issue 76, summer 2005 rattler - cela...rattler issue 76, summer 2005 community child care co-op kid...

RattlerCommunity Child Care Co-opIssue 76, Summer 2005

KID HEAVENQUICKFIX DIPLOMAS?

CHILD FRIENDLY COMMUNITIESBUILDING A DREAM PLAYGROUP

PLUS MORE…

culturekidsFOR

2 ■ RATTLER 76 | SUMMER 2005

A messagefrom the

CEO

Community Child Care Co-operative ispleased to announce that the Minister of Family andCommunity Services, Senator Kay Patterson, has namedthe Alliance of Children’s Services as the preferred tender-er for the role of Professional Support Co-ordinator inNew South Wales.

Services may remember that a new way of co-ordinatingtraining and resourcing to children’s services wasannounced out of the Broadband review. Tenders werecalled for this role for the next three years and the Allianceof Children’s Services was formed in NSW to lodge itsinterest.

Community Child Care is the lead agency of TheAlliance; members are Network of Community Activities,Contact Inc, Child Care NSW, Ethnic Child Care Familyand Community Services, Semann and Slattery andFamily Day Care NSW.

The Alliance will effectively co-ordinate the delivery oftraining and resourcing to children’s services. And webelieve this allows services to access effective training andresourcing more easily.

Alliance members are thrilled that the provision oftraining and resourcing will be co-ordinated by the sameorganisations that have provided training to children’sservices in this state for many years. Unless our tender bidwas accepted, many of our organisations may have had todramatically reduce their size and decrease the array ofservices we offered the field.

We can now look forward to the future confidently. Andwe’re very excited by the opportunity we now have to sup-port the provision of quality children’s services in NSW.

On that positive note, we invite you to delve into this,the final issue of Rattler for 2005. We visit a magical cen-tre in Earlwood, look at the power of live performance anddiscuss the importance of professional standards for earlychildhood practitioners. Enjoy your reading experienceand from all of us at Community Child Care Co-operative, we hope you have a relaxing Christmas andexciting New Year.

Carol LymberyChief Executive OfficerCommunity Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW)

Community Child Care

Co-operativeLtd. (NSW)

Rattler is published quarterly by CommunityChild Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) and fundedby the NSW Department of Community Services,by subscriptions and advertising revenue.

CEO, Community Child CareCarol LymberyEditorial CommitteeGayle Biddle, Lisa Bryant, Eddy Jokovich, Carol Lymbery, Katie SutherlandManaging EditorEddy Jokovich (02) 9280 4150Journalist/Assistant EditorKatie SutherlandArt DirectorDeborah KellyDesign and productionARMEDIAPrintingZipform

List of ContributorsAlison Elliott, Bridget Haire, Carrie Rose, Katie Sutherland.

ContributionsBy publishing a range of opinions, CommunityChild Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW) hopes tostimulate professional development and discus-sion. You can contact the CEO or ManagingEditor to discuss your ideas or send in an outlineof your article. Copyright is normally held jointlyby the publisher and the author. We reserve theright to shorten/edit submitted material.

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

Subscriptions (02) 9560 4771Annual subscription to Rattler $48.00 (inc. GST)(4 issues).

Advertising (02) 9280 4150Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW)accepts no responsibility for misleading or inac-curate advertisements. We reserve the right torefuse any advertisement that contravenes theorganisation’s objectives or the Advertising Codeof Ethics. Advertisers have responsibility for allinformation and any claims made in their adver-tising. Various sizes of advertisements are avail-able. Contact the Managing Editor for furtherinformation.

Office and Postal AddressAddison Road Community Centre,Hut 6, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville NSW 2204Phone (02) 9560 4771 Freecall (outside Sydney metro) 1800 629 397Fax (02) 9560 4781Email [email protected] www.ccccnsw.org.auABN 81 174 903 921

Community Child Care gratefully acknowledgesthe support of Microsoft Corporation in providingCommunity Child Care with free software undertheir Community Assistance Initiative.

Registered by Australia PostPrint Post Publication No 255003/04732ISSN 0819-9132©2005 Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd.(NSW)

DisclaimerThe opinions expressed in Rattler are those ofthe authors and not necessarily those ofCommunity Child Care Co-operative Ltd. (NSW).

■ EDITORIAL

RATTLER 76 | SUMMER 2005 ■ 3

ContentsRATTLER 76, SUMMER 2005 ■

STARS IN THEIR EYES 20

On the cover:Music and live performance can create

lifelong interest and appreciation for the arts. Photo courtesy of Sydney Opera House.

