Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework For all Children from Birth to Eight Years

Published by Early Childhood Strategy DivisionDepartment of Education and Early Childhood Developmentand Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority

MelbourneJanuary 2011

© State of Victoria (Department of Educationand Early Childhood Development) 2011

The copyright in this document is owned by the State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), or in the case of some materials, by third parties (third party

materials). No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, the National Education Access Licence for Schools (NEALS) (see below) or with permission.

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Authorised by the Department of Educationand Early Childhood Development,2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002.

And the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. 41 St Andrews Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002Australia.

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ISBN 978-0-7594-0590-5This document is available on the internet atwww.education.vic.gov.au/earlylearning and http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/earlyyears

AcknowledgmentsThis paper draws on initial work completed by Professor Collette Tayler and colleagues at the University of Melbourne.

Discussion Paper Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (December 2008)

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 3

The Framework: vision and purpose 5

Advancing children’s learning and development from birth to eight years 5

A framework for all children in Victoria 7

Supporting children’s learning and development in Victoria 7

Using the Framework 8

Practice Principles for Learning and Development 9

Collaborative

1. Family-centred practice 10

2. Partnerships with professionals 10

3. High expectations for every child 10

Effective

4. Equity and diversity 11

5. Respectful relationships and responsive engagement 11

6. Integrated teaching and learning approaches 12

7. Assessment for learning and development 13

Reflective

8. Reflective practice 14

Early Years Learning and Development Outcomes 17

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity 18

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world 20

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing 22

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners 25

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators 28

Supporting children’s transitions 33

What does effective transition look like? 33

Who is involved in transition to school? 34

Supporting children’s learning and development through times of transition 34

The Transition: A Positive Start to School initiative 35

Conclusion 37

Appendices 38

Appendix 1: Overview of early childhood professional roles 39

Appendix 2: Overview of early childhood services 40

Appendix 3: Overview of key Departmental discipline-specific resources 44

Appendix 4: Bibliography 47

Appendix 5: Glossary 51

Contents

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 4

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 5

The Framework: vision and purpose

The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework advances all children’s learning and development from birth to eight years. It does this by supporting all early childhood professionals to work together and with families to achieve common outcomes for all children.

In this Framework, the term ‘Early childhood professional’ includes any person who works with children between the ages of birth and eight years. It includes, but is not limited to, maternal and child health nurses, all early childhood practitioners who work directly with children in early childhood settings (educators), school teachers, family support workers, preschool field officers, inclusion support facilitators, student support service officers, primary school nurses, primary welfare officers, early childhood intervention workers, play therapists, health professionals and teachers working in hospitals, and education officers in cultural organisations. Appendix 1 describes the roles of these professionals in more detail.

The Victorian Framework is informed by the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child advances an image of children as subjects of rights and full members of society, capable of participating in their social worlds through their relationship with others. These principles are consistent with contemporary early childhood research.

Advancing children’s learning and development from birth to eight yearsChildren learn from birth and their learning and development at each stage of life forms the foundation for the next. During the period from birth to eight years, children experience more rapid brain development and acquire more skills and knowledge than in any other period in their lives.

By the time they enter school, children have already developed key communication, learning and thinking skills; learned to build and maintain relationships; and formed a strong sense of their own identity. These skills and knowledge are the foundation for learning at school, and for lifelong learning.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 6

The Victorian Framework sets the highest expectations for every child.

It identifies five Early Years Learning and Development Outcomes for all children:

• Childrenhaveastrongsenseofidentity

• Childrenareconnectedwithandcontributetotheirworld

• Childrenhaveastrongsenseofwellbeing

• Childrenareconfidentandinvolvedlearners

• Childrenareeffectivecommunicators.

The Victorian Framework describes each of these Outcomes for children from birth to eight years, linking the learning outcomes from the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) Levels 1 and 2. The Outcomes provide a shared language for all early childhood professionals and families to use when planning for children’s learning and development.

The Victorian Framework identifies eight Practice Principles for Learning and Development, which describe the most effective ways for early childhood professionals to work together and with children and families to facilitate learning and development. These Principles are based on the pedagogy of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and the P–12 Principles of Learning and Teaching, and on the latest international evidence about the best ways to support children’s learning.

In addition, the Victorian Framework emphasises the importance of supporting children’s and families’ transitions as they move within and across services throughout the early childhood period.

The diagram below depicts the three elements of the Victorian Framework and the importance of early childhood professionals working with families and children to advance learning and development.

Figure 1: Elements of the Framework

O

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Practice Principles

Family

Transitions

Early Childhood Professi

onal

s

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 7

Image 5

A framework for all children in VictoriaThe Victorian Framework recognises that children’s learning and development takes place in the context of their families, and that families are children’s first and most important educators. Families provide children with the relationships, the opportunities and the experiences that shape their learning and development.

The Victorian Framework acknowledges that the families and communities in which children live are diverse, and children’s learning and development is enhanced when early childhood professionals respect their cultures and ways of knowing and being.

In particular, the Victorian Framework recognises and respects Aboriginal cultures and the unique place of these in Victoria’s heritage and future. Learning about and valuing the place of first nations people will enhance all Victorian children’s sense of place in our community.

The Victorian Framework recognises that every child will take a unique path to the five Outcomes and that all children will require different levels of support, some requiring significantly more than others.

Supporting children’s learning and development in VictoriaChildren and families in Victoria have access to a range of services that support learning and development. From the birth of their children, all families have access to maternal and child health services. Maternal and child health nurses work with families to support children’s learning and development.

Families can also access a range of early childhood services, including playgroups, long day care, family day care, occasional care, outside school hours care, kindergartens and schools, as well as sporting, community education and cultural organisations. Cultural organisations include libraries, museums, botanic gardens, galleries and zoos.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 8

Targeted and intensive services provide learning and development support for children and families. These include child and family support services, and early start kindergarten, as well as a range of community, primary and specialist health services. In addition, the early childhood intervention system in Victoria works with families to support children’s inclusion in early childhood services and schools.

Throughout the first eight years of children’s lives, all early childhood professionals working in these settings collect important information, which provides a rich picture of each child’s learning and development. It is important that families and early childhood professionals access and share this information so that they can build a whole picture of the child to facilitate each child’s learning and development.

Using the FrameworkThe Victorian Framework provides a common language to describe children’s learning and common principles to guide practice. It complements the discipline-specific resources that support early childhood professionals working with children and families. It assists all professionals to work together and with families to support children’s learning and development. A list of the discipline-specific resources is at Appendix 3.

The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework will be supported by a number of Implementation Guides. These Implementation Guides will be developed in partnership with the early childhood profession. They will provide detailed practice examples, case studies and guidance about how the Practice Principles for Learning and Development can be used to support children’s learning and development; and more detailed descriptions of children’s learning and development in the five Early Years Learning and Development Outcomes. They will be developed for a range of audiences, including families, early childhood educators working in a range of settings, and early childhood professionals more broadly.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 9

Practice Principles for Learning and Development

39

Children’s learning and development is holistic, advancing simultaneously in the areas of health, cognition, personal and social development, and wellbeing.

Children’s learning and development is advanced when they are provided with opportunities, support and engagement within their families and in partnership with early childhood professionals.

By acknowledging each child’s identity, culture and spirituality, and responding sensitively to their emotional states, early childhood professionals build children’s confidence, sense of wellbeing and safety and willingness to engage in learning.

The Practice Principles for Learning and Development, which are outlined below, are the foundations for professional practice for early childhood professionals working with Victorian children from birth to eight years and their families. They are based on the understanding that when professionals establish respectful and caring relationships with children and families they are able to work together to deliver effective learning and development experiences relevant to children in their local contexts. These experiences gradually expand children’s knowledge and understanding of the world and promote their health, safety and wellbeing.

The Practice Principles integrate the pedagogy that forms the basis of the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia with the P–12 Principles of Learning and Teaching, which inform the work of teachers in Victorian schools. The Practice Principles are based on the latest international evidence about the best ways to support children’s learning. They are interrelated and designed to inform each other.

The Practice Principles are arranged into three categories:

Collaborative

1 family-centred practice

2 partnerships with professionals

3 high expectations for every child

Effective

4 equity and diversity

5 respectful relationships and responsive engagement

6 integrated teaching and learning approaches

7 assessment for learning and development

Reflective

8 reflective practice.

‘Spirituality’ refers to a range of human experiences, including a sense of awe and wonder, a search for purpose and meaning,

and an exploration of being and knowing.

Practice Principles

Transitions

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 10

1 Family-centred practice Children learn in the context of their families and families are the primary influence on children’s learning and development. Professionals too, play a role in advancing children’s learning and development. Professionals engage in family-centred practice by respecting the pivotal role of families in children’s lives. Early childhood professionals:

• usefamilies’understandingoftheirchildrentosupportshareddecision-makingabout

each child’s learning and development

• create a welcoming and culturally inclusive environment where all families are encouraged

to participate in and contribute to children’s learning and development experiences

• actively engage families and children in planning children’s learning and development

• providefeedbacktofamiliesontheirchildren’slearningandinformationabouthow

families can further advance children’s learning and development at home and in the

community.

2 Partnerships with professionalsEarly childhood professionals are from diverse professional backgrounds. They use multidisciplinary approaches to provide better support to families and draw on the skills and expertise of their peers. Early childhood professionals:

• workcollaborativelytoshareinformationandplantoensureholisticapproachesto

children’s learning and development

• understandeachother’spractice,skillsandexpertise,andmakereferralswhen

appropriate

• acknowledgethesignificanceoftransitionswithinandacrossearlychildhoodservices

and schools, and ensure that children understand the process and have an active role

in preparing for these transitions

• buildonchildren’spriorlearningandexperiencestobuildcontinuityfortheirlearning

and development from birth to eight years of age.

3 High expectations for every child Every child has the ability to learn and develop. Having high expectations is especially important in achieving better outcomes for the most vulnerable children. Some children require additional supports and different learning experiences and opportunities to help them to learn and develop. Early childhood professionals:

• committohighexpectationsforallchildren’slearninganddevelopment

• ensurethateverychildexperiencessuccessintheirlearninganddevelopment

• recognisethateverychildcanlearn,butsomechildrenrequirequitedifferent

opportunities and supports to do this

• workwithfamiliestosupportchildren’slearninganddevelopmentathomeandinthe

community.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 11

4 Equity and diversity Children’s personal, family and cultural histories shape their learning and development. Children learn when early childhood professionals respect their diversity and provide them with the best support, opportunities and experiences. Early childhood professionals:

• supportchildren’sevolvingcapacitiestolearnfrombirth

• ensurethattheinterests,abilitiesandcultureofeverychildandtheirfamilyare

understood, valued and respected

• maximiseopportunitiesforeverychild

• identifyareaswherefocusedsupportorinterventionisrequiredtoimproveeach

child’s learning and development

• recognise bi- and multi-lingualism as an asset and support these children to maintain

their first language and learn English as a second language

• promoteculturalawarenessinallchildren,includinggreaterunderstandingof

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being

• support children to develop a sense of place, identity and a connection to the land

• encourage children as active participants for sustainability, influencing the quality of

life now, and for future generations.

5 Respectful relationships and responsive engagement

From birth, secure attachments formed through warm and respectful relationships with familiar adults are fundamental to children’s learning and development. These relationships protect, regulate and buffer children. They provide a secure base that helps children to feel safe and confident to try new things and to learn.

Interactions with children and families inform early childhood professionals’ knowledge of children’s distinctive interests, skills, cultures and abilities. This is crucial to providing positive experiences and a safe and stimulating environment that will encourage children to expand their capacities and deepen their knowledge and understandings.

Early childhood professionals:

• initiatewarm,trustingandreciprocalrelationshipswithchildren

• providesafeandstimulatingenvironmentsforchildren

• developlearningprogramsthatareresponsivetoeachchildandbuildontheir

culture, strengths, interests and knowledge to take their learning and development

forward

• understand,communicateandinteractacrossculturesbybeingawareoftheirown

world view

• respecttheviewsandfeelingsofeachchild.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 12

6 Integrated teaching and learning approachesEarly childhood professionals recognise that a gradual shift in emphasis occurs over the first eight years of a child’s life, along a continuum from play to more structured learning in formal settings. Early childhood professionals apply strategies to support sustained and shared interactions with children through play to more focused experiential learning.

Learning is an active process that must involve children’s engagement. Play is essential for its ability to stimulate and integrate a wide range of children’s intellectual, physical, social and creative abilities. Active engagement with, and attunement to children in their play extends and supports their learning. Shared, sustained conversations are also a powerful and important feature of active adult engagement. The integration of child-directed play and learning; guided play and learning; and adult-led learning is illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Integrated teaching and learning approaches

Child-directed play and learning

Guided play and learning

Adult-led learning

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 13

Early Childhood Professionals:

• encourage children to explore, solve problems, communicate, think, create and construct

• usetheirjudgementtosupportchildren’slearninganddevelopmentthrougha

combination of child-led and adult-led play-based learning, as well as active teacher-

led learning

• createphysicalenvironmentsthatsupportarangeofopportunitiesforlearningand

physical activity, both indoors and outdoors

• buildonchildren’sinterests,abilities,culturesandpreviouslearningexperiencesto

extend their thinking, learning and development

• usechild-centredapproachestoexplicitlyteachparticularknowledgeandskills

• recognisetheconnectionsbetweenaspectsofchildren’slearninganddevelopment.

7 Assessment for learning and development Assessment is designed to discover what children know and understand, based on what they make, write, draw, say and do. Early childhood professionals assess the progress of children’s learning and development, what children are ready to learn and how they can be supported.

All children benefit when assessment reflects a whole-child approach, providing an holistic view of learning and development. Early childhood professionals use a range of assessment tools, processes and approaches to build on prior learning, avoid duplication and add value.

Early childhood professionals understand that families play a vital role in their children’s learning and development. Early childhood professionals are aware of the health and wellbeing of the family when planning for the child’s learning and development.

Early childhood professionals assess children’s learning in ways that:

• informtheirpractice

• includechildren’sviewsoftheirownlearning

• areauthenticandresponsivetohowchildrendemonstratetheirlearningand

development

• drawonfamilies’perspectives,knowledge,experiencesandexpectations

• considerchildreninthecontextoftheirfamiliesandprovidesupporttofamilies

when necessary

• valuetheculturallyspecificknowledgeembeddedwithincommunitiesabout

children’s learning and development

• aretransparentandobjective,andprovidefamilieswithinformationabouttheir

children’s learning and development, and about what they can do to further

support their children

• gatherandanalyseinformationfromawiderangeofsourcestohelpthemassess

and plan effectively

• providethebestpossibleadviceandguidancetochildrenandtheirfamilies.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 14

8 Reflective practiceChildren’s learning and development is advanced when they experience interactions with highly effective early childhood professionals. Early childhood professionals become more effective through critical reflection and a strong culture of professional enquiry. Early childhood professionals:

• gatherinformationthatsupports,informs,assessesandenrichesdecision-

making about appropriate professional practices

• continuallydeveloptheirprofessionalknowledgeandskillstoenablethemto

provide the best possible learning and development opportunities for all children

• promotepracticesthathavebeenshowntobesuccessfulinsupportingchildren’s

learning and development

• useevidencetoinformplanningforearlychildhoodexperiencesandpractice

• challengeandchangesomepractices.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 15

Image needed

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 17

The Victorian Framework identifies five Outcomes for all children from birth to eight years:

• Childrenhaveastrongsenseofidentity(identity)

• Childrenareconnectedwithandcontributetotheirworld(community)

• Childrenhaveastrongsenseofwellbeing(wellbeing)

• Childrenareconfidentandinvolvedlearners(learning)

• Childrenareeffectivecommunicators(communication).

Children learn at different rates, in different ways and at different times. Their development is not always easy or straightforward. For some children and families, learning and development involves considerable struggle and requires much perseverance. Therefore, different kinds of support and engagement will be required. Early childhood professionals use the Practice Principles for Learning and Development to provide the support necessary for every child to learn and develop.

The descriptions of the five Outcomes included here are neither exhaustive, nor exclusive. The tables show the link between the outcomes from the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and the VELS. They provide examples of children’s learning and development. They can be used by early childhood professionals to design experiences and opportunities for advancing children’s development and assessing children’s progress toward these Outcomes. The five Outcomes provide a common language to support collaborative approaches between all early childhood professionals and families.

Early Years Learning and Development Outcomes

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Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 18

Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identityRelationships are the foundations for children’s construction of identity. In order to form a strong sense of self, children need to build secure relationships first within the family and then with caring, attentive adults in other settings. For babies and young children, strong attachments are critical. Children’s positive experiences of relationships and places support their understanding of themselves as secure, significant and respected individuals. A positive sense of identity strengthens children’s interest and skills in being active participants in their communities.

