Increased funding for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) grants—
Applications now open!
The Australian Government’s Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) recently announced that applications are now open for increased funding for the RPL grants.
The grants provide up to $3500 (up from $1125 in 2011–12) for each eligible early childhood educator working in a regional or remote area of Australia. The funding contributes to the costs associated with undertaking an RPL assessment to gain a Certificate III, Diploma or Advanced Diploma in Children’s Services.
Grants are available to early childhood educators working in preschools, long day care, family day care, outside school hours care and centre-based budget funded services.
To be eligible for a grant, early childhood educators will need to make sure that their RPL assessment is conducted by a DEEWR registered RPL assessor listed on the DEEWR website.
The following information is now available on the DEEWR website:
- grant program guidelines
- DEEWR registered RPL assessors
- fact sheet and frequently asked questions
- grant application form.
ECA would like to encourage members and their staff to participate in providing feedback on the toolkit for working with families in the early years—from pre-birth to 8 years. Please click here to read the full draft toolkit.
The toolkit consolidates key principles and best practices for practitioners to work in partnership with families to improve outcomes for children. The toolkit forms one part of the Engaging Families in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) story national project being led by South Australia.
The toolkit is not intended as an exhaustive resource or as a prescriptive guide. Instead, it is a starting point for working in partnership with parents, other practitioners and the community to enrich children’s early experiences and contribute to their positive futures. The closing date for receiving feedback on the toolkit is 4 March 2013.
To provide feedback please follow the link to complete a survey online: www.surveymonkey.com/s/R75Z8CX
ECA believes there is a solid research base that suggests these two components are critical to achieving quality education outcomes for young children.
This summary is a brief review of the evidence rather than a comprehensive review because its purpose is to provide a timely response to questions being raised by a minority of service providers who have not yet embraced the NQF.
To read the full Evidence Brief please click here
Get the leading transition to school resource for parents for only $12.95*
Educators in early childhood education and care services are very aware that a smooth transition into school plays a vital role in setting children up to engage confidently with school learning and to achieve positive academic and social outcomes.
This guide for parents titled Your Child’s first Year at School: getting off to a good start has been developed to help children feel relaxed about this new adventure in a child’s life. The beautifully designed resource is written by internationally recognised early childhood educators and has carried the endorsement of the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) for the past five years.
It is an easy-to-read book full of tips and practical advice to make this often difficult time fun:
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‘As a teacher I found this book instrumental in educating beginning parents about school. Thank you!’
Michelle Freeman
Early Childhood Teacher, Condingup Primary School, WA
‘It was fabulous. The chapters were clear, concise and contain practical information. A perfect resource for new parents.’
Felicity Molineux
Primary school teacher and mother of 3, NSW
‘It is simple to understand and extremely realistic. Very good suggestions, also. I have read many books and this has covered all topics that are important to parents and children starting school.’
Lindsey Panizza
Mother of 2, WA
Free sample chapter
To help you decide if Your child's first year of school is for you we have provided the complete first chapter of the book for free. (15 pages)
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About the authors
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Jenni Connor has been an early childhood teacher, a superintendent and a primary school principal. She has been a curriculum manager and writer and advised the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) on the development of the Australian Curriculum. Jenni is the author of many Early Childhood Australia publications and is contracted by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) to illustrate early childhood teaching standards. She conducts professional learning programs for teachers on literacy, learning and curriculum. |
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Pam Linke is an early childhood and parenting consultant who has over many years worked with parents, children and early childhood staff. She has written many books and articles for parents and professionals about parenting and child behaviour and development, especially social and emotional development. She has also written on parenting topics for websites. She is a social worker who has done further training in early childhood education, specialising in children’s literature. She is currently chair of the Early Childhood Australia Publications Committee and Advocacy Representative on the National and State committees of the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health. |
Order forms
Individual copies are available here.
