ECA Statement of Play – Glossary

ECA Statement on Play

GLOSSARY

Suggest a term to include on the glossary page.  Email the policy@earlychildhood.org.au inbox.

Word	Meaning
Abstract	Existing as an idea, feeling, or quality, not as a material object.
Advocate	To publicly support or suggest an idea, development or way of doing something.
Aesthetics	The formal study of art, especially in relation to the idea of beauty.
Agency	‘Being able to make choices and decisions, to influence events and to have an impact on one’s world’ (Department of Education, 2022, p. 64).
Amplified	To increase the size or effect of something.
Analysing	To study or examine something in detail, in order to discover more about it.
Anti-bias	‘An active/activist approach to challenging prejudice, stereotyping and bias.  In a society in which institutional structures create and maintain bias, it is not sufficient to be non-biased, nor is it sufficient to be an observer.  It is necessary for each individual to actively intervene, to challenge and counter the personal and intuitional behaviours that perpetuate oppression on the grounds of difference’ (Scarlet, 2016, p. 353).
Approved learning frameworks	Under the National Law and National Regulations, services are required to base their educational program on an approved learning framework. This should focus on addressing the developmental needs, interests and experiences of each child, while taking into account individual differences. There are three approved learning frameworks: Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia; My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia; and the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (Victoria only) (ACECQA, 2022).
Aspirations	Something that you hope to achieve.
Assembly	The process of putting together the parts of a machine or structure.
Asserting	To behave in a way that expresses your confidence, importance or power and earns you respect from others.
Assessment	The process of considering all the information about a situation or a person and making a judgement.
Attachments	A feeling of love or strong connection to someone or something.
Attunement	Being ‘in tune’ with a child, actively watching and listening to them to understand what they’re feeling.
Audit	Edu for sus
Authentic	Being what it is claimed to be genuine.
Becoming	‘Children’s identities, knowledge, understandings, capacities, skills and relationships change during childhood. They are shaped by many different events and circumstances. Becoming reflects this process of rapid and significant change that occurs in the early years as young children learn and grow. It emphasises learning to participate fully and actively in society’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 7).
Behaviourist modelling	Behaviourist- someone who supports the theory of behaviourism (the theory that human or animal behaviour is based on mental training and the influence of habit, rather than being explained by thoughts and feelings).
Being	‘Childhood is a time to be, to seek and make meaning of the world. Being recognises the significance of the here and now in children’s lives. It is about the present and them knowing themselves, building and maintaining relationships with others, engaging with life’s joys and complexities, and meeting challenges in everyday life. The early childhood years are not solely preparation for the future but also about the present’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 7).
Beliefs	Something that you believe.
Belonging	‘Experiencing belonging – knowing where and with whom you belong – is integral to human existence. Children belong first to a family, a cultural group, a neighbourhood and a wider community. Belonging acknowledges children’s interdependence with others and the basis of relationships in defining identities. In early childhood, and throughout life, relationships are crucial to a sense of belonging. Belonging is central to being and becoming in that it shapes who children are and who they can become’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 7).
Benefits	A helpful or good effect, or something intended to help.
Bias	‘Any attitude, belief or feeling that results in or help to justify unfair treatment because of gender, culture, race, sex, class, family, age or ability’ (Scarlet & Bryant, 2017, p. 4).
Capable	Able to do things effectively and skilfully, and to achieve results.
Challenges	The situation of being faced with something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person’s ability.
Challenging behaviour	Challenging behaviour can be identified as disruptive, ‘which interrupts the group and prevents group members from functioning―which means it prevents you from teaching and guiding the children or interferes with their activities. It can take one of three forms: a normal behaviour which occurs excessively … ; a constellation of normal behaviours which by themselves would not make management difficult but in combination present some management problems’ (Herbert 1987); ‘an appropriate behaviour that is mistimed’ (Porter, 1999, p. 95).
Citizen	A person who is a member of a particular country and who has rights because of being born there or because of being given rights, or a person who lives in a particular town or city.
Citizenship	‘Means being a member of and supporting one’s community including the early childhood setting, as well as the local and global community. Citizenship involves a range of key components such as opportunities for belonging and participation, contributing to decision-making and taking responsibility for actions to others and to the environment’ (Department of Education, 2022, p. 65).
Code-mixing/Co-switching	Mixing elements of both languages whilst speaking.
Cognitive	Connected with thinking or conscious mental processes.
Collaborate/Collaboration	Involves working together cooperatively towards common goals. Collaboration is achieved through information sharing, joint planning and the development of common understandings and objectives.