Children develop a sense of autonomy and a sense of agency when they seek and accept new challenges, use their bodies effectively and make new discoveries. They increasingly cooperate and work collaboratively with others.

In early childhood, children begin to take the initiative by asking questions and attempting small projects. With support, children begin to reflect on their achievements, acknowledge the value of persistence and enjoy their accomplishments.

As children develop a more knowledgeable sense of self, they reach out and communicate the need for comfort, assistance and companionship. Dramatic play is a way to explore different identities and different points of view. All children, with support, can develop a strong sense of self and learn to interact with others with care, empathy and respect. As they show interest in others and in being part of a group, children can participate in play with others and begin to develop friendships. This confidence can be transferred to a range of social situations and children can increasingly recognise and accept that there are consequences for their actions.

The maintenance of first or home languages has a significant and continuing role in the construction of identity. This is supported when early childhood professionals respect children’s cultures and languages.

Early childhood professionals’ respect for diversity assists children to begin to appreciate the similarities and differences between individuals and groups, including different cultural groups. Children develop a deeper sense of identity through participating in cultural experiences and celebrations.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 19

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e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

with

supp

ort,

refle

ct o

n pe

rson

al q

ualit

ies w

hich

cont

ribut

e to

the

deve

lopm

ent a

nd

mai

nten

ance

of f

riend

ship

s•

begi

n to

thin

k in

term

s of o

ther

peo

ple’s

feel

ings

and

nee

ds, e

spec

ially

whe

n re

solv

ing

confl

ict o

r dea

ling

with

bul

lyin

g, fo

r exa

mpl

e, b

y say

ing

sorry

or t

akin

g an

othe

r per

son’s

poi

nt o

f vie

w in

to co

nsid

erat

ion

•de

velo

p st

rate

gies

to u

se w

hen

they

are

feel

ing

unce

rtain

abo

ut th

eir l

earn

ing,

such

as

seek

ing

assi

stan

ce fr

om th

eir t

each

ers

•be

gin

to re

cogn

ise

that

lear

ning

from

mis

take

s is a

n im

porta

nt a

ttrib

ute

of b

eing

a

good

lear

ner.

Child

ren

deve

lop

know

ledg

eabl

e an

d co

nfide

nt s

elf-

iden

titie

s

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:

•fe

el re

cogn

ised

and

resp

ecte

d fo

r who

they

are

•ex

plor

e di

ffere

nt id

entit

ies a

nd p

oint

s of v

iew

in d

ram

atic

play

•sh

are

aspe

cts o

f the

ir cu

lture

with

oth

er ch

ildre

n an

d ed

ucat

ors

•us

e th

eir h

ome

lang

uage

to co

nstru

ct m

eani

ng•

deve

lop

stro

ng fo

unda

tions

in b

oth

the

cultu

re a

nd la

ngua

ge/s

of t

heir

fam

ily a

nd

the

broa

der c

omm

unity

with

out c

ompr

omis

ing

thei

r cul

tura

l ide

ntiti

es•

deve

lop

thei

r soc

ial a

nd cu

ltura

l her

itage

thro

ugh

enga

gem

ent w

ith E

lder

s and

co

mm

unity

mem

bers

•re

ach

out a

nd co

mm

unica

te fo

r com

fort,

ass

ista

nce

and

com

pani

onsh

ip•

cele

brat

e an

d sh

are

thei

r con

tribu

tions

and

ach

ieve

men

ts w

ith o

ther

s.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

draw

on

thei

r own

exp

erie

nce

to h

elp

them

und

erst

and

the

world

aro

und

them

•ex

plor

e di

ffere

nt w

ays o

f usi

ng p

erfo

rmin

g an

d vis

ual a

rts e

lem

ents

•le

arn

abou

t and

cele

brat

e sp

ecia

l cul

tura

l, lo

cal,

com

mun

ity a

nd n

atio

nal d

ays

•en

gage

in sc

hool

and

cultu

ral e

vent

s in

a re

spon

sibl

e an

d ac

tive

way

•ta

lk a

bout

asp

ects

of t

heir

own

arts

wor

ks a

nd a

rts w

orks

and

eve

nts i

n th

eir

com

mun

ity.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

begi

n to

app

recia

te th

e si

mila

ritie

s and

diff

eren

ces b

etwe

en in

divid

uals

and

gro

ups,

in

cludi

ng th

e la

ngua

ge, c

ultu

ral a

nd re

ligio

us g

roup

s tha

t mak

e up

the

Aust

ralia

n na

tion

•be

gin

to a

ppre

ciate

the

com

mon

valu

es im

porta

nt to

gro

ups a

nd in

divid

uals

•be

gin

to p

artic

ipat

e in

clas

s and

scho

ol a

ctivi

ties,

such

as m

arki

ng lo

cal a

nd

natio

nal c

eleb

ratio

ns a

nd co

mm

emor

atio

ns•

begi

n to

reco

gnis

e th

eir c

ontri

butio

n to

the

achi

evem

ent o

f a p

ositi

ve le

arni

ng

envir

onm

ent i

n th

e cla

ssro

om•

desc

ribe

what

they

like

abo

ut th

emse

lves,

how

they

are

sim

ilar t

o ot

hers

and

how

th

ey a

re u

niqu

e.

Child

ren

lear

n to

inte

ract

in re

latio

n to

oth

ers

with

car

e, e

mpa

thy

and

resp

ect

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

show

inte

rest

in o

ther

child

ren

and

bein

g pa

rt of

a g

roup

•en

gage

in a

nd co

ntrib

ute

to sh

ared

pla

y exp

erie

nces

•ex

pres

s a w

ide

rang

e of

em

otio

ns, t

houg

hts a

nd vi

ews c

onst

ruct

ively

•em

path

ise

with

and

exp

ress

conc

ern

for o

ther

s•

disp

lay a

ware

ness

of a

nd re

spec

t for

oth

ers’

pers

pect

ives

•re

flect

on

thei

r act

ions

and

cons

ider

cons

eque

nces

for o

ther

s.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

lear

n to p

lay co

nstru

ctive

ly to

geth

er an

d ar

e enc

oura

ged

to d

evel

op fr

iends

hips

with

pee

rs•

cont

ribut

e to t

he d

evel

opm

ent o

f pos

itive

socia

l rel

atio

nshi

ps in

a ra

nge o

f con

text

s•

deve

lop

socia

l rel

atio

nshi

ps, r

espe

ct fo

r oth

ers’

idea

s and

abili

ty to

expr

ess h

ow th

ey fe

el

when

inte

racti

ng w

ith ot

hers

thro

ugh d

ance

, dra

ma,

mus

ic an

d vis

ual a

rts•

begi

n to u

nder

stan

d ho

w th

eir ac

tions

affe

ct ot

hers

•ex

plor

e the

ir em

otio

ns an

d id

entif

y the

diff

eren

t way

s in w

hich

peo

ple e

xpre

ss an

d re

spon

d to

emot

ions

•de

scrib

e bas

ic sk

ills r

equi

red

to w

ork c

oope

rativ

ely i

n gro

ups.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

inte

ract

with

thei

r pee

rs, o

lder

and

youn

ger s

tude

nts a

nd a

dults

in a

rang

e of

co

ntex

ts•

iden

tify a

nd a

ccep

t tha

t the

re a

re co

nseq

uenc

es fo

r the

ir ac

tions

•wi

th su

ppor

t, re

flect

on

pers

onal

qua

litie

s whi

ch co

ntrib

ute

to th

e de

velo

pmen

t and

m

aint

enan

ce o

f frie

ndsh

ips

•le

arn

to re

cogn

ise

and

desc

ribe

the

feel

ings

and

em

otio

nal r

espo

nses

of o

ther

s.

They

com

pare

thes

e wi

th th

eir o

wn e

mot

iona

l res

pons

es a

nd a

djus

t the

ir be

havio

ur

in re

spon

se.

IDEN

TITY

Earl

y Ye

ars

Lear

ning

and

Dev

elop

men

t Out

com

e 1:

Chi

ldre

n ha

ve a

str

ong

sens

e of

iden

tity

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 20

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world From birth, children live and learn with others in families, early childhood settings and local communities.

Children’s connectedness with and different ways of belonging to people, country and communities help them to learn ways of being, reflecting the values, traditions and practices of their families and communities.

As children move into early childhood settings and then schools, they broaden their experiences, relationships and communities.

Over time and with opportunity and support, the ways in which children connect and participate with others increase. Participating in their communities strengthens children’s sense of identity and wellbeing.

Babies participate through crying, imitating and making sounds to show their level of interest in relating to or participating with others. Babies’ learning is strengthened when adults respond to their cues and observe and follow their lead.

Toddlers participate and connect with peers through such gestures as offering their toys to a distressed child, or welcoming a new child enthusiastically. Older children show interest in how others regard them, and develop understandings about friendships. They come to realise that their actions or responses affect how others feel.

Children learn to live interdependently with others and within different environments. This occurs when they participate collaboratively in everyday routines, events and experiences and have opportunities to contribute to decisions. Some children require carefully constructed experiences to support their participation in a variety of community connections. Some children may require explicit direction and support to remain safe.

With support, children establish their own important friendships with other children. They explore their responsibilities and rights and those of others in familiar settings, such as the family, groups, the classroom and the playground. They begin to think in terms of other people’s feelings and needs, and respond to diversity with respect. Stories and group discussions assist children in talking through conflicts, supporting development of social skills and tolerance for others.

Children show concern for others and practise peaceful and inclusive ways of resolving conflicts. This includes using appropriate language and actions. With support, they regulate their own behaviour and find positive ways of managing frustrations.

Children show increasing awareness of themselves as part of the environment and the broader society. Environmental sustainability provides important learning experiences centred on a commitment to making the world a safe place to live. They become aware of the impact the environment can have on them and future generations by exploring how and why environmental factors affect their lives.

“ What community do we belong to?”

“My mummy, daddy, they are my parents” Molly, Age 5 years.

“Kinder” Cody, Age 5 years.

“On earth” Molly, Age 5 years.

“The planet” Kate, Age 5 years.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 21

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Chil

dren

dev

elop

a s

ense

of b

elon

ging

to g

roup

s an

d co

mm

unit

ies

and

an u

nder

stan

ding

of t

he re

cipr

ocal

rig

hts

and

resp

onsi

bili

ties

nec

essa

ry fo

r ac

tive

civ

ic p

arti

cipa

tion

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

begi

n to

reco

gnise

that

they

hav

e a ri

ght t

o be

long

to m

any c

omm

uniti

es•

coop

erat

e with

oth

ers a

nd ne

gotia

te ro

les a

nd re

latio

nshi

ps in

pla

y epi

sode

s and

grou

p ex

perie

nces

•ta

ke ac

tion t

o as

sist o

ther

child

ren t

o pa

rticip

ate i

n soc

ial g

roup

s•

broa

den t

heir

unde

rsta

ndin

g of t

he w

orld

in w

hich

they

live

•ex

pres

s an o

pini

on in

mat

ters

that

affe

ct th

em•

build

on t

heir

own s

ocia

l exp

erie

nces

to ex

plor

e oth

er w

ays o

f bei

ng

•pa

rticip

ate i

n rec

ipro

cal r

elat

ions

hips

•gr

adua

lly le

arn t

o ‘re

ad’ t

he b

ehav

iour

s of o

ther

s and

resp

ond

appr

opria

tely

•un

ders

tand

diff

eren

t way

s of c

ontri

butin

g thr

ough

pla

y and

pro

ject

s•

dem

onst

rate

a se

nse o

f bel

ongi

ng an

d co

mfo

rt in

thei

r env

ironm

ents

•ar

e pla

yful

and

resp

ond

posit

ively

to o

ther

s, re

achi

ng o

ut fo

r com

pany

and

frien

dshi

p•

cont

ribut

e to

dem

ocra

tic d

ecisi

on-m

akin

g abo

ut m

atte

rs th

at af

fect

them

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

are i

ntro

duce

d to

the i

dea o

f the

clas

sroo

m b

eing

a co

mm

unity

•ex

plor

e the

ir re

spon

sibili

ties a

nd ri

ghts

and

thos

e of o

ther

s in f

amili

ar co

ntex

ts su

ch as

th

e fam

ily, t

he cl

assr

oom

, the

scho

ol p

layg

roun

d an

d lo

cal r

ecre

atio

n are

as•

mak

e mus

ic, d

ance

and

dram

a with

oth

ers t

hat e

xpre

ss an

d co

mm

unica

te ex

perie

nces

, ob

serv

atio

ns, id

eas a

nd fe

elin

gs ab

out t

hem

selve

s and

thei

r wor

ld•

talk

abou

t art

even

ts as

par

t of t

he cu

ltura

l and

socia

l life

of t

heir

com

mun

ity•

deve

lop

a sen

se o

f bel

ongi

ng to

the s

choo

l com

mun

ity•

deve

lop

the s

kills

to w

ork i

n a gr

oup,

inclu

ding

takin

g tur

ns, s

harin

g and

carin

g for

eq

uipm

ent.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

iden

tify t

he ra

nge o

f gro

ups t

o wh

ich th

ey, t

heir

fam

ily m

embe

rs an

d th

eir c

lass

bel

ong

•ex

plor

e the

role

s, rig

hts a

nd re

spon

sibili

ties o

f var

ious

fam

ily an

d co

mm

unity

mem

bers

•le

arn t

o wo

rk in

team

s to

com

plet

e stru

ctur

ed ac

tiviti

es w

ithin

a se

t tim

efra

me

•ex

plai

n the

cont

ribut

ion r

ules

and

proc

edur

es m

ake t

o th

e saf

e con

duct

of g

ames

and

activ

ities

•in

tera

ct w

ith p

eers

, old

er an

d yo

unge

r stu

dent

s, an

d ad

ults

in a

rang

e of c

onte

xts

•de

scrib

e the

ir co

ntrib

utio

n to

the a

ctivi

ties o

f the

team

.

Child

ren

resp

ond

to d

iver

sity

with

resp

ect

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

begi

n to

show

conc

ern f

or o

ther

s•

expl

ore t

he d

ivers

ity o

f cul

ture

, her

itage

, bac

kgro

und

and

tradi

tion a

nd th

at d

ivers

ity

pres

ents

opp

ortu

nitie

s for

choi

ces a

nd ne

w un

ders

tand

ings

•be

com

e awa

re o

f con

nect

ions

, sim

ilarit

ies a

nd d

iffer

ence

s bet

ween

peo

ple

•lis

ten t

o ot

hers

’ idea

s and

resp

ect d

iffer

ent w

ays o

f bei

ng an

d do

ing

•pr

actis

e inc

lusiv

e way

s of a

chie

ving c

oexis

tenc

e•

notic

e and

reac

t in p

ositi

ve w

ays t

o sim

ilarit

ies a

nd d

iffer

ence

s am

ong p

eopl

e.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

learn

that

som

e peo

ple h

ave s

pecia

l nee

ds an

d to r

espe

ct th

e rig

hts,

feeli

ngs a

nd ef

forts

of

othe

rs•

use a

ppro

priat

e lan

guag

e and

actio

ns w

hen d

ealin

g with

confl

ict•

learn

abou

t and

celeb

rate

spec

ial cu

ltura

l, loc

al, co

mm

unity

and n

atio

nal d

ays

•ta

lk ab

out h

ow an

d why

the m

usica

l tra

ditio

ns of

othe

r cul

ture

s are

diffe

rent

from

their

own

•lea

rn ab

out t

he cu

lture

s and

hist

ories

that

have

cont

ribut

ed to

Aus

tralia

n soc

iety

•co

nsid

er ho

w an

d why

othe

r tim

es an

d plac

es ar

e diff

eren

t fro

m th

eir ow

n•

deve

lop a

n und

erst

andi

ng of

the s

peak

ers o

f lan

guag

es ot

her t

han E

nglis

h and

the

coun

tries

, reg

ions

and c

omm

uniti

es w

here

the l

angu

ages

are s

poke

n•

enga

ge in

scho

ol an

d cul

tura

l eve

nts i

n a re

spon

sible

and a

ctive

way

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

begi

n to

appr

ecia

te th

e sim

ilarit

ies a

nd d

iffer

ence

s bet

ween

indi

vidua

ls an

d gr

oups

, in

cludi

ng th

e lan

guag

e, cu

ltura

l and

relig

ious

grou

ps th

at m

ake u

p th

e Aus

tralia

n nat

ion

•id

entif

y wha

t is f

amili

ar an

d wh

at is

diff

eren

t in t

heir

own a

nd o

ther

cultu

res

•be

gin t

o gr

asp

the r

ole a

nd im

porta

nce o

f the

vario

us cu

ltura

l gro

ups t

hat m

ake u

p th

e Au

stra

lian c

omm

unity

, inclu

ding

Abo

rigin

al an

d Tor

res S

trait

Islan

der c

omm

uniti

es•

iden

tify f

eatu

res o

f com

mun

icatio

n and

diff

eren

ces i

n dre

ss, e

atin

g, gr

eetin

g rou

tines

, wa

ys o

f bei

ng p

olite

and

obvio

us cu

ltura

l pra

ctice

s.