4 THE LOWDOWNA roundup of what’s on, what’s up and who’s where.

6 CLOSE UPWe profile Elizabeth Death, group services managerfor Uniting Care Children Services.

8 KID HEAVENWe visit Earlwood Children’s Centre where children are actually encouraged to get lost in the playground’s overgrown jungle.

12 TAKING THE FAST LANEA range of new fast-track diploma courses have provoked concerns about the standard of childcare training.

14 STARS IN THEIR EYESChildren seem to have an innate love of music and theatre. Beyond entertainment, performancecan play a role in providing lifelong learning.

17 BUILDING CHILD FRIENDLY COMMUNITIESA new campaign to prevent child abuse calls on people to perform simple, individual acts of kindness.

20 NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE Bridget Haire writes of the pain and anxiety she faced leaving Lucy in care.

22 OUR WILDEST DREAMSA playgroup set up by early childhood staff andstudents from Southbank TAFE in Queensland hasbecome an important community resource.

26 RAISING THE BARAlison Elliot looks at why care and education should not be mutually exclusive.

30 BOOKWORMA sneak preview of what’s new on the shelves.

KID HEAVEN 10

CHILD FRIENDLY COMMUNITIES 23

■ THE LOWDOWN

DID YOU KNOW??

LUNAR EVOLUTION Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water;Jack fell downand broke his crown,And Jill cametumbling after.

A bit like Chinese whispers, this much-loved nursery rhyme hascertainly undergone a metamorphosis. Apparently, early illustrationsof the ditty showed not a boy and a girl, but two boys—Jack and Gill.One theory claims that the rhyme originates from an ancientScandinavian myth about the markings on the moon. The moon godMani captured two Norse children, Hjuki and Bil, while they weredrawing water from a well. When the moon was full, the childrencould be seen with a bucket on a pole between them. This story,with the names changed to our beloved Jack and Jill, has evolvedinto the famous tale of heads over tails.

A roundup of what’s on, what’s up,who’s where in the world of childcare. snapshot

get it off your chest


■ Around 40,000 families have incurred a debt due to overpayments of the Child CareBenefit last year, a staggering increase on the 990 families who had CCB debts at theend of 2001.

Tanya Plibersek, Shadow Minister for Youthand Early Childhood Education, said the jumpwas the result of a ‘fundamentally flawed’system for estimating the benefit..

■ Community Child Care Co-operative and theNational Association of Community BasedChildren’s Services (NACBCS) are concernedabout a proposal that could see child-mindingservices in shopping centres operating underwatered down standards.

The Department of Community Services hascalled for feedback on the proposal and statedthat it is ‘seeking to set regulatory standardsspecifically for this service type, with the aimof ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing ofchildren.’ Its discussion paper is availableonline at: www.cccnsw.org.au

■ Childcare workers in South Australia havewon a 15 per cent pay increase in theIndustrial Relations Commission after a longpay equity campaign. The case has deliveredpay increases of $60–$100 a week forchildcare assistants; $85–$130 a week forchildcare workers with diplomas; and$130–$190 a week for directors.

Keeping you in the loopwith a review of the pastthree months…

If you have something to say aboutRattler or the childcare sector, pleaseemail letters to: [email protected]

Contributors to Rattler are alwayswelcome too. We seek articles onsocial, economic, educational andpolitical issues that affect thechildcare industry. Check out theinformation for writers atwww.ccccnsw.org.au/rattler/

illus

trat

ion:

Deb

orah

Kel

ly

Engaging Children’s Minds: The Project Approach January 26–29, 2006University of New England, Armidale, NSWInfo: :(02) 6773 2654 or

http://fehps.une.edu.au/PDaL/Research/EngagingMindsProject/

Helping Families Change Conference: Innovation and Evidence Based PracticeFebruary 16–17, 2006University of Queensland, BrisbaneInfo: http://www.pfsc.uq.edu.au/

World Forum on Early Care and EducationKaleidoscope: Changing images of childhoodMay 15–18, 2006Shangri La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaInfo: http://ccie.com/wf/wf2007

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

what’s onWHAT ISSUES IN CHILDCARE CONCERN YOU AT THE MOMENT?Adult child ratios and qualifications for staff. Basically, looking at those inrelation to the service that we provide the children—the educationalcomponents of long day care. What constitutes excellence in earlychildhood, I suppose.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO GO TO WORK EACH DAY?The enthusiasm of children and staff.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE A CAREER IN EARLY CHILDHOOD?Children’s development fascinated me from the start. It was my firstassignment on children’s play when I was still in high school—thepsychology of play—that drew me in.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO PROVIDE CHILDREN AT YOUR SERVICE?A community where we all learn and grow together, and make a differenceto the world.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF YOUR JOB?Not enough hours in the day. A challenge for me is providing absoluteexcellence within an affordable framework for families—with lack ofgovernment funding.

