Early Childhood Australia


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Read on for the latest early childhood news!

In this issue, the Be You initiative will help educators develop mental health skills through online, evidenced-based professional development; and a new tablet-based game will help detect hearing issues in children. Around the country, the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project is calling for submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls; the Australian government has extended the My Health Record opt-out deadline until 31 January 2019; World Soil Day will be celebrated on 5 December; International Day of People with Disability is on 3 December and 10 December will mark 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New resources include ECA’s free Statement on Young children and digital technologies; and the Brave Program's strategies to better manage children’s anxious behaviours. In other news, a Standing Committee is inviting interested persons and organisations to make submissions on the teaching profession; and a new project will focus on building the knowledge and capability of educators and service leaders in OSHC services operating under the National Quality Framework (NQF). 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.

Be You

Be You is a national initiative to promote mental health. With Be You, educators can develop valuable mental health skills and knowledge through online, evidenced-based professional development. Our Be You Consultants provide advice and support to early learning services and schools around the country, for implementing a whole-community learning approach to growing Australia’s most mentally healthy generation. Learn more about it here.

Young children and tech

As holidays approach, technology gifts—given and received—become hot topics at home and in early learning. For the first time, Australian educators have an evidence-based guide to technology use with young children. Click here for ECA’s free Statement on Young children and digital technologies. Or read a Summary of practice advice on four known areas of importance in early childhood education.

Hearing test for children

Thousands of school-aged children will benefit from an Australian-developed app that delivers a user-friendly hearing test, with the Federal Government funding a $4 million national rollout. The free tests will be conducted online using Sound Scouts, a tablet-based game that detects hearing issues in children. Find more information about the initiative here.

My Health Record

In response to community discussion and concern on privacy and security, the Australian government has extended its deadline until 31 January 2019, for Australians to opt out of the My Health Record System. Legislation is also before the parliament to strengthen protections. You can find updates and details of the changes here.

Women's Voices Project

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO, is calling for submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls and key organisations for the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) project. Women and girls can have their say by making an online submission by 30 November 2018.

Valuing Australia's teachers

The status of the teaching profession is being examined by a Federal Parliamentary House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training. The Committee invites interested persons and organisations to make submissions addressing the terms of reference by 21 December 2018. Information about how to make a submission is available here.

World Soil Day

Dig deep on 5 December for World Soil Day. The 2018 theme is ‘Be the Solution to Soil Pollution!’. Do you have a worm farm or compost heap? More on sustainable practices in early learning here and find ways to be soil smart here.

Managing anxiety among children

The Brave Program for parents of young children teaches parents a variety of strategies to manage anxiety-provoking situations that their child may experience. The program also provides parents with information on strategies to better manage their child’s anxious behaviours. Read more here.

OSHC Quality Development program

The Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) Quality Development Program is funded by the NSW Department of Education and delivered by ECA in partnership with the Network of Community Activities. Find resources and explore the project here. Sign up to receive updates here.


	Note these dates

	International Day of People with Disability is on 3 December. The 2018 theme is ‘Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality’. For ideas on how to get involved click here. Another important date is 10 December, which marks 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For free resources on Children’s rights and Building belonging with young children, click here. Find ECA’s Statement of Intent on Supporting Young Children’s Rights here.


	In state and territory news ...

	In Tasmania, a new Commissioner for Children and Young People has been appointed; the Northern Territory government has released a public tender for the $66.9 million Client Management System Alignment program (CMSA) that aims to protect vulnerable children from abuse and get young people out of the cycle of crime; Victorian education and care services as well as children’s services will have to comply with the Reportable Conduct Scheme from 1 January 2019; in Western Australia, nine more rural and remote schools have joined the Kimberley Schools Project, an initiative that motivates children to regularly attend school and advance the progress of Aboriginal students; Australian Capital Territory launched a new co-designed pilot program that will provide free legal services to pregnant women and new families experiencing, or at risk of, domestic and family violence; South Australia's Child and Youth Services (CYS) has become the first public sector organisation in Australia to deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS); a new report has found that more and more Queenslanders are making healthier choices, including smoking less, avoiding binge drinking and getting their kids vaccinated; the New South Wales government announced two new grants programs, totalling $10 million, that will help councils deliver greener and more inclusive play spaces in the state.

Spotlight on STEM!

STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) has amazing potential to link across curriculum areas to encourage deep learning. Build on your current STEM knowledge and explore new and innovative ways to integrate STEM into children’s everyday learning with Dr Kate Highfield in the module, STEM in the early years. Learn more about it here.

Join our campaign today

We welcome new partners and sponsors! Find out if your organisation is already a campaign partner, sponsor or supporter. If your organisation is not listed and you would like to join us, please email our Campaign Manager. Individuals can also sign up to show support for the campaign. To join us and to stay updated with how we achieve change, please click here.

New events

Like KidsMatter, Be You offers online events. They are a great way to engage with other educators and Be You Consultants. The 'Be You Essentials' series showcases information related to a whole- setting approach to implementing Be You, including how to begin. National Check-Ins are topical and discussion-based events where Action Teams chat about progressing as a Be You Learning Community.