No images? Click here Making news this fortnight...Resources to help children with disability access early learning; National Centre to boost primary care knowledge in responding to sexual abuse; new record for First Nations children attending preschool; additional funding for Inclusion Support Program; Child care subsidy Changes from July; NAIDOC Week resources for early childhood; and upcoming calendar days. Scroll down to read more, find the latest in state and territory news, and discover what ECA teams have been up to. Resources to help children with disability access early learningNew information packages are now available to help the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector ensure their services are accessible to children with disability. The two packages were developed by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) in consultation with the disability and ECEC sectors. Explore more. National Centre to boost primary care knowledge in responding to sexual abuseThe National Centre will work with Primary Health Networks (PHN) and other key stakeholders to map and analyse existing resources, and then develop new resources to assist the primary care workforce in supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Learn more. New record for First Nations children attending preschoolNew data has been released by the Productivity Commission which confirms ongoing positive momentum in Outcome Area 3 of the 2023 Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan. Nationally in 2022, 99.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were enrolled in a preschool program. Read more here. Additional funding for Inclusion Support ProgramMinister for Early Childhood Education Dr Anne Aly announced $21.2 million funding for the Government’s Inclusion Support Program (ISP). The ISP assists ECEC services to provide and embed inclusive practices into their early learning programs for all children, including those with disability or developmental delay. Read the review. Child Care Subsidy changes from JulyChild Care Subsidy is increasing from July 2023, which means early childhood education and care will be cheaper for most families. It also means some families previously not eligible for Child Care Subsidy will now get it. This change will provide more support for more families across Australia. View more information. NAIDOC Week resources for early childhoodABC Kids Early Education has compiled top picks for viewing and listening in early years classrooms, at community events, and in homes. ABC Kids offers a range of multimodal resources to support teachers and educators to build emerging understandings about the significance of NAIDOC Week for our youngest citizens. View more.
Upcoming calendar daysExplore relevant calendar dates to consider acknowledging in your service this month: NAIDOC Week (2–9 July); Early Learning Matters Week (24–28 July); National Out of School Hour Care Educators Day (26 July); International Day of Friendship (30 July); National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (4 August). State and Territory news WA The WA Government has awarded a combined $4.4 million to Ruah Community Services towards building a new centre for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. Once complete, the seven-storey Ruah Centre for Women and Children will offer short-term and transitional accommodation together with integrated support services. View more information. VIC The Victorian Government is delivering the Australian-first ‘Disability Inclusion’ package to all Victorian government schools over five years. All school regions will move to the new approach. Thousands more students will get the support they deserve by 2025. Read more. A new child and family centre, scheduled to open in the coming months, will provide early intervention to children and their families with access to treatment, care and support in a safe and supportive residential setting. The Statewide Child and Family Centre is focused on the needs of children and families who have experienced trauma and require additional support. Learn more. ACT From 2024, Canberra families will be able to access one day a week of free preschool for three-year-olds – equating to 300 hours a year of free learning. On average, Canberra families with a three-year-old preschooler will save $1329. This will benefit more than 5,000 three-year-olds across Canberra. ECA National Conference ScholarshipsScholarship applications for the ECA National Conference are still available for Victorian and Queensland participants, but closing soon! Don’t miss your chance to join us at ‘Kumarninthi—Becoming one: Old ways, new wisdom’ in Adelaide from 4–7 October 2023. Scholarships are available for both in-person and virtual attendance. Apply before 30 June. Learn more. Enhance your skills todayThe Box of Provocations for Early Childhood Educators is a collection of provocation cards that are intended to support critical reflection, discussion, debate and deeper thinking about teaching, learning and what it means to be a professional educator. Buy before the end of June to receive a bonus $25 coupon for use on ECA online professional learning! Buy now. Early childhood education students’ wellbeing planIf you are studying early childhood education at either university or a vocational institution or know someone who is, explore the Be You Wellbeing plan for education students and see how you can get involved.
New on The SpokeIn her recent Spoke blog post, ‘Early Educators Around the World Feel Burnt Out and Devalued. Here’s How We Can Help’, Marg Rogers highlights new research that looks at why early childhood educators are burning out and how educator turnover can be fixed. She discusses educator turnover, what leads to burnout and how we can reduce or avoid it. Read more. ECA PodcastIn the latest ECA Podcast episode of the Talking Pedagogies series, Dr Sandra Cheeseman and Catharine Hydon explore Nature Pedagogy. Since beginning their unique Australian pedagogies conversation at last year’s ECA Conference, this seems to have become more and more fundamental to practising early childhood pedagogy in Australia - so much so that most of us take it for granted. Encountering and Interpreting the Principles of Reggio Emilia EncountersDiscover and explore the principles of Reggio Emilia in this one-of-a-kind online professional learning course. This series contains four parts presented as encounters, including Not Just Any Place; Seeing Things Differently; Teachers and Children as Researchers; and Pedagogy, a Context for Research. Sign up here. Last days of the ECA EOFY SaleBuy before 30 June 2023 to save up to 40% on a range of publications and online professional learning packages. This includes the ECA Leadership Program, The Essentials Professional Learning Package and online professional learning and book bundles. Shop today to ensure you don’t miss out. © Early Childhood Australia 2023 www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au If you have questions about our products or services please contact us at marketing@earlychildhood.org.au |