HOW DO YOU RELAX?Laughter and red wine.

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?The honesty of children. And sitting around the dinner table with my 14and 17-year-olds, having a good conversation and sharing stories.

DO YOU THINK CHILDCARE IN AUSTRALIA MEASURES UP ON ANINTERNATIONAL SCALE?I’d need at least three years travelling around the world to make thatjudgement!

The standards of our best services are wonderful. What bothers me is thestringent regulations and how we’re trying to regulate for quality. We couldlearn a lot from Scandinavia and Reggio Emilia and other places—that it’smore of a working from the grassroots up and learning to really get toknow the children.

If you have an event relevant to the childcaresector that you’d like to see publicised inRattler, please email: [email protected]

Elizabeth Death is group servicesmanager for Uniting Care Children

Services, previously, director ofPaddington Children’s Centre. Shehas worked in the early childhood

sector for 24 years.

close up


KILLER SPIDERSAND MOUSE PLAGUES

ABC Learning Centres has been prosecuted over embarrassing bungles at its Wee Waa centre,including mouse droppings on bed sheets, mouse-traps on change tables and redback spidersin a storage area accessible to children.

The company was fined $1200 after pleading guilty to four breaches of regulations and must paylegal court costs of $75,592.

According to the Daily Telegraph, DOCS inspectors visited the ABC centre in March 2004, and cameacross a series of regulatory breaches, including play areas that didn’t meet the requirement of being

maintained in a safe, clean and hygienic condition. Further complaints were made about unlockedcupboards with dangerous cleaning and other items, no smoke detector and confidential records

on public display.

An ABC spokesperson said the droppings were related to a mouse plague affecting the areaat the time and the sheets would have been washed before use. She also disputed DOCS

claims the spiders were in an area accessible to children as the storage shed door was‘closed and bolted’.

INTRODUCINGYOUR NEW BESTFRIENDSay goodbye to Google. And say hello to a fantasticnew online resource.

Early Childhood Australia has taken the hard workout of searching the internet and kindly created a

veritable hotbed of information for people inthe childcare sector.

Be sure to add this one to your favourites.Go to www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.auand click on the button ‘Supporting BestPractice’.

There you will access hundreds of relevantarticles that meet the ECA’s quality

assurance guidelines.The service is beingdeveloped in stages,with an estimated1000 articles availableby the end of the year.

Topics will spangrowing and learning,teaching,programming andcurriculum, as wellas children’s rights.


■ THE LOWDOWN

QUICK QUIZ

QThe Federal Government promised a 30 per cent taxrebate for childcare at the last election. The rebate has since been capped. What is the

maximum parents will be able to claim?(See answer below)

Answer: $4,000.

NEED or WANT?In a recent Parliamentary outburst, LiberalMP Michael Ferguson showed his truecolours when discussing his thoughts onchildcare.

Michael Ferguson MP: ‘I will not go throughthe list of services, or so-called services, butsome of them are very dubious indeed. Someof them are worthwhile, but I would not saythat any of them are essential. I have said thatin this place in the past. They may beimportant, but to say that they are essential ispolitical rhetoric, and I do not support that.’

Peter Garrett MP: ‘Childcare is notessential?’

Michael Ferguson MP: ‘Childcare is notessential—correct…’

Rattler wonders how many working parentswould agree with these draconian views.

Michael Ferguson, MP for Bass inTasmania, shows children atLaunceston Christian school howparliament works


GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNING ■

Top points go to a dedicatedgroup of early childhoodprofessionals running agrassroots campaign calledChildren’s Choice. The group isspreading the word about the

plight of preschools in NSW by drumming up localand statewide media reports on the issue. Onereport was recently aired on Channel Seven News.

The preschools are co-ordinating a letter and emailwriting campaign to Premier Morris Iemma andMinister for Community Services Reba Meagher.Within the correspondence, they describe individualcase studies, calling them ‘Another Sad Story’, suchas the one at right…

Eungai Pre School is a small preschoolsupporting a rural area in Northern NSW. We are open three days a week and totally fullwith a waiting list, but can’t afford to open extradays due to lack of funding—so children in thearea are unable to access preschool.

Everything to be bought needs fund raising.At the moment we are trying to raise money fora reverse cycle air conditioner, as the buildingis freezing in winter and hot in summer. Wealso want to paint the ceiling as it is all flaking.We know all about under funded pre-schools.The funding from the government has not keptup with need over the last few years. We are in crisis.

On the distant horizon

It may be a long way off, but something to work towards. Mark your diary now for the ECA 2007 National Conference ‘Children: A Nation's Capital – Investing in our Children’ to be held in Canberra from 5 to 8 July 2007.