Child

ren

beco

me

awar

e of

fairn

ess

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

disc

over

and

expl

ore s

ome c

onne

ctio

ns am

ongs

t peo

ple

•be

com

e awa

re o

f way

s in w

hich

peo

ple a

re in

clude

d or

exclu

ded

from

phy

sical

and

socia

l en

viron

men

ts•

deve

lop

the a

bilit

y to

reco

gnise

unf

airn

ess a

nd b

ias a

nd th

e cap

acity

to ac

t with

co

mpa

ssio

n and

kind

ness

•ar

e emp

ower

ed to

mak

e cho

ices a

nd pr

oblem

-solve

to m

eet t

heir

need

s in p

artic

ular

cont

exts

•be

gin t

o th

ink c

ritica

lly ab

out f

air a

nd u

nfai

r beh

avio

ur•

begi

n to

unde

rsta

nd an

d ev

alua

te w

ays i

n whi

ch te

xts c

onst

ruct

iden

titie

s and

crea

te

ster

eoty

pes.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

lear

n abo

ut re

spec

t and

conc

ern f

or o

ther

s and

bei

ng fa

ir•

expl

ore p

ossib

le ac

tions

and

resp

onse

s to

socia

l situ

atio

ns th

roug

h dr

amat

ic pl

ay•

parti

cipat

e in m

ovem

ent a

nd p

hysic

al ac

tiviti

es th

at fo

llow

rule

s and

pro

cedu

res a

nd sh

are

equi

pmen

t and

spac

e saf

ely

•le

arn a

bout

clas

sroo

m ru

les a

nd w

hy th

ey ar

e nee

ded

•be

gin t

o co

mpa

re cl

assr

oom

and

fam

ily ru

les a

nd o

ther

rule

s the

y kno

w ab

out,

such

as

thos

e for

gam

es an

d sp

ort.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

disc

over

why

grou

ps an

d co

mm

uniti

es h

ave r

ules

, beg

in to

que

stio

n rul

es w

hich

they

be

lieve

are u

nfai

r, and

mak

e sug

gest

ions

abou

t im

prov

ing t

he ru

les w

ithin

the c

omm

unity

•be

gin t

o ap

prec

iate

the c

omm

on va

lues

impo

rtant

to gr

oups

and

indi

vidua

ls, fo

r exa

mpl

e fa

irnes

s, to

lera

nce,

und

erst

andi

ng an

d re

spec

t•

iden

tify t

he fe

elin

gs an

d ne

eds o

f oth

er p

eopl

e•

take

appr

opria

te st

eps t

o re

solve

confl

ict•

shar

e res

ourc

es fa

irly.

Child

ren

beco

me

soci

ally

resp

onsi

ble

and

show

resp

ect f

or th

e en

viro

nmen

tTh

is is

evi

dent

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

child

ren:

• us

e pla

y to

inve

stig

ate,

pro

ject

and

expl

ore n

ew id

eas

•pa

rticip

ate w

ith o

ther

s to

solve

pro

blem

s and

cont

ribut

e to

grou

p ou

tcom

es•

dem

onst

rate

an in

crea

sing k

nowl

edge

of a

nd re

spec

t for

natu

ral a

nd co

nstru

cted

en

viron

men

ts•

expl

ore,

infe

r, pre

dict

and

hypo

thes

ise in

ord

er to

dev

elop

an in

crea

sed

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

the i

nter

depe

nden

ce b

etwe

en la

nd, p

eopl

e, p

lant

s and

anim

als

•sh

ow gr

owin

g app

recia

tion a

nd ca

re fo

r nat

ural

and

cons

truct

ed en

viron

men

ts•

expl

ore r

elat

ions

hips

with

oth

er liv

ing a

nd no

n-liv

ing t

hing

s and

obs

erve

, not

ice an

d re

spon

d to

chan

ge•

deve

lop

an aw

aren

ess o

f the

impa

ct o

f hum

an ac

tivity

on e

nviro

nmen

ts an

d th

e in

terd

epen

denc

e of l

iving

thin

gs.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

expl

ore h

ow an

d wh

y nat

ural

fact

ors (

for e

xam

ple,

chan

ges i

n the

wea

ther

) and

hum

an

activ

ities

(for

exam

ple,

the c

losin

g of a

par

k) af

fect

thei

r live

s•

parti

cipat

e in a

ctivi

ties s

uch

as w

earin

g pro

tect

ion f

rom

the s

un, s

avin

g ene

rgy,

savin

g wa

ter, a

nd re

cycli

ng•

lear

n tha

t mat

eria

ls ca

n be r

ecyc

led

and

reus

ed to

pro

duce

new

prod

ucts

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

inve

stig

ate a

nd d

escr

ibe e

lem

ents

of th

e nat

ural

and

built

envir

onm

ents

in th

eir lo

cal a

rea

•be

gin t

o pa

rticip

ate i

n a ra

nge o

f cla

ss an

d sc

hool

activ

ities

such

as re

cycli

ng, t

akin

g re

spon

sibili

ty fo

r cla

ss re

sour

ces

•ar

e int

rodu

ced

to th

e con

cept

of r

esou

rces

and

thei

r man

agem

ent,

and

begi

n to

unde

rsta

nd h

ow re

sour

ce u

se re

flect

s com

mun

ity in

terd

epen

denc

e•

inve

stig

ate t

he w

ays i

ndivi

dual

s, fa

mili

es, g

roup

s and

com

mun

ities

can w

ork t

o im

prov

e th

eir e

nviro

nmen

t•

thin

k abo

ut en

viron

men

tal d

iffer

ence

s, lo

cally

and

in o

ther

par

ts o

f Aus

tralia

and

the

world

, why

thes

e diff

eren

ces e

xist

•in

vest

igat

e way

s of r

educ

ing w

aste

in th

eir c

lass

room

for e

xam

ple,

recy

cling

and

com

post

ing.

COM

MU

NIT

YEa

rly

Year

s Le

arni

ng a

nd D

evel

opm

ent O

utco

me

2: C

hild

ren

are

conn

ecte

d w

ith

and

cont

ribu

te to

thei

r wor

ld

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 22

Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing During early childhood, the foundations for social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing are laid. Wellbeing includes good mental and physical health, feelings of happiness and satisfaction.

Relationships that are warm and supportive assist babies to express feelings such as joy, sadness, frustration and fear, and support strong attachments. Children’s resilience helps them to regulate and balance their emotions to cope with day-to-day stresses and challenges.

The readiness to persevere and ‘have a go’ when faced with unfamiliar and challenging learning situations provides children with a sense of achievement. It also teaches children to be flexible and adapt to new environments and events. With support and guidance, children can learn to manage disappointments, frustration and loss.

Babies’ and young children’s learning and physical development are evident through their movement patterns, from physical dependence and reflex actions at birth through to the development of spatial awareness and the ability to move around their environment confidently and safely.

Children progress through the development of basic motor skills – running, jumping, hopping, balancing and skipping – on to the complex integration of sensory, motor and cognitive systems required for the playground games and organised experiences that characterise the early years of school. Dance and drama experiences combine stillness and movement and children learn to create and perform simple rhythmical movement sequences.

Children develop self-reliance and confidence in personal hygiene, care and safety for themselves and others. Routines, rituals and rules, such as hand-washing, toileting and packing away, provide opportunities to learn about health and safety.

A healthy diet is essential for healthy living. Early childhood settings provide many opportunities for children to experience a range of nutritious foods and to learn about food choices from early childhood professionals and other children. Children also gain a basic understanding of the aspects of an active lifestyle.

“I really like doing bother work” Aidan Age 5 Years.

“Bother time” is when the children discuss issues which are concerning them. They gather together and each

child is encouraged to give their views.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 23

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Chil

dren

bec

ome

stro

ng in

thei

r so

cial

, em

otio

nal a

nd s

piri

tual

wel

lbei

ng

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

dem

onst

rate

trus

t and

confi

denc

e•

rem

ain

acce

ssib

le to

oth

ers a

t tim

es o

f dis

tress

, con

fusi

on a

nd fr

ustra

tion

•sh

are

hum

our,

happ

ines

s and

satis

fact

ion

•se

ek o

ut a

nd a

ccep

t new

chal

leng

es, m

ake

new

disc

over

ies,

and

cele

brat

e th

eir o

wn

effo

rts a

nd a

chie

vem

ents

and

thos

e of

oth

ers

•in

crea

sing

ly co

oper

ate

and

work

colla

bora

tivel

y with

oth

ers

•en

joy m

omen

ts o

f sol

itude

•re

cogn

ise

thei

r ind

ividu

al a

chie

vem

ents

•m

ake

choi

ces,

acc

ept c

halle

nges

, tak

e co

nsid

ered

risk

s, m

anag

e ch

ange

and

cope

wi

th fr

ustra

tions

and

the

unex

pect

ed•

show

an

incr

easi

ng ca

pacit

y to

unde

rsta

nd, s

elf-r

egul

ate

and

man

age

thei

r em

otio

ns in

way

s tha

t refl

ect t

he fe

elin

gs a

nd n

eeds

of o

ther

s•

expe

rienc

e an

d sh

are

pers

onal

succ

esse

s in

lear

ning

and

initi

ate

oppo

rtuni

ties f

or

new

lear

ning

in th

eir h

ome

lang

uage

s or S

tand

ard

Aust

ralia

n En

glis

h•

ackn

owle

dge

and

acce

pt a

ffirm

atio

n•

asse

rt th

eir c

apab

ilitie

s and

inde

pend

ence

whi

le d

emon

stra

ting

incr

easi

ng

awar

enes

s of t

he n

eeds

and

righ

ts o

f oth

ers

•re

cogn

ise

the

cont

ribut

ions

they

mak

e to

shar

ed p

roje

cts a

nd e

xper

ienc

es.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

iden

tify t

he q

ualit

ies o

f a fr

iend

and

dem

onst

rate

care

for o

ther

stud

ents

•co

ntrib

ute

to th

e de

velo

pmen

t of p

ositi

ve so

cial r

elat

ions

hips

in a

rang

e of

cont

exts

•us

e ap

prop

riate

lang

uage

and

act

ions

whe

n re

solv

ing

confl

ict•

desc

ribe

basi

c ski

lls re

quire

d to

wor

k co

oper

ative

ly in

gro

ups

•ex

plor

e th

eir e

mot

ions

and

iden

tify t

he d

iffer

ent w

ays i

n wh

ich p

eopl

e ex

pres

s and

re

spon

d to

em

otio

ns•

lear

n to

cons

ider

, sup

port

and

enco

urag

e ot

hers

to sh

are

equi

pmen

t and

to a

dher

e to

rule

s tha

t aid

par

ticip

atio

n an

d co

oper

atio

n•

star

t ide

ntify

ing

new

thin

gs th

ey ca

n do

and

the

resp

onsi

bilit

ies a

ssoc

iate

d wi

th

thes

e •

begi

n to

refle

ct o

n th

emse

lves a

s lea

rner

s, in

par

ticul

ar o

n th

eir f

eelin

gs a

bout

le

arni

ng, b

y res

pond

ing

to o

pen-

ende

d st

atem

ents

such

as ‘

I’m p

roud

of t

his

beca

use

…’

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

disc

uss t

he w

ay va

rious

situ

atio

ns a

nd b

ehav

iour

s affe

ct th

e wa

y the

y fee

l, an

d de

velo

p pe

rson

al re

spon

ses t

o su

ch b

ehav

iour

s and

situ

atio

ns•

expl

ain

the

cont

ribut

ion

rule

s and

pro

cedu

res m

ake

to sa

fe co

nduc

t of g

ames

and

ac

tiviti

es•

expl

ore

peop

le’s

need

s at v

ario

us st

ages

of d

evel

opm

ent a

nd re

cogn

ise

that

som

e ne

eds a

pply

to a

ll st

ages

of l

ife•

desc

ribe

what

they

like

abo

ut th

emse

lves,

how

they

are

sim

ilar t

o ot

hers

and

how

th

ey a

re u

niqu

e•

iden

tify t

he fe

elin

gs a

nd n

eeds

of o

ther

peo

ple

•id

entif

y and

acc

ept t

hat t

here

are

cons

eque

nces

for t

heir

actio

ns•

take

app

ropr

iate

step

s to

reso

lve si

mpl

e co

nflict

s•

with

supp

ort,

desc

ribe

thei

r con

tribu

tion

to th

e ac

tiviti

es o

f the

team

.

Chil

dren

take

incr

easi

ng re

spon

sibi

lity

for

thei

r ow

n he

alth

and

phy

sica

l wel

lbei

ng

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

reco

gnis

e an

d co

mm

unica

te th

eir b

odily

nee

ds (f

or e

xam

ple

thirs

t, hu

nger

, res

t, co

mfo

rt, p

hysi

cal a

ctivi

ty)

•ar

e ha

ppy,

heal

thy,

safe

and

are

conn

ecte

d to

oth

ers

•en

gage

in in

crea

sing

ly co

mpl

ex se

nsor

y-m

otor

skill

s and

mov

emen

t pat

tern

s•

com

bine

gro

ss a

nd fi

ne m

otor

mov

emen

t and

bal

ance

to a

chie

ve in

crea

sing

ly

com

plex

pat

tern

s of a

ctivi

ty, in

cludi

ng d

ance

, cre

ative

mov

emen

t and

dra

ma

•us

e th

eir s

enso

ry ca

pabi

litie

s and

dis

posi

tions

with

incr

easi

ng in

tegr

atio

n, sk

ill a

nd

purp

ose

to e

xplo

re a

nd re

spon

d to

thei

r wor

ld•

dem

onst

rate

spat

ial a

ware

ness

and

orie

nt th

emse

lves,

mov

ing

arou

nd a

nd th

roug

h th

eir e

nviro

nmen

ts co

nfide

ntly

and

safe

ly•

man

ipul

ate

equi

pmen

t and

man

age

tool

s with

incr

easi

ng co

mpe

tenc

e an

d sk

ill•

resp

ond

thro

ugh

mov

emen

t to

tradi

tiona

l and

cont

empo

rary

mus

ic, d

ance

and

st

oryt

ellin

g of

thei

r own

and

oth

ers’

cultu

res

•sh

ow a

n in

crea

sing

awa

rene

ss o

f hea

lthy l

ifest

yles

and

goo

d nu

tritio

n•

show

incr

easi

ng in

depe

nden

ce a

nd co

mpe

tenc

e in

per

sona

l hyg

iene

, car

e an

d sa

fety

for t

hem

selve

s and

oth

ers

•sh

ow e

nthu

sias

m fo

r par

ticip

atin

g in

phy

sica

l pla

y and

neg

otia

te p

lay s

pace

s to

ensu

re th

e sa

fety

and

wel

lbei

ng o

f the

mse

lves a

nd o

ther

s.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

are

intro

duce

d to

the

basi

c prin

ciple

s of l

iving

an

activ

e an

d he

alth

y life

•ex

plor

e ba

sic h

ealth

nee

ds th

at m

ust b

e m

et to

mai

ntai

n or

pro

mot

e th

eir h

ealth

an

d to

hel

p th

em g

row

and

deve

lop

•be

gin

to d

evel

op b

asic

mot

or sk

ills,

inclu

ding

runn

ing,

jum

ping

, hop

ping

, bal

ancin

g sk

ippi

ng•

parti

cipat

e in

a ra

nge

of m

ovem

ent p

atte

rns i

n aq

uatic

env

ironm

ents

•us

e si

mpl

e vo

cabu

lary

to d

escr

ibe

mov

emen

t, th

e ph

ysica

l res

pons

es o

f the

ir bo

dies

to a

ctivi

ty a

nd th

eir f

eelin

gs a

bout

par

ticip

atio

n in

phy

sica

l act

ivity

•re

gula

rly e

ngag

e in

per

iods

of m

oder

ate

to vi

goro

us p

hysi

cal a

ctivi

ty•

in d

ance

and

dra

ma

activ

ities

, com

bine

still

ness

and

mov

emen

t, an

d sh

are

spac

e sa

fely

with

cons

ider

atio

n fo

r oth

ers

•in

dan

ce a

ctivi

ties,

lear

n to

coor

dina

te b

reat

hing

and

mov

emen

t, co

py a

nd m

irror

m

ovem

ents

, dev

elop

mov

emen

t mem

ory a

nd a

ware

ness

of s

elf i

n sp

ace

•pe

rform

bas

ic m

otor

skill

s and

mov

emen

t pat

tern

s, w

ith o

r with

out e

quip

men

t, in

a

rang

e of

env

ironm

ents

•fo

llow

rule

s and

pro

cedu

res a

nd sh

are

equi

pmen

t and

spac

e sa

fely.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

begi

n to

iden

tify t

he b

enefi

ts o

f saf

e be

havio

urs a

nd le

arn

how

they

can

prot

ect a

nd

incr

ease

thei

r hea

lth a

nd sa

fety

and

the

heal

th a

nd sa

fety

of o

ther

s•

regu

larly

eng

age

in se

ssio

ns o

f mod

erat

e to

vigo

rous

phy

sica

l act

ivity

and

des

crib

e th

e lin

k be

twee

n ph

ysica

l act

ivity

and

hea

lth•

begi

n to

ada

pt m

ovem

ent s

kills

to ch

angi

ng e

nviro

nmen

tal c

ondi

tions

•co

mbi

ne m

otor

skill

s and

mov

emen

t pat

tern

s dur

ing

indi

vidua

l and

gro

up a

ctivi

ties

•cr

eate

and

per

form

sim

ple

rhyt

hmica

l mov

emen

t seq

uenc

es in

resp

onse

to st

imul

i•

dem

onst

rate

cont

rol w

hen

parti

cipat

ing

in lo

com

otor

act

ivitie

s req

uirin

g ch

ange

of

spee

d, d

irect

ion

and

leve

l•

expl

ain

the

cont

ribut

ion

rule

s and

pro

cedu

res m

ake

to sa

fe co

nduc

t of g

ames

and

ac

tiviti

es•

use

equi

pmen

t and

spac

e sa

fely.

