inspiring spaces for children natural play possibilities ... · inspiring spaces for children...

INSPIRING SPACES FOR CHILDREN NATURAL PLAY POSSIBILITIESTHE ECEC TEACHER OF TOMORROW UNDERSTANDING NQS + MORE

COMMUNITY CHILD CARE CO-OPERATIVE (NSW) QUARTERLY JOURNAL AUTUMN 2011

1987 CELEBRATING 25 YEARS 2011

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2 | Rattler Autumn 2011

editorialRattler is published quarterly by Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) and funded by the NSW Community Services, by subscriptions and advertising revenue.

CEO, Community Child Care Leanne GibbsEditorial Committee Lisa Bryant, Marie Deverill, Leanne Gibbs, Eddy Jokovich, Ingrid Maack, Gerard Moon, Wendy Shepherd. Managing Editor Eddy Jokovich (02) 9310 4955Journalist/Assistant Editor Ingrid MaackArt Director Deborah Kelly Design and Production ARMEDIAPrinting Blue Star Print Contributors Alice Brown, Ingrid Maack, Margaret Sims, Claire Warden.

ContributionsBy publishing a range of opinions, Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) hopes to stimulate professional development and discussion. You can contact the CEO or Managing Editor to discuss your ideas or send in an outline of your article. Copyright is normally held jointly by the publisher and the author. We reserve the right to edit submitted material.

PhotocopyingPlease email for permission to photocopy or reproduce any article or part thereof.

Subscriptions (02) 8922 6444Annual subscription to Rattler $48.00 (4 issues).

THANKS Community Child Care Co-operative gratefully acknowledges the support of Microsoft Corporation in providing Community Child Care with free software under their Community Assistance Initiative.

Registered by Australia Post Print Post Publication No 255003/04732 ISSN 0819-9132©2011 Community Child Care Co-operative (NSW)

Disclaimer The opinions expressed in Rattler are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW).

Advertising (02) 9310 4955Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) accepts no responsibility for misleading or inaccurate advertisements. We reserve the right to refuse any advertisement that contravenes the organisation’s objectives or the Advertising Code of Ethics. Advertisers have responsibility for all information and any claims made in their advertising. Various sizes of advertisements are available, contact the Managing Editor for further information.

Office and Postal AddressAddison Road Community Centre, Building 21, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville NSW 2204

Phone (02) 8922 6444 Fax (02) 8922 6445

Email [email protected] Web www.ccccnsw.org.auABN 81 174 903 921

As the year gets underway, one of the most significant changes to children’s services in NSW is now law! The 1:4 ratio became mandatory on 1 January. Community Child

Care Co-operative NSW and early childhood advocates in NSW have been seeking this change for a long time and we congratulate the NSW Government for bringing it in well ahead of the national implementation in 2012.

Many services are asking us how to prepare for the next major change—the implementation of the National

Quality Framework (NQF) in eight month’s time. We believe 2011 is the year to lay the foundations for the future, and as your peak body, we are here to support your preparation for the new Framework. For most services, the NQF means a reduction in processes—no longer will you have to undergo the dual processes of licensing and visits by Community Services and Accreditation assessment by NCAC. There will be one streamlined system. Most importantly, it means we will provide better quality education and care for children. And ‘quality’ is key to this discussion.

‘Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort.’ –John Ruskin. Enormous effort has been dedicated to the development of the NQF, and

implementing it will require effort on all our parts. We are working on a range of resources and professional learning courses to give children’s services staff, owners and management committees the skills and information to support the implementation of the NQF. We believe in providing this professional development, we are supporting your aspirations of excellence and we are proud to be a part of this.

Rattler has a new section called NQS Spotlight, in which we will explore the seven quality areas of the National Quality Standard. In this edition, Luke Touhill looks to Quality Area 3 – Physical Environment. Standard 3.2 of this Quality Area states that: ‘the environment is inclusive, promotes competence, independent exploration and learning through play’.

Indeed, designing spaces for learning and connecting with the natural world is something of a theme in this edition. Rattler recently met American gardening guru, Rusty Keeler, during a workshop at Sydney’s The Point Preschool. Turn to page 15 to see how you too can transform your service into a sensory-rich ‘play-scape’.

This year marks 25 years of publishing Rattler. To celebrate this milestone, the magazine has a new look. No doubt, you will have noticed our dynamic new cover design and article spread. We look forward to bringing you more editions of the fresh-looking Rattler throughout 2011.

Leanne Gibbs, CEO Community Child Care Co-operative (NSW)

On the cover (and photo above)The great outdoor classroom… bringing nature into our services. Photographs courtesy of Mindstretchers.

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Rattler Autumn 2011 | 3

in this issueTHE LOWDOWN 4Your guide to what’s up, who’s where, and how you can get involved.

FACE2FACE 7Meet Marie Deverill, Manager of the Professional Support Team at Community Child Care.

COALFACE 8More than a village… we tour SDN Marrickville Children’s Education and Care Centre.

WILD THINGS 12Founder of Scotland’s Nature Kindergartens, Claire Warden, entreats us to bring nature into our services.

PLAYSCAPES 15Rusty Keeler has a passion and a plan for play places full of wonder.

LANDSCAPED FOR LEARNING 18Luke Touhill turns the NQS Spotlight on the new Quality Area, Physical Environment.

TEACHERS OF TOMORROW 24Professor Margaret Sims calls for a new breed of teacher and new ways of positioning early childhood teaching.

POWER LUNCHING 28Alice Brown talks about cultivating our most precious resource, children!

BOOKWORM 30Ingrid Maack previews what’s new on the shelves.

WILD THINGSFounder of Scotland’s NatuKindergartens, Claire Wardentreats us to bring natureinto our services.

PLAYSCAPESRusty Keeler has a passionand a plan for play places full of wonder.

‘A playscape is a process of collaboration based on old community traditions.’

—Rusty Keeler

Rattler 97

Autumn 2011

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LowdownTHE

who whywhat

● 1:4 NOW IT’S LAW As the year gets underway, one of the most significant changes to chil-dren’s services in NSW is now law! The new 1:4 staff-to-baby ratio for all centre-based and mobile services in NSW became mandatory with the proclamation of new legislation on 1 January, 2011. Community Child Care and early childhood advocates in NSW have been seeking this change for a long time and congratulate the NSW Government for bringing it in well ahead of the national imple-mentation in 2012.

● SUPPORT POURS IN AS WATERS RECEDE

Earlier this year, we watched in hor-ror as floods devastated Queensland and parts of northern New South Wales. Many of us felt helpless in the aftermath, unsure how to help those flood-affected children, families and children’s services in need.How can you help?Community Child Care has been contacted by many children’s services wishing to help children’s services affected by floods. CCCCNSW is establishing a register of services that wish to assist.

A CCCCNSW member has suggested individual services in NSW could ‘adopt’ a specific flood-affected service and fundraise for that service.

If your service would like to assist, or has been affected by floods, please email Janelle Casey at: [email protected] or phone (02) 8922 6401.

● NOW WE’RE TALKING!

A Norwegian study has found that children who attend regular formal centre and family-based childcare at 1.5 years and three years of age are better talkers compared with chil-dren who are looked after at home by a parent.

The study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health supports previous research showing that children who have been in formal care have better language skills than children who have had more informal care. For more information, visit: www.fhi.no/english

Compulsory viewing

AFRICAN PARENTING STORIESMembers of the Western Sydney African community have shared their stories of parenting, dislocation and discovery in a new CD. The end product is six radio stories in Dinka, Swahili, Arabic, Juba Arabic, Lingala and English, as well as nine digital stories in English.

This is a particularly useful resource for children’s services and other agencies in Western Sydney who work alongside African families. Please contact the Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) for your free copy of this resource. Email [email protected] or phone (02) 9897 5744.

