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The latest early childhood news!

In this issue, the program overview for the 2017 Live Wires Forum is now available; the Labor Government will hold a National Schools Forum in November; and Child Family Community Australia has developed a new resource. In other news, plenary presentations and keynote addresses from the 7th SNAICC National Conference are now available online; the First 5 Forever initiative in Queensland has helped introduce many families to the world of libraries and literacy; and the Territory Labor Government continues its commitment to put children at the heart of government decision making. Around the country, it was World Mental Health Day yesterday; take part in Western Sydney University’s latest survey; join leading thinkers and change-makers at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) 2018 Conference; and attend Re-imagining Childhood this November—a conference filled with provocations and possibilities. And finally, we fill you in on the latest state and territory news.

Jump down to find out what the various ECA teams and projects have been up to and the new resources available for the early childhood sector.

The Early Education and Care Business Growth Forum

The Australian childcare industry is booming in response to the demand for long day care centres. Providers face the challenge of ensuring ongoing sustainability in an evolving sector, as well as the challenge of adapting to recent National Quality Standard changes being implemented by ACECQA. Akolade's Early Education and Care Business Growth Forum brings together sector leaders to share strategies to acquire and retain high-quality educators, efficient methods to comply with regulations and ensure sustainability in a competitive industry. Click here and use VIP code APXE1 for the best available rates!

SNAICC Conference presentations

The 7th SNAICC National Conference was held from 12–14 September 2017 at the National Convention Centre, Canberra. If you missed out, or couldn't attend all the sessions, videos of plenary presentations and keynote addresses are now available through the SNAICC website and YouTube channel. Videos include keynote presentations by Dr Sarah Kastelic and Adjunct Professor Muriel Bamblett AM, as well as the conference's panel presentations.

2017 Live Wires Forum

ECA's Live Wires Forum, an essential two-day technology and STEM event, is fast approaching. Some individuals and organisations may find it difficult to participate due to limited resources and travel. To assist in these costs, ECA is offering a travel subsidy. Click here to check eligibility and complete the application form, then email this to the events team by COB (AEDT) 20 October 2017. The program overview for the 2017 Forum is also available. Register today so you don’t miss out!

World Mental Health Day

It was World Mental Health Day yesterday, and this year's theme, 'Do you see what I see?' encouraged everyone to look at mental health in a more positive light. Support for the mental health of both adults and children doesn’t have to be confined to a single day though. It's important that the whole community recognises the part we all play in creating a mentally healthy society.

Re-imagining Childhood

As a conference filled with provocations and possibilities, Re-imagining Childhood will provide opportunities to engage with international and local leaders in early childhood. International keynote speakers include Professor Carla Rinaldi, Professor Peter Moss and Professor Gunilla Dahlberg. The conference will be held from 6–8 November 2017 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

New resource

Child Family Community Australia has developed a resource to provide practitioners and service providers with the contact details and links to helplines and telephone counselling services for children, young people and adults. For ease of use, this practical resource groups services according to the location in which they operate.

Survey opportunity

Western Sydney University invites those who work in Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) with children living with global developmental delay or intellectual disability in Australia to complete a survey. This is an opportunity to provide your views on contemporary practice in ECI and also the impact of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Better future for Territory kids

Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Children, Nicole Manison, has launched a draft 10-year plan to give Northern Territory kids the best start in life. Starting Early for a Better Future provides a key platform for delivering the Territory Labor Government’s commitment to put children at the heart of government decision making.

National Schools Forum

The Labor Government has announced it will hold a National Schools Forum on 20 November 2017 to hear from parents, teachers, principals and academics about what works best to improve schools and student results. It will be opened by Labor Leader, Bill Shorten at Melbourne University.

AIFS 2018 Conference

Join leading thinkers and change-makers at the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) 2018 Conference, which asks: what does the future for families look like? Whether you’re a policy-maker, a subject matter expert, or a practitioner, this conference has something for everyone—the call for abstracts is open now.


	Redefining a trip to the library

	The First 5 Forever initiative implemented by the Palaszczuk Government in Queensland has helped introduce many families to the world of libraries and literacy. The initiative is coordinated by the State Library of Queensland and delivered through the state's network of more than 320 Queensland public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres. So far more than one million participants have moved out of the library space to set up storytime sessions in mud pits, at hardware stores and parks.


	In state and territory news ...

	The Families as First Teachers (FAFT) program based in Arnhem Land has been celebrated at the Northern Territory Education and Care Awards for its community engagement and collaborative focus; laws to introduce 'No Jab, No Play' rules for early childhood have been introduced to State Parliament in South Australia; government funding in Queensland has enabled the launch of Kindergo, a new interactive app encouraging children from Years 1–3 to further learn and explore stories to stimulate their imagination; in Victoria, partners and children of online child sex offenders will receive more support to deal with the burden often placed on them; and nominations are now open for the 2017 Violence Prevention Awards, which recognise projects, activities and/or contributions by individuals who are making significant gains to preventing violence against women and children in the Australian Capital Territory.

New webinar

What does quality look like? Sarah Louise Gandolfo presents 'Making quality visible', a highly practical webinar on ideas for improving and maintaining quality within your service and what quality looks like when taking into consideration a service's individual philosophy and community. And keep an eye on the ECA Learning Hub for free Live Wires resources in the coming weeks.

Children's voices

Our survey on children's views of their early learning experiences is still open. Please help us collect as many responses as possible before we share the results during Children's Week (21–29 October). Whether you're an educator or parent, take part in this short, online survey, which requires you to ask individual children about their experience of early learning.

Webinars for educators

Gather your team and be inspired by our upcoming webinars, focused on supporting mental health and wellbeing of young children. Together you'll learn effective communication skills, how to use relationships to overcome barriers and engage in critical conversations and explore ways you can promote help-seeking behaviour in your community. Register today.

Join today!

Have you signed up to the ECA Leadership Program yet? The ECA Leadership Program was specifically created as a strengths-based, self-directed, short-term program for both current and aspiring early childhood leaders in diverse settings. Current participants are already beginning to receive their completion certificates—join the program today!

ECA has four core publications available as subscription packages for those working, studying or interested in the early childhood sector: Research in Practice Series; Everyday Learning Series; Every Child magazine; Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. Subscribe today!

The 2018 AJEC Research Symposium encourages early childhood practitioners, students, policy-makers and academics to come together to share cutting-edge knowledge and to strengthen their research networks in Australasia and beyond. The symposium will be held from 16–17 February at QUT in Brisbane. Registration is now open.

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Early Childhood Australia disclaimer
The opinions expressed in the articles and external links are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Early Childhood Australia.

ECA WebWatch—Issue 270, October 2017.