WEL

LBEI

NG

Earl

y Ye

ars

Lear

ning

and

Dev

elop

men

t Out

com

e 3:

Chi

ldre

n ha

ve a

str

ong

sens

e of

wel

lbei

ng

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 24

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 25

Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners Children learn in the context of their families and community. Throughout the early years, children acquire knowledge and skills that form the foundations of their later achievement. They learn how to learn and they develop dispositions for learning and a sense of agency, where children are able to make decisions and choices, to influence events and to have an impact on their world.

Babies explore the world through touch, sight, sound, taste, smell and movement. Their sensory and physical explorations increase brain development.

When babies and young children are relaxed and involved they express wonder and interest in their environments. When they are encouraged and supported to be curious and enthusiastic participants in learning, they begin to develop positive dispositions for lifelong learning.

From their earliest years, children develop the view that learning is exploratory, fun and rewarding. They use their imagination and curiosity to generate ideas, solve problems and apply that knowledge to new situations. With support, children expect to learn and they use their senses and their bodies to explore the world around them and begin to develop simple explanations for observed phenomena.

Children consider why things happened and what they can learn from experiences, reflecting on their own thinking processes and approaches to learning.

Active involvement in learning builds children’s understanding of the concepts, creative thinking and inquiry processes necessary for lifelong learning. They can challenge and extend their own thinking and that of others through interactions and negotiations. Children’s active involvement changes what they know, can do and value, and transforms their learning.

Long periods of uninterrupted play support children to invent, investigate and discover, using a rich variety of open-ended materials and resources. When provided with many opportunities and a rich supply of natural and manufactured materials and tools, children create, build, sculpt, draw, paint and construct.

Children learn with peers and share feelings and thoughts about learning from others. They begin to understand that listening to the responses of others can assist them to understand and make new meaning of experiences. Children become more confident over time in seeking assistance from adults.

Children’s increasing understanding of their environment forms the basis for their concept development. As they develop, they generate questions about situations and phenomena, and make predictions.

Children broaden their learning about the world through connecting with people, places, technologies and natural materials. They manipulate objects to investigate, assemble, invent and construct. They explore ideas using imagination, creativity and play, and they use their own and others’ feedback to revise and build on an idea.

Children need many opportunities to generate and discuss ideas, make plans, brainstorm solutions to problems, reflect and give reasons for their choices. They investigate what products and systems can do, and how they work. Increasingly, they begin to use information and communication technologies to assist their thinking and to represent what they know and understand.

“What do you do if you get stuck when you’re learning something?”

“If you get stuck, try it again. If you create fear in yourself then you can’t do anything” Pranav, age 7 years.

“I don’t really get stuck except on trampoline my legs got sore, and monkey bars, shins got sore so I tried not to do it” Suhani, age 5 years.

“Tell someone if you have a problem, don’t keep it to yourself” Ashleigh, age 7 years.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 26

LEA

RN

ING

Earl

y Ye

ars

Lear

ning

and

Dev

elop

men

t Out

com

e 4:

Chi

ldre

n ar

e co

nfide

nt a

nd in

volv

ed le

arne

rs

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Child

ren

deve

lop

disp

ositi

ons

for l

earn

ing

such

as

curio

sity

, coo

pera

tion,

con

fiden

ce, c

reat

ivity

, com

mitm

ent,

enth

usia

sm, p

ersi

sten

ce, i

mag

inat

ion

and

refle

xivi

ty

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

expr

ess w

onde

r and

inte

rest

in th

eir e

nviro

nmen

ts•

are c

urio

us an

d en

thus

iast

ic pa

rticip

ants

in th

eir l

earn

ing

•us

e pla

y to

inve

stig

ate,

imag

ine a

nd ex

plor

e ide

as•

follo

w an

d ex

tend

thei

r own

inte

rest

s with

enth

usia

sm, e

nerg

y and

conc

entra

tion

•in

itiat

e and

cont

ribut

e to

play

expe

rienc

es em

ergi

ng fr

om th

eir o

wn id

eas

•pa

rticip

ate i

n a va

riety

of r

ich an

d m

eani

ngfu

l inqu

iry-b

ased

expe

rienc

es•

pers

ever

e and

expe

rienc

e the

satis

fact

ion o

f ach

ieve

men

t •

pers

ist ev

en w

hen t

hey fi

nd a

task

diffi

cult.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

with

enco

urag

emen

t and

supp

ort,

wond

er, q

uest

ion a

nd b

ecom

e adv

entu

rous

in th

eir

thin

king a

bout

fam

iliar

cont

exts

•wi

th su

ppor

t, m

ake l

inks

with

thei

r exis

ting e

xper

ienc

es an

d de

velo

p th

e vie

w th

at

lear

ning

is ex

plor

ator

y, fu

n and

rewa

rdin

g•

begi

n to

refle

ct o

n the

mse

lves a

s lea

rner

s, in

par

ticul

ar o

n the

ir fe

elin

gs ab

out l

earn

ing,

by

resp

ondi

ng to

ope

n-en

ded

stat

emen

ts su

ch as

‘I’m

pro

ud o

f thi

s bec

ause

...’ a

nd u

sing

visua

l aid

s tha

t illu

stra

te th

eir r

espo

nses

to le

arni

ng, s

uch

as h

appy

and

unha

ppy f

aces

•re

flect

on t

heir

thin

king,

for e

xam

ple w

hy th

ey th

ink w

hat t

hey t

hink

abou

t a te

xt, a

nd

take

tim

e to

cons

ider

bef

ore r

espo

ndin

g•

with

supp

ort,

lear

n to

man

age t

heir

time a

nd re

sour

ces t

o co

mpl

ete s

hort

task

s•

use t

heir

imag

inat

ion a

nd cu

riosit

y to

gene

rate

idea

s•

begi

n to

take

initi

ative

as le

arne

rs b

y ask

ing q

uest

ions

whe

n nee

ded

and

atte

mpt

ing

smal

l pro

ject

s.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

begi

n to

refle

ct o

n the

ir th

inkin

g pro

cess

es•

refle

ct o

n tho

se ap

proa

ches

whi

ch th

ey b

elie

ve h

elp

them

lear

n mos

t effe

ctive

ly•

begi

n to

reco

rd th

eir f

eelin

gs an

d un

ders

tand

ing a

bout

thei

r lea

rnin

g, re

spon

ding

to

prom

pts w

hich

hel

p th

em ac

know

ledg

e the

ir su

cces

ses,

notin

g whe

re im

prov

emen

ts

coul

d be

mad

e and

refle

ctin

g on t

he ef

fort

they

put

into

par

ticul

ar ta

sks

•be

gin t

o ta

ke re

spon

sibili

ty fo

r man

agin

g the

ir tim

e and

reso

urce

s with

in th

e con

text

of

stru

ctur

ed ta

sks t

hat h

ave c

lear

out

com

es an

d a s

et ti

mef

ram

e•

unde

rsta

nd th

at p

eopl

e use

crea

tive,

imag

inat

ive an

d in

vent

ive th

inkin

g to

help

them

m

eet h

uman

need

s and

wan

ts

•de

velo

p im

agin

ative

and

prac

tical

des

ign s

olut

ions

to p

robl

ems,

need

s and

opp

ortu

nitie

s•

expe

rimen

t with

way

s of e

xpre

ssin

g and

com

mun

icatin

g ide

as an

d fe

elin

gs to

par

ticul

ar

audi

ence

s or f

or p

artic

ular

pur

pose

s.

Child

ren

deve

lop

a ra

nge

of s

kills

and

pro

cess

es s

uch

as p

robl

em s

olvi

ng, i

nqui

ry, e

xper

imen

tatio

n, h

ypot

hesi

sing

, res

earc

hing

and

inve

stig

atin

g

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

appl

y a w

ide v

arie

ty o

f thi

nkin

g stra

tegi

es to

enga

ge w

ith si

tuat

ions

and

solve

pro

blem

s, an

d ad

apt t

hese

stra

tegi

es to

new

situa

tions

•cr

eate

and

use r

epre

sent

atio

n to

orga

nise

, rec

ord

and

com

mun

icate

mat

hem

atica

l idea

s an

d co

ncep

ts•

mak

e pre

dict

ions

and

gene

ralis

atio

ns ab

out t

heir

daily

activ

ities

, asp

ects

of t

he na

tura

l wo

rld an

d en

viron

men

ts, u

sing p

atte

rns t

hey g

ener

ate o

r ide

ntify

, and

com

mun

icate

th

ese u

sing m

athe

mat

ical la

ngua

ge an

d sy

mbo

ls•

expl

ore t

heir

envir

onm

ent

•m

anip

ulat

e obj

ects

and

expe

rimen

t with

caus

e and

effe

ct, t

rial a

nd er

ror, a

nd m

otio

n•

cont

ribut

e con

stru

ctive

ly to

mat

hem

atica

l disc

ussio

ns an

d ar

gum

ents

•us

e refl

ectiv

e thi

nkin

g to

cons

ider

why

thin

gs h

appe

n and

wha

t can

be l

earn

t fro

m th

ese

expe

rienc

es.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

use t

heir

sens

es to

expl

ore t

he w

orld

arou

nd th

em, f

or ex

ampl

e the

seas

ons,

and l

iving

and

non-

livin

g thi

ngs

•us

e a ra

nge o

f sim

ple t

hink

ing t

ools

to ga

ther

and p

roce

ss in

form

atio

n•

begi

n to d

evelo

p sim

ple e

xplan

atio

ns fo

r the

phen

omen

a the

y obs

erve

•pa

rticip

ate i

n ver

y sim

ple i

nves

tigat

ions

invo

lving

obse

rvat

ion a

nd m

easu

rem

ent (

for

exam

ple m

akin

g and

flyin

g kite

s)•

deve

lop a

n awa

rene

ss of

spat

ial co

ncep

ts th

roug

h stru

cture

d exp

erien

ces w

ithin

their

im

med

iate e

nviro

nmen

t•

coun

t the

size

of sm

all se

ts us

ing t

he nu

mbe

rs 0

to 20

•us

e ord

inal

num

bers

to de

scrib

e the

posit

ion o

f elem

ents

in a

set f

rom

firs

t to t

enth

•us

e mat

erial

s to m

odel

addi

tion a

nd su

btra

ction

•re

cogn

ise, c

opy a

nd dr

aw po

ints

, line

s and

sim

ple f

ree-

hand

curv

es•

test

sim

ple c

onjec

ture

s suc

h as ‘

nine

is fo

ur m

ore t

han fi

ve’

•id

entif

y bas

ic tw

o-di

men

siona

l sha

pes,

such

as tr

iangl

es, c

ircles

and s

quar

es, a

nd th

ree-

di

men

siona

l sol

ids a

nd ob

jects

, suc

h as b

oxes

and b

alls

•lea

rn to

give

and f

ollo

w sim

ple d

irecti

ons a

nd de

scrib

e loc

atio

ns in

relat

ion t

o oth

er pe

ople

and p

laces

•m

ake m

easu

rem

ents

usin

g inf

orm

al un

its su

ch as

pace

s for

leng

th, b

ricks

for w

eight

•be

gin t

o mak

e est

imat

es•

use i

nfor

mal

units

, suc

h as h

eartb

eats

and h

and c

laps,

at re

gular

inte

rvals

to m

easu

re an

d de

scrib

e the

pass

age o

f tim

e•

plac

e and

orien

tate

shap

es ac

cord

ing t

o sim

ple d

escri

ptio

ns, s

uch a

s ‘ne

xt to

’, ‘be

side’,

‘in

front

of’, ‘

behi

nd’, ‘

over

’ and

‘und

er’

•co

mpa

re le

ngth

, are

a, ca

pacit

y and

mas

s of f

amilia

r obj

ects

usin

g des

cript

ive te

rms s

uch a

s ‘lo

nger

’, ‘ta

ller’,

‘larg

er’, ‘

hold

s mor

e’ an

d ‘he

avier

’•

cons

ider

the e

xplan

atio

ns of

othe

rs, t

hey b

egin

to as

k, ‘H

ow do

you k

now?

’ and

‘Wha

t m

akes

you t

hink

that

?’, an

d con

sider

a ra

nge o

f pos

sible

resp

onse

s•

take

risk

s with

their

lear

ning

and b

egin

to un

ders

tand

that

mist

akes

can b

e a ve

hicle

for

furth

er le

arni

ng•

devis

e and

follo

w wa

ys of

reco

rdin

g com

puta

tions

usin

g the

digi

t key

s and

+, x

and =

keys

on

a fo

ur-fu

nctio

n calc

ulat

or.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

expl

ore t

he co

mm

unity

and

envir

onm

ent a

roun

d th

em an

d in

crea

singl

y con

sider

cont

exts

an

d in

form

atio

n whi

ch is

bey

ond

thei

r im

med

iate

expe

rienc

e•

begi

n to

reco

gnise

that

lear

ning

from

mist

akes

is an

impo

rtant

attri

bute

of b

eing

a go

od

lear

ner

•pa

rticip

ate i

n and

dev

elop

cont

rol o

ver a

rang

e of l

ocom

otor

activ

ities

that

requ

ire a

chan

ge o

f spe

ed, d

irect

ion a

nd le

vel

•ge

nera

te q

uest

ions

abou

t situ

atio

ns an

d ph

enom

ena a

nd su

gges

t app

ropr

iate

form

s of

obs

erva

tions

and

mea

sure

men

ts th

at ar

e app

ropr

iate

for t

he in

vest

igat

ion o

f the

ir qu

estio

n•

repe

at o

bser

vatio

ns ov

er ti

me t

o m

ake p

redi

ctio

ns•

begi

n to

reco

gnise

sim

ple p

atte

rns i

n dat

a and

des

crib

e the

m in

term

s tha

t rep

rese

nt

conc

lusio

ns d

rawn

from

the d

ata

•te

ll the

tim

e at h

ours

and

half-

hour

s usin

g an a

nalo

gue c

lock

, and

hou

rs an

d m

inut

es

usin

g a d

igita

l clo

ck•

orde

r num

bers

and

coun

t to

1000

by 1

s, 10

s and

100s

•fo

rm p

atte

rns a

nd se

ts o

f num

bers

bas

ed o

n sim

ple c

riter

ia, s

uch

as o

dd an

d ev

en

num

bers

•de

scrib

e sim

ple f

ract

ions

such

as o

ne h

alf,

one t

hird

and

one q

uarte

r•

add

and

subt

ract

one

- and

two-

digi

t num

bers

•de

scrib

e and

calcu

late

sim

ple m

ultip

licat

ion a

s rep

eate

d ad

ditio

n, e.