Collaboratively	Collaboration: Not acting to influence or change a situation; allowing other people to be in control.
Collective	Done or shared by every member of a group.
Communication	The process by which messages or information is sent from one place or person to another, or the message itself.
Community	‘Communities: Social or cultural groups or networks that share a common purpose, heritage, rights and responsibilities and/or other bonds. ‘Communities’ is used variously to refer, for example, to the community within early childhood settings, extended kinships, the local geographic community and broader Australian society’ (DEERW, 2009, p. 48).
Community trauma	Collective trauma experienced by an entire community through a large-scale disruptive event, such as floods, a plane crash, a terror attack, etc.
Competencies	Important skills that are needed to do a job.
Complexities	The state of having many parts and being difficult to understand or find an answer to.
Complementarity	The state of working usefully together.
Confidence	The quality of being certain of your own ability to do things well.
Conflict	An active disagreement between people with opposing opinions or principles.
Consolidate	To become, or cause something to become, stronger, and more certain.
Consent	To agree to do something, or to allow someone to do something.
Context	The influences and events related to a particular event or situation.
Context (2)	All the factors surrounding and influencing an event. In terms of storytelling, context refers to all the aspects surrounding and affecting the storytelling occasion.
Contextualised	To consider something or to help other people consider something in its context (that is, the situation within which it exists or happens), which can help explain it.
Continuity	The state of continuing over time, especially without change or interruption.
Continuous improvement	‘Ongoing improvement in the provision of quality education and care services. The National Quality Framework aims to raise quality and drive continuous improvement through the National Quality Standard, national quality rating and assessment process, streamlined regulatory arrangements and the overseeing of these processes by ACECQA. Assessment and rating encourages continuous improvement by engaging the approved provider and the service in a process of self-assessment, as well as providing a detailed report of their performance against the National Quality Standard. Quality services regularly monitor and review their performance to guide planning and improve service quality. This creates a shared understanding of the principles that guide the service, and encourages continuous improvement in practice, policies and procedures. Quality services regularly update and maintain their Quality Improvement Plan as a dynamic document to guide progress towards improvement’ (ACECQA, 2022, pp. 620-621).
Continuum	Something that changes in character gradually or in very slight stages without any clear dividing points.
Co-play	Co-play, or cooperative play means playing and working with others towards a common goal or purpose.
Co-regulation	When an adult who has a warm, responsive and caring relationship with an infant or child engages with the child to provide support, model emotional regulation and coach the child in understanding and appropriately expressing their emotions. To co-regulate, the adult has to recognise and respond to cues about the child’s needs and wants and provide caring support in times of stress. They also have to, as much as possible, provide an environment that is physically and emotionally safe and developmentally appropriate for children to explore and learn, including taking reasonable risks that promote growth.
Courageous	Having or showing courage, being brave.
Creativity	The ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas.
Critical Reflection	Reflective practices that focus on implications for equity and social justice.
Crucial	Extremely important or necessary.
Cues	A signal for someone to do or say something.
Cultivate	To try to develop and improve something.
Culture	The attitudes, behaviour, opinions, etc. of a particular group of people within society
Cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD)	This term acknowledges that groups and individuals differ accordingly to age, gender, sexual preferences, spiritual beliefs, socioeconomic status, physical and mental capacities, geographic location, ethnicity, race and language.
Cultural competence/ awareness	‘Cultural competence is much more than awareness of cultural differences. It is the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. Cultural competence encompasses: being aware of one’s own world view developing positive attitudes towards cultural differences gaining knowledge of different cultural practices and world views developing skills for communication and interaction across cultures’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 19).
Cultural safety	Cultural safety is the positive recognition and celebration of cultures. It is more than just the absence of racism or discrimination and more than cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. It empowers people and enables them to contribute and feel safe to be themselves. In a child safe, culturally safe organisation, children, young people, family and community members feel that their culture and identity are respected. (SNAICC, 2022).
Curiosity	An eager wish to know or learn about something.
Poverty	‘In the early childhood setting, curriculum means all the interactions, experiences, activities, routines and events, planned and unplanned, that occur in an environment designed to foster children’s learning and development’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 9).
Cyclic	Used to describe an event that is part of a group of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and that are often repeated.
Den	A rough structure, usually built outside from pieces of wood, cardboard, etc., in which children play.
Dialect	A form of a language that is spoken in a particular part of a country or by a particular group of people and that contains some words, grammar, or pronunciations (the ways in which words are said) that are different from the forms used in other parts or by other groups.