For information on the conference visit www.ecaconference.com.au

For furtherinformation aboutChildren’s Choice, you can contact:

Kerry Grigg 0418 254 154

Simon Barlow 0409 392 579

Gabrielle Connell (02) 6021 2050

Preschool plight“

“


■ AT THE COALFACE

Limitlesschoice: a realmof possibilitiesawats at theEarlwoodChildren’sCentre

Somesettings make you wish you were a kid again. This is oneof them. As three toddlers refine their bubble blowing technique, another bois-terous group lets off steam on the trampoline. Some children head inside to makepizza for lunch, others play dress-ups on the verandah or break out the oil pastelsto finish yesterday’s study of an onion.

The choices are limitless at Earlwood Children’s Centre, where interest-basedlearning is at the core of day-to-day programming. While it may appear that thechildren are left to their own devices, and indeed they do have free reign, there isactually a complex planning process involved.

‘Our team of educators recognise and reflect upon what matters in the lives ofour kids,’ explains director Francine Bastion.

‘Learning experiences are designed to support and encourage dialogue, researchand collaboration. Educators then observe and reflect on how children have beenengaged and responded to these experiences.

‘They look at where children may take an interest. Does that interest have asense of emotional urgency or is it just a one-off thing? There’s a whole process ofreflection.’

The first thing you notice about Earlwood is the distinct sense of calm and con-trol, as opposed to the calamity sometimes found in other centres. All of the chil-dren are industrious and interested in their chosen activity. No-one is whingeingout of boredom or screaming for attention.

There are certainly enough activities to occupy the busiest of children. And foranyone looking a little disoriented, an educator is never far away to suggest a newfocus. Space isn’t a problem, with the expansive playground allowing enoughroom for even the most energetic five-year-old to run free.

‘The space is saying “come and play in me”,’ says Bastion. And indeed it is.There’s no astro-turf in this playground. Just plenty of dirt and trees, a witch’s hutfor impromptu fairy parties and sand-pits galore. There is also a great emphasis onart, with plenty of resources at hand and boundless inspiration on the walls.

The indoor and outdoor environments are carefully designed to support inter-est areas, while encouraging children to explore and investigate, research andtheorise.


heavenkid

‘The space is saying “come andplay in me”,’says Bastion. And

indeed it is. There’s no astro-turfin this playground. Just plenty of

dirt and trees, a witch’s hut forimpromptu fairy parties and

sand-pits galore.

Being a kid doesn’t get much better than this. Not only do the children at EarlwoodChildren’s Centre spend their days digging for worms or making mud pies—they’re actually encouraged to get lost in the playground’s overgrown jungle. Katie Sutherland visits a most magical place.

‘Kids are drawn to the spacesand experiences they wish toenjoy,’ says Bastion.

‘They’re drawn into areas thathave been specifically designedto challenge their thinking, and

nurture relationships. Educators facilitate learn-ing opportunities by participating in the play,posing provoking questions and supporting chil-dren taking risks in their play and relationships.Areas are established that beckon participationand social connection.’

Purpose-built in 1983, the Canterbury CityCouncil-run centre obtained a FederalGovernment grant to expand its playground inthe year 2000 creating an effective space that cap-italised on many of the ground’s already-estab-lished trees.

A landscape gardener also planted some fast-growing tropical species, creating a natural, shadycanopy and a jungle brimming with secret hidingspots. The new area invited children to interactwith their peers in new ways, such a foraging forworms in the digging patch.

Earlwood’s educators worked as a team todesign the space, reflecting on their own child-hoods for inspiration. This continues today asthey create new settings throughout the centre.

‘Looking through the lens of childhood you

remember that sense of freedom and wanting toexplore,’ says Bastion. ‘You thought your parentsdidn’t know where you were but now, as an adult,you know they were trusting you to make deci-sions.’

The theme of trust is reinforced throughoutthe centre, where breakables and small objects arenot hidden away, but left out for children toexplore and learn to value.

‘Philosophically, few rules exist in the centrecommunity. Primarily everyone contributes todeveloping a climate of respect and trust,’ saysBastion. ‘ Children and adults nurture and modelrespect for one another, respect for our resourcesand care and respect for our environment. Thesethings are at the core of the curriculum.

Bastion and her team of 10 meet on a weeklybasis to discuss how children are engaging withthe resources and environment, as well as current,new and emerging interests and relationships.

‘We also talk about what’s happening to thelives of our children so that the team share theknowledge about all children. We know who’smum is in hospital or who’s grandparents are vis-iting from overseas. That means if someonecomes in feeling a little sensitive we know exact-ly why and can respond in a constructive, mean-ingful way.’