g. 3

x 5 =

5 +

5 + 5

•ap

ply s

impl

e tra

nsfo

rmat

ions

to sh

apes

•us

e bot

h no

n-un

iform

(for

exam

ple h

and-

span

s) an

d un

iform

(for

exam

ple p

encil

leng

th)

info

rmal

mea

sure

men

t uni

ts•

mak

e, d

escr

ibe a

nd co

mpa

re m

easu

rem

ents

of l

engt

h, ar

ea, v

olum

e, m

ass a

nd ti

me

•us

e a fo

ur-fu

nctio

n cal

cula

tor, i

nclu

ding

use

of t

he co

nsta

nt ad

ditio

n fun

ctio

n and

x ke

y, to

chec

k the

accu

racy

of m

enta

l and

writ

ten e

stim

atio

ns an

d, ap

prox

imat

ions

and

solu

tions

to si

mpl

e num

ber s

ente

nces

and

equa

tions

•wo

rk w

ith p

eers

to d

evel

op a

rang

e of c

reat

ive so

lutio

ns an

d te

st th

em ag

ains

t give

n cr

iteria

•te

st th

e tru

th o

f con

ject

ures

by a

ttem

ptin

g to

find

exam

ples

or c

ount

er-e

xam

ples

, and

ex

plor

ing s

pecia

l cas

es.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 27

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Child

ren

tran

sfer

and

ada

pt w

hat t

hey

have

lear

nt fr

om o

ne c

onte

xt to

ano

ther

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

enga

ge w

ith an

d co

-cons

truct

lear

ning

•de

velo

p an

abili

ty to

mirr

or, r

epea

t and

pra

ctise

the a

ctio

ns o

f oth

ers,

eith

er im

med

iate

ly or

late

r•

mak

e con

nect

ions

bet

ween

expe

rienc

es, c

once

pts a

nd p

roce

sses

•us

e the

pro

cess

es o

f pla

y, re

flect

ion a

nd in

vest

igat

ion t

o pr

oble

m-s

olve

•ap

ply g

ener

alisa

tions

from

one

situ

atio

n to

anot

her

•try

out

stra

tegi

es th

at w

ere e

ffect

ive to

solve

pro

blem

s in o

ne si

tuat

ion i

n a ne

w co

ntex

t•

trans

fer k

nowl

edge

from

one

setti

ng to

anot

her.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

enric

h the

ir im

agin

atio

ns by

play

ing g

ames

and m

akin

g lin

ks be

twee

n the

ir ow

n exp

erien

ce

and t

he id

eas i

n tex

ts•

ask a

nd an

swer

sim

ple q

uest

ions

for i

nfor

mat

ion a

nd cl

arifi

catio

n•

thin

k and

talk

abou

t how

their

desig

ns w

ill so

lve a

prob

lem or

mee

t a ne

ed, a

nd re

flect

on

the s

teps

they

took

to de

sign a

nd m

ake t

heir

prod

uct

•be

gin t

o loo

k for

sim

ple p

atte

rns i

n the

ir ob

serv

atio

ns by

clas

sifyin

g fam

iliar i

tem

s and

by

look

ing f

or si

mila

rities

and d

iffer

ence

s.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

deve

lop

skill

s in m

akin

g acc

urat

e obs

erva

tions

abou

t peo

ple a

nd ev

ents

and

begi

n to

use

a var

iety

of m

eans

to re

cord

thei

r obs

erva

tions

•de

velo

p th

eir o

wn ex

plan

atio

ns fo

r the

obs

erva

tions

they

mak

e and

lear

n to

ques

tion t

he

accu

racy

of o

ther

peo

ple’s

expl

anat

ions

•de

velo

p sk

ills i

n usin

g a ra

nge o

f sou

rces

of i

nfor

mat

ion w

hen i

nves

tigat

ing s

elec

ted

ques

tions

•be

gin t

o un

ders

tand

that

peo

ple a

re m

ore l

ikely

to b

elie

ve an

expl

anat

ion i

f evid

ence

or

reas

ons a

re p

rovid

ed•

cons

ider

whe

ther

des

ign s

olut

ions

wor

k and

are a

ppro

pria

te fo

r the

pur

pose

for w

hich

th

ey w

ere d

esig

ned.

Child

ren

reso

urce

thei

r ow

n le

arni

ng th

roug

h co

nnec

ting

with

peo

ple,

pla

ce, t

echn

olog

ies

and

natu

ral a

nd p

roce

ssed

mat

eria

ls

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

enga

ge in

lear

ning

rela

tions

hips

•us

e the

ir se

nses

to ex

plor

e nat

ural

and

built

envir

onm

ents

•ex

perie

nce t

he b

enefi

ts an

d pl

easu

res o

f sha

red

lear

ning

expl

orat

ion

•ex

plor

e the

pur

pose

and

func

tion o

f a ra

nge o

f too

ls, m

edia

, sou

nds a

nd gr

aphi

cs•

man

ipul

ate r

esou

rces

to in

vest

igat

e, ta

ke ap

art,

asse

mbl

e, in

vent

and

cons

truct

•ex

perim

ent w

ith d

iffer

ent t

echn

olog

ies

•us

e inf

orm

atio

n and

com

mun

icatio

ns te

chno

logi

es (I

CT) t

o in

vest

igat

e and

pro

blem

-sol

ve•

expl

ore i

deas

and

theo

ries u

sing i

mag

inat

ion,

crea

tivity

and

play

•us

e fee

dbac

k fro

m th

emse

lves a

nd o

ther

s to

revis

e and

bui

ld o

n an i

dea.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

learn

with

peer

s and

shar

e fee

lings

and t

houg

hts a

bout

lear

ning

with

othe

rs•

begi

n to u

nder

stan

d tha

t list

enin

g to t

he re

spon

ses o

f oth

ers c

an as

sist t

hem

to m

ake

sens

e of n

ew ex

perie

nces

and p

rovid

e use

ful c

ues f

or le

arni

ng•

inve

stig

ate e

very

day,

fam

iliar p

rodu

cts an

d rec

ogni

se th

e bas

ic ch

arac

teris

tics a

nd

mat

erial

s/in

gred

ients

from

whi

ch th

ey ar

e mad

e and

how

they

are u

sed

•ex

plor

e the

diffe

renc

es be

twee

n nat

ural

prod

ucts

and a

rtefa

cts•

play

with

and m

anip

ulat

e mat

erial

s/in

gred

ients

in bo

th a

free a

nd fo

cuse

d man

ner t

o fos

ter

deve

lopm

ent o

f the

ir de

sign a

nd te

chni

cal s

kills

•lea

rn ch

arac

teris

tics a

nd pr

oper

ties o

f mat

erial

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e ‘ro

ugh’

, ‘sof

t’ and

‘flex

ible’

, an

d pro

cess

es, f

or ex

ampl

e ‘m

easu

re’, ‘

mix’

and ‘

cut’

•us

e sim

ple p

ictur

es an

d mod

els to

repr

esen

t des

ign i

deas

•us

e diff

eren

t typ

es of

ICT d

ata s

uch a

s tex

t, im

ages

and n

umbe

rs to

shar

e the

ir id

eas

•ex

plor

e mul

timed

ia re

sour

ces s

uch a

s CD-

ROM

s, DV

Ds an

d app

rove

d web

sites

.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

deve

lop

stra

tegi

es to

use

whe

n fee

ling u

ncer

tain

abou

t lea

rnin

g, su

ch as

seek

ing

assis

tanc

e fro

m te

ache

rs•

inve

stig

ate w

hat p

rodu

cts a

nd sy

stem

s can

do,

how

they

wor

k and

why

they

are t

he w

ay

they

are

•pl

ay w

ith an

d m

anip

ulat

e mat

eria

ls an

d/or

ingr

edie

nts

•th

ink a

bout

, disc

uss a

nd d

escr

ibe t

he ch

arac

teris

tics a

nd p

rope

rties

of m

ater

ials

(for

exam

ple ‘

stro

ng’, ‘

swee

t’) an

d wh

y the

y are

suita

ble f

or p

rodu

cts a

nd sy

stem

s•

deve

lop

basic

des

ign i

deas

•us

e mul

timed

ia p

rodu

cts a

nd b

egin

to th

ink c

ritica

lly ab

out t

hese

reso

urce

s and

how

they

he

lp le

arni

ng•

mod

el an

d de

scrib

e dai

ly ac

tiviti

es an

d fa

mili

ar ev

ents

usin

g phy

sical

mat

eria

ls, d

iagr

ams

and

map

s.

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Child

ren

deve

lop

disp

ositi

ons

for l

earn

ing

such

as

curio

sity

, coo

pera

tion,

con

fiden

ce, c

reat

ivity

, com

mitm

ent,

enth

usia

sm, p

ersi

sten

ce, i

mag

inat

ion

and

refle

xivi

ty

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

expr

ess w

onde

r and

inte

rest

in th

eir e

nviro

nmen

ts•

are c

urio

us an

d en

thus

iast

ic pa

rticip

ants

in th

eir l

earn

ing

•us

e pla

y to

inve

stig

ate,

imag

ine a

nd ex

plor

e ide

as•

follo

w an

d ex

tend

thei

r own

inte

rest

s with

enth

usia

sm, e

nerg

y and

conc

entra

tion

•in

itiat

e and

cont

ribut

e to

play

expe

rienc

es em

ergi

ng fr

om th

eir o

wn id

eas

•pa

rticip

ate i

n a va

riety

of r

ich an

d m

eani

ngfu

l inqu

iry-b

ased

expe

rienc

es•

pers

ever

e and

expe

rienc

e the

satis

fact

ion o

f ach

ieve

men

t •

pers

ist ev

en w

hen t

hey fi

nd a

task

diffi

cult.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

with

enco

urag

emen

t and

supp

ort,

wond

er, q

uest

ion a

nd b

ecom

e adv

entu

rous

in th

eir

thin

king a

bout

fam

iliar

cont

exts

•wi

th su

ppor

t, m

ake l

inks

with

thei

r exis

ting e

xper

ienc

es an

d de

velo

p th

e vie

w th

at

lear

ning

is ex

plor

ator

y, fu

n and

rewa

rdin

g•

begi

n to

refle

ct o

n the

mse

lves a

s lea

rner

s, in

par

ticul

ar o

n the

ir fe

elin

gs ab

out l

earn

ing,

by

resp

ondi

ng to

ope

n-en

ded

stat

emen

ts su

ch as

‘I’m

pro

ud o

f thi

s bec

ause

...’ a

nd u

sing

visua

l aid

s tha

t illu

stra

te th

eir r

espo

nses

to le

arni

ng, s

uch

as h

appy

and

unha

ppy f

aces

•re

flect

on t

heir

thin

king,

for e

xam

ple w

hy th

ey th

ink w

hat t

hey t

hink

abou

t a te

xt, a

nd

take

tim

e to

cons

ider

bef

ore r

espo

ndin

g•

with

supp

ort,

lear

n to

man

age t

heir

time a

nd re

sour

ces t

o co

mpl

ete s

hort

task

s•

use t

heir

imag

inat

ion a

nd cu

riosit

y to

gene

rate

idea

s•

begi

n to

take

initi

ative

as le

arne

rs b

y ask

ing q

uest

ions

whe

n nee

ded

and

atte

mpt

ing

smal

l pro

ject

s.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

begi

n to

refle

ct o

n the

ir th

inkin

g pro

cess

es•

refle

ct o

n tho

se ap

proa

ches

whi

ch th

ey b

elie

ve h

elp

them

lear

n mos

t effe

ctive

ly•

begi

n to

reco

rd th

eir f

eelin

gs an

d un

ders

tand

ing a

bout

thei

r lea

rnin

g, re

spon

ding

to

prom

pts w

hich

hel

p th

em ac

know

ledg

e the

ir su

cces

ses,

notin

g whe

re im

prov

emen

ts

coul

d be

mad

e and

refle

ctin

g on t

he ef

fort

they

put

into

par

ticul

ar ta

sks

•be

gin t

o ta

ke re

spon

sibili

ty fo

r man

agin

g the

ir tim

e and

reso

urce

s with

in th

e con

text

of

stru

ctur

ed ta

sks t

hat h

ave c

lear

out

com

es an

d a s

et ti

mef

ram

e•

unde

rsta

nd th

at p

eopl

e use

crea

tive,

imag

inat

ive an

d in

vent

ive th

inkin

g to

help

them

m

eet h

uman

need

s and

wan

ts

•de

velo

p im

agin

ative

and

prac

tical

des

ign s

olut

ions

to p

robl

ems,

need

s and

opp

ortu

nitie

s•

expe

rimen

t with

way

s of e

xpre

ssin

g and

com

mun

icatin

g ide

as an

d fe

elin

gs to

par

ticul

ar

audi

ence

s or f

or p

artic

ular

pur

pose

s.

Child

ren

deve

lop

a ra

nge

of s

kills

and

pro

cess

es s

uch

as p

robl

em s

olvi

ng, i

nqui

ry, e

xper

imen

tatio

n, h

ypot

hesi

sing

, res

earc

hing

and

inve

stig

atin

g

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

appl

y a w

ide v

arie

ty o

f thi

nkin

g stra

tegi

es to

enga

ge w

ith si

tuat

ions

and

solve

pro

blem

s, an

d ad

apt t

hese

stra

tegi

es to

new

situa

tions

•cr

eate

and

use r

epre

sent

atio

n to

orga

nise

, rec

ord

and

com

mun

icate

mat

hem

atica

l idea

s an

d co

ncep

ts•

mak

e pre

dict

ions

and

gene

ralis

atio

ns ab

out t

heir

daily

activ

ities

, asp

ects

of t

he na

tura

l wo

rld an

d en

viron

men

ts, u

sing p

atte

rns t

hey g

ener

ate o

r ide

ntify

, and

com

mun

icate

th

ese u

sing m

athe

mat

ical la

ngua

ge an

d sy

mbo

ls•

expl

ore t

heir

envir

onm

ent

•m

anip

ulat

e obj

ects

and

expe

rimen

t with

caus

e and

effe

ct, t

rial a

nd er

ror, a

nd m

otio

n•

cont

ribut

e con

stru

ctive

ly to

mat

hem

atica

l disc

ussio

ns an

d ar

gum

ents

•us

e refl

ectiv

e thi

nkin

g to

cons

ider

why

thin

gs h

appe

n and

wha

t can

be l

earn

t fro

m th

ese

expe

rienc

es.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

use t

heir

sens

es to

expl

ore t

he w

orld

arou

nd th

em, f

or ex

ampl

e the

seas

ons,

and l

iving

and

non-

livin

g thi

ngs

•us

e a ra

nge o

f sim

ple t

hink

ing t

ools

to ga

ther

and p

roce

ss in

form

atio

n•

begi

n to d

evelo

p sim

ple e

xplan

atio

ns fo

r the

phen

omen

a the

y obs

erve

•pa

rticip

ate i

n ver

y sim

ple i

nves

tigat

ions

invo

lving

obse

rvat

ion a

nd m

easu

rem

ent (

for

exam

ple m

akin

g and

flyin

g kite

s)•

deve

lop a

n awa

rene

ss of

spat

ial co

ncep

ts th

roug

h stru

cture

d exp

erien

ces w

ithin

their

im

med

iate e

nviro

nmen

t•

coun

t the

size

of sm

all se

ts us

ing t

he nu

mbe

rs 0

to 20

•us

e ord

inal

num

bers

to de

scrib

e the

posit

ion o

f elem

ents

in a

set f

rom

firs

t to t

enth

•us

e mat

erial

s to m

odel

addi

tion a

nd su

btra

ction

•re

cogn

ise, c

opy a

nd dr

aw po

ints

, line

s and

sim

ple f

ree-

hand

curv

es•

test

sim

ple c

onjec

ture

s suc

h as ‘

nine

is fo

ur m

ore t

han fi

ve’

•id

entif

y bas

ic tw

o-di

men

siona

l sha

pes,

such

as tr

iangl

es, c

ircles

and s

quar

es, a

nd th

ree-

di

men

siona

l sol

ids a

nd ob

jects

, suc

h as b

oxes

and b

alls

•lea

rn to

give

and f

ollo

w sim

ple d

irecti

ons a

nd de

scrib

e loc

atio

ns in

relat

ion t

o oth

er pe

ople

and p

laces

•m

ake m

easu

rem

ents

usin

g inf

orm

al un

its su

ch as

pace

s for

leng

th, b

ricks

for w

eight

•be

gin t

o mak

e est

imat

es•

use i

nfor

mal

units

, suc

h as h

eartb

eats

and h

and c

laps,

at re

gular

inte

rvals

to m

easu

re an

d de

scrib

e the

pass

age o

f tim

e•

plac

e and

orien

tate

shap

es ac

cord

ing t

o sim

ple d

escri

ptio

ns, s

uch a

s ‘ne

xt to

’, ‘be

side’,

‘in

front

of’, ‘

behi

nd’, ‘

over

’ and

‘und

er’

•co

mpa

re le

ngth

, are

a, ca

pacit

y and

mas

s of f

amilia

r obj

ects

usin

g des

cript

ive te

rms s

uch a

s ‘lo

nger

’, ‘ta

ller’,

‘larg

er’, ‘

hold

s mor

e’ an

d ‘he

avier

’•

cons

ider

the e

xplan

atio

ns of

othe

rs, t

hey b

egin

to as

k, ‘H

ow do

you k

now?

’ and

‘Wha

t m

akes

you t

hink

that

?’, an

d con

sider

a ra

nge o

f pos

sible

resp

onse

s•

take

risk

s with

their

lear

ning

and b

egin

to un

ders

tand

that

mist

akes

can b

e a ve

hicle

for

furth

er le

arni

ng•

devis

e and

follo

w wa

ys of

reco

rdin

g com

puta

tions

usin

g the

digi

t key

s and

+, x

and =

keys

on

a fo

ur-fu

nctio

n calc

ulat

or.