Dialogue	A serious exchange of opinion, especially among people or groups that disagree.
Difference	‘In its simplest form, difference can mean different from or different to, measured up against what is perceived to be and/or constructed as “normal” dominant and/or desirable’ (Scarlet, 2016, p. 353).
Dilemma	A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two different things you could do.
Dimensions	A part or feature or way of considering something.
Disconnection	The feeling or fact of being separate from someone or something else, and not fitting well together or understanding each other
Dispositions	Enduring habits of mind and actions, and tendencies to respond in characteristic ways to situations, for example, maintaining an optimistic outlook, being willing to persevere, approaching new experiences with confidence.
Discriminatory	‘Discrimination’ – It is also discrimination when an unreasonable rule or policy applies to everyone but has the effect of disadvantaging some people because of a personal characteristic they share. Discrimination happens when a person, or a group of people, is treated less favourably than another person or group because of their background or certain personal characteristics. Discrimination can be against the law if it is based on a person’s: age disability, or race, including colour, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status sex, pregnancy, marital or relationship status, family responsibilities or breastfeeding sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status (Australian Human Rights Commission).
Diversity #1	The fact of many different types of things or people being included in something.
Diversity #2	The condition or fact of being different or varied; variety.
Dramatic play	All forms of drama- or performance-related play based on the therapeutic story. It might include: dress-ups role play the use of puppets ‘performing’ with expressive art objects, such as drawings or plasticine figures the use of toys, figures or objects.
Dynamic	Having a lot of ideas and enthusiasm.
Education and care settings	Early childhood education and care settings: Early childhood education and care settings can be referred to in a variety of ways. Therefore the terminology used in Early Childhood Australia’s online learning courses encompass and include, however are not limited to, the following terms, service types and/or settings: long day care (LDC), family day care (FDC), outside school hours care (OSHC), early childhood (EC), children, preschool, kindergarten, kinder, early years, infants, infancy, toddlers, childhood, birth, early learning, adolescence, occasional care, Multi-purpose Aboriginal Children’s Services, playgroups, crèches, early intervention settings and similar services.
Embed	To fix something firmly into a substance.
Empathise	To be able to understand how someone else feels.
Emotional literacy	The ability to use language to name, talk about and express feelings.
Emotional regulation	The act of controlling emotions and their expression, including levels of arousal, internal feelings and external behaviours, so as to stay calm.
Emotional release	Catharsis; a moment in which the emotional tension that has been building within a story is released in a satisfying and therapeutic way.
Empower	To encourage and support the ability to do something.
Empowered	To encourage and support the ability to do something.
Enabling	Making something possible or easier.
Encounter	A meeting, especially one that happens by chance.
Essential	Needed in order to achieve a particular result.
Ethical	Relating to beliefs about what is morally right and wrong.
Ethos	The set of beliefs, ideas, etc. about the social behaviour and relationships of a person or group.
Etiquette	The set of rules or customs that control accepted behaviour in particular social groups or social situations.
Exclusion	The act of not allowing someone or something to take part in an activity or to enter a place.
Exclusion (2)	‘Exclusion consists of dynamic, multi-dimensional processes driven by unequal power relationships interacting across four main dimensions—economic, political, social and cultural—and at different levels including individual, household, group, community, country and global levels. It results in a continuum of inclusion/exclusion characterized by unequal access to resources, capabilities and rights which leads to health inequalities’ (Popay et al., 2008, p. 2).
Exponentially	In a way that becomes quicker and quicker as something that increases becomes larger.
Expressive arts	The modules use the term ‘expressive arts’ rather than ‘visual arts’ to include the other senses—such as hearing, touch, smell and even taste—that may be involved in play. Examples include: drawing (with crayons, pencils, pens, chalk) painting (with brushes, fingers, whole body, various tools) printing (using linotypes or other methods) collage (using torn or cut-out pictures, fabric) sculpture (using papier mâché, found objects) modelling (with clay, plasticine, playdough) photography (using digital, polaroid, film techniques) video (including animation, claymation) cooking (including cookie shapes, cake decorating).
Facets	One part of a subject, situation, etc. that has many parts.
Flourish	To grow or develop successfully.
Formulaic	Containing or consisting of fixed and repeated groups of words or ideas.
Fostering	To encourage the development or growth of ideas or feelings.
Fosters	To encourage the development or growth of ideas or feelings.
Foundations	An idea or fact that something is based on.
Frivolous	Behaving in a silly way and not taking anything seriously.