As well as being a fantastic tool for curriculumdevelopment, the meetings encourage teambuilding and open communication between staff.Interestingly, Bastion proudly refers to staff mem-bers as ‘educators’—despite each having varyinglevels of qualifications.


“And that’s why we value the learning environment beyondhere. Not only is it a great source of learning for our kids, but it’s a great opportunity for people to perceive the capacities of young children.’


‘My team of colleagues are incredibly intelli-gent, informed, experienced educators, some ofwhom have formal qualifications, some of whomhave 20 years experience working with kids, someof whom just have amazing life experience. Whatthat does is enriches the lives of our children.’

Children at Earlwood are fortunate enough toenjoy excursions most weeks, with access to acommunity bus and driver. Excursions may takethe form of a traditional trip to the aquarium orart gallery—where a group recently sketched theirway around the Margaret Preston exhibition—ora less formal setting, such as the local coffee shopor one another’s homes.

Bastion believes that not only do the excursionsprovide a wonderful opportunity for children totake their learning environment beyond the cen-tre, they actually help the greater communityunderstand and value children and childcare.

She says the excursions recently reached a turn-ing point when families started inviting childreninto their workplaces, offering ‘a real validationfor us and our philosophical beliefs.’

‘To invite core groups of children into yourhome is one thing, but to be saying “I appreciatethese children as competent social beings and

they are welcome in our workplace” is a hugething for us,’ she adds.

‘Families see their kids as these fabulous crea-tures, but they begin to see early childhoodbeyond an Anne Geddes postcard. And the peo-ple in their workplaces begin to see that too. Andthat’s why we value the learning environmentbeyond here. Not only is it a great source oflearning for our kids, but it’s a great opportunityfor people to perceive the capacities of youngchildren.’

Earlwood has a strong connection with its fam-ilies, who are encouraged to create their own ori-entation, read the daily diary, chat with educatorsand, importantly, use the centre as a communityresource.

‘We have a sense of responsibility in linkingfamilies with community services, or with fami-lies that know where to go for the swimming les-sons, for instance. There’s a huge sense of com-munity.’

This community feel is evident throughout thecentre—even in the office, where children can befound faxing their parents their latest artwork,answering the telephone or reading a copy ofSydney’s Child on the floor.

‘I love that because it speaks volumes aboutthem having an understanding of belonging,’ saysBastion. ‘I really value that part of who we are. Nospace is out of bounds.’ ■

More photographs from this and previous‘Coalface’ child care facility profiles can beviewed online at: www.ccccnsw.org.au/coalface

Above: directorFrancine Bastion

with educatorNicole Tytherleigh

mentor aspiringartists

PH

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S K

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WHYdoes one Diploma in Children’sServices take five months to com-

plete and another, two years? This is the questiontroubling childcare experts—some of whom areconvinced the shorter courses can’t possiblydeliver the goods.

A diploma graduate is qualified to work as achildcare worker, team leader, group leader, pro-gram leader, service manager, service director oradditional needs inclusive worker.

According to TAFE NSW, achieving diplomastatus takes 1612 hours, plus 504 hours for aCertificate III, which is a prerequisite for thediploma. Similarly, established registered trainingorganisations (RTOs), such as METS, promotethe fact that ‘students should be able to comfort-ably complete’ the diploma within 18 monthsand the Certificate III in seven months.

In contrast, courses on offer by new RTOs,such as Dazzle-M Training College in Sydney’sHarrington Park, advertise their diploma coursesas taking only 20 weeks. The courses generallyassume that students are not straight out of highschool or ‘entry level’ and have some industryexperience—although this is not a prerequisite.

‘I don’t know how on earth you ever cover theunderpinning knowledge needed to prepare peo-ple to work with children adequately,’ says educa-tion and training consultant Wendy Lindgren.

‘Unfortunately, for learning to take place I dothink time is required. Especially in this sort ofarea, where not only do you have the legal duty-of-care issues, but you’re dealing with young chil-dren—one of society’s most vulnerable groups.’

For more than $4,500, the Dazzle-M courseoffers students a diploma after attending twoevening classes per week for 20 weeks, plus fiveSaturdays. All pracs are completed within the stu-

dent’s own childcare service. If the studentalready holds a Certficate III, the course is short-ened to 12 weeks.

Dazzle-M Director Collette Whelan insists thecourse adequately prepares students for the reali-ties of a profession in childcare. She says thecourse actually spans 500 or 600 hours in total.

‘It’s six hours a week, then they’ve got 10 hoursof extra reading per week, then they’ve got sixSaturdays, 120 hours worth of practicum workplus 12 hours a week,’ she explains.

‘It’s a very hands-on course and we delivereverything that’s in the criteria to be delivered.’