REGULATION AMENDMENTS AFOOTA series of amendments were made last December to the Children’s Services Regulation 2004. Importantly,

these changes commenced on 1 January 2011. The main changes include streamlining the licensing system, removing

some restrictions on the composition of licensed numbers, introducing a new requirement for risk assessments prior to excursions and a requirement for services to keep records of which Authorised Supervisor is in charge at what time.

Now is the time to brush up your understanding of these important changes. A summary of the amendments can be found online at: http://bit.ly/reg_amendments

Did you miss the latest series of Life at 5 on ABC TV in February?

If so, you can catch the episodes on iView at:

www.abc.net.au/tv/life Follow the children of the Life series now they are 5,

with episodes on Resilience and Starting School. The documentary is made in

conjunction with Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal

Study of Australian Children. It is compulsory viewing

for anyone who works with children.


Life at5!

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what’s on CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

● WHY COUNTING COUNTS!

New US research has found that ‘number talk’—the amount of time par-ents and educators spend talking about numbers—has a much greater impact on how young children learn maths than previously thought.

These findings show that talking about numbers with toddlers may positively impact later school achieve-ment. Children who hear number words in everyday conversation have a clear advantage in understanding how the count words refer to set size.

The results of the study were pub-lished in the article, ‘What Counts in the Development of Young Children’s Number Knowledge?’ in the November 2010 issue of Developmental Psychology.

● WHAT’S IN A NAME?The LHMU (Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union) has a new name! It will soon be known as the United Voice union. Many members, including childcare professionals, health and aged care workers and teacher aides report-edly felt that the previous name was not representative of their field. For more information, visit: ww.lhmu.org.au

PSST… HEARD HOW SOME EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE STUDENTS ARE GETTING AHEAD IN THEIR STUDIES?By taking advantage of the special discount price for all training and pro-fessional development sessions for people with associate student member-ship status* of Community Child Care Co-operative (NSW).SPECIAL DISCOUNT PRICE FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2011:$65 PER YEAR. (Associate Student: Usual price – $79 per year).For more information, visit our website at www.ccccnsw.org.auemail [email protected] or call (02) 8922 6444

IMPLEMENTING EYLF & QUALITY ASSURANCE REQUIREMENTS 2 April, 2011 University of Sydney, Camperdown. More info: http://bit.ly/EYLF_conf or email: [email protected]

EYLF CONFERENCE 28 April, 2011SMC Conference and Function Centre, SydneyMore info: http://semannslattery.com/store/events or phone (02) 9557 1460

TOGETHER WE GROW 3–4 June, 2011Caulfield Racecourse, MelbourneMore info: www.togetherwegrow.com.au or phone (03) 9489 3500

WA 2011 ECEC CONFERENCE 18–19 June, 2011Perth Exhibition CentreMore info: www.waecec.com or phone (08) 9389 1488

CHILDREN’S PLACE ON THE AGENDA…PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 28–29 July, 2011Dockside, Darling Harbour, NSWMore info: www.nifteyconference.com or phone (02) 9431 8699

CONFERENCE: INSPIRING CHILDREN’S CREATIVITY 0–12 YEARS 29 September, 2011 Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong.More info: www.ics.org.au or phone (02) 4283 9900

coming up

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!International children’s film festival, Little Big Shots, is back in 2011 with a new program of short films, animations, documentaries and child-produced films. Suitable for toddlers to teens, the films inspire discussion of world cultures, different languages and human values.

The touring festival will be screened at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July. For more information, visit:www.littlebigshots.com.au

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● ‘MY TIME, OUR PLACE’

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) now has a big sister with the release of the draft Framework for School Age Care.

Entitled ‘My Time, Our Place’, the draft Framework supports educators working with school age children in outside school hours care and family day care settings. The Framework is part of COAG’s reform agenda, and builds on and extends the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).

‘My Time, Our Place’ was developed following a national consultation process that was conducted through forums held in all capital cities and some regional centres at the end of 2010.

LowdownTHE

HAVE YOUR SAY ON REGSDEEWR has now released the draft National Regulations to the Education and Care Services National Law.

There is still time to have your say. Community Child Care encourages you to examine the Regulations and provide feedback. All NSW children’s services that are covered by the NQF will need to operate under these Regulations. This is your opportunity to influence the development of the Regulations!

You can view proposed Regulations atwww.ccccnsw.org.au/changes under ‘News and Updates’ on the left-hand side of the page.

The closing date for written comments is 14 April 2011. Email: [email protected]

competition

WIN A WORM FARM VALUED AT $350Thanks to Educational Experience, one lucky Rattler reader can WIN The Worm Habitat Junior. Every centre needs a worm farm!

Worm farms reduce your centre’s environmental footprint and educate children about sustainable waste disposal. Incorporate this worm system with a vegetable garden to create further learning experiences and contact with nature’s cycles.

To WIN simply send an email and tell us in 100 words or less how you teach children about sustainability at your service. It needn’t be long, just send us your top tips! Send your entries by 27 May to [email protected] Come on people! Never before has the saying ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’ rung so true. Due to no entries in our last competition (Rattler 96, Summer 2010), Community Child Care has donated the prize of a table and chair set to flood-affected Coolah Preschool in Central NSW.

Going green a WIN-WIN!What’s your carbon footprint? Proud of eco projects at your early childhood service? Let others know and WIN prizes. The NSW Early Childhood Environmental Educational Network (ECEEN) is calling for applications for 2011 ECEEN Sprouts Practice Awards. Entries close 13 May, 2011. Application and guidelines at www.eceen.org.au or email [email protected] or phone 0423 080 886.

CHILDREN’S SERVICES

PROFESSIONALSAre you looking for more challenge

and reward? Are you a new graduate? We can help find the

right job for you!

McArthur are specialists in recruiting permanent and temporary Children’s Services personnel throughout NSW,

including:

• Early Childhood Teachers,• Diplomas/Associate Diplomas, • Child Care Workers, and• Cooks

We have over 50 career opportunities available across the metropolitan area – so let us take the stress out of finding a

position that suits all of your needs.

Call Nathalie or Melissa on 02 9277 7000or email [email protected]

A working with children check is required.

Our service is provided to you completely FREE OF CHARGE

Level 2, 1 York St, Sydney

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What drew you to a career in early childhood education and care?Like many of my generation, I wanted to go to university but didn’t know what I really wanted to do. There seemed to be fewer opportunities or career paths than there are today. I considered going into children’s television. One of my teach-ers from the Hunter Valley had a job on Romper Room (a popular preschool pro-gram that aired in 1960s–80s) but I soon realised a career in TV had little longevity. I needed a back-up plan!

After my BA, I wanted to do a Diploma of Education at Newcastle University but there was no official early childhood course then. This was my local university and I didn’t want to transfer. I had a family friend on the board of the university and together we pushed for the establish-ment of a new course.

Even then I had an inkling that early childhood education would grow in importance. So I taught in the school system in what was then called ‘Infants’. After a working holiday in Europe, I worked for the Catholic Education Office teaching and doing advisory work.

All the time, I was refining my inter-est in early childhood. When I married I returned to the UK and continued work-ing in the early years. Growing political interest was changing the landscape of early years education in the UK so I did a Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Education at the Froebel Institute at Roehampton, an annex of the University of Surrey.

I then set up early childhood services at two County Schools. It was a pivotal time in the UK. It was the start of the Nursery Vouchers Scheme (an initiative of the Blair Government) and the new Ofsted evalua-tion system had been set up.

While spring-cleaning recently, I came across our first Ofsted report and re-read it. I was really proud we were doing the

things that are today at the forefront of early childhood, even back then [in 1996].

The Pen Green Centre was already a centre of excellence, and visiting several times I was lucky enough to meet its founder, Dr Margy Whalley. One day I went in and there was a group of unemployed fathers lying on cushions and being taught to play with their babies. (At that time England’s East Midlands district had high unemployment following the Corby steelworks closure in the 1980s). It was wonderful to see these tough Corby men, many of whom were long-term unemployed, accessing this organisation that was working with them to become better parents.When did you begin at Community Child Care?When I came back to Sydney, I worked first as a teacher-director in Chatswood and then set up a new service at Macquarie Park. I started at CCCCNSW in 2006 as a Project Officer, looking after new services and offering individual service support.