Fundamental	Forming the base, from which everything else develops.
Gauge	To make a judgment about something.
Gestures	An action that expresses your feelings or intentions.
Gravitate	To be attracted to or move toward something.
High expectations	Early childhood educators who are committed to equity believe in all children’s capacities to succeed, regardless of diverse circumstances and abilities. Children progress well when they, their parents and educators hold high expectations for their achievement in learning.
Hindrance	Something that makes it more difficult for you to do something or for something to develop.
Holistically	‘Holistic approaches to teaching and learning recognise the connectedness of mind, body and spirit. When early childhood educators take a holistic approach they pay attention to children’s physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as well as cognitive aspects of learning’ (DEEWR, 2009, p. 16).
Hypothesising	To give a possible but not yet proven explanation for something.
Identity	Who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others.
Ideology	A set of beliefs or principles, especially one on which a political system, party or organisation is based.
Ignite	To cause a dangerous, excited, or angry situation to begin.
Implications	The effect that an action or decision will have on something else in the future.
Inhibit	To slow down a process or the growth of something.
Inspire	To fill someone with confidence and desire to do something.
Inter-connectedness	The state of having different parts or things connected or related to each other.
Inclusion	‘Involves taking into account all children’s social, cultural and linguistic diversity (including learning styles, abilities, disabilities, gender, sexual identity, family circumstances and geographic location) in curriculum decision-making processes. The intent is to ensure that all children’s experiences are recognised and valued. The intent is also to ensure that all children have equitable access to resources and participation, and opportunities to demonstrate their learning and to value difference’ (Department of Education, 2022, p. 66).
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)	Information and Communication technologies is a broader term for ‘Information Technology’ which refers to all communication technologies including internet, wireless networks, phone, devices such as phones, computers, software, video conferencing, social networks and other media applications that share information digitally.
Innovation	A new idea or method; the act of implementing new ideas or methods.
Inquiry	The process of asking a question.
Inquiry-based	Is an education approach that focuses on investigation and problem solving.
Inquisitive	Eager to know a lot about people or things.
Insights	A clear, deep, and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation, or the ability to have such an understanding.
Intellectual	Relating to your ability to think and understand things, especially complicated ideas.
Intention	Intentionality: involves educators being deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in their decisions and actions.
Intentional teaching	Involves educators being deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in their decisions and actions. Intentional teaching is the opposite of teaching by rote or continuing with traditions simply because things have ‘always’ been done that way.
Interactions	The ways in which all the elements of the storytelling model—story, teller, hearer, context—interact, intersect or influence one another.
Interdisciplinary	Involving two or more different subjects or areas of knowledge.
Interests	When using digital documentation to record children’s interests educators need to consider how they capture, share, and design the program. This can occur through children’s narratives or storytelling (Garvis, 2018). Educators need to be mindful of principles, practice and outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework and consider how they can work with individual interests and collective interests throughout the program.
Interpersonal	Connected with relationships between people.
Interpreted	To decide what the intended meaning of something is.
Intervention	The action of becoming intentionally involved in a difficult situation, in order to improve it or prevent it from getting worse.
Intrinsically	In a way that is an extremely important and basic characteristic of a person or thing.
Investigate	To examine something carefully, esp. to discover the truth about it.
Isolation	The fact that something is separate and not connected to other things.
Kinaesthetic	Connected with the ability to know where the parts of your body are and how they are moving.
Layers	One of several related ways of thinking or doing something.
Leadership	The person or people in charge of an organisation.
Learning	A natural process of exploration that children engage in from birth as they expand their intellectual, physical, social, emotional and creative capacities. Early learning is closely linked to early development.
Learning outcome	Learning outcomes are aspirations that children will work toward and demonstrate in unique ways throughout their early years.
Learning stories	Are a type of documentation in the form of a story, which contains no analysis or interpretation.
Lens	Looking at something someone else’s perspective or eye, that may differ to your own opinion.
Logical	Reasonable and based on good judgment.
Meaningful	Useful, serious, or important.
Momentum	The force or speed of an object in motion, or the increase in the rate of development of a process.
Multilingual	This is the ability to comprehend and/or produce two or more languages in oral, manual or written form with at least a basic level of functioning proficiency or use, regardless of age at which the language were learned (International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children’s Speech, 2012). The term ‘multilingualism’ and bilingualism’ are often used interchangeably.
Multilingualism	The use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world’s population.
Multimodal	Having or involving several modes.
Music and movement	All uses of music and movement, including singing, dancing and background music played during activities, games, yoga and relaxation.