With around 95 per cent of students currentlyworking in a childcare centre, she says most havealready attained plenty of hands-on experience.

‘A lot of students have been in the industry for10 years, and many have completed a CertificateIII or begun distance learning, but don’t have themotivation to complete it.’

Meanwhile, Whelan defends the introductionof new intensive courses, saying people are time-poor and need training that fits family andlifestyle requirements.

‘Just because TAFE has this safe frameworkaround them, I don’t think TAFE is [necessarilythe] best way,’ she says. ‘Although our course isintensive and it is fast-track, we are guiding stu-dents through all the elements they need to workin the industry.’

The Dazzle-M course is registered by the NSWVocational Education & Training AccreditationBoard (VETAB) to deliver the Diploma ofChildren’s Services, a national qualification.VETAB does not specify the number of hoursneeded to complete the qualification.

It is argued that courses with such a fast turn-around can help meet the skills shortage current-

A range of new fast-track diploma courses have provokedconcerns about the standard of childcare training.

Katie Sutherland reports.


Taking theFAST LANE


ly facing the childcare profession. But consult-ants such as Lindgren are not convinced.

‘My anxiety about some training institutions isthat they don’t really understand the needs of thefield and the needs of young children,’ saysLindgren. ‘Yet they’re capitalising on shortages ofskills and job vacancies in the childcare area.

‘It isn’t enough to argue that if you turn peopleout more quickly, you’ll meet the skills shortage.You may well just be creating chaos out therewhen people aren’t properly trained.

‘If people are turned out inadequately preparedthey won’t stay in the field. This doesn’t solve thestaff shortages and does little for the field. In fact,it could have a detrimental effect on children,because they really need staff continuity.’

Early childhood consultant Tonia Godhardsays her main concern is that there is no adequatesystem in place to regularly monitor the trainingproviders once they are approved by VETAB.

‘Basically, it seems to me that VETAB approvesyou as a recognised training organisation andthen after that, unless there’s a complaint noth-ing much happens,’ she explains.

‘There needs to be a better system to keepdoing audits and checks, otherwise the quality oftraining is surely diminished. I think it’s reallyimportant that once people are approved asRTOs that there is a system to check on the qual-ity of the course.’

NSW VETAB General Manager MargaretWillis explains that strategic audits are conduct-ed to monitor the quality of training. These areconducted yearly by VETAB within NSW or on anational basis. However, if complaints arereceived about individual providers they areinvestigated immediately.

‘If we investigate a complaint and find thatthe provider is not delivering all the competen-cies specified in the qualification, then we havea range of sanctions available to us…Ultimately, of course, we have the power toderegister the provider.’

Willis says the NSW Community Services andHealth Industry Training & Accreditation Board(ITAB) and the Industry Skills Council have aleadership role to play—to allay industry concernabout qualifications being delivered in too shorta timeframe. Creating benchmarks for the appro-priate delivery of a qualification would provide areference point for VETAB auditors andproviders.

‘The competency system, which has replacedthe old time-served course based system, recog-nises that there are many pathways to a qualifica-tion,’ she says. ‘However, guidance on the averagenumber of hours for the average student in theaverage training situation is desperately neededto ensure credibility of the system.

‘While 20 weeks for a diploma definitelysounds inadequate to me, on the other hand,maybe two years is excessive. The time requiredshould reflect the content of the qualification,the entry skills and experience of the student.’

Community Services and Health IndustrySkills Council CEO, Diane Lawson, says that ifstudents are meeting the standards set out with-in the training package, they should be achiev-ing the desired outcome. However, she admitsthat the way competencies are delivered mayvary between institutions. ‘It’s about an out-come, not the time it takes to achieve that out-come,’ she says.

Godhard, on the other hand, believes that‘time-serving’ is an integral part of the learningprocess.

‘The knowledge base is complicated in chil-dren’s services,’ she says. ‘It’s not just themechanical task of doing something. Our work isabout relationships and interactions. It’s muchmore indepth. It’s not a recipe where you canlearn what to do. You have to have a whole knowl-edge of theory and how to apply that.

‘To me, because staff are the key to quality forchildren, the quality of training is really impor-tant and we shouldn’t sell children short.’ ■

Education


Itdoesn’t take much to get these preschoolers on their feetand gyrating to the music of the Babies Proms orchestra. Sometoddlers dance in jerky tribal movements, some squeal withdelight, while others stand back with hands clasped and mouthagape. All of them love it.

An intimate room in one of the Sydney Opera House shells hasbeen transformed into a casual concert hall for an audience of twoto five year-olds and their carers. The overwhelming mood with-in the room is one of sheer bliss.