I was the Acting Manager of Children’s Services Community Management for 12 months before becoming the Acting Manager of the Professional Support Team in mid-2010. I was officially appoint-ed to the role late last year. What will your focus be in 2011?The Professional Support Team specialises in sector developments—offering leader-ship, management committee support, and support for new and existing services.

We are the lead agency for Children’s Services Central in the delivery of support funded by DEEWR.

The focus in 2011 is on developing train-ing for the National Quality Framework (NQF) and on presenting this to the sector. We are continuing the NQF Information Sessions, as well as developing and deliv-ering a new package, Quality: An Insight into Quality in Early Childhood Services. We’ve developed more training on the EYLF for 2011 and we’ll be continuing our training partnership with ECTARC for the Munch & Move Program.What is the biggest challenge facing the sector now?This year is the ramping up time. This is the time for services to get to grips with the NQF—its rationale, its documents and the Quality Improvement Plan. Now is the time to consider how services dem-onstrate quality. We simply cannot wait until 1 January 2012. And really, we should always be in this mode of continuous improvement—it’s a key part of the NQF.What are you reading?I have just finished the 2010 Booker Prize winner, Howard Jacobson’s The Finkler Question. I am also reading Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy. She was dubbed ‘America’s worst mum’ after dropping her nine-year-old son in downtown Manhattan to take the subway home alone. She started a movement called Free Range Kids, urging parents to teach chil-dren independence by loosening the reins.

My husband and I saw her speak at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House last year. Her ideas are very similar to those of author Tim Gill, who wrote No Fear: Growing up in a risk-averse society, which I have also read!

Marie Deverill has seen more than a few paradigm shifts over her 30-odd years in children’s services in Australia and

the UK. Marie is currently Manager of the Professional Support Team at Community Child Care. This team

supports the early childhood education sector with information and advice, training,

consultancy and resource development.

‘I had an inkling that early childhood education would

grow in importance.’ Rattler Autumn 2011 | 7

face

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Above: Grandparents are always welcome visitors at SDN Marrickville. At right: Children move freely between indoor and outdoor play; Far right: Director Fiona Harvey and SDN Early Childhood Advisor, Fran Bastion, are strong believers in the value of collaborative relationships with families and the local community.

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AT THE COALFACE

SDN Marrickville Children’s Education and Care Centre

has had many dignitaries through its doors over the years. (It is the centre where earlier this year, state MP Linda Burney formally announced the 1:4 ratio.) But it is the relationships that staff have with the families and children who have come through its doors that result-ed in this long day care centre scoring three High Quality ratings in a trial of the new National Quality Framework (NQF) system.

A seasoned pilot participant, direc-tor Fiona Harvey didn’t baulk when in November last year she was asked to trial the new national quality ratings system.

‘It’s been a stepping-stone for us and has given us something of a head start! Having worked our way through the seven quality areas, we can now brief other SDN Centres on the NQF process.’

However, ‘the criteria are tougher than ever before,’ she warns and will certainly keep the sector on its toes.

‘It really does raise the bar and the process of improvement is continuous.

You’re always thinking of new directions and planning and resourcing… You don’t ever stop!,’ she says.

SDN Marrickville’s Early Childhood Advisor*, Fran Bastion, says it is the cen-tre’s ‘commitment to quality and com-munity-building’ that helped the service navigate its way through the NQF.

Being a pilot in the trial of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) two years ago also had its advantages.

‘Staff were already well versed on relationship-building and the notion of “Belonging”. ‘

Indeed, the notion of ‘Belonging’ is felt as soon you walk through the door. Smiling staff photos are proudly displayed. A photo montage with the words ‘Educators’, ‘Families’, ‘Relationships’ and ‘Community’ greets parents as they sign in.

You instantly get a sense that this is not just an environment for children. It’s a space that speaks first and foremost to families.

Chinese lanterns hang from the foyer’s ceiling, left over from recent Chinese New Year celebrations. The Year

There is a village atmosphere at SDN Marrickville Children’s Education and Care Centre. A group of children do yoga in the corner of a busy playroom, quietly saluting the sun. Another group constructs a city in the block play area or ‘construction zone’ later replicating their designs on grid paper. Outside, the sandpit has been transformed into a beach, complete with lifesaving flags and swathes of blue chiffon that represent water. Children happily splash in the water play area set up beyond it. Ingrid Maack reports.

More than a village

Photographs: Ingrid Maack

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of the Rabbit has special significance at this centre, where four staff members are Mandarin and Cantonese speakers and can talk to families in their home language.

‘I always say to parents: “Visit as often as you want, stay as long as you want.” The more visits, the better!’ Fiona says.

Not surprisingly, SDN Marrickville scored a High Quality rating for Quality Area 6: ‘Collaborative Relationships with Families and Communities’ in the recent National Quality Standards (NQS) trial.

On the day Rattler visited, I saw this in action when a grandmother dropped in on her way home from shopping. She was in a wheelchair and the children flocked over to say hello, sit on her lap, play with her walking stick and press the buttons on her chair.

A childcare centre since 1944, SDN Marrickville operates out of a beauti-fully converted bungalow that is leased from Council. It is perfectly positioned, a stone’s throw from the bustling Marrickville Road.

This is a Sydney suburb with a reputation for embracing change and Marrickville is a municipality that cele-brates its cultural diversity with fervour.

And as Fiona says: ‘it’s straight outside our door.’

‘We try to get out at lease once a week on walking excursions to the art gallery, post office, fruit shop and local cafes for a babycino or for yum cha at a Chinese restaurant owned by one of our families.’

This visibility means Marrickville is respectful of children as participants in the community, says Fran.

‘They are always out and about which

helps raise the profile of early childhood. It allows the community to observe how children engage in civic living.’

These expeditions are possible thanks to a staff roster that includes two extra full-time educators. Helping to maintain ratios, these much-valued staff members step in when others are sick, on rostered days off or when they are away on holidays.

One such person is 73-year-old Peggy Lane, who has been at the centre for 35 years. Born and bred in Marrickville, Peggy is a familiar face in the commu-nity and a pillar of the service.

‘She is our centre’s fairy godmother,’ Fiona says. ‘She has taught generations of families here and the children and parents all love her!’

Not surprisingly, there is little to no staff turnover with the majority of staff having worked at the centre for a decade or more. Most have worked at other SDN sister services. Another long-serving staff member, Trish Loveday, has also been with the centre for 25 years and is a mothercraft nurse who works full-time in the 0–2s room.

The centre also scored High Quality for Quality Area 3: ‘Physical Environment’—and it’s not hard to see why.

Five years ago the centre was refur-bished. Carpets were replaced with wooden flooring to create a more home-like feel and there was a deliberate move away from plastic resources to more natural materials.

Last year a large decked area was added to the 2–5s playground. There is now a seamless flow between the indoors and the outdoors, and this is

‘You instantly get a sense that this is not just a space for children. It’s a space that speaks first and foremost to families.’

Photographs: Ingr

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reflected in the programming which sees literature displays set up outside under the trees and bookcases of blocks wheeled outside for the day.

One of the centre’s teachers, Maryam Hussain, who is studying her Masters in Education, has been experimenting with the Forest School philosophy of the out-door classroom.

A lot of time and energy goes into the designing of places and spaces, and these evolve with children’s interests and passions.

For example, the beach theme is reflected both indoors and out, Fiona explains.

‘Over the school holidays lots of children went to the beach. One child brought in a collection of shells and crabs from a family trip, which gener-ated lots of interest.’

There’s plenty of opportunity for chil-dren to share their understandings of the beach, explains Fran.

‘One child might associate the beach with fishing, another might have a big brother or sister who goes to Nippers. So we capitalise on that knowledge and scaffold the learning around that!