Myths	A commonly believed but false idea.
Natural disasters	A potentially damaging physical event or phenomenon that may cause loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption, or environmental degradation. Examples include floods, cyclones, earthquakes, bushfires or drought.
Negotiate	To have formal discussions with someone in order to reach an agreement with them.
Neural pathways	A series of connected nerves along which electrical impulses travel in the body.
Neural circuits	A neural circuit is a population of neurons interconnected by synapses to carry out a specific function when activated. Neural circuits interconnect to one another to form large-scale brain networks.
Neural connections	An interconnected system of neurons, as in the brain or other parts of the nervous system.
Neurodiversity	Differences among people in how their brains work; for example, how they process sensory experiences, use language and interact with other people.
Neuroscience	The scientific study of the nervous system and the brain.
Neurons	Nerve cells that carry information between the brain and other parts of the body.
Norms	An accepted standard or a way of behaving or doing things that most people agree with.
Novelty	Something that has not been experienced before and so is interesting.
Nuanced	A very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound, etc.
Obstacles	Something that blocks your way so that movement or progress is prevented or made more difficult.
Optimum	Being the best or most likely to bring success or advantage.
Oriented	Showing the direction in which something is aimed.
Partnership	An agreement between organisations, people, etc., to work together.
Passive	Not acting to influence or change a situation; allowing other people to be in control.
Pedagogical	Relating to the practice of teaching and its methods.
Pedagogy	Early childhood educator’s professional practice, especially those aspects that involve building and nurturing relationships, curriculum decision-making, teaching and learning.
Performative modality	Any kind of performance (for example, singing, acting, role-playing).
Persevere	To continue making an effort to do or achieve something, even when this is difficult or takes a long time.
Phenomenon	Someone or something that is extremely successful, often because of special qualities or abilities.
Philosophy	A statement of philosophy: A statement the approved provider of an education and care service must develop and include in their Quality Improvement Plan. It is designed to guide all aspects of the service’s operations. It must be available to the staff members of the service and on request to parents of children enrolled at the service or who are seeking to enrol a child at the service (National Regulations).
Pillars	A pillar is also someone or something that is an important part of a group, place, or activity.
Pique	To excite or cause interest.
Planning	The act of deciding how to do something.
Play-based	A context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they engage actively with people, objects and representations.
Play-based learning	Learning through play.
Playscape	A play area or structure for children.
Porous	Something that has many small holes.
Precursor	Something that happened or existed before another thing, especially if it either developed into it or had an influence on it.
Prejudice	‘A pre-judgement or making up one’s mind about something, or someone, without sufficient information.  Prejudices are usually negative and can relate to differences in class, gender, ability, age, race, culture, language, family structure and religion’ (Scarlet, 2016, p.  355).
Presence	The fact that someone or something is in a place.
Presume	To believe something to be true because it is very likely, although you are not certain.
Principles	A basic idea or rule that explains or controls how something happens or works.
Prioritise	To arrange in order of importance so that you can deal with the most important things before the others.
Privacy	The state of being alone, or the right to keep one’s personal matters and relationships secret.
Privilege	the way in which people who are rich, come from a high social class, or belong to a particular race or gender have more advantages in society than people who do not belong to these groups
Problem solving	The process of finding solutions to problems.
Professionalism	The combination of all qualities that are connected with trained and skilled people.
Proficiency	The fact of having the skill and experience for doing something.
Provision	A statement within an agreement or a law that a particular thing must happen or be done, especially before another can happen or be done.
Provocations	Ideas that provoke deeper thinking and reflection that drives improved quality, particularly in pedagogy and practice.
Psychological	Relating to the study of the mind.
Quality	How good or bad something is.
Racism	policies, behaviours, rules, etc. that result in a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race as well as harmful or unfair things that people say, do, or think based on the belief that their own race makes them more intelligent, good, moral, etc. than people of other races
Reciprocal relationships	Educators who are attuned to children’s thoughts and feelings, support the development of a strong sense of wellbeing. They positively interact with the young child in their learning. Through a widening network of secure relationships, children develop confidence and feel respected and valued. They become increasingly able to recognise and respect the feelings of others and to interact positively with them.
Reflective practice	A form of ongoing learning that involves engaging with questions of philosophy, ethics and practice. Its intention is to gather information and gain insights that support, inform and enrich decision-making about children’s learning. As professionals, early childhood educators examine what happens in their settings and reflect on what they might change (Early Years Learning Framework, p. 13).
