learning: Translating Research into Educational Practice—29 August
White balloon day—7 September
Early Years in Education Society Conference—Ready set go!—9 September
Leading the Way! Conference—Education for sustainability—10 September
Queensland Education Resources Expo—10–11 September
Power of Play National Playgroup Conference—12–14 October
ACSSO Conference Parents—Partners in Education—13–14 October
Growing up in Australia and Footprints in time research conference—15–16 November
Honoring the Child, Honoring Equity 11: Inspiring change(s): insights, challenges, hopes and actions—18–19 November

Keep up to date on conferences and events in the field of early childhood education and care with Early Childhood Australia’s Events Calendar. Contact us to have your conference or event added to the calendar.

The ECA values statements

Early Childhood Australia is guided in its work by endorsed values. These sit alongside ECA’s Principles, Positions, Code of Ethics, Scope of Activities and Governance Guidelines as our Foundation Materials. With the other Foundation Materials the ECA values inform ECA’s Strategic Directions and all our day-to-day work. View the ECA Values statements.

ECA website usability survey

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ECA WebWatch - Issue 119, July 2011. © Early Childhood Australia.