The following resources are core documents that every service and childcare professional should have access to. Some of these are very large documents so we recommend online access. Smaller booklets could be downloaded and kept readily at hand while you study.
ACECQA – “Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority” is a national authority that aims to educate the populace about the importance of children’s education and the need for constant improvement in this sector. ACECQA also assists in implanting the National Quality Framework ensuring a level of consistency. Recognition First students should have regular access to this site as it contains lots of information about the children’s services industry.
Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations – this website outlines the national regulations. It covers all current acts and regulations and students can both search or simply browse these. This particular link directs students to the exact page relevant to their studies.
Guide to the Education and Care Services National Law and the Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 – this guide attempts to assist childcare workers by providing examples of how services might meet national laws and regulations. This guide does not replace those documents that should be referenced directly and readily available but it does assist in meeting those standards. This material covers topics like; children’s health and safety, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships with families and communities.
The National Quality Framework – the National Quality Framework sets the standard childcare services and outside school hours’ care services should strive to meet. This resource provides detailed information about the NQF, its structure, its objectives and how to contact personnel with any questions you might have. You will also find the NQF newsletter here. This secondary resource provides all sorts of practical examples of how other services are implementing the regulations.
Guide to the National Quality Standard - this document is referred to throughout all of our Children's Services courses. Developed in 2009 the National Quality Standard is a key part of the National Quality Framework. It includes seven quality areas important to achieving the outcomes desired for children in care.
Educators Belonging, Being and Becoming: Educator's Guide to the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia – to make the best use of the EYLF key concepts need to be understood if you are to reach the desired national outcomes. This guide helps educators implement the EYLF in their own services not as a syllabus or curriculum or an assessment tool but solely as a framework.
Belonging, Being and Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia – this document is referred to throughout all of our Children’s Services courses. This framework is for early childhood educators and assists in improving children’s learning from birth until their transition to school. Belonging, Being and Becoming aims to set the stage for a lifelong journey of learning and puts emphasis on play-based learning in particular.
My Time, Our Place, Framework for School Age Care in Australia – this document is referred to in our School Age Care courses. It is a framework for school aged care in Australia and aims to set the foundations for “lifelong success in learning”. It is designed to be used by educators, families, communities and schools. This framework also links and extends on from the EYLF.
NQF Video Resources – The following videos have been prepared to accompany the above documents. This series of videos available on the ACECQA website provides information about the National Quality Framework. These videos are aimed at parents and families but are extremely useful in understanding how the NQF translates to the everyday running of a centre and care of children.
Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood (Family book)– this booklet is designed to be used in a range of settings from homes to childcare centres. It supports childhood nutrition and physical activity while recognizing the diversity of Australian families and their needs. This guide stresses not only that children eat well but only as much as their appetites will allow. Finally, the further reading provides additional materials like posters, stickers and flyers.
Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood (Staff and carer book) – this resource does not specifically target overweight children but tries to help establish healthy patterns in children before they can become obsess in later life. The staff and carer book in particular is design for the early childhood setting. It provides healthy eating guidelines, physical activity recommendations and ideas for putting this guide into practice.
A basic introduction to child development theories – This PDF contains a detailed breakdown of the theories and theorists relevant to child development. This reference will be invaluable for certain Certificate III and Diploma students. Theorists mentioned include: Vygotsky, Erikson and Bowlby.
Developmental milestones and the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards – this resource is a breakdown of the developmental milestones from birth to five years with links to EYLF and NQS provided. The creators of this source recommend its use as a source of information rather than a prescriptive checklist.
Cultural Connections Booklet – this booklet believes that educators can play a significant role in children’s lives fostering tolerance, compassion and understanding for other people, races and cultures. As cultural competence is a key aspect of the EYLF and NQS it draws upon these documents as well.
Connecting with Families? Bringing the Early Years Learning Framework to life in your community – this resource is for educators and provides guidance on how to work with families when providing care for children. It focuses on creating relationships with families through day-to-day interactions. It aims to make families feel welcomed and accepted at the service.
Build Strong Partnerships with Families – research shows that when families are involved in their child’s education they achieve more regardless of their socioeconomic background. Therefore, children are more likely to achieve when families and centres work together. Linking to the EYLF and NQS this guide helps professionals foster those good relationships with families at their service.