‘They begin to explore the beach theme through dramatic play and then we support that through a whole range of literature and art experiences. This could continue for the next 12 months.’

Another common holiday activity is camping.

‘Lots of families went camping over the break. So we have set up a small campsite under the trees with a tent, camping chairs, campfire and billy can. We also linked it with Australia Day and having that atmosphere of a barbecue. We had cellophane for a fire,’ Fiona says.

Another layer of quality is almost certainly the relationship between Fiona and her team with their SDN Early Childhood Advisor*. As Fran explains: ‘We can establish intimate working

relationships not only with the directors but with the teaching team, families and children.

‘We get incredible insight into the pedagogy being practised and the team’s thinking and understanding of early childhood.

‘Many practitioners in our field often feel isolated and limited by their own thinking. So if you are not getting topped up or you are in a space where you are not resourced and supported then some-times you can become stagnant in your practice.’

Practice is certainly not stagnant at SDN Marrickville!

*SDN employs an Early Childhood Advisory Team (ECAT) of seven experienced, university-qualified early childhood teachers who lead, manage and advise SDN’s 23 centre directors and their teams. Each ECAT looks after between four and six centres.

s: Ingrid Maack

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12 | Rattler Autumn 201112 Rattler Autumn 2011

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R isk taking should be part of childhood. We learn through the point where we feel challenged. The feeling of having a knot in your stomach is the place

where you feel out of your comfort zone. Children seek challenge and in

Denmark they refer to that ‘knot in the stomach’ feeling as is i maven which translates to ‘ice in the stomach’. This is seen as a positive emotion and one that both children and adults seek.

As we grow into adulthood, the skills we learn through risk taking are self-confidence, emotional resilience, and the ability to self-assess risk situations.

I believe there are situations where society has created a feeling of appre-hension about nature; a fear culture that is beginning to pervade the world.

In our disconnection from the natural world there has been an attempt to con-trol nature, to create packaged experi-ences for children. This trend has been fuelled by some real restrictions and some misinterpreted boundaries that are imposed onto children’s play.

We need to reflect on our expectations of children so that we can see them as capable, competent learners, not as

something that needs to be wrapped in cotton wool. Be hazard-aware, not risk-averse In the Nature Kindergartens in Scotland we have slopes, some of them steep: it is important that children feel the sensa-tion of being in control of feeling ‘out of control’ as they run down them. We believe that too many restrictions takes away the learning moment.

Our philosophy is to be hazard-aware and not risk-averse, and to employ a sense of perspective when assessing play-based situations.

The adult role is to remove hazards that the children do not see, not the risk within the play. For example, unseen spikes or sticks in jumping areas. But it is not our role to remove the challenges that children see and choose to undertake.

Children can choose to climb up a tree and decide how far they feel comforta-ble climbing. If we remove all challenges children lose the feeling of aspiration, which is so very important.

Children develop a respect for danger, hazards and experimentation. If risks are managed constructively during the play process, then a “child’s desire to explore further” can be fuelled (O’Brien

& Murray 2006). The best safety lies in learning how to deal with risk rather than simply avoiding it.

A key point is that safety is the responsibility of all staff and children. No one person could possibly take it all on board and be effective. Children are encouraged to be their own risk asses-sors and they are good at it. A place to explore riskIn the Nature Kindergartens we offer and encourage ‘risky play’ with the adults scaffolding the activity while the children gain confidence and become more competent both in self-risk assess-ing and in mastering the activity. When discussing the possible risks of climbing trees, Jacob (4) stated, ‘only go as high as it doesn’t scare you’ while Francis (7) suggested ‘if you can climb up a tree you need to be able to get down’.

‘Many children are not allowed to explore and test themselves in play and to feel in control of

being “out of control”.’

Alongside the global trend towards risk aversion is a growing group of people fighting for a child’s right to feel ‘the knot in the stomach’—that feeling of anticipation and exhilaration when taking risks during play. One such person is Scottish educator and founder of Nature Kindergartens, Claire Warden.

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For all the activities children under-take we do a benefit-risk analysis where we compare the risk of a situation to its related benefits.

We believe that a benefit-risk assess-ment is not simply a technical matter but needs to be a value-based exercise which is dependent on the practitioner’s knowledge about children’s capacities, their resilience and their ability to make judgements. Cotton wool kids: A personal viewOn my recent visit to Australia I observed some wonderful provisions of outdoor play. However, I also saw oth-ers that had artificial designs and safety surfaces, and where the space was too

limiting and controlled to really chal-lenge the children there.

My work has always been to recon-nect children to nature. Children are integral with nature irrespective of where they live. However, children that once would have sought out nature in their free time are curtailed, with their natural inclinations often redirected by adults to clubs and organised play.

Children who live ‘second hand lives’ through received knowledge from an overreliance on digital technology and controlled events, will only be able to record a narrow aspect of the experience as defined by the adults, perhaps only a visual image of an event or place that

should in fact be a multi-dimensional experience.

We need to consider the emotional and intellectual limitations of environ-ments that wrap children in cotton wool. Are they developing creative, dynamic people or behaviours of compliance and servitude?

One of the strengths of the real world and more specifically, nature, is in the open-ended resources and limitless experiences that it offers to children.

When given the opportunity, children verbally and physically demonstrate preference for, and enjoy playing in, nat-ural environments and/or indoors with natural elements. The wealth of research shows that they do so because of the overwhelming play potential of such spaces: the possibilities of now and the promise of more to come.

Children have the right to choose their own experiences and have the excite-ment of ‘more to come’, with all the risks and challenges it may present. Surely that is what life is all about!

Claire Warden is an educational consultant based in Perthshire, Scotland. Claire founded Whistlebrae Nature Kindergarten in 2006. Auchlone Nature Kindergarten opened in 2008. In both kindergartens, children aged 2–6 spend the majority of the day outdoors. More information: www.mindstretchers.co.uk

ReferencesBundy, A.C et al (2009) The risk is that

there is ‘no risk’: A simple, innovative inter-vention to increase children’s activity levels. International Journal of Early Childhood Education 17 (1) 33–45.

O’Brien, E.A and Murray, R. (2006) A mar-vellous opportunity for children to learn: a participatory evaluation of Forest School in England & Wales Farnham: Forest Research.

CASE STUDY: THE CLIMBING FRAME The children at Auchlone Nature Kindergarten discovered a fallen tree and eagerly explored it.

A child scratched herself on one of the sharp branches and the group decided that they needed to make the tree safe. They gathered and discussed the risks and then suggested ways of making the tree a safer place to play on. Tools were selected and children worked together as a group using a variety of tools they had chosen themselves. Some of the comments were, ‘You can get bark in your eyes’, ‘you might fall when the barks comes off’, ‘I’m getting all those bits off so the children don’t get splinters’.

Most of the branches were cut to a metre length and then measured by the children at the out of school club.

The group agrees on a method, whether it is placing red wire on a weak branch or hazard tape on a pathway. The adult might reinforce the message but often the children instil the boundaries far more assertively than adults.

For example, the older group pointed out a hazard the younger children had not been aware of—a dead branch suspended in another tree above the space the children were working in!

After a discussion it was decided the adult needed to climb up and tie a rope onto the branch and the children would work together to pull the dangerous branch off and away from the space. The children persevered at this task for nearly a week and at the end declared that they had created the best climbing frame ever!

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earth play POSSIBILITIES

When creating play environments for children, American artist and gardening guru, Rusty Keeler, asks adults to recall their own outdoor play experiences. Whether it be climbing trees, skimming rocks or making mudpies—the chances are your best childhood memories are of play in the natural world.

‘Childhood memories of ‘chas-ing chooks’ …‘eating mangoes’ … and ‘catching yabbies were

just some of the responses from early childhood practitioners at a recent work-shop at the Point Preschool in Sydney’s Oyster Bay. It is a similar story in the USA, Keeler says, as such recollections of outdoor childhood adventure are indeed universal.

