BLOG | WVELC

May 19, 20231 min read

Together we stand!

The Australian Government recognises that ECEC is an essential part of Australia's education system and is integral to Australia's economic prosperity as a powerful lever for increasing workforce participation.

Participation in quality ECEC has essential developmental, social, and educational benefits for Australian children. It can assist with positive early childhood development and provides a foundation for our children's future well-being and success. Cost and availability continue to be barriers to accessing ECEC and for parents and carers to achieve their preferred level of workforce participation.

The Commission is undertaking an inquiry into the ECEC sector in Australia. The Commission should make recommendations to support affordable, accessible, equitable and high-quality ECEC that reduces barriers to workforce participation and supports children's well-being and development, including considering a universal 90 per cent childcare subsidy rate.

Woden Valley ELC, in collaboration with its Parent Management Committee, has submitted suggestions that will support our sector continuity, affordability and equitable access. Please find attached our submission papers with five recommendations based on the recent discussions within the Service.

Author

May 11, 20233 min read

Fire Learning Opportunities

Let's start with a simple statement - children need risk, and keeping children away from risk is not the same as keeping them safe. Fire falls into the six categories of risky play set by Sandseter (2007) as one of the dangerous elements, but risky play is in our nature; humans learn by being allowed to experiment and push boundaries. Looking back at how fire played a significant role in the evolution of our species, it is safe to say that humans mastered fire by ‘playing’ with it.

As mentioned before on our Facebook, if you research the two words together, "children/kids" & "fire", it will reveal two very opposite results. First will say that children should NOT be allowed to ‘play with/around’ or ‘get close to’; the other one will say that children NEED to be involved in learning and engaging about fire for their safety.

I am sure everyone knows which side we stand on.

But is fire safe? Well, yes and no.

It is healthy to be fearful of fire; it is powerful as it is unpredictable. It can injure us if not handled with care, it can be destructive if not managed, and always requires an understanding if the environment around it while remaining vigilant. Establishing rituals, expectations and values around fire opens the door to learning more about managing it safely. In the early stages of introducing children to fire, it's important to emphasise that fires always need to be supervised by an adult and always need to be contained. Teaching children that fire is a tool and not a toy is critical to prepare their mindset to treat fire with respect. Respect is the foundation of everything we do. And with such a mindset being passed on to young children, it empowers them to use it and not abuse it.

The real question here is HOW TO?

Staffing - you need to establish a project leader. Let that person take responsibility and lead the project, from training others, setting their expectations, and writing the policy or/and risk assessment. Our policy requires a person from a leadership team (a senior staff) to be present during the fire learning experience.
Space - establishing a space to run a fire learning experience is crucial. Each year we try moving around our big yard, but we understand that some Centres (or even our smaller rooms) don't have the same luxury, so you need to focus on the suitability of the space. We encourage spots that can be away from main open areas and that children could be seated, which reduces the risk of children running through the fire space where they may not be aware of their surroundings. We use a sandpit with our younger age groups with a rock wall. You need to ensure there are no easily flammable objects or even plants around, and you always have access to water or sand to put the fire down when required or out of control.
Safety - starts from talks, creating rules or even 'dry' provocations for younger children. Our creative educators set up provocations a month before our fire season begins to prepare children in a visual way for what's coming. The first fire of the season is always challenging, and it seems that children forget what they have learned as the excitement takes over. You should remind children about their responsibilities and the potential consequences of their actions if they aren't keeping each other safe. For example, one of the essential rules is walking around the fire on the OUTSIDE of the seating circle.
Establishing rituals - before the first match is lit, preparing the experience together may benefit educators and children. The children are the Centre of everything we do. Additionally, we do shift a lot of responsibilities towards the children, as we see them as capable. Starting from collecting firewood around the Service, redesigning the fire pit area, and chopping the kindlings.
Mixed age groups - this has been a focus in our Service for the past year, where the children across the Centre support one another. Older children help educators to teach younger peers and care for them; by demonstrating the techniques they have learnt over the years. Our observations show that toddlers and infants are much more receptive to peer-to-peer learning than following rules created by teachers.

Establishing the routines and rituals around the fire learning opportunity takes some time. Each year is different, and we - adults – consistently learn alongside the children.

#ECA #riskyplay #firelearning #fireplay #naturepedagogy #naturebased #howto #earlychildhoodeducation #ECEC #bushkindy

References:

WVELC Policy

Fire Safety for Kids

How to Talk to Children About Fire

Author

Mar 30, 20232 min read

Excursions - HOW TO?

Each year our Centre explores different parks / national reserves or iconic places for Canberra to build on children's sense of belonging and responsibility for our land.

This year we celebrated the National Day of Forest at National Arboretum!

Children enjoyed two guided tours and lunch at the Pod Playground. Although the weather was quite unpredictable, we all had a fantastic time.

We love excursions and taking all the children with us, but it took us good five years to build that confidence. Every year we decided to take the children for a big, day-long excursion; we learned something new and valuable. This is why we wish to share our knowledge with the rest of the keen services.

Things to remember:

Transport - we collaborate only with one company we feel very comfortable with. Their drivers are respectful and fun and drive safely. We like to have seatbelts on the bus. Finding the right bus/transport company is essential as it removes the stress factor for the staff on the excursion.
Staffing - our Service works above the ratio, but regardless of that, we always take additional educators or leadership/management people and parent volunteers. Our director usually comes with us, as she drives the Centre's emergency car and can deliver food, drinks, mats or any other important things, so the educators don't have to worry about it while on the bus. Educators are very on board and understand processes well. We all work like a well-oiled machine; everyone does their assigned role.
Safety & permission - of course, you must meet all the regulatory requirements, permission forms and risk assessments, which we prepare at least a few weeks ahead. Our risk assessment includes a leadership field trip to assess the space.
Organisation - is the key! We usually start with an early morning food preparation, pack two of our fabulous beach trolleys and load bulky things into the car. The educators offer children early morning tea, which is usually consistent with cereal as it's more filling than fruits, and then there is toileting and safety talk. During safety talk, children are assigned to colour-coded groups with wristbands and receive high-visibility vests. It may take you some time to practise. Our children go out at least once per week, so they are used to the procedure. The excursion backpacks are always ready to go, so we grab those and check them the day before. Any children with medication or allergies have their individual colour-coded pouches, which we pack into an extra backpack.
Buddy approach - the children are assigned to an educator by colour and paired with a friend. This also shifts a bit of responsibility towards children, so they keep each other aware of their buddy and can alert the educator if they cannot find their partner.
Communication - we have a brief talk before the excursion, but when we arrive, we keep talking about things that are about to happen. Each educator has their mobile on them, and they are contactable in case the group splits.