At the end of the performance, children are invited to minglewith the musicians at close range. One boy makes a beeline forthe flautist and watches with wide eyes as her scale climbs andcrescendos. When he returns to his childcare centre that after-noon, all he can talk about is the flute.

Children seem to have an innatelove of music and theatre.

But beyond pure entertainmentvalue, performance can play a vital

role in providing lifelong learningopportunities, as

Katie Sutherland reports.

in their

■ FEATURE


The Babies Proms concerts, something of aninstitution for Sydney childcare groups andfamilies, provide the perfect opportunity toexpose young children to the wonderment ofmusic. They learn that music is not just foundon a compact disc, but made by differentinstruments and played by real people.

Noel Jordan is the Producer of YoungAudiences at the Opera House. He believes thatthe concerts offer a holistic experience. ‘It’scompletely visceral in every way,’ he explains.‘Not only entering the site and seeing the amaz-ing architecture, but then the children have achance to be exposed to different varieties andstyles of music and participate.’

Jordan has the enviable role of scouring thecountry for talent for the ‘Kids at the House’programme. Beyond the Babies Proms, he helpsto showcase a huge array of children’s theatreperformers, such as Melbourne percussionensemble Coco’s Lunch.

‘What I love about Cocos Lunch is thatthey’re just a great contrast to other children’sentertainment that’s on offer, like Hi 5 or theWiggles, where it’s very much about loud flashycolours, jumping up and down, and very com-mercialised,’ he says.

‘Coco’s Lunch is very gentle, the songs arewritten specifically for children. They encouragevery beautiful storytelling.’

Jordan strongly believes that exposing chil-dren to performance in this way has a resound-ing effect that goes way beyond on-the-spotentertainment.

‘The benefits are hopefully lifelong apprecia-tion, respect and interest in the arts in general,’he says. ‘There are so many reports coming out...on the benefits of being exposed to the arts andhow it can help with things like numeracy skills,particularly with the powers of creative thinking.Music is heavily associated with lateral thinkingand numeracy skills, whereas... drama is associ-ated with problem solving and... confidence.’

The Australia Council confirms that interna-tional research demonstrates that the arts caneffectively engage children and help them tolearn better. The Council’s website states:‘Engaging in the arts can stimulate imagination,improve communication and critical thinkingskills and foster creativity and adaptability—allimportant factors for success in life, particularlyin the information age’.

An important and comprehensive report sup-porting this belief is Champions of Change: The

‘There are so many reports coming out… onthe benefits of being exposed to the arts

and how it can help with things likenumeracy skills, particularly with the

powers of creative thinking. Music is heavilyassociated with lateral thinking and

numeracy skills, whereas… drama isassociated with problem solving and…

confidence.’– Noel Jordan, Producer of Young

Audiences, Opera House

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Impact of the Arts on Learning, recently devel-oped by the Department of Education in theUnited States.

The report concluded that it was critical tomake involvement with the arts a basic part ofchildren’s learning experiences. In summary, itstated that ‘involvement with the arts providesunparalleled opportunities for learning,enabling young people to reach for and attainhigher levels of achievement.’

Another interesting finding was that learningin and through the arts could help ‘level theplaying field’ for children from disadvantagedcircumstances. Researchers also found ‘clear evi-dence that sustained involvement in particularart forms—music and theatre—are highly corre-lated with success in mathematics and reading.’

As far as Jordan is concerned, you can’t startthis exposure to the arts too early. On a recentvisit to a children’s festival in Helsinki he wasimpressed to find that some European compa-nies were creating shows for 0–2 year-olds. ‘Andwe have absolutely not, to my knowledge,tapped into that audience range at all. We tendto start at two.’

Experiencing performance needn’t take theform of a highly organised excursion to theOpera House. Music and theatre can become apart of everyday programming within a child-care setting—either implemented by earlychildhood professionals or visiting performers.

Carmen and Juan Maravillas (appropriately,their surname is Spanish for ‘marvellous’) makeup the dance and music duo Dos Maravillas.Regular performers at childcare centres inSydney, they provide a visual treat and colourfulperformance, as well as an insight into anotherculture. They often pretend to embark on a tripto Spain at the start of the show and then trav-el home at the end—even teaching the childrena few Spanish words along the way.

‘The children respond very quickly and pickup the language,’ says Carmen. ‘They learn toclap some simple rhythms, do some play actingand drama and play the castanets.’

Amanda Camuglia is a music practioner whoruns music and movement classes for childcaregroups. She encourages children to experimentwith percussion instruments, dance, sing andlisten to music from around the world.

She believes the classes help children withcoordination, social skills, such as sharing, andexpression and confidence.

‘Above all it’s important that they’re learningin a positive environment that’s fun,’ she says.‘Children pick up a lot more if they’re havingfun—they don’t actually realise they’re learning.’

