Early childhood news from around the country!

Welcome to the latest edition of ECA WebWatch. In this issue, ECA urges you to get involved in the 'Hands Up for Quality' campaign – tell our governments what you think about quality in early childhood care and education services around Australia.

Also in this issue:

• New child health guidelines launched
• Raising Children Network expanding its services
• Development of new home care standards

Plus:

• ECA calendar
• Quality-assured early childhood resources
• ECA Greenwatch

ECA WebWatch feature item

Hands Up for Quality!
All children deserve the best start in life – including places and relationships where they can be safe and happy, with opportunities to reach their health, learning and social development potential. This is important for children, families and the future of our nation.

For many, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services have a major role to play. The need for quality improvement in these services is widely acknowledged, including by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

It's time to act – at its meeting on 7 December 2009, COAG will decide the future for quality in Australia's Early Childhood Education and Care services. They need to hear what you think about this – now!

To learn how you can have your say on the future of early childhood education and care in Australia, download our information flyer, which will give you all you need to make your voice heard.

The issue of national quality standards in ECEC services and the coming COAG decision about these is so important that there will be several special editions of WebWatch over coming weeks to keep you informed – we welcome your input!

Your ECA Conference update

Have you joined our mailing list for ECA Conference updates?
To subscribe to ECA Conference News, email conference@earlychildhood.org.au

Call for papers
Submission of papers will open early December 2009, with details released in November 2009.
Information and updates will also be available online: www.ecaconference.com.au

Conference registration opens February 2010 with our early bird registration closing 31 July.

Please see table below for registration costs:

Fee Type	Early bird (closes 31 July 2010)	Full rate (from 1 August 2010)
Full registration
ECA member	$750.00	$900.00
Non-member	$900.00	$1,050.00
Concession registration
ECA member	$350.00	$350.00
Non-member	$450.00	$450.00
Single day	$250.00	$250.00
Single day registration
Single day	$350.00	$350.00

New child health guidelines launched

Get Up & Grow
The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, and the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Kate Ellis, recently launched new Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for early childhood settings, developed with the assistance of the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, the Department of Health and Ageing, and Early Childhood Australia.

Get up and Grow packs will be available to all early childcare settings. Copies of the packs, or individual items, can be ordered from the DoHA website. If you don't have internet access, call the Department of Health and Ageing on 1800 020 103.

Development of new out of home care standards

Contribute your thoughts and ideas
The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) has engaged the consultants KPMG to develop a set of Out of Home Care Standards for consideration by state and territory Community Services' Ministers.

The development of National Standards is part of the first three year action plan of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020.

Supporting early childhood learning

New partners in Home Interaction and Learning Program
The Minister for Early Childhood Education and Child Care, Kate Ellis, has announced the new partners who will deliver the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters.

The program helps families prepare their children for a successful start at school by providing educational resources and home tutors.

For more information about the Home Interaction and Learning Program, visit the program website.

Two Victorian Indigenous children & family centre sites announced

Giving Indigenous children 'the best start'
The Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth, Kate Ellis, and the Victorian Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development, Maxine Morand, have announced two new Children and Family Centres for Victoria.

The centres, located at Bairnsdale and Whittlesea, will offer quality early learning and care for Indigenous children and give support and guidance to their parents and families.

Raising Children Network expanding its services

Contribute your thoughts!
The Raising Children Network is expanding its services to include the middle childhood and early teen years.

Visit the Raising Children Network website and contribute your thoughts on the expansion, and what topics you would like covered, by filling out one of the surveys.

ECA Greenwatch

National Recycling Week
Get involved in National Recycling Week from 9–15 November 2009!

This year Planet Ark and their sponsors are encouraging Australian householders, businesses and schools to Recycle Right – to help save water, conserve resources and combat climate change.

National Recycling Week provides us all with an opportunity to improve our recycling habits, learn about what we can recycle and how to recycle properly, and find out about new recycling trends and programs.

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.

Do-it-yourself early learning: Easy and fun activities and toys from everyday home centre materials
Outlines creative projects for young children from six months to six years that use everyday items such as PVC pipe, duct tape and nuts and bolts to encourage children to play, explore and discover.

Finding your smile again: A child care professional's guide to reducing stress and avoiding burnout
Take action to overcome a possible slide into burnout by making different choices, in areas such as getting support and feedback, paying attention to diet and exercise and learning to let go.

ECA calendar

Playgroup Australia Inaugural National Conference
5–7 November 2009
Royal Pines Resort
Gold Coast

This inaugural National Conference, brought to you by Playgroup Australia, will focus on The power of play. It will look at the importance of maintaining play-based activities in modern childhood, and how the parent/child interaction through play is integral for the health and wellbeing of our children, ensuring they are able to achieve their full potential and develop into healthy adults.

ECTA video conferencing workshop
11 November 2009
3:45 - 5:45pm
Various TAFE sites

The session will assist early childhood staff to align their work with best practices in the field by reviewing what the existing evidence base suggests works best. These key messages from research provide a sound basis from which to advance work in protecting children.

Visit Early Childhood Australia's online calendar — it's the easy way to keep track of important events, conferences and dates.

Help us expand the ECA WebWatch community
Please pass this e-newsletter service on to friends and colleagues with this link to subscribe: www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/mail

Early Childhood Australia's strength is determined by the strength of its members and supporters. It is only through your support that we can advocate for and on behalf of the sector. As a reader of ECA WebWatch you can make a big difference to the sector. By forwarding this newsletter to colleagues and inviting them to subscribe, you extend our advocacy chain – increasing our ability to communicate and work with the sector.

Let us know what you think ...
We welcome any suggestions or comments you have: webwatch@earlychildhood.org.au.

Past issues of ECA WebWatch are available on the Early Childhood Australia website.

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ECA WebWatch – Issue 83, November 2009. © Early Childhood Australia.