This

is d

evel

oped

, for

exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

:•

expl

ore t

he co

mm

unity

and

envir

onm

ent a

roun

d th

em an

d in

crea

singl

y con

sider

cont

exts

an

d in

form

atio

n whi

ch is

bey

ond

thei

r im

med

iate

expe

rienc

e•

begi

n to

reco

gnise

that

lear

ning

from

mist

akes

is an

impo

rtant

attri

bute

of b

eing

a go

od

lear

ner

•pa

rticip

ate i

n and

dev

elop

cont

rol o

ver a

rang

e of l

ocom

otor

activ

ities

that

requ

ire a

chan

ge o

f spe

ed, d

irect

ion a

nd le

vel

•ge

nera

te q

uest

ions

abou

t situ

atio

ns an

d ph

enom

ena a

nd su

gges

t app

ropr

iate

form

s of

obs

erva

tions

and

mea

sure

men

ts th

at ar

e app

ropr

iate

for t

he in

vest

igat

ion o

f the

ir qu

estio

n•

repe

at o

bser

vatio

ns ov

er ti

me t

o m

ake p

redi

ctio

ns•

begi

n to

reco

gnise

sim

ple p

atte

rns i

n dat

a and

des

crib

e the

m in

term

s tha

t rep

rese

nt

conc

lusio

ns d

rawn

from

the d

ata

•te

ll the

tim

e at h

ours

and

half-

hour

s usin

g an a

nalo

gue c

lock

, and

hou

rs an

d m

inut

es

usin

g a d

igita

l clo

ck•

orde

r num

bers

and

coun

t to

1000

by 1

s, 10

s and

100s

•fo

rm p

atte

rns a

nd se

ts o

f num

bers

bas

ed o

n sim

ple c

riter

ia, s

uch

as o

dd an

d ev

en

num

bers

•de

scrib

e sim

ple f

ract

ions

such

as o

ne h

alf,

one t

hird

and

one q

uarte

r•

add

and

subt

ract

one

- and

two-

digi

t num

bers

•de

scrib

e and

calcu

late

sim

ple m

ultip

licat

ion a

s rep

eate

d ad

ditio

n, e.

g. 3

x 5 =

5 +

5 + 5

•ap

ply s

impl

e tra

nsfo

rmat

ions

to sh

apes

•us

e bot

h no

n-un

iform

(for

exam

ple h

and-

span

s) an

d un

iform

(for

exam

ple p

encil

leng

th)

info

rmal

mea

sure

men

t uni

ts•

mak

e, d

escr

ibe a

nd co

mpa

re m

easu

rem

ents

of l

engt

h, ar

ea, v

olum

e, m

ass a

nd ti

me

•us

e a fo

ur-fu

nctio

n cal

cula

tor, i

nclu

ding

use

of t

he co

nsta

nt ad

ditio

n fun

ctio

n and

x ke

y, to

chec

k the

accu

racy

of m

enta

l and

writ

ten e

stim

atio

ns an

d, ap

prox

imat

ions

and

solu

tions

to si

mpl

e num

ber s

ente

nces

and

equa

tions

•wo

rk w

ith p

eers

to d

evel

op a

rang

e of c

reat

ive so

lutio

ns an

d te

st th

em ag

ains

t give

n cr

iteria

•te

st th

e tru

th o

f con

ject

ures

by a

ttem

ptin

g to

find

exam

ples

or c

ount

er-e

xam

ples

, and

ex

plor

ing s

pecia

l cas

es.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 28

Outcome 5: Children are effective communicatorsChildren communicate with others from birth. They begin by using gestures, visual and non-verbal cues, sounds, language and assisted communication in forming relationships. Over time, communication becomes more intentional.

Children’s wellbeing, identity and sense of agency are dependent on their communication skills and are strongly linked to their capacity to express their feelings and thoughts, and to be understood.

Most children are innately social, creative and motivated to exchange ideas, thoughts, questions and feelings. Children respond non-verbally and verbally to what they see, hear, touch, feel and taste. Through relationships with responsive adults, they take turns to explore sound and movement patterns, sing songs and are exposed to chants and rhymes.

Maintenance of first language is important for children’s identity, wellbeing, communication and learning. Children can successfully learn English as a second language through quality exposure to English, explicit modelling and language teaching and appropriate time to acquire the new language. This requires early childhood professionals to be knowledgeable about the way children learn a second language, the stages of acquisition and the recognition that children differ in their rate of acquisition.

In school settings, children may have the opportunities to learn languages other than English (LOTE). For some children this may be an opportunity to continue their first language, and for others the opportunity to learn a new language.

Children’s rich spoken language, as well as their gestures and actions, underpin the development of basic literacy and numeracy concepts.

Initially, children use symbols in play to represent and make meaning. Then they begin to be aware of the relationships between oral and visual representations and to recognise patterns and relationships and the connection between them. They recognise how sounds are represented alphabetically and identify some letter sounds, symbols, characters and sign

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 29

relationships. They also recognise the function and value of visual elements and use them in art works to symbolise meaning, for example using colour in painting to express emotions.

Children express ideas verbally and use a wide range of media. They share the traditional stories and symbols from their own culture, re-enact well-known stories and use the creative arts, such as drawing, painting and sculpture, drama, dance and movement. They create and explore imaginary worlds through dramatic play and artworks that communicate their ideas, observations and feelings.

Children begin to engage with a range of texts and media, obtaining meaning from them and sharing the enjoyment of language in a variety of ways. Older children start to read printed text from left to right and use information in context from pictures and other sources to assist in making meaning. As they progress through this period, children begin to self-correct when reading aloud and distinguish between texts that represent real and imaginary experiences.

Fundamental to this development is the understanding of how symbols and pattern systems work. Children begin to explore written communication by scribbling, drawing and producing approximations of writing. Print-rich environments and adults who model and respond to children’s written messages strengthen the progression to using conventional letters, groups of letters and simple punctuation.

Over time, children use simple texts about familiar topics and select content, form and vocabulary in their writing. As their skills advance, they accurately spell frequently used words and make use of known spelling patterns to make plausible attempts at spelling unfamiliar words.

From an early age, children use information and communication technologies to communicate, learn and play, using multimedia resources such as DVDs and websites. As children gain independence in the world of information and communications technologies, they create and display their own information in a way that suits different audiences and purposes.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 30

COM

MU

NIC

ATIO

NEa

rly

Year

s Le

arni

ng a

nd D

evel

opm

ent O

utco

me

5: C

hild

ren

are

effe

ctiv

e co

mm

unic

ator

s

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Child

ren

inte

ract

ver

bally

and

non

-ver

bally

with

oth

ers

for a

rang

e of

pur

pose

s

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

enga

ge in

enj

oyab

le re

cipro

cal i

nter

actio

ns u

sing

verb

al a

nd n

on-v

erba

l lan

guag

e•

resp

ond

verb

ally

and

non

-ver

bally

to w

hat t

hey s

ee, h

ear,

touc

h, fe

el a

nd ta

ste

•us

e la

ngua

ge a

nd re

pres

enta

tions

from

pla

y, m

usic

and

art t

o sh

are

and

proj

ect

mea

ning

•co

ntrib

ute

thei

r ide

as a

nd e

xper

ienc

es in

pla

y and

smal

l and

larg

e gr

oup

disc

ussi

on•

atte

nd a

nd g

ive cu

ltura

l cue

s tha

t the

y are

list

enin

g to

and

und

erst

andi

ng w

hat i

s sa

id to

them

•ar

e in

depe

nden

t com

mun

icato

rs w

ho in

itiat

e St

anda

rd A

ustra

lian

Engl

ish

and

hom

e la

ngua

ge co

nver

satio

ns, a

nd d

emon

stra

te th

e ab

ility

to m

eet t

he li

sten

er’s

need

s•

inte

ract

with

oth

ers t

o ex

plor

e id

eas a

nd co

ncep

ts, c

larif

y and

chal

leng

e th

inki

ng,

nego

tiate

and

shar

e ne

w un

ders

tand

ings

•co

nvey

and

cons

truct

mes

sage

s with

pur

pose

and

confi

denc

e, b

uild

ing

on li

tera

cies

of h

ome

and/

or fa

mily

and

the

broa

der c

omm

unity

•ex

chan

ge id

eas,

feel

ings

and

und

erst

andi

ngs u

sing

lang

uage

and

repr

esen

tatio

ns

in p

lay

•de

mon

stra

te a

n in

crea

sing

und

erst

andi

ng o

f mea

sure

men

t and

num

ber u

sing

vo

cabu

lary

to d

escr

ibe

size

, len

gth,

volu

me,

capa

city a

nd n

ames

of n

umbe

rs•

expr

ess i

deas

and

feel

ings

and

und

erst

and

and

resp

ect t

he p

ersp

ectiv

es o

f oth

ers

•us

e la

ngua

ge to

com

mun

icate

thin

king

abo

ut q

uant

ities

to d

escr

ibe

attri

bute

s of

obje

cts a

nd co

llect

ions

, and

to e

xpla

in m

athe

mat

ical i

deas

•

show

incr

easi

ng k

nowl

edge

, und

erst

andi

ng a

nd sk

ill in

conv

eyin

g m

eani

ng.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

in S

tand

ard

Aust

ralia

n En

glis

h an

d, w

here

app

licab

le L

angu

ages

Oth

er T

han

Engl

ish

(LOT

E):

•ex

pres

s ide

as th

roug

h m

ime

and

mov

emen

t•

sing

song

s, ch

ants

and

rhym

es, l

iste

n to

song

s and

exp

lore

rhym

es a

nd w

ord

stru

ctur

es•

crea

te tw

o- a

nd th

ree-

dim

ensi

onal

visu

al a

rtwor

ks b

ased

on

imag

inat

ion

and

fant

asy a

nd in

resp

onse

to e

very

day o

ccur

renc

es•

com

mun

icate

feel

ings

thro

ugh

facia

l exp

ress

ion,

ges

ture

and

non

-voc

al la

ngua

ge•

liste

n to

and

pro

duce

brie

f spo

ken

text

s•

sequ

ence

mai

n id

eas c

oher

ently

in sp

eech

•sp

eak

at a

n ap

prop

riate

volu

me

and

pace

for l

iste

ners

’ nee

ds•

self-

corre

ct b

y rep

hras

ing

a st

atem

ent o

r que

stio

n wh

en m

eani

ng is

not

clea

r•

ask

and

answ

er si

mpl

e qu

estio

ns•

follo

w si

mpl

e in

stru

ctio

ns.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

usi

ng A

USL

AN:

•de

mon

stra

te si

mpl

e si

gned

sequ

ence

s•

prod

uce

sim

ple

man

ual s

igns

and

non

– m

anua

l sig

ns to

par

ticip

ate

in g

ames

and

ac

tiviti

es.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

in S

tand

ard

Aust

ralia

n En

glis

h an

d, w

here

app

licab

le L

OTE:

•us

e ec

ho so

ngs a

nd ro

unds

•ex

plor

e so

und

and

mov

emen

t pat

tern

s•

liste

n to

oth

ers a

nd re

spon

d ap

prop

riate

ly to

wha

t has

bee

n sa

id•

cont

ribut

e to

gro

up a

ctivi

ties b

y mak

ing

rele

vant

com

men

ts a

nd a

skin

g cla

rifyi

ng

ques

tions

•lis

ten

to a

nd p

rodu

ce sp

oken

text

s tha

t dea

l with

fam

iliar

idea

s and

info

rmat

ion

•lis

ten

to sh

ort l

ive o

r rec

orde

d pr

esen

tatio

ns, t

hen

reca

ll so

me

of th

e m

ain

idea

s an

d in

form

atio

n pr

esen

ted

•or

gani

se sp

oken

text

s usi

ng si

mpl

e fe

atur

es to

sign

al b

egin

ning

and

end

ings

, usi

ng

basi

c voc

abul

ary,

and

vary

ing

volu

me

and

into

natio

n pa

ttern

s to

add

emph

asis

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

usi

ng A

USL

AN:

•pa

rticip

ate

in re

al o

r sim

ulat

ed co

nver

satio

n an

d ev

eryd

ay tr

ansa

ctio

ns b

y im

itatin

g an

d ad

aptin

g m

odel

s.

Child

ren

enga

ge w

ith a

rang

e of

text

s an

d ge

t mea

ning

from

thes

e te

xts

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

liste

n an

d re

spon

d to

soun

ds a

nd p

atte

rns i

n sp

eech

, sto

ries a

nd rh

ymes

in co

ntex

t•

view

and

liste

n to

prin

ted,

visu

al a

nd m

ultim

edia

text

s and

resp

ond

with

rele

vant

ge

stur

es, a

ctio

ns, c

omm

ents

and

/or q

uest

ions

•si

ng ch

ant r

hym

es, j

ingl

es a

nd so

ngs

•ta

ke o

n ro

les o

f lite

racy

and

num

erac

y use

rs in

thei

r pla

y•

begi

n to

und

erst

and

key l

itera

cy a

nd n

umer

acy c

once

pts a

nd p

roce

sses

, suc

h as

the

soun

ds o

f lan

guag

e, le

tter–

soun

d re

latio

nshi

ps, c

once

pts o

f prin

t and

the

ways

that

te

xts a

re st

ruct

ured

•ex

plor

e te

xts f

rom

a ra

nge

of d

iffer

ent p

ersp

ectiv

es a

nd b

egin

to a

naly

se th

e m

eani

ngs

•ac

tivel

y use

, eng

age

with

and

shar

e th

e en

joym

ent o

f lan

guag

e an

d te

xts i

n a

rang

e of

way

s•

reco

gnis

e an

d en

gage

with

writ

ten

and

oral

cultu

rally

cons

truct

ed te

xts.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

in le

arni

ng S

tand

ard

Aust

ralia

n En

glis

h:•

reco

gnis

e ho

w so

unds

are

repr

esen

ted

alph

abet

ically

and

iden

tify s

ome

soun

d–le

tter r

elat

ions

hips

, mat

ch p

rint a

nd sp

oken

text

•us

e co

ntex

t and

info

rmat

ion

abou

t wor

ds, l

ette

rs, c

ombi

natio

ns o

f let

ters

and

the

soun

ds a

ssoc

iate

d wi

th th

em to

mak

e m

eani

ng, a

nd u

se il

lust

ratio

ns to

ext

end

mea

ning

•re

ad p

rinte

d te

xts f

rom

left

to ri

ght w

ith re

turn

swee

p, a

nd fr

om to

p to

bot

tom

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

lear

ning

LOT

Es:

•re

cogn

ise

how

soun

ds a

re re

pres

ente

d by

lette

rs/c

hara

cter

s/sy

mbo

ls.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

lear

ning

AU

SLAN

:•

reco

gnis

e si

mpl

e si

gn se

quen

ces.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

in le

arni

ng S

tand

ard

Aust

ralia

n En

glis

h:•

read

inde

pend

ently

and

resp

ond

to sh

ort i

mag

inat

ive a

nd in

form

ative

text

s with

fa

mili

ar id

eas a

nd in

form

atio

n, p

redi

ctab

le st

ruct

ures

, and

a sm

all a

mou

nt o

f un

fam

iliar

voca

bula

ry•

pred

ict p

laus

ible

end

ings

for s

torie

s and

infe

r cha

ract

ers’

feel

ings

•se

lf-co

rrect

whe

n re

adin

g al

oud

and

desc

ribe

stra

tegi

es u

sed

to g

ain

mea

ning

•di

stin

guis

h be

twee

n te

xts t

hat r

epre

sent

real

and

imag

inar

y exp

erie

nce

•or

der m

oney

am

ount

s in

dolla

rs a

nd ce

nts a

nd ca

rry o

ut si

mpl

e m

oney

calcu

latio

ns.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

lear

ning

LOT

Es:

•re

ad a

loud

and

for m

eani

ng w

ith w

ords

/cha

ract

er sy

mbo

ls.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

lear

ning

AU

SLAN

:•

obta

in m

eani

ng fr

om n

on-v

erba

l com

mun

icatio

n to

follo

w in

stru

ctio

ns o

r to

use

the

info

rmat

ion

for a

pur

pose

.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 31

EAR

LY Y

EAR

S LE

ARN

ING

FR

AMEW

OR

K: B

IRTH

TO

5 Y

EAR

SV

ELS

LEV

EL 1

: PR

EPV

ELS

LEV

EL 2

: GR

AD

E 1

AN

D 2

Child

ren

expr

ess

idea

s an

d m

ake

mea

ning

usi

ng a

rang

e of

med

ia

This

is e

vide

nt, f

or e

xam

ple,

whe

n ch

ildre

n:•

use

lang

uage

and

eng

age

in sy

mbo

lic p

lay t

o im

agin

e an

d cr

eate

role

s, sc

ripts

and

id

eas

•sh

are

the

stor

ies a

nd sy

mbo

ls o

f the

ir ow

n cu

lture

s and

re-e

nact

wel

l-kno

wn st

orie

s•

use

the

crea

tive

arts

, suc

h as

dra

wing

, pai

ntin

g, sc

ulpt

ure,

dra

ma,

dan

ce,

mov

emen

t, m

usic

and

stor

y-te

lling

, to

expr

ess i

deas

and

mak

e m

eani

ng•

expe

rimen

t with

way

s of e

xpre

ssin

g id

eas a

nd m

eani

ng u

sing

a ra

nge

of m

edia

•be

gin

to u

se im

ages

and

app

roxi

mat

ions

of l

ette

rs a

nd w

ords

to co

nvey

mea

ning

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

in L

earn

ing

Stan

dard

Au

stra

lian

Engl

ish :

•wr

ite u

sing

conv

entio

nal l

ette

rs, g

roup

s of l

ette

rs, a

nd si

mpl

e pu

nctu

atio

n, su

ch a

s fu

ll st

ops a

nd ca

pita

l let

ters

•wr

ite si

mpl

e te

xts a

bout

fam

iliar

topi

cs to

conv

ey id

eas,

mes

sage

s, fe

elin

gs a

nd

info

rmat

ion

•m

ake

perfo

rmin

g an

d vis

ual a

rts w

orks

that

exp

ress

and

com

mun

icate

exp

erie

nces

, ob

serv

atio

ns, i

deas

and

feel

ings

, for

exa

mpl

e cr

eate

and

exp

lore

imag

inar

y wor

lds

thro

ugh

dram

atic

play

•im

prov

ise

danc

e in

free

and

stru

ctur

ed co

ntex

ts.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

lear

ning

LOT

Es:

•wr

ite si

mpl

e te

xts u

sing

lette

rs/s

ymbo

l/ch

arac

ters

.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

lear

ning

AU

SLAN

:•

dem

onst

rate

sim

ple

sign

ed se

quen

ce.