Early Childhood Australia’s publications are both highly-respected and trusted. Our range of marketing channels including print and online publications, social media and websites, are very popular amongst those wishing to reach the early childhood sector, parents and carers. We have a broad range of clients from Government Departments to small companies who utilise our marketing channels to disseminate information and advertise products.
Discover our advertising opportunities
More effective and more efficient
- Every Child—a national magazine full of topical and informative articles, sent to over 4000 services and professionals in the early childhood sector. Advertise in Every Child
- VOICE—a national newsletter with an audience of over 15,000 recipients. Advertise in VOICE
- Australasian Journal of Early Childhood—Australasia’s foremost scholarly journal in the early childhood field, reaching over 3000 professionals. Advertise in AJEC
- A two-booklet package of Research In Practice Series and the Everyday Learning Series targeted at professionals and students with a combined distribution of over 3000 recipients
Advertise in RIPS or Advertise in EDL
- ECA resource catalogues, reaching over 15,000 early childhood educators and services
- ECA WebWatch—an e-newsletter, distributed fortnightly to more than 15,000 services, early childhood educators and students. Advertise in WebWatch
- The Early Childhood Australia website, a hub of information and resources, with over 250,000 visitors per year Advertise in ECA website
- branded bookmarks with a variety of distribution channels, totalling over 150,000 recipients per year.
Our social media network, including Facebook communities, Twitter networks and an online forum all work to direct the audience between our communication channels, so if you are interested in advertising in more than one of our mediums, consult our marketing team on (02) 6242 1800 or email marketing@earlychildhood.org.au to start designing the advertising strategy that works best for you.
Early Childhood Australia has an ethical advertising policy:
- no advertisements for products that would be harmful to families, children and their environments will be accepted
- claims made in advertisements are the responsibility of the advertiser
- Early Childhood Australia reserves the right to determine the suitability and quality of camera-ready artwork supplied by advertisers.
Click here for more information about Early Childhood Australia's advertising standards.
KidsMatter and COPMI (Children of Parents with a Mental Illness) is making
available to you, a range of booklets about mental illness and its impact
on the family, in particular children. To receive a free pack which
contains information for children, parents, teachers and early
childhood education and care services staff, please complete the order
below.
Pack contents
Just Being Me | Ideas for middle school teachers using Helicopter Man
or Lockie Leonard - Legend as class texts. Aims to increase
students' understanding of mental illness and its potential affect on
families.
Joe’s Diary | A year in the life of Joe and his mother who has
schizophrenia as they both learn to cope with the illness. For 10-14
year olds.
You’re Not Alone | A guide for children aged 6-12 years who have a family
member, or other person close to them, with a mental illness.
Piecing the Puzzle Together | For parents of children 2-7 years with mental illness
(also partners, family and friends). How to be the best possible parent
supporting child development though the early years.
Family Talk | Information for parents with mental health problems,
children, family and friends. Answering questions, family discussion and
planning for times when the parent’s unwell.
The Best for Me and My Baby | For women and partners
thinking about, about to have, or who have just had a baby. Managing mental
health during pregnancy and early parenthood.
Order now
Simply order your pack herebefore 30 June.Please include your name, position and the address of your school or early childhood education and care servicein the message. Please call COPMI on 08 8367 0888 with any questions.
Web infofor children and families
COPMI have
redesigned their website and added new information for children, parents, families and friends like; how to talk to children about mental illnessand video clips to help kids cope. Kids who check out the videos now have a chance to win an iPad2(competition closes 29 June).Visit www.copmi.net.au
It's time to act – 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!
Send an e-card to your your Premier or Chief Minister and tell them to stand firm and make a national commitment for:
- improved regulated staff-to-child ratios in centres
- all services to have well-trained and qualified staff
- an accreditation system that requires these standards.
Evidence says that these standards will lead to better quality outcomes for children and short and long term productivity gains for the nation.
Send this e-card to ensure that they, too, will put their hands up for quality on 7 December. The e-card will also automatically be sent to Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Minister Kate Ellis and Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. ECA will also receive a copy.
