The Early Education Show

How can we stay healthy at work during a pandemic?

Early education services and professionals have not had detailed advice from Health Departments or Education Departments about exactly what infection control processes services should be following during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. As Leanne, Lisa and Liam are not infection control experts we decided to ask someone who is. Kylie Warren Wright is Goodstart Early Learning’s National Safe Work and Wellbeing Manager, and she’s responsible for giving health and safety advice to over 650 early education services. Lisa chatted with her to discuss how we can stay healthy at work during a pandemic.

What does the coronavirus outbreak mean for the early education sector?

After an unprecedented summer of fire and smoke, communities around Australia are facing yet another emergency situation. Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is spreading around the world, with the World Health Organisation officially declaring it a pandemic. Although the risk to most people is minimal, countries - including Australia - are having to take significant steps to try and minimise its impact. These measures will have a big impact on early childhood services, and the children and families they work with. This episode, we’ll try to provide as much facts and clarity as we can about the situation we’re all facing.

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded on Tuesday 17 March 2020. Information may have significantly changed since this time. Please check official Government sources for updated information.

 

Episode links

Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers (Department of Health)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert (Department of Health)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for schools and early childhood centres, students and parents (Department of Health)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) information sheet for child care providers and services (Department of Education)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Webcast for Child Care Providers and Services 19 March 2020 (Department of Education)

Affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) (Services Australia)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and children in Australia (Raising Children Network)

Cash flow assistance for businesses (Australian Government)

Coronacast with Dr Norman Swan (ABC Podcast)

COVID-19: Implications for business (McKinsey & Company)

‘It’s okay to be scared’: Norway holds children-only COVID-19 press conference to allay growing fears (SBS News)

Working with young children during the climate crisis

Australia has just come out of a terrible summer of unprecedented bushfires. According to the Australia Institute, More than half of all Australians have been directly affected by bushfire crisis, including millions suffering health effects. This includes young children and their families, as well as educators and services. Entire communities will be dealing with this summer for years to come. This episode, Lisa and Liam discuss what working with young children now means as we face an ongoing climate emergency that will affect the children we work with long into the future.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

How is Australia faring on protecting children’s rights? (with Megan Mitchell, National Children's Commissioner)

The inaugural National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell has released her final report on children’s rights in Australia. It’s described as a “full and frank look” at how Australia is faring on a range of areas related to children and young people, and makes over 80 recommendations to improve our record.

This episode, Lisa, Leanne and Liam have a discussion about how the early education sector is engaging with issues of children’s rights, before we hear from an interview Liam conducted with Megan Mitchell on her report and her time as the first Children’s Commissioner.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

2019 Year in Review / Q&A

It's the end of another year, which mean's it's time for our annual Year in Review episode! We look back on the year that's been for early education, look ahead to 2020 and answer some listener questions.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

The Hive & Collaboration 4 Learning

6000 children under 5 live in Mt Druitt in NSW. 33% of those children are considered ‘developmentally vulnerable’ when they start school. The Hive is an initiative started in 2015 by the Ten20 Foundation, United Way Australia, and NSW Family and Community Services to ensure that all children in the 2770 postcode start school well.

This episode features voices from the graduation ceremony of the Collaboration 4 Learning (C4L) project, a unique professional development opportunity established for educators to engage in their own research projects.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

A star (ratings system) is born (with Anthony Semann)

The NSW Government has announced that services in NSW will be required to display a star rating alongside their usual National Quality Standard rating, in an apparent bid to help families better understand ratings. The star ratings have had a very mixed response from the sector, raising issues of professional identity, the marketing of the NQF to the community and how well services are being supported to improve quality. Lisa, Leanne and Liam discuss this new initiative before Lisa chats with presenter and researcher Anthony Semann.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

Celebrations in early education services

Christmas, Anzac Day, Melbourne Cup, Mother's and Father's Days, Australia Day - celebrations have become a controversial and challenging topic for many in the early education sector. This episode, we take a look a like at why celebrations are so contested and how educators can explore different perspectives on commonly-held celebrations.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

Working with infants and toddlers (with Dr Andi Salamon & Lauren Hibberson)

This episode, we’re spending some time thinking about educator and teacher practice in the first three years. There’s a huge amount of advocacy out there for the importance of the first five years, but plenty of research points to the idea that the first three years are even more important for children. Yet infants and toddlers practice in the sector often receives far less attention than the years just before school.

To look at this area from two different perspectives, Leanne and Liam spoke separately with Dr Andi Salamon, an early childhood teacher, researcher and advocate, and Lauren Hibberson, an Infants Team Leader with Northside Community Service.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

BONUS: A national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people (with Richard Weston, CEO of SNAICC)

This week, SNAICC and Family Matters have released a Position Paper endorsed by more than 80 organisations and individuals calling for the establishment of a national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. Liam talks with SNAICC CEO Richard Weston about why this position is needed and what a commissioner could achieve.

Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.