This

dev

elop

s, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hen

stud

ents

in L

earn

ing

Stan

dard

Au

stra

lian

Engl

ish:

•ac

cura

tely

spel

l fre

quen

tly u

sed

word

s and

mak

e us

e of

kno

wn sp

ellin

g pa

ttern

s to

mak

e pl

ausi

ble

atte

mpt

s at s

pelli

ng u

nfam

iliar

wor

ds•

use

capi

tal l

ette

rs, f

ull s

tops

and

que

stio

n m

arks

corre

ctly

•se

lect

cont

ent,

form

and

voca

bula

ry d

epen

ding

on

the

purp

ose

for w

ritin

g•

link

idea

s in

a va

riety

of w

ays,

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Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 33

Transitions occur on a daily basis for families with young children. One of the earliest transitions for most children is the transition after birth from hospital to home.

In the first few years of life, children may also move from the care of a parent to a grandparent, or move into child care and between rooms within the child care centre. As children become older they may make the transition to kindergarten, and most children experience the transition to school.

Change is a key feature throughout each of these transition periods. Children need to feel secure, confident and connected to people, places, events, routines and understandings when they move into new environments.

What does effective transition look like? A combination of approaches and processes is required to support effective transition, which is achieved when:

• respectful,trustingandsupportiverelationshipsaremaintainedamongallthose

working with children and their families

• informationaboutthechildreniswellunderstood,sharedandvalued

• childrenhavetheopportunitytohavetheirsayaboutwhatisimportanttothem

• processesareadaptedinresponsetothelocalcommunities

• childrenandfamilieswhorequireadditionalsupportareidentifiedearly,and

support is planned and delivered through a collaborative approach.

Supporting children’s transitions

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Transitions

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 34

Who is involved in transition processes?Children, families and early childhood professionals are involved in the transitions throughout early childhood. Successful transitions rely on children, families and early childhood professionals developing positive, supportive relationships.

Children’s learning and development is advanced when they feel that the new environment is a place where people care about them and where they can succeed. Families also need to be valued and respected, as well as included in the new environment.

Children’s transitions are more successful when they are involved in planning transition programs. It is important to listen to their perspectives.

Families are the most important people in children’s lives and play a central role in supporting their learning. They must be involved in the transition process – it is not only children who experience changes during periods of transition.

Early childhood professionals from different contexts also have a lot to contribute to children’s transitions. They bring professional knowledge and experience about children’s learning and development. By sharing this knowledge and experience, and working in partnership with families, educators can recognise a child’s strengths and plan appropriate learning and teaching programs.

Supporting children’s learning and development through times of transition Children learn everywhere, all the time. It is now well recognised internationally that when children experience learning opportunities that are responsive to their strengths, interests, cultures and abilities, and build on their previous experiences, their learning and development is enhanced.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 35

Throughout the early childhood period, early childhood professionals develop their knowledge of each child’s strengths, interests, cultures and abilities. They also develop strong relationships with children’s families. Some of this knowledge is gained through assessments of children’s learning and development – such as the School Entry Health Questionnaire, the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status or the Transition Learning and Development Statement. Other knowledge is gained through the daily interactions with children and their families.

When this information is shared with other professionals, new learning and development opportunities can be planned in a way that responds to children’s strengths, interests, cultures and build on what they have learned before.

Conversations between professionals about children’s learning and development are enhanced when the family is involved. It is also essential when sharing any information about the child or family that the family’s consent is gained.

The Transition: A Positive Start to School initiativeStarting school is a major life transition for children and their families. It’s a time of change that can be both challenging and exciting, in which children and families adjust to new roles, identities and expectations, new interactions and new relationships.

The Transition: A Positive Start to School initiative is an important step towards achieving the following Blueprint goal:

... by the time Victorian children start school they will be ready to learn at school

and schools will be ready for them.

The initiative aims to improve children’s experience of starting school by enhancing the development and delivery of transition programs. This approach will enable a shared understanding between early childhood services and schools about what is important for children and their families during this exciting time.

It also introduces the Transition Learning and Development Statement, which families and educators can use to share information about children’s learning and development.

The initiative is accompanied by a comprehensive Transition: A Positive Start to School Resource Kit for schools and early childhood services, which provides detailed information about effective programs and approaches to transition planning, including advice about additional support for specific groups of children and families.

For children with a severe disability to make a positive transition from kindergarten to school, the Sharing Our Journey resource has been developed. This includes a protocol for early childhood services and schools, support groups for families and early childhood professionals, and an information kit for families. The resource kit includes some information sheets for families, a planner outlining actions to support the child’s move from kindergarten to school and an additional family section of the Transition Learning and Development Statement.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 36

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 37

Conclusion

The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework advances all children’s learning and development from birth to eight years. It does this by supporting all early childhood professionals to work together and with families to achieve common outcomes for all children.

It sets the highest expectations for all children in every community across Victoria, and generates new opportunities for families and early childhood professionals to work together to advance all children’s learning and development.

The Victorian Framework emphasises the importance of collaborative, effective and reflective practice. It informs daily collaborations and interactions with children, families and with other professionals. Local discussions and learning networks will enable professionals to reflect on their work and on children’s learning to inform future practice. The Framework will be used as the basis for new research in early childhood. This will support growth, transformation and continuous improvement of all professionals who work with children in these formative early childhood years.

By creating a common language and understanding of children’s learning and development, the Framework supports opportunities for increased coordination and integration of all early childhood services.

The Victorian Framework is enacted as early childhood professionals engage with it and use it to inform their practice for the immediate and long-term benefit of all children

in Victoria.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 38

Appendices

Appendix 1: Overview of early childhood professional roles Early childhood educators are defined in the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia as all ‘early childhood practitioners who work directly with children in early childhood settings’. This includes unqualified, certificate-qualified, diploma-qualified and degree-qualified teachers or educators working across all forms of all early childhood settings. These settings include long day care, family day care, occasional care, playgroups, outside school hours care and kindergarten.

Teachers are degree-qualified and work as educators in early childhood settings and schools, including special schools.

Early childhood intervention workers are professionals from a range of health and education backgrounds who work in a variety of settings to support children with a disability or developmental delay in early childhood education and care, and their families.

Maternal and child health nurses are registered nurses with qualifications in midwifery and family and child health. They work in maternal and child health services, which offer support, information and advice regarding parenting, child health and development, child behaviour, maternal health and wellbeing, child safety, immunisation, breastfeeding, nutrition and family planning.

Preschool field officers provide consultancy to kindergarten teachers and parents to facilitate the inclusion of all children in state-funded kindergarten programs.

Inclusion support facilitators (ISF) are usually specialists in inclusive support practice. They work directly with child care services to support staff in a variety of ways, such as linking services with other child care professionals, community groups and organisations; facilitating skills development; assisting services to access specialised equipment; assisting with inclusion readiness planning; and developing service support plans.

Education support officers comprise teacher aides and integration aides who together play an important role in supporting teachers and schools to implement inclusive approaches to education. They support children and families who experience a disability or developmental delay, or require access to a special needs program.

Student support service officers include visiting teachers, psychologists, guidance officers, speech pathologists, social workers and other allied health professionals. Their role is to enhance the capacity of Victorian government schools to meet the additional learning and wellbeing needs of children and young people through the provision of access to school and community specialist support.

Play therapists, health professionals and teachers support wellbeing and the continuity of children’s learning and development whilst accessing services through hospital settings.

Primary school nurses conduct health assessments of all students in participating schools in their first year of school; provide follow-up contact with parents; respond to referrals from school staff regarding identified health issues for students at any year level; and provide referrals to relevant health practitioners.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 39

Primary welfare officers enhance the capacity of schools to support students who are at risk of disengaging from school and not achieving their educational potential. They inform the development of tailored programs to meet the individual needs, interests and abilities of ‘at risk’ students. Their work is central to building and maintaining continuity of care for students and their families, by ensuring ongoing engagement with the school, school community and relevant services.

Family support workers include professionals from a range of health, welfare and/or education backgrounds, who provide support and services to vulnerable families to assist with parenting capacity, family strengthening and connection with other community supports and services. Family support workers are employed by family support agencies.

Cultural organisations such as libraries, museums, zoos, galleries and botanic gardens employ early childhood professionals to design and deliver programs to support learning and development for children and families. Early childhood services and schools work with cultural organisations through on-site, online and outreach programs.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 40

Appendix 2: Overview of early childhood services

Maternal and Child Health Services

Maternal and Child Health Services deliver a universal health service free of charge for all Victorian families with children from birth to six years. The service supports families and their children in the areas of parenting, child health and development, child behaviour, maternal health and wellbeing, child safety, immunisation, breastfeeding, nutrition and family planning.

The Universal Maternal and Child Health Service consists of the Key Ages and Stages consultations and a flexible service component. It also includes an enhanced service which provides a more intensive level of support for children, mothers and families at risk of poor health and wellbeing outcomes, in particular where multiple risk factors for poor outcomes are present.

The Maternal and Child Health phone line (13 22 29) is a 24-hour telephone line which provides appropriate information, advice, support, counselling and referral to families with children from birth to school age. More information about maternal and child health services is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/oced/maternal-child-health.html

Parenting services

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development funds parenting information, education and support services throughout Victoria. All parents and carers of children birth to eighteen years can contact the services.

In the first instance, parents can contact Parentline, a statewide telephone information, education and counselling service, for the cost of a local call. Parentline’s professional counsellors provide advice on a variety of issues affecting parenting and relationships. Parentline can provide contact details for community services and respects the confidentiality and right to privacy of callers. In addition to Parentline, the Victorian Government funds a network of regionally based parenting support services (Regional Parenting Services).

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 41

The Victorian Government will also conduct an Early Home Learning Study. The Study will be of international significance and will support vulnerable families to promote their home as a positive learning environment for their children. The Study will support 2000 vulnerable families to strengthen their home environment for learning and at the same time build the evidence base around what works.

Regional Parenting services

Regional Parenting Services promote the independence and healthy development of families with children aged birth to eighteen years by providing information and education on parenting to parents and professionals who work with parents and children (for example Maternal and Child Health nurses, teachers and child care workers). They provide families with the opportunity to participate in local, effective and relevant parenting programs that focus on key transition points in the lives of children and families. To reinforce the importance of parent education for all members of the community, parenting groups are run in easily accessible venues such as schools, preschools and neighbourhood houses.

Regional Parenting Services operate in all Department of Education and Early Childhood Development regions. Regional Parenting Services also offer consultation, linkages, resources and professional development to professionals who work with families. A list of these services can be found on the Parentline website at: www.parentline.vic.gov.au

Playgroups

Playgroups are an excellent way for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their parents to socialise. They are informal, low cost and run by the parents. Parents stay with their children at playgroup. This gives them the chance to meet other people going through similar experiences and break down the isolation that can come with caring for young children. Families can be gently introduced to community, health and support services while they are at playgroup.

The Supported Playgroups and Parent Groups Initiative is a Victorian Government program that aims to engage disadvantaged and vulnerable families and provide quality play opportunities for children at a critical time in their development. The initiative builds parents’ capacity to support their children’s health, development, learning and wellbeing, and aims to increase families’ participation and linkages with other early years services and supports. More information about playgroups is available at: www.playgroup.org.au/

Child care

Child care is provided for children in a range of settings. Child care services provide active, play-based education and care programs including long day care, occasional care, family day care and outside school hours care services. In Victoria, all these services are required to be licensed and must meet the requirements of the Children’s Services Act 1996 and the Children’s Services Regulations 2009.

Long day care services, outside school hours care services and family day care services are typically used by working parents and the hours of operation are structured to meet these families’ requirements. The Commonwealth Government provides funding for eligible families to assist them in meeting the costs of these services.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 42

Occasional care is generally provided for short periods of time in a variety of settings, including neighbourhood houses and sports and leisure services.

Long day care, occasional care and family day care services predominantly cater for children aged birth to five years, while outside school hours care services provide care for primary school-aged children. More information about childcare is available at:www.education.vic.gov.au/ecprofessionals/childcare/default.htm

Kindergarten

The Victorian Government provides funding to kindergarten programs delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher for children in the year before school. Additional subsidies are provided by the Victorian Government that makes kindergarten free for:

• threeandfouryearoldAboriginaland/orTorresStraitIslanderchildren

• threeyearoldchildrenknowntoChildProtection

• fouryearoldchildrenwhohold,orwhosefamiliesholdaHealthCareCard,

pensioner Concession Card, Department of Veterans Affairs Gold Card, Temporary

Protection/Humanitarian Visas 447, 451, 785 and 786, Asylum Seeker Bridging

Visas A-F, Refugee and Special Humanitarian Visas 200-217, and triplets/

quadruplets in the same year of kindergarten.

Many kindergartens also provide programs for three year old children as an introduction to

four year old kindergarten.

More information about kindergarten is available at:

www.education.vic.gov.au/earlychildhood/careandkinder

Kindergarten Inclusion Support Services

Kindergarten inclusion support services (KISS) provide supplementary assistance to support the inclusion of children with severe disabilities in their local kindergarten programs. An inclusive program encourages and allows all eligible children to access and participate in the kindergarten program. Inclusion fosters the development of a sense of belonging and respects individuality and diversity, in order to promote learning, development and wellbeing in children’s early years.

This program is funded by the Victorian Government through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Commonwealth Government.

More information about kindergarten inclusion support services is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/ecsmanagement/careankinder/inclusion/disabilities.htm

Early Childhood Intervention Services

Early Childhood Intervention Services (ECIS) support children with a disability or developmental delay from birth to school entry and their families. ECIS provide special education, therapy, counselling, service planning and coordination, assistance and support to access services such as kindergarten and child care.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 43

Services are tailored to meet the individual needs of children and focus on supporting children in their natural environments and in their everyday experiences. These services are funded through the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and provided by specialist children’s services teams and early childhood intervention agencies.

The overall aim of these services is to provide families with the knowledge, skills and support to meet the needs of their children and to optimise children’s development and their ability to participate in family and community life. All services are provided using a family-centred approach, recognising the importance of working in partnership with the family. More information about ECIS is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/ecsmanagement/intervention/

Program for Students with Disabilities

Program for Students with Disabilities is an additional program for a defined student population with moderate to severe disabilities. The Program for Students with Disabilities supports the education of students with disabilities in Victorian government schools by providing schools with additional resources. Resources are provided to schools to assist in the education of students with disabilities, not to individual students. More information about the Program for Students with Disabilities is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/healthwellbeing/wellbeing/disability/

The broader context

Children are at the centre of the Ecological Model of Child Development that illustrates the broad social, political and economic environment.

This model illustrates the strong network of services and programs that exist to support children’s learning and development.

This model identifies families as significant influences throughout childhood and illustrates a range of other factors that may impact on learning and development.