‘These are the things we remember and the places children want to play’—they are of space, freedom, being hidden, absence of adults, exploring, imagining … sand, dirt, water, mud and trees,’ Keeler says.

When Keeler moved to the Netherlands for a year to design play-ground equipment, he saw public play spaces, children’s galleries and kinder-garten gardens unlike anything in his homeland.

‘As an industrial designer I was asked to do a sculpture project. I wanted to design a play sculpture that children could climb on, take a nap under, would make sound in the wind or change over

time or with the seasons…I soon realised I was trying to draw a tree!’

Upon his return to the States he founded Planet Earth Playscapes and began to design community-built play spaces for children. The move helped kick-start what Keeler now describes as ‘the natural playscape movement’.

An international speaker, Keeler encourages children’s services around the globe to look at their own backyards and think about how they can allow children to connect with nature and the plant world.

‘Think about your outdoor environ-ment: what are the sights, sounds, mem-ories and experiences of the children who play there?

‘Young children are discovering the world for the first time. First summer, first winter, first spring, first call of the birds, first tree climb. Your service’s yard is their introduction to the outside world. Imagine how your playscape can reflect your local area and how the com-munity can help you build it.

‘If your playscape is going to be chil-

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dren’s introduction to the outside world, first you must visualise the world where you live, what the local features are, and who the talented residents are that live there, too!’

This focus on community building and collective energy is exactly the way Keeler likes to work.

‘A playscape should be a family and community affair. It is a process of col-laboration based on old community tra-ditions. Just like an Amish barn raising, the playscape can be done with volun-teered labour and donations.

‘Putting together a team of parents, teachers and members of the local com-munity who share our enthusiasm is an important step towards making your playscape. It also becomes a wonderful community building experience, right in your own backyard!’

Rusty Keeler is an artist and landscape designer with a unique sensitivity to the sights, sounds and experiences of child-hood. He is the founder of Planet Earth Playscapes and the author of the book Natural Playscapes—Creating Outdoor Environments for the Soul. For more information, visit www.earthplay.net

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?Place children’s art, teacher’s art, parents’ art or local artists’ work outdoors in your playscape. Add mosaics, murals, stepping-stones or wall tiles. What talented people can be recruited from your local community?

CASE STUDY: THERAPEUTIC PLAYSCAPE Bellingham in the US state of Washington is home to a bay, mountains, boats, gardeners, artists, and the Whatcom Center for Early Learning—a small public centre for young children with special needs.

The centre wanted to include local materials, so we [used] driftwood from the bay. Small pieces were used decoratively throughout the yard, and large chunks of driftwood were used as balancing and seating areas.

One volunteer was a native plant expert and selected locally-growing plants such as pine trees, herbs, and ornamental grasses. We used a raised planter to bring the plants up to belly height for standing people, which is also the perfect height for people in wheelchairs.

We also varied the ground surfaces that the children walk or tricycle on. Instead of paths made only from concrete, we created walkways from flagstone, brick, woodchips, and stepping-stones.

We built a small hill and planted a durable plastic slide in the side of it. The hill allows for a variety of body movements and muscles as children run up, crawl up, roll down, or slide down.

The playscape is also an oasis for parents, new to the experience of raising a child with special needs. The outdoor classroom deck has a trellis over top to provide shade and a relaxing spot to sit and watch the teachers and therapists work with their child.

A plastic Talk Tube runs from the classroom deck to the tree house so parents can have a ‘long distance’ conversation with their children as they play ‘Hi Mummy. I see you!’

(Source: This is an extract from Natural Playscapes—Creating Outdoor Environments for the Soul.)

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play possibilities expandingDIY PLAYSCAPING Transform your service’s playground into a sensory-rich, natural playscape. Here are some of Rusty Keeler’s ideas for multi-sensory gardening:

Create soundscapesCreate ambient sounds by hanging metal, wood or bamboo wind chimes in trees. Hide tiny bells in bushes that children brush up against or run chimes along a fence. Plant herbs—everywhere!Smell-tune your playscape with herb gardens. Plant herbs in between pavers or stepping-stones to bring fragrance.Plant sunflowersSunflowers can be planted in circles or mazes. Children can experience the life cycle of the flower and/or plant them in circles or squares to make sunflower houses or mazes.Build hillsChange the topography of the play area with small hills, mounds or look-outs.Plant trees and shrubs in clustersGroup plants in small clusters to create small rooms, hidey nooks, hollows and secret spaces.Add artPlace children’s art, teacher’s art, parents’ art or local art-ists’ work outdoors in your playscape. Add mosaics, murals, stepping-stones or wall tiles.Plant peas/beans on a frameChildren can watch the plants grow, play inside or under the frame, watch birds eat and see the plants change with the season.

PLAN YOUR PLAYSCAPE Form a committeeWho do you know who could help? What networks could you tap into for ideas, donations and labour?Bring together a ‘dream team’ of interested and excited volunteers to form a project committee. These people could be friends, parents, grandparents, staff, and any other interested people from your community who have energy and a creative spirit.Think local Think about your landscape and local environment and create a ‘portfolio of place’. Explore your local area and visit local reserves, parks and botanical gardens for ideas and inspiration. Maybe you have people in your community or parents at your centre that have green thumbs and can help with plant selections, colours and flowers. Look for local artistsWhat talented people can be recruited from your local community? Look for sculptors, mosaic artists or muralists who can donate artworks.Approach local business and service clubsService groups like Rotary often support community projects. Local businesses or nurseries can donate landscaping tools, topsoil, supplies or even food. Write a material and labour wish-list and ask parents for their contacts in the community who could help.Feed the massesHave meals and snacks and drinks available throughout the build days for volunteers. Make one person on your committee responsible for food.

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Throughout 2011–2012 Rattler turns the spotlight on the seven quality areas of the new National Quality Standard for Early Childhood Education and Care and School Age Care. Articles will be written by a guest author, chosen for their special expertise and interest in the particular quality area.

The National Quality Framework incorporates the National Quality Standard (NQS) to ensure high quality and consistent early childhood education and care across Australia.


The National Quality Standard includes seven areas of quality for early childhood education and care services:

1. Educational program and practice 2. Children’s health and safety 3 Physical environment 4. Staffing arrangements, including improved staff-to-child

ratios and qualifications 5. Relationships with children 6. Collaborative partnerships with families and communities 7. Leadership and service management.

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PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTWhat is the Quality Area?The National Quality Standard (NQS) says:

Quality Area 3: Physical environmentThe physical environment is safe, suitable and provides a rich and diverse range of experiences which promote children’s learning and development.

What are the Standards?3.1 The design and location of the premises is appropriate

for the operation of a service.

3.2 The environment is inclusive, promotes competence, independent exploration and learning through play.

How is this Quality Area underpinned by the Early Years Learning Framework?Learning environments are one of the key practice areas. The EYLF states that:

‘Learning environments are welcoming spaces when they reflect and enrich the lives and identities of children and families participating in the setting and respond to their interests and needs. Environments that support learning are vibrant and flexible spaces that are responsive to the interests and abilities of each child. They cater for different learning capacities and learning styles and invite children and families to contribute ideas, interests and questions.’

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The physical environment is a central component of the programs that we offer children. It is not necessarily the most important element in creat-ing a high quality service—ultimately it will be the quality of the relationships and interactions within

a centre which determines the quality of care. However the environment plays a major role in either supporting or hinder-ing the development of such relationships.

A rich and inviting environment provides opportunities for children to explore and investigate their world at their own pace, to develop an interest in learning and to share that with oth-ers. Importantly it also provides a reflection of our views about children and families—it is a concrete measure of our beliefs and one that on first impressions can create either a sense of wel-come or a sense of unease.