Remedial	A remedial action is intended to correct something that is wrong or to improve a bad situation.
Repertoires	A list or supply of capabilities.
Resilience	The ability to be happy, successful, etc. again after something difficult or bad has happened.
Resilience #2	The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
Respect	Admiration felt or shown for someone or something that you believe has good ideas or qualities.
Retreat	A private and safe place.
Rhythms	A regular pattern of change.
Rigorous	Careful to look at or consider every part of something to make certain it is correct or safe.
Risk-taking	The act or fact of doing something that involves danger or risk in order to achieve a goal.
Ritual	A set of fixed actions and sometimes words performed regularly, especially as part of a ceremony.
Robust	Strong and unlikely to break or fail.
Scaffold	The educators’ decisions and actions that build on children’s existing knowledge and skills to enhance their learning.
Self-assessment	A judgment, sometimes for official purposes, that you make about your abilities, qualities, or actions.
Self-regulation	The ability to manage energy states, emotions, behaviour and attention: the ability to return to a balanced, calm and constant state of being. Self-regulation is a key factor for mental health, wellbeing and learning (Kidsmatter).
Semiotic	Relating to semiotics (the study of signs and symbols).
Sensitive	Needing to be treated with care or secrecy.
Shared Thinking	Shared thinking is a term used related to specific elements of practice: Tuning into a child; demonstrating enthusiasm and support for their ideas; pausing and allowing time for responses; getting down on their level.
Social exclusion	‘Social exclusion is a complex and multi-dimensional process. It involves the lack or denial of resources, rights, goods and services, and the inability to participate in the normal relationships and activities, available to the majority of people in a society, whether in economic, social, cultural or political arenas. It affects both the quality of life of individuals and the equity and cohesion of society as a whole’ (Levitas et al, 2007, p. 9).
Social skills	the skills that are necessary in order to communicate and interact with others
Sociocultural	Related to the different groups of people in society and their habits, traditions, and beliefs.
Sophisticated	If a way of thinking, a system, or a machine is sophisticated, it is complicated or made with great skill.
Spatial awareness	Spatial awareness is knowing where your body is in space in relation to objects or other people.
Stakeholders	A person or group of people who own a share in a business,( In our context for example, Children, Families and Educators).
Stereotypes #1	‘An assumption that people who identity with a particular way of being are ‘all the same’. Stereotyping is an exaggerated belief or generalisation associated with a particular characteristic or group of people, such as race or sex, which usually carries derogatory implication’ (Scarlet, 2016, p. 355).
Stereotypes #2	A set idea that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.
Stimulate	To encourage something to grow, develop, or become active.
Stimuli	Something that causes a change or a reaction.
Strategies	A way of doing something or dealing with something.
Substantial	Relating to the main or most important things being considered.
Supervise	To watch a person or activity to make certain that everything is done correctly and safely.
Synapses	The point at which electrical signals move from one nerve cell to another.
Technologies	Includes much more than computers and digital technologies used for information, communication and entertainment. Technologies are the diverse range of products that make up the designed world. These products extend beyond artefacts designed and developed by people and include processes, systems, services and environments.
Temperament	The emotional character or state of mind of people or animals, as shown in their behaviour.
Temporal	Relating to practical matters or physical things, rather than spiritual ones.
Textural	Adjective. The appearance and feel of a surface.
Thematic Approach	Thematic Approach is a way of teaching and learning, whereby many areas of the curriculum are connected together and integrated within a theme.
Theoretical	Based on theory or on possibilities.
Thrive	To grow, develop, or be successful.
Toolkit	A set of procedures, guidelines, criteria etc., established to ensure a desired or required result.
Tools	Something that helps you to do a particular activity.
Trajectories	The curved path an object follows after it is thrown or shot into the air, or of an object that is traveling through space.
Transformational	Able to produce a big change or improvement in a situation.
Underpinning	Support, strength or basic structure of something.
Unhurried	Not doing something too quickly.
Values	The principles that help you to decide what is right and wrong, and how to act in various situations.
Versatile	Able to change easily from one activity to another or able to be used for many different purposes.
Visible	Able to be seen.
Vision	An idea or mental image of something.
Wellbeing	‘Sound wellbeing results from the satisfaction of basic needs – the need for tenderness and affection; security and clarity; social recognition; to feel competent; physical needs and for meaning in life (adapted from Laevers 1994). It includes happiness and satisfaction, effective social functioning and the dispositions of optimism, openness, curiosity and resilience’ (DEEWR, 2009, p.49).

 

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