Staying Healthy - Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services, 5th Edition – children are vulnerable to illness when they enter care. This guide provides simple and effective ways for carers to avoid the spread of infectious diseases. This guide does not suggest how to manage sick children but rather manage the spread of infections. Guides relating to asthma, diabetes and allergies need to be found elsewhere.
Early Childhood Australia – this organization has documents and resources linked to EYLF, pedagogy and curriculum planning. Some of these resources include the ‘Every Child magazine, ECA resource kits, policies on early education, and Spoke; an early childhood blog which publishes articles form leading policy makers and practitioners within Australia.
NQS PLP article: 'Additional needs' - looking beyond disability - all children will have additional needs at one time or another but this does not imply children with additional needs are deficient in some way or another. Additional needs may, in fact, be strengths. This e-Newsletter focuses on the additional needs educators must respond to and practices which stress the right of each child to fully participate in the curriculum.
NQS PLP article: Curriculum decision making for inclusive practice – this e-Newsletter focuses on the inclusion of children who have additional needs or disabilities. The disabilities covered here include: physical, sensory, intellectual, behavioural, psychological and autism spectrum disorders.
National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program (PLP) – this federal initiative provides lots of e-learning resources for educators. Some of these resources include: ‘Getting to know NQF’ which over eight episodes explains the Quality Areas of the National Quality Standard including all 58 elements and presented by expert Anne Stonehouse, ‘Talking about Practice’ which provides an opportunity for services to discuss significant issues relating to EYLF and NQS, ‘Connecting with Practice’ videos which might be used as professional learning tools in staff meetings and ‘Have You Thought About…?’ a series of videos which demonstrates ways to think about and approach implementing EYLF presented by a range of professionals.
Health and Safety in Children's Centres Model Policies and Practices
This PDF outlines that childcare services are critical to the lives of the children who attend. Especially because childcare professionals are placed in an ideal manner to quickly identify health and safety issues. As such childcare professionals need to be comfortable dealing with issues such as illness, injury or other emergencies.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria – on this government website follow the tabs to the ‘early childhood’ section, the ‘professionals’ section and then ‘support resources’. You will find information about child health and wellbeing and how to maintain such as well as other useful information.
Understanding children's behaviour – Children sometimes express themselves and their emotions in ways that are challenging for staff and educators. This is a normal, developmentally appropriate, part of growth. Children’s behaviour too is often a reflection of the environment they are existing within. This PDF outlines how to identify why children might be behaving difficulty and how you as an educator might develop a ‘behaviour guidance policy’.
Strategies to guide children's behaviour - As mentioned above children may behave in a difficult fashion but as educators you must find a way to cope with and redirect their behaviour. This PDF outlines how positive strategies for redirecting children’s behaviour might be developed and why positive strategies in particular as so necessary for an education and care service environment.
Effective Curriculum Planning and Documentation Methods in Education and Care Services – this ‘How To’ series has been created for professionals to offer practical support in implementing the National Quality Framework. Throughout the booklet there are references to national legislation and the EYLF.
Early Childhood Program Examples, Ideas and Inspiration – meant to support educators working with the EYLF and NQS this resource has a range of real life examples of programs across Australia with possible formats that might be put into use at your service.
Alphabetized:
A basic introduction to child development theories
Belonging, Being and Becoming, The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia
Build Strong Partnerships with Families
Connecting with Families? Bringing the Early Years Learning Framework to life in your community
Developmental milestones and the Early Years Learning Framework and the National Quality Standards
NQS PLP article: 'Additional needs' - looking beyond disability
Early Childhood Program Examples, Ideas and Inspiration
Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations
Effective Curriculum Planning and Documentation Methods in Education and Care Services
Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood (Family book)
Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood (Staff and carer book)
Guide to the National Quality Standard
Health and Safety in Children's Centres Model Policies and Practices
My Time, Our Place, Framework for School Age Care in Australia
National Quality Standard Professional Learning Program (PLP)
NQS PLP article: Curriculum decision making for inclusive practice
Strategies to guide children's behaviour
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria
Understanding children's behaviour
The National Quality Framework