In the last 15 years there has been a renewed interest in the role the physical environment can play in supporting children’s learning. Much of this interest has been sparked by ideas from Reggio Emilia. To the educators of Reggio a carefully planned environment is the equivalent of an extra teacher and this idea— of the environment as a “third teacher”—has quickly become a key element in discussions about the design of chil-dren’s services. The striking differences between the preschools of Reggio and those of Australia (or, for that matter, the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom) has prompted consider-able debate about the adequacy of existing approaches to serv-ice design and organisation, the result of which has been a major reappraisal within the early childhood field of how environments for children should look.

The significance of this debate, and of the influence of Reggio Emilia, can be gauged from the fact that it is difficult now to imagine any serious discussion of physical environments with-out some reference to Reggio. And yet there is also a downside to this interest in Reggio. For some, the sheer beauty and elegance of the Reggio preschools has overshadowed the more important lessons as to how an environment can be designed and organ-ised to promote children’s learning. We have therefore seen a movement to more careful presentation of play materials and greater consideration of the “aesthetics” of children’s environ-ment. Welcome as this is, on its own it does relatively little to change children’s experience of early childhood settings and support their learning. Beautifying a dysfunctional environment will do little to address underlying issues caused by lack of space or poor organisation. Wicker baskets may be a step up from ice cream containers and shoe boxes but without deeper thinking as to how the environment as a whole can support or hinder chil-dren’s learning they remain window dressing. Deeper thinking requiredIn this article I would like to explore how we can move our think-ing about the physical environment beyond just aesthetics to also include ideas about how we organise space and how our spaces help to structure children’s play and learning.

One of the first things to understand about our environments is that they affect our behaviour, often in ways that we are not consciously aware of. For both adults and children the environ-ment gives us cues as to what is expected. How the environment is arranged can also make behaving in certain ways easier or harder. In the late 1960s American researchers Sybil Kritchevsky

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and National Quality Standards (NQS) emphasise the importance of the physical environment as both a key practice and now a Quality Area to be assessed in

services. And yet what does a high quality physical environment look like? Luke Touhill looks at spaces that support children’s learning.

LANDSCAPES FOR LEARNING

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Arkki Daycare Centre, Helsinki. The value of permanency: would an area as rich and inviting as this be possible if it had to be regularly packed away and used for something else?

Mia-Mia Child and Family Study Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney. A dedicated dining area is not always possible. If it is, it frees up space elsewhere and also allows for an eating space that feels like somewhere you might actually like to eat.

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and Elisabeth Prescott investigated just this—how does the way that the environment is organised affect behaviour? 40 years later their findings are still relevant:

‘What is in a space, a room or a yard, and how it is arranged can affect the behaviour of people; it can make it easier to act in certain kinds of ways, harder to act in others…

One of the most effective predictors of program quality [is] physical space…

The higher the quality of space in a centre, the more likely were teachers to be sensitive and friendly in their manner toward children, to encourage children in their self-chosen activities, and to teach consideration for the rights and feelings of self and oth-ers. Where spatial quality was low, children were less likely to be involved and interested, and teachers more likely to be neutral or insensitive in their manner, to use larger amounts of guidance and restriction, and to teach arbitrary rules of social living.’

Space therefore not only affects children’s learning but also influences how we as adults behave and even how we interact with children.

The implications of this for how we think about and use our environments are far reaching and yet sadly, are too often ignored. As Deb Curtis and Margie Carter note:

‘Early childhood program spaces are seldom put together with conscious sustained attention to the values they communicate or the effect they have on the children and adults who spend their days in them.’

We tend instead to take our surroundings for granted and, without the conscious attention that Curtis and Carter urge, it is easy for children’s services to become institutions in the worst sense of the word. For the educators of Reggio Emilia this is the worst possible outcome:

‘The idea is that we should avoid any choice or solution that would make a school building a sterile rather than a living space.’Look around, be inspired!In encouraging us to be reflective, the EYLF encourages us to look closely at our environments not just in terms of how they meet a set of building standards, or in terms of their functionality, but also in terms of how they can support our program. So, while

the National Quality Standard assesses the physical environ-ment directly under Quality Area 3 the environment will also be an important contributor to what is happening in Quality Area 1 – Program and Planning and Quality Area 5 – Relationships with Children. Beyond simply thinking about what materials and equipment we set out we need to consider deeper questions about how our environments support our implementation of all of the principles and practices contained in the EYLF.

If, for example, we recognise the importance of sustained shared thinking for learning then we need to consider how our environment supports it actually happening. How does the environment promote children and adults engaging deeply with each other without interruption or distraction from others? If an environment is hard to supervise because of its layout, size and shape then this becomes far more difficult. An educator who is constantly having to look over their shoulder to see what is happening elsewhere is far less likely to be able to engage in a meaningful interaction with a child or small group of children at the same time.

Similarly, if we value holistic learning then we need to think about how our environment supports it—do we provide mate-rials that are open-ended and flexible and allow children to engage in the kind of complex learning that we know is so valuable? And does the environment allow children to combine and use different materials in new ways that will enhance their learning and understandings?

Or, if we want to provide for continuity of learning, how does our space allow this to happen? Are children able to leave what they are working on and return to it later? Lack of space within many (if not most) children’s services buildings typically means that playrooms are often places where children eat and sleep as well as play. Such arrangements mean regular interruptions to pack away and reorganise the room. If materials are packed away every one to two hours, there may be little incentive for children to engage in complex play or construction—knowing they have only a limited amount of time and that what they do will then be packed away. Where spaces are shared there is often little chance for children to develop longer-term projects which con-tinue from morning to afternoon, let alone those that may con-tinue for days or weeks at a time. If we value the depth of learn-ing that such projects provide then we need to think of ways to create spaces that can stay undisturbed for periods of time.

Equally important is how much actual physical space we are able to provide for different experiences. As Kritchevsky and

LANDSCAPES FOR LEARNING

‘Do we provide materials that are open-ended and flexible

and allow children to engage in the kind of complex learning

that we know is so valuable? ‘

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Prescott found, where space is limited educators often find themselves exercising more control over groups of children to ensure harmony and prevent conflict. At the same time there is often no ability for children to spread out or to find their own space. Interruptions and distractions caused by closely adjoining play areas mean that children’s play may not develop as it could in a larger space. If, for example, the block area is too small then how much opportunity is there for children to build complex and interesting constructions? Or for groups of children to work together, or for different groups of children to work on their own projects side by side?

If we value autonomy, independence and agency then how does our environment allow children to have a degree of control over their surroundings—where in the environment do they get to make choices about what they play with and how they play?

And what about the importance of natural materials and the chance to engage with natural surroundings? The EYLF and NQS make clear how important such experiences are and yet many services have been designed with little or no natural space. How can we bring nature into such environments in a way that is meaningful and not tokenistic? None of these things are neces-sarily easy to do—especially in services that have been designed to comply only with minimum standards and space require-ments. However if we recognise the importance of the physical environment to what happens in a space then the time and effort needed to create rich, engaging and beautiful environ-ments becomes worthwhile. Equally, when we recognise the vital role that the environment plays in either supporting or hindering our work with children, we can start to consider our environment in a broader way—not just in terms of what goes where, or how

it looks, but in terms of how it can promote and guide children’s learning and relationships.

Luke Touhill works as a project officer with Community Connections Solutions Australia (CCSA). He has over 15 years experience as a teacher, director and manager in a range of early childhood settings. Luke has a strong interest in service design and the physical environments of children’s services. His Ph.D. from Macquarie University investigated the design of children’s services in Australia.

ReferencesCurtis, D. & Carter, M. (2003) Designs for living and learning:

Transforming early childhood environments. St Paul, MN: Redleaf PressGreenman, J. (2005) Caring spaces, learning places: Children’s

environments that work (2nd edition). Redmond, WA: Exchange PressKritchevsky, S. & Prescott, E. with Walling, L. (1977) Planning

environments for young children: Physical space (2nd Edition). Washington, DC NAEYC.

ECA has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations to implement the EYLFPLP.