Just click on your State or Territory's Premier/Chief Minister to bring up your e-card:
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You might like to add your own thoughts, opinions or stories about quality care in the space provided in the e-card.
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Please ensure that you add your name to the bottom of the e-card so COAG can clearly see your support for this campaign. |
Send the message to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd:
Follow this link to the PM's website. Copy and paste the text below into the Prime Minister's form
| Dear Prime Minister,
I'm putting my hand up for Australia to do better for children in our early childhood education and care services – I'm asking you to do the same. On 7 December, in the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) you have the opportunity to raise quality standards for our young children, for their future and for Australia's future. Don't let it slip away. COAG must commit to evidence-based quality standards in early childhood education and care services by:
To achieve what is needed for young children, families and Australia, COAG must stand firm and endorse long-term improvement in quality standards in early childhood education and care services to high levels. Put your hand up for quality! Yours sincerely, **Don't forget to add your name, suburb and postcode!** |
Follow these simple steps if your email configuration is not allowing you to send an e-card.
Step 1
Open a new email in your email client (e.g. Hotmail, Outlook etc)
Step 2
Choose the relevant Premier/Chief Minister from the list below and add their email address to the 'To:' field of your email.
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Step 3
Add the following addresses to the 'CC:' field of your email:
Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au
Kate.Ellis.MP@aph.gov.au
Tony.Abbott.MP@aph.gov.au
handsupforquality@earlychildhood.org.au
Step 4
Use the following as your subject line:
On 7 December you must stand firm and commit to quality in Early Childhood Education and Care
Step 5
Copy the following message into the body of your email (don't forget to add your own story and your name in the spaces provided):
Dear Premier/Chief Minister I'm putting my hand up for Australia to do better for children in our early childhood education and care services – I'm asking you to do the same. On 7 December, in the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) you have the opportunity to raise quality standards for our young children. Don't let it slip away. COAG must commit to quality standards in early childhood education and care services by:
(Optional: sender type your story here) To achieve what is needed for young children, families and Australia, COAG must stand firm and endorse long-term improvement in quality standards in early childhood education and care services to high levels. Put your hand up for quality! Regards (Your name here)
Step 6
Now all you need to do is click 'send' and you have put your hand 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 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) – download the Regulation Impact Statement.
At its meeting on 7 December 2009, COAG met to decide the future for quality in Australia's Early Childhood Education and Care services. Thank you to all our members, subscribers and everyone who supported the Hands Up for Quality Campaign!
Campaign outcomes
Special campaign editions of ECA WebWatch
Media releases and campaign news
Background information on the campaign
Campaign outcomes
During the Hands Up for Quality campaign, more than 1,200 'Hands Up for quality' e-cards were sent to Premiers and Chief Ministers and copied to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Kate Ellis, many of them sharing personal experiences, to demand they put their hands up for quality at COAG. We also received support from a range of organisations who were willing to lend their names to this important issue, joining us in putting their names to this letter to the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers.
Early Childhood Australia's president, Margaret Young, wrote a letter of thanks to all the supporters of this campaign.
Outcomes decided at the meeting were:
- ratios of 1:4 for children aged from birth to 24 months by 1 January 2012, 1:5 for children aged from 25 months to 35 months and 1:11 for children aged from 36 months to school aged by 1 January 2016
- all staff either having qualifications (Diploma or Certificate III) or actively working towards qualifications by 1 January 2014, with most services required to have an early childhood teacher whenever a service is being provided.
For those who have not yet seen it, you can download the full COAG Communique.
ECA WebWatch special campaign editions
Find campaign news and updates in our special editions of ECA WebWatch, devoted solely to the Hands Up for Quality campaign:
26 November: ECA WebWatch Hands Up for Quality campaign update
Media releases and campaign news
Read the letter about the COAG outcomes from ECA President Margaret Young: A win for young children at COAG!
Read about the COAG Outcomes: Children the winners in national quality reforms of childcare.
Read the article, published on The Age website, by Early Childhood Australia CEO Pam Cahir: A child's education begins before the first day at school.
