Professionalism in times of uncertainty—a conversation worth having, writes CATHARINE HYDON, who, among many contributions to the sector in Australia, is a leading advocate on ethics for early childhood education and care. In all of my conversations with colleagues about the ECA Code of Ethics and what it means to be an ethical professional, one thing […]
Early Childhood Australia’s (ECA’s) DR KATE HIGHFIELD talks about keeping the educational focus while staying safe with young children. Scroll to the end of this blog to find a webcast on the same topic featuring Kate in discussion with Goodstart Early Learning’s Sue Robb (OBE) and Dr Katey De Gioia. Over the last few weeks we’ve had […]
Coronavirus—what it means for handling money, food and more. Ian M. Mackay, Adjunct assistant professor at the University of Queensland and Katherine Arden, Virologist, at the University of Queensland, help us to understand the coronavirus how long it survives on surfaces and practical tips for home and the transition between work and home. Like the other 200 or so respiratory […]
At the moment the news is changing hour by hour, day by day. In this environment stories change and we don’t always have the time to catch up. And knowledge brokering is not the same as advocacy. So when ECA shared a mainstream media article a few weeks ago, about a new study, our Facebook […]
During crisis times, people frequently look to what they can do to help—often this includes donations of goods or money, sharing messages of support, or calling for change. Part of the response has to be what we can do to prevent these now-weekly events. How can we create the kinds of communities that are safe […]
Developing and delivering an innovative approach for supporting children in complex families to attend an early childhood education program PROFESSOR LINDA HARRISON and researcher CATHERINE JONES write about their upcoming Round Table discussion at the 2020 AJEC Research Symposium, titled Nurturing children and families through staff professional development. They are working on a project across New South Wales, to encourage […]
In WebWatch we often report on new research relevant for our sector. Last week a post focussing on new research out of the USA generated a great deal of discussion. The research relayed in WebWatch issue 323 focussed on a USA study analysing the use of Play-Doh containing gluten for children who have coeliac disease or are […]
The devastating result of the bushfires has left many early childhood services across Australia experiencing hazardous air pollution levels in the last couple of months. As smoke continues to blanket much of the country, we reached out to a number of departments and other services to put together a list of helpful links and resources […]
How are you going to face the long summer? You may have food and drinks in the fridge or plans to visit people who do. You probably have your fire survival and evacuation plan organised. But what about your ‘children and technology’ plan? Have you activated a plan for relaxing and avoiding conflict over children’s […]
It can be hard to keep up with new ideas and early childhood developments during the year, so to help you catch up or for inspiration to start the year on a strong footing, we’ve put together a list of ECA’s top reads from across the last year (2019). It’s a mix of favourites and […]
Protecting children’s right to play Play is a vital avenue for learning and development in young children. Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is consulting with early childhood experts to find out how to stop it from diminishing. If you were asked to explain why play is important for children, what would you say? ECA recently asked […]
With a number of states affected by unprecedented bushfires this week and educational authorities closing more than 300 schools in NSW, the message is: be prepared, decide early. Yet what does this mean for early childhood education and care services? Most emergency fire management plans are designed for individuals, families and households. How do you and your […]