REGISTER NOWwww.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/eylfplp

EYLF Professional Learning Workshops

REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN

65 EYLF Professional Learning Workshops are about to take place across urban and regional Australia, to assist early childhood education and care professionals to better understand and implement the EYLF.

Workshop benefits include:

a practical, hands-on experience that will help you to implement the EYLF in your service

facilitators who are knowledgeable and experienced early childhood experts

opportunities to develop support networks with other EC professionals in your region

free resource materials

travel subsidy* (conditions apply)

lunch and refreshments

a certificate of attendance.

The EYLF is a part of the

National Quality Framework

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The early childhood teacher ofTOMORROW

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We know that the early years of children’s lives are important in shaping the way their

brains develop and shaping the future adult. Neurobiological research has con-firmed what early childhood workers have known for many years: the early years of life are crucial and getting them right makes a difference (Meaney, 2010; Sims, 2009).

Because nations are now beginning to understand this message, we are seeing the development of a range of new early childhood programs. Sure Start in the UK is a good example where politicians attempted to act on their new understanding about the importance of early childhood, and the impact a poor beginning has on lifelong outcomes (and therefore on the wealth of a nation). While the rest of the world watched, Sure Start attempted to shape a new way of working with children that was holistic (Melhuish, Belsky &

Barnes, 2010; Siraj-Blatchford & Siraj-Blatchford, 2009).

The aim was for children’s needs to be met in a way that did not involve fami-lies trying to patch together a montage of services operating out of different places, with different rules and each requiring families to tell their story over and over again. We have learned a lot from Sure Start and other such attempts in different countries around the world and now it is time for Australia to step up and offer supports that really work for young children and families.

The concerns we are trying to address are significant. We know that outcomes for Australian children are gradually worsening. Our children’s literacy and numeracy levels are falling, and our children have high rates of physical and mental problems (Department of Education, 2009; Stanley, Prior & Richardson, 2005).

Australia’s children generally rank 10th out of 30 OECD countries in their levels of reported deprivation (Council of Australian Governments, 2009a) and

Early Childhood teachers of the future will need a different skills set to today’s

graduates. Now is the time to consider the future educational landscape and generate

new ways of thinking about—and positioning—early childhood teaching.

By Margaret Sims

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THE FUTURE OF TEACHING

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21st out of 30 in the prevalence of teen-age pregnancies. Indigenous children are much more likely to experience these poor outcomes (20/31 for reported deprivation and 31/31 for teenage preg-nancies).

Indigenous child mortality (between birth and four years) is two to four times that of non-Indigenous children and a significantly smaller number of indig-enous students meet minimum bench-marks for reading, writing and literacy compared to non-Indigenous children (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, 2009).

Our Government is committed in its attempts to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (FAHSCIA, 2009) and to addressing disadvantage where it occurs through the national early child-hood development strategy (Council of Australian Governments, 2009a), one component of which is the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (Cortis, Katz & Patulny, 2009).

Our attempts to build a new way of working in early childhood services aims to (Edwards et al., 2009, p. vii): ‘improve co-ordination of services for children 0-to-5 years and their families, identify and provide services to address unmet needs, build community capacity to engage in service delivery, improve the community context in which children grow up’.

The early childhood workers in these services are no longer only operating in classrooms offering face-to-face services delivery to children. They are operat-ing in community contexts where they deliver family support, engage in com-munity development activities and build networks and partnerships with other professionals and community members. They may be involved in running facili-tated playgroups, parent support groups, parent education programs, inclusion support programs, and/or engage in home visiting and community-based family activities. The skills they need to undertake such activities are very differ-ent than the skills needed to run a class-room of preschool-aged children.

Our new national standards for early childhood (Council of Australian Governments, 2009b) set criteria for staff qualifications. It is generally accept-ed that teacher qualification requires a four-year degree but other forms of training in Australia include VET qualifi-cations such as the Diploma (informally considered equivalent to a two-year qualification, although the Australian Qualifications Framework no longer positions VET qualifications in terms of their duration), and three-year university degrees (Watson & Axford, 2008).

There is clear evidence that increasing the duration of training, and focusing that training appropriately, improves the quality of services offered (Campbell & Milbourne, 2005; Pianta & Hamre, 2009). However, it is important that we con-sider the appropriateness of the training currently being offered, particularly in the light of the new directions in which early childhood services are evolving.

I argue that our current training does not adequately prepare graduates to work in the new early childhood world, and that we need to think seriously about how we could redesign our pre-service training (and, of course, our in-service and postgraduate training) to create early childhood professionals well prepared to work in the new world of early childhood.A noble profession in a changing worldI suggest we develop a core set of knowl-edge and skills appropriate across the different types of work early childhood professionals may undertake (Sims, in press). This core includes an understand-ing of community work and child and family work: child development (in context), families, power/advantage/

INTEGRATED SERVICES: PIPEDREAM OR REALITY? The call for integrated children’s services is nothing new. Nor is the call for greater collaboration between different agencies and for inter-professional expertise. However, there is a growing body of research and policy initiatives that support the case for new forms of service delivery and a joint approach to working with children and families.

The latest is a research project for the Professional Support Co-ordinators Alliance (PSCA), entitled Integrated Early Years Provision in Australia, authored by Dr Frances Press, Professor Jennifer Sumsion and Dr Sandie Wong at Charles Sturt University,

This report conveys the findings from a survey of Australian integrated services and includes case studies of ten integrated services from across the country.

The case studies reveal a wealth of practice wisdom about integrated services and about fostering inter-professional practice. The literature and data generated highlight that effective integration is complex—there is no one-size-fits-all integration model.

The report also highlights the commitment of leaders and practitioners to integrated service provision. It is interesting reading.

You can find it at: www.pscalliance.org.au/Research/research.html

‘…Early childhood workers deliver family support, engage in community development activities and build networks and partnerships with other professionals and community members.’

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disadvantage, rights, empowerment, strengths-based work.

The first step in the qualification pathway could be the Diploma. These graduates would work directly with chil-dren in roles such as a childcare worker, and perhaps in family support such as a home visitor with families whose needs were not complex.

The next step in the qualifications pathway could be a three-year degree program (with appropriate articula-tion of the VET Diploma) that qualified people to work in face-to-face roles with children (as a room leader in childcare, for example) or with parents (as a home visitor or running parent education programs for example). These gradu-ates may also manage programs in roles such as a childcare co-ordinator or man-ager of a home visiting program.‘Future-scaping’: Specialist skillsIn their fourth year students would be required to choose a specialisation. These specialisations could include: ◆ Early childhood education:

Qualified to be responsible for pro-gram transitioning children into school, for the early years of school-ing (early childhood teachers) and as leaders in services for children such as childcare centres and preschools;

◆ Management: Qualified to manage more complex services (such as managing a child and family centre with its multiplicity of reporting responsibilities);

◆ Family counselling or child protection: Qualified to work with complex family issues and/or issues around abuse and neglect;

◆ Cross-cultural and Indigenous:

Qualified to work in cultural-specific programs and inclusion support programs;

◆ Family work: Qualified to undertake family support in more complex con-texts, including addressing risk factors such as addiction, family violence.Of course, those already work-

ing in integrated services with pre-existing qualifications, will need further training to develop their knowledge and skills. At the University of New England we are planning a suite of post-graduate courses (PG Certificate, Diploma, Masters and Doctorate) in integrated early childhood service delivery that will be offered online so that up-skilling can occur in the work context. We hope these will be available from 2012.

These changes are significant and, I think, necessary to prepare our early childhood professionals of the future. We cannot achieve our aim by simply tinkering with existing courses. Our cur-rent courses, constrained by external accreditation processes, are already over-full and lack many of the innovations I have suggested are necessary. We need to start again and build new courses for the new world of early childhood.

Margaret Sims is a Professor of Early Childhood at the University of New England. Her research on cortisol as a biomarker of children’s stress has received national atten-tion and was featured in the Life at One docu-mentary on ABC TV. Margaret continues to act as a consultant for the Life series. She is also the editor of the Australasian Journal of Early Childhood (AJEC).