Fig 3: Ecological model of child development, adapted fromBronfenbrenner, 1979

Bushfire

Bushfire

Housingpolicy

Economicconditions

Social normsand attitudes

Child carepolicy

Drought Churchmembers

Child Parks

LocalGovt

Neighbours

Friends

PeersCultural

organisationsSpecialistservices Employment

Playgrounds HealthServicesSchools

Industrialrelations

Bro

ader

eco

nomics

, policy, political, social and environmental infl uences

Imm

ediate family

Com

mun

ity en

vironments, networks and formal services

Kin

sh

ip and informal networks

HouseholdEarly Childhood Education and Care

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 44

Appendix 3: Overview of key discipline-specific resources

Early childhood professionals are informed by a range of discipline specific resources. A list of key resources is below. The Victorian Framework complements, rather than replaces these resources. Professionals will continue to use these resources and will also use the Victorian Framework to support common understandings and shared conversations with other professionals and families to support children’s learning and development.

Maternal and Child Health

Maternal and Child Health Practice Guidelines 2009 - cover the Department’s piloted new Key Ages and Stages framework, guidelines, contexts and definitions. The guidelines are available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/ecsmanagement/mch/policy/

Key Ages and Stages (KAS) Service Activity Framework - March 2009 - introduces a new approach to the ten KAS visits provided to parents and children by the universal Maternal and Child Health Service. The new framework sets out new evidence-based activities for each of the ten age and stage visits. The framework is available at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlychildhood/mch/serv_activity_frameworkmar09.pdf

The Enhanced Maternal and Child Health Service Guidelines 2003-04 were developed as part of a wide-ranging information management strategy. The guidelines are available at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlychildhood/mch/guidelinemchenhanced.pdf

Early Childhood Intervention Service (ECIS)

The Early Childhood Intervention Service Program Framework promotes the development and implementation of evidence-based approaches in service delivery components within ECIS and assists providers in understanding their roles and responsibilities with the service system. The framework is available at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlychildhood/intervention/framework2005.pdf

The Specialist Children’s Service (SCS) Program Standards were developed by SCS service providers as a practical tool for continuous quality improvement. The standards apply to SCS teams, early intervention services and preschool field officers. They are available at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlychildhood/intervention/programstandards.pdf

Kindergarten Inclusion Support Services for Children with Severe Disabilities provides information about the support of children with severe disabilities in Victorian kindergarten programs. These documents are available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/ecsmanagement/careankinder/inclusion/disabilities.htm

Early childhood education and care services

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia is the first national learning framework for all educators working with children from birth to five years.

The framework and other key documents for the framework can be found at: www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/EarlyYearsLearningFramework.aspx

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for Children from Birth to Eight Years 45

The Outdoor Play Guide for Victorian Children’s Services provides information about the planning and design of the outdoor play space for children. It is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/ecsmanagement/careankinder/csg/outdoorguide/default.htm

The VicRoads, Starting Out Safely (SOS) program is designed to provide road safety information and support to families of children under six years of age. The program aims to encourage families to act as role models in road safety, to supervise children effectively in and near the traffic and to educate children in pedestrian and passenger safety. The program is delivered through maternal and child health, family day care, and early childhood services. It is available at:www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/RoadSafety/TrafficSafetyEducation/earlychildhood

National Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings provide evidence-based, practical information and advice to support and promote healthy eating and physical activity in children attending early childhood settings. The Guidelines are linked to the new National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care currently being developed by the Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations. Guidelines are available at www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/phd-early-childhood-nutrition-index

School services

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) is the Prep to Year 10 curriculum for Victorian schools. The VELS is available at: www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/prep10/vels/index.html

The P–12 Principles of Learning and Teaching articulate six principles that can be used by schools, teams of teachers and individuals to reflect on practice and support professional dialogue to strengthen pedagogical practices. The principles are available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingprinciples/principles/principlesandcomponents.htm

The e5 Instructional Model is designed to assist school leaders and teachers to develop a shared understanding of how teachers can improve their practice as well as to provide a focus for professional learning and growth. It is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/management/schoolimprovement/panddc/default.htm

Shared Vision; Resource Kit for Outside of School Hours Care is a practice document for educators in Outside School Hours Care. The 2004 edition forms part of a resource kit produced by Community Child Care Association. Shared Visions draws on the expertise of Community Child Care to provide the outside school hours care sector with a resource to assist programming. It is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/earlylearning/eyldf/default.htm

The VicRoads, Kids on the Move is the core traffic safety education resource for primary schools. It targets a minimum level of traffic safety education for children in Prep to Year 2.Primary school road safety education focuses on passenger and pedestrian safety. Children begin to take more responsibility for keeping themselves safe on the road – such as remembering to use a seat belt and using the correct road crossing procedure. It is available at: www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/Home/RoadSafety/TrafficSafetyEducation/primaryschools

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Aboriginal Early Years Support

The In Home Support for Aboriginal Families Program Guidelines have been developed to provide direction for those interested or involved in the In Home Support for Aboriginal Families (In Home Support) initiative. In particular, they provide guidance to support funded agencies to implement this initiative. The guidelines are available at: www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/earlychildhood/inhomesupport.pdf

The Koorie Kindergarten Inclusion Kit provides a kindergarten cultural awareness tool to enhance support for Aboriginal children. It also provides material to promote the values of kindergarten to aboriginal children and their families. It is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/ecsmanagement/careankinder/inclusion/koorie.htm

Dardee Boorai: the Victorian Charter of Safety and Wellbeing for Aboriginal Children and Young People defines key actions and measures of progress required in improving the safety, health, development, learning and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. It is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/govrel/policy/thecharter/dardeeboorai/charter.pdf

The Wannik education strategy for Koorie students reinforces the Government’s commitment and is the major strategy in place to improve educational outcomes for Koorie students. It is available at: www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/aboriginal/wannik/

“ Where do you feel happy at kindergarten, who would be with you and what would you be doing?”

“The sand, the turtle, I like it”Jaafar, Age 5 years.

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Appendix 4: Bibliography

Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations for the Council of Australian Governments (2009). Belonging, Being and Becoming - The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

Bernard van Leer Foundation (2006). A Guide to General Comment 7: Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood. United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child United Nations Children’s Fund, The Netherlands.

Bertram, T & Pascal, C. (2002). Early Years Education: An International Perspective London: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Great Britain. Towards an Early Years Learning Framework. www.inca.org.uk/pdf/early_years.pdf

Bronfenbrenner, U (1979). The Ecology of Human Development. Havard University Press, USA.

Centre for Community Child Health (2008). Towards an Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.( Policy Brief No 12 ). Centre for Community Child Health, Parkville, Victoria. www rch.org.au/ccch/resources.cfm?docd=10886

Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood (2008). Literature Review – Transition: A Positive Start to School. Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Melbourne.

Clarke, P. (2009). Supporting Children Learning English as a Second Language in the Early Years. Discussion paper commissioned by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (In progress). www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/earlyyears/publications.html

Csikszentmihayli, M. (1979). Concept of Flow. In Sutton-Smith, B. (Ed) Play and Learning. New York, Gardner.

Cunha, F., Heckman, J. J., Lochner, L. J. & Masterov, D. V. (2006). Interpreting the evidence on life cycle skill formation. In: Hanushek, E.A., Welch,F. (Eds). Handbook of the Economics of Education. North-Holland, Amsterdam.

Cunha, F. & Heckman, J. J. (2007). The Evolution of Uncertainty in Labour Earnings in the US Economy. Unpublished manuscript, University of Chicago.

Dockett, S. & Perry B. (2007). Transitions to School – perceptions, expectations, experiences. UNSW Press, Sydney

Dockett, S. & Perry B. (2006). Starting School – a handbook for early childhood educators. Pademelon Press, Castle Hill.

Department of Education and Children’s Services (2008). Assessing for Learning and Development in the Early Years using Observation Scales: Reflect Respect Relate. DECS Publishing, Adelaide.

Department of Education Training and Employment (2001). South Australian Curriculum, Standards and Accountability Framework. DETE Publishing, Adelaide.

Edgar D., & Edgar P. (2008). Television, Digital Media and Children’s Learning. Discussion paper commissioned by Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/earlyyears/publications.html

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Elliot, S. (Ed) (2008). The Outdoor Play Space Naturally for Children Birth to Five Years. Pademelon Press, Castle Hill, NSW.

Fleer, M. & Raban, B. (2007). Early childhood literacy and numeracy: Building good practice. Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Commonwealth Australia.

Gammage, P. (2008). The social agenda and early childhood care and education: Can we really help create a better world? Online Outreach Paper 4. Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague.

Laevers, F. (Ed) (1994). Defining and assessing quality in Early Childhood Education. Leuven:Leuven University Press, Belgium.

Lally, R. (2005). The human rights of infants and toddlers: A comparison of childcare philosophies in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the Unites States. Zero to Three. 25(3) 43-46.

Lally, J. R. & Mangione, P. (2006). The Uniqueness of Infancy Demands a Responsive Approach to Care. Young Children, 61 (4): 14-20

OECD (2006). Starting Strong II: Early Childhood Education and Care. OECD, Paris.

Perry, B. & Dockett, S. (2006). Our Family is Starting School – a handbook for parents and carers. Pademelon Press, Castle Hill.

Rogoff, B. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Shonkoff, J. & Phillips, D. K. (2000). From neurons to neighbourhoods: The science of early childhood development. Academies Press, Washington, DC.

Siegel D.J. (1999). The Developing Mind. Guilford Press, New York.

Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2009). Conceptualising progression in the pedagogy of play and sustained shared thinking in early childhood education: A Vygotskian perspective. Educational and Child Psychology 26 (2) June.

Siraj-Blatchford, I., Clarke, K., & Needham, M. (Eds) (2007). The Team Around the Child: Multi-agency working in the early years. Trentham Books, Stoke-on Trent.

Siraj-Blatchford, I., Sylva, K., Muttock, S., Gilden, R., & Bell, Danny (2002). Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years. Research Report No 356. Queens Printer, Norwich, UK.

Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2004). The Effective Provision of Pre-school Education: A longitudinal study funded by the DfES 1997-2004. Final report. DfES Sure Start Publications & The Institute of Education, London.

Tayler, C., Ure, C., Deans, J., & Brown, R. (2008). Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework and the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. – Discussion paper commissioned by the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority. www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/earlyyears/publications.html.

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United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). United Nations, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Comment No. 7 (2005) Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2007). Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS). State Government of Victoria. vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/.

Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission (2006). Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au

Wilks, A., Nylands, B., Chancellor, B., & Elliot, S. (2008). Analysis of Curriculum/ Learning Frameworks for the Early Years Literature Review (Birth to 8). Commissioned by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, East Melbourne, Victoria. www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/earlyyears/publications.html.

Woodhead, M. (2006). Changing perspectives on early childhood: theory, research and policy. (Paper commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007, Strong foundations: early childhood care and education). The Open University, UK.

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“What makes you feel happy?”

“When I’m climbing I am happy because it makes me strong”, Adam, Age 5.

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Appendix 5: Glossary

Active involvement in learning: occurs in an active learning environment in which children are encouraged to explore and interact with the environment to make (or construct) meaning and knowledge through their experiences, social interactions and negotiations with others.

To support active involvement in learning educators play a crucial role of encouraging children to discover deeper meanings and make connections among ideas and between concepts, processes and representations.

This requires educators to be engaged with children’s emotions and thinking. (Adapted from South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability (SACSA) Framework, General Introduction).

Agency: being able to make choices and decisions, to influence events and to have an impact on one’s world.

Attend: being attentive and aware. Children display a range of non-verbal signals, including eye contact, body orientation, stillness and an alertness. Gauging a child’s attendance is useful, for example with infants and toddlers, where English is not the first language, or if augmented communication is used.

Attunement: includes the alignment of states of mind in moments of engagement, during which affect is communicated with facial expression, vocalisations, body gestures and eye contact.

Communities: social or cultural groups or networks that share a common purpose, heritage, rights and responsibilities and/or other bonds. ‘Communities’ is used variously to refer, for example, to the community within early childhood settings, extended kinships, the local geographic community and broader Australian society.

Dispositions for life long learning: enduring habits of mind and actions, and tendencies to respond in characteristic ways to situations, for example, maintaining an optimistic outlook, being willing to persevere, approaching new experiences with confidence.

Inclusion: involves taking into account all children’s social, cultural and linguistic diversity (including learning styles, abilities, disabilities, gender, family circumstances and geographic location) in curriculum decision-making processes. The intent is to ensure that all children’s experiences are recognised and valued, and that all children have equitable access to resources and participation, and opportunities to demonstrate their learning and to value difference.

Involvement: a state of intense, whole hearted mental activity, characterised by sustained concentration and intrinsic motivation. Highly involved children (and adults) operate at the limit of their capacities, leading to changed ways of responding and understanding leading to deep level learning (adapted from Laevers, 1994).

Children’s involvement can be recognised by their facial, vocal and emotional expressions, the energy, attention and care they apply and the creativity and complexity they bring to the situation. (Adapted from Reflect, Respect, Relate, DECS 2008)

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Literacy: in the early years, literacy includes a range of modes of communication, including music, movement, dance, story telling, visual arts, media and drama, as well as talking, viewing, reading and writing.

Multidisciplinary approaches: describes a partnership where two or more professionals are involved in the provision of integrated and coordinated services for children and families to support the best outcomes. In the early years, multidisciplinary approaches may include, but are not limited to educators, community workers, allied health professionals and medical personnel.

Numeracy: broadly includes understandings about numbers, structure and pattern, measurement, spatial awareness and data, as well as mathematical thinking, reasoning and counting.

Pedagogy: early childhood educators’ professional practice, especially those aspects that involve building and nurturing relationships, curriculum decision making, teaching and learning.

Shared sustained conversations: can be both child initiated and adult initiated. They are an effective learning/teaching interaction where two or more individuals share their thinking for a sustained time, work together to make observations, solve a problem, clarify a concept, extend ideas and narratives, or evaluate activities (adapted from Siraj-Blatchford, 2009).

Spirituality: refers to a range of human experiences including a sense of awe and wonder, a search for purpose and meaning and the exploration of being and knowing.

Technologies: includes much more than computers and digital technologies used for information, communication and entertainment. Technologies are the diverse range of products that make up the designed world. These products extend beyond artefacts designed and developed by people and include processes, systems, services and environments.

Texts: things that we read, view and listen to and that we create in order to share meaning. Texts can be print-based, such as books, magazines and posters or screen-based, for example internet sites and DVDs. Many texts are multimodal, integrating images, written words and/or sound.

Transitions: the process of moving between home and childhood setting, between a range of different early childhood settings, or from early childhood settings to school settings

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): advances an image of children as subjects of rights and full members of society, capable of participating in their social worlds through their relationships with others.

The 54 Articles contained in the UNCRC (1989) promote children’s rights through four key principles, namely:

1. protection against discrimination

Young children and groups of children must not be discriminated against. Discrimination may take the form of reduced levels of nutrition; inadequate care and attention; restricted

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opportunities for play, learning and education; or inhibition of free expression of feelings and views.

2. the right to survival and development

All measures possible to create … conditions that promote the wellbeing of all young children during this critical phase of their lives.

3. the best interests of the child

This applies to all actions concerning children and requires active measures to protect their rights and promote their survival, growth and wellbeing, as well as measures to support and assist parents and others who have day to day responsibility for realising children’s rights.

4. the right to participation

The child has a right to express his or her views freely in all matters affecting the child, and to have them taken into account. This right reinforces the status of the young child as an active participant in the promotion, protection and monitoring of their rights.

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) the body of independent experts that are appointed to monitor implementation of the UNCRC

General Comment No. 7 “Implementing child rights in early childhood’ (2005) (CRC/C/GC7): a statement by the committee that seeks to guide States with respect to the measures required to secure implementation of the various rights under the CRC (CRC/C/GC7, 2005: 2). The value of this document for early childhood professionals is that it acknowledges the tensions around enacting the key principles underlying children’s rights and explores principles and practical measures for implementing rights-based principles in early childhood educational contexts.

The Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006: is an Act of Parliament that clearly sets out our rights and freedoms, and the responsibilites that go with them, in one document. The Charter is an agreed set of human rights, freedoms and responsibilities protected by law. Government departments and public bodies must observe these rights when they create laws, set policies and provide services.

This means that Government, public servants, local councils, Victoria Police and others are required to act in a way that is consistent with the human rights protected under the Charter. These bodies will have to comply with the Charter and take human rights into account in their day-to-day operations.www.equalopportunitycommission.vic.gov.au/home.asp

Wellbeing: Sound wellbeing results from the satisfaction of basic needs - the need for tenderness and affection; security and clarity; social recognition; to feel competent; physical needs and for meaning in life (adapted from Laevers 1994). It includes happiness and satisfaction, effective social functioning and the dispositions of optimism, openness, curiosity and resilience.