Press release: Launch of the Hands up for quality campaign
Read the latest media release from the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care and Youth, Kate Ellis: Demand for quality care and education for young children.
Read our media releases:
24 November: Senate inquiry report endorses urgent need for quality childcare.
2 November: Government urged to stand firm on childcare quality.
Background information on the Hands Up for Quality campaign
Download the ECA Report on quality care in Australia.
This report summarises the results of questions asked in the weekly Essential Report omnibus. The questions are related to early childhood education and care, specifically funding of the services and issues of importance in terms of service provision.
Download the Quality poll report here.
Early Childhood Australia has been contracted by Teaching Australia to develop the Advanced Teaching Standards for early childhood.
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Applications now closed. |
ECA is calling for expressions of interest from early childhood degree-qualified teachers to take part in this exciting initiative:
- to provide advice on the validity and usefulness of the draft advanced teaching capabilities in the national standards
- to develop, in partnership with Teaching Australia and with the involvement of early childhood teachers, national professional standards for advanced early childhood teaching for children from three to eight years of age.
View the Frequently Asked Questions for the Advanced Teaching Standards.
The development of these standards will provide inspiration and guidance to early childhood teachers, and will increase public recognition of the complexity and rigour of the work of exemplary early childhood teachers.
One of the markers of a profession is that it develops its own standards. ECA will be working with early childhood teachers to ensure that these standards are developed by the profession for the profession.
To find out more about the role of professional standards and the process for their development, visit Teaching Australia – Standards and follow the links.
- A small Working Group of nine exemplary early childhood teachers will be responsible for developing the initial draft descriptors for each of the capabilities listed in Teaching Australia's National Professional Standard for Advanced Teachers and Principals (PDF, retrieved 30 November 2008). The Working Group will hold two meetings, with other work done electronically.
- A Writing Sub-Group, comprising members of the Working Group, will produce the working drafts with feedback from the full Working Group.
- Consultations on the draft standards will be held in all states/territories and via online forums, and early childhood teachers will also be able to give online feedback.
- The amended descriptors will then be validated by a small number of early childhood teachers working within different early childhood settings.
ECA is calling for expressions of interest from early childhood trained teachers of children aged three to eight years. A number of roles are available:
- Membership of the Working Group
- Membership of the Writing Sub-Group, which will include two writers from the Working Group
- Involvement in the consultation process
- Joining the update list to be kept informed of the development of the advanced teaching standards
Applicants who are not successful will be invited to be indentified respondents in the consultation process. ECA hopes services/schools/organisations will encourage people to nominate and promote the development process.
- Qualifications (early childhood education degree essential)
- Teaching experience
- Professional association membership
- Evidence of accomplished teaching (e.g. awards, letters of support)
- Evidence of ongoing professional learning
- Currently employed to teach young children aged between three and eight years.
- High-level written and verbal communication skills
The over-riding consideration will be the capability of the person as an exemplary early childhood teacher.
Please complete the Advanced Teaching Standards Expression of Interest formand return to Early Childhood Australia:
By email: applications@earlychildhood.org.au
By mail:
Early Childhood Australia
Advanced Teaching Standards
PO Box 7105
Watson ACT 2602
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Applications now closed |
ECA seeks to include representation from a range of settings and locations, including:
- Preschool
- Kindergarten
- Pre-primary
- Long day care
- Early years of primary school
- All states and territories
- Five metropolitan, three regional and one remote setting
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
Membership of the Working Group involves a commitment to:
- attend meetings in Canberra (currently set for 21–22 February and 5–6 September 2009)
- provide written/electronic feedback on drafts
- respond and support the writing team as needed
- participate in face-to-face consultation meetings in their state or territory.
In addition, members of the Writing Sub-Group are expected to:
- attend two additional meetings in Canberra (currently set for 20–22 March and 4 September 2009).
- respond in timely ways with written feedback as required.
NB. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered. Relief time is not included.