For a full list of references, please see: www.ccccnsw.org.au/rattler97ref.html

Latin American Music Shows/Workshops the amigo showWould you like your children to experience the music of Latin America?

Latin American musician Raul Bassa is offering music shows/workshops for preschool children. The workshops cover music from different parts of Latin America played on a wide variety of

traditional instruments – pan pipes, bamboo flutes, bongo drums.

For bookings and enquiries phone (02) 4751 5768

‘It was fantastic. The children loved every moment. Even the staff couldn’t help dancing to the music with the

children. A great multicultural experience for everyone.’ Cardiff Community Child Care Centre, September 1995

‘We need to start again and build new courses for

the new world of early childhood.’

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PLANNING FOR AN EARLY

CHILDHOOD CENTRE?To create a warm, exciting and

effective play area, contact

Play Environment Consulting

Services provided by Prue Walsh (Author of Best Practice documents) include:

• Evaluation of existing facilities

• Upgrading of buildings or playgrounds

• Building of new centres

Ph: (07) 3252 2262Fax: (07) 3252 0260Mob: 0418 980 455Email: [email protected]: www.playconsulting.com

PO Box 135 Albion QLD 2010

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These children come to us from a variety of home environments and backgrounds: some rich, some poor, some from single

parent homes, and some from extended families. These children come into our rooms and centres, some with such fragile self-esteem, others ready to take on the world.

These children’s time schedules and ours don’t always mesh as we move through the day. To them, ‘hurry up’, ‘we’re running late’ or ‘finish up now’, are beyond contemplation. And yet we all down tools when the smell and aromas of spaghetti for lunch waft through the room—not worrying about how much food ends up on the floor at lunchtime.

These children’s eyes and ears some-times tune to different sights and sounds than ours as each day we try to unravel the shared mysteries of life together.

They look upon us as mother, father, best friend, confidante, nurse, negotiator and even a playmate. They seek our time, our feedback, or opinion, our hugs, our smiles, our understanding. Whether we’re singing a song, sharing a story, building a cubby, digging in the garden or making

a cake, these amazing children trust us explicitly to guide and nurture them as we move through the day.

These special young people tire us out just by watching them run like the wind chasing bubbles. They amaze us with their ability to make the complex seem simple and stop mid stride to observe a colourful butterfly or really fluffy cloud.

Their never-ending zest for life is con-tagious and most times, exhausting. Their short attention spans dictate that everything we plan is for a reason and is delivered with energy, passion and enthu-siasm. And no matter how tired we are at the end of the day, their hugs and ready smiles energise us to come back and do it all again tomorrow.

Do we negotiate and problem solve in the sandpit with future lawyers and stockbrokers? Do we discuss the need to share, ‘use our words’, and turn-take with future leaders, diplomats and cricket cap-tains. Do we create towering block build-ings and design amazing watercourses with future architects and engineers?

You’re damn right we do! On a daily basis we formulate

strategies for future multinational conglomerates. We write speeches for important press conferences and practice our public relations skills. We patch knees and ice elbows with the expertise of an emergency room attendant. We give a baby massage better then any masseuse that I’ve been to and we sing better then any rock star or opera singer!

Yes, we build assets and empower indi-viduals everyday. We are researchers with a mission of understanding and helping to wire children’s brains. We cultivate the most precious resource. We build assets and empower individuals. We have power lunches with the leaders of the future

We are early childhood educators!

Alice Brown is a lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba Campus. This article is adapted from Maples, M. (2000) ‘To children with love’, Young Children, Vol. 55, no. 2, p. 73.

Do we rub shoulders with doctors and lawyers every day? Do we sit with scientists or philosophers contemplating how things work? Do we have power lunches with bankers or influential business tycoons? No, our companions are young children—children with smiles, tears, laughter and needs. By Alice Brown.

‘ Do we create towering block buildings and design amazing watercourses with future architects and engineers? You’re damn right we do!’

Power lunches with leaders of

TOMORROWOPINION

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In Rattler’s literary roundup, Ingrid Maack previews what’s new on the shelves…

Shrieking VioletPublished by Scholastic Written/Illustrated by Emma QuayCost: $26.99Violet is no shrinking violet—she’s a

‘shrieking violet’. This purple-clad tod-dler in the throes of the terrible twos

is the true star of this book. This amusing depiction of family life

is about the struggle for attention and frustra-

tions of sisterly love. This brightly illustrated book

made me smile. As a little sister

myself, I could relate to this

boisterous charac-ter and family dynamic.

And it came as no surprise to learn that author/illustrator, Emma Quay, is the mother of two daughters.

Bonuses include Emma’s author notes and you can even hear Shrieking Violet read aloud on YouTube. Her website (www.emmaquay.com) also offers teacher’s notes, and the draft illustrations of this title (and others) in progress!

Architecture for ChildrenBy Sarah ScottPublished by ACER PrintCost: $79.95 Buy online from ACER at https://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop/product/A5151BK

In 2009 a Churchill Fellowship enabled architect Sarah Scott to visit

early childhood centres in ten countries. These included the Nordic free childcare and forest schools; Italy, home to Reggio Emilia; Germany and Switzerland, known for their Steiner and Froebel philosophies; Japan with its Shinto roots and the UK with its Sure Start program.

Architecture for Children tours the buildings built on this philosophical scaf-folding, and the result is a visual feast. The text explains the key features of a quality environment from an architect’s perspective. It offers a great theoretical overview for parents or newcomers to the early childhood profession. And for anyone who works in the sector, the stun-ning learning spaces pictured will make you weak at the knees!

My only criticism of this book (and it is minor) is that there are only a hand-ful of children pictured in the environ-ments, but I guess this design decision is because photographing children can be contentious. Design enthusiasts can also read detailed reports of each service vis-ited by Sarah at the Churchill Fellowship website at: www.churchilltrust.com.au

Take a Step Outside Your Door!Cost: $20 (inc GST) plus $3.00 postagewww.petermorganmusic.comSinger-songwriter, Peter Morgan’s CD offers 11 tracks that blend soul, pop, folk and reggae tunes with Maori story-telling and song. Peter dedicates the CD to his childhood in New Zealand spent singing songs, telling stories and climbing trees! Understandably, the themes of multicul-turalism, nature and sustainability echo throughout the album.

Some tracks are co-written by Peter’s wife, Catherine Lee, a preschool director. As such the lyrics are age-appropriate and celebrate the early years.

The disc aptly begins and ends with the ‘Hello’ song. And as the first verse says: ‘No matter where you are…in Australia…we all say hello in different ways’.

This is sung in an echo-response for-mat that encourages children to join in. It had my two-year-old son toe-tapping and singing along within minutes…Can you

imagine my delight when unprompted he started saying: ‘Ola!, Kia-ora!, Yasou! and Bula!’

There are also catchy tunes that children and adults alike will love about a crocodile called ‘Snappy’ and a ‘Super Hula Hooper’ named Lottie!

Inspiring Spaces for Young ChildrenBy Jessica Deviney, Sandra Duncan, Sara Harris, Mary Ann Rody, Lois RosenberryPublished by Gryphon House Cost: $87.95Inspired is the word! With lush photogra-phy and an artful layout, this gorgeously glossy book will inspire educators to transform their environments into beau-tiful learning spaces. Design ideas are all around us, and this book calls on educa-tors to look for interior design inspiration wherever they go—in hardware and decorating stores, restaurants and cafes and of course in nature. Nature, it seems, never goes out of style!

Beautifully presented, complete with before and after classroom photographs, various key design principles are explored and explained. These include colour selec-tion, positioning of furniture, display of children’s artworks, lighting, and the use of authentic materials so children’s play experiences mirror life.

Written by American early childhood educators, my only gripe with this title is the price. If you have the funds though, it would make a great gift for staff or an inspiring coffee table book for your serv-ice’s tea room.

bookworm

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la!’so

that children and adults

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