Jordan agrees, saying that children’s perform-ances should always be fun and relaxed—andnever ‘preachy or moralistic’.

‘I think there’s a fine line in children’s theatrewhere it hedges on becoming didactic and edu-cational,’ he explains. ‘You’re presenting fasci-nating stories that, in themselves, have intrinsicmoral messages, but that is not the purpose ofwhat is being presented.

‘[At the Opera House] what we’re presentingis incredibly polished and very professionalwork, but that doesn’t mean it has to be austere.We try to be as informal as possible.

‘If a child is interested in what a saxophonedoes, he can walk right up to the musician andsay ‘can you play me something’ or ‘how doesthat thing work?’. ■

‘The children respond very quickly and pick up the language,they learn to clap some simple rhythms, do some play actingand drama and play the castanets.’– Carmen Maravillas, of the

Dos Maravillas, pictured enchanting children at right


Can blowing up a balloon help prevent child abuse and neglect?What about smiling at a child in the street, or letting a parent ahead ofyou in a shopping queue?

Disarmingly simple acts such as these were at the centre of a newnational campaign to prevent child abuse—before it starts. Launchedin National Child Protection Week, the Child-friendly Challenge cam-paign calls on all Australians to take responsibility for the wellbeing ofchildren.

Child abuse is Australia’s most serious social problem. Suspectedcases have doubled in number since 1999/2000. In 2004, 220,000reports of child abuse were made—a chilling figure equal to one reportfor every 25 children. In Australia, a child is abused every 13 minutes.

The annual financial cost of abuse and neglect of children is enor-mous. In 2003 Kids First Foundation determined the direct economic

A new campaign to preventchild abuse calls on

Australian people to create‘child-friendly communities’

through simple acts ofkindness. Fiona Smart

discusses the roleindividuals can play.

childfriendly

COMMUNITIES

BUILDING

NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION WEEK ■


costs to be $4.93 billion peryear. From its 2004 report

the Office of the Statusof Women calculatedthe impact of domesticviolence on children tobe a further $769 mil-lion annually.

Child abuse and neg-lect is known to increase

the risks of substanceaddiction, crime, home-

lessness, poor health, educa-tional failure, poor employabil-

ity, depression and suicide. Childabuse affects the whole community,

not just the child and family involved. It is there-fore up to the whole community to prevent it.

Launched in National Child Protection Week,the Child-friendly Challenge campaign wasdeveloped in response to this national crisis. Thechallenge is a series of seven simple childfocussed activities such as helping a parent witha pram or telling a child a story. Actions such asthese ease the stress of a parent or carer andmake a difference to a child. Research shows thatsimple acts of kindness can significantly enhancethe resilience of a child and thus reduce their riskof experiencing abuse or neglect.

With its practical call to action, the campaigncalls on individuals and communities to helpbuild ‘child-friendly’ communities—communi-ties in which child abuse and neglect have noplace.

‘We challenge the belief that parents alone areresponsible for children's wellbeing,’ says NAP-CAN Executive Officer, Adam Blakester. ‘NAP-CAN believes that only a whole-of-communityapproach will ensure children receive everythingthey need not only to survive, but thrive.’

But what exactly is a ‘child-friendly communi-ty’ and what role can individuals play in creatingand fostering it?

Whether a childcare centre, sporting club,neighbourhood, school or workplace, a child-friendly community is one where children arevalued, supported, provided for and activelyincluded. Every community can strive to be achild-friendly community.

Child-friendly communities allow children toplay a part. Children are included in decisions,are free to take part, to express themselves andreceive information. In these communities chil-dren reach their potential, receiving the educa-tion and opportunities required to fully developsocially, emotionally, culturally, physically andspiritually. Children live well within these com-munities and receive all the basic needs of food,clothing, shelter and health. In child-friendlycommunities children are free from harm, pro-tected from all forms of abuse and neglect.

Research shows that strong, healthy commu-nities have less child abuse and neglect. Child-friendly communities provide a web of supportacross all aspects of a child’s life—enhancingtheir development, wellbeing and resilienceagainst harm.

The largest study undertaken in Australia,focussed on the community approach theNewcastle suburb of Windale developed toimprove educational, work, health and otheropportunities for children. The program includ-ed activities such as parenting classes, the stagedintroduction of preschool aged children toschools, joint exercise and sociability groups forisolated mothers, the engagement of approxi-mately fifty fathers in making various contribu-tions to the life of the school and a generalincreased involvement by parents in school lifeand a Shop Smart nutrition program.

The results of a whole-of-communityapproach speak for themselves. In 1999 Windalewas in the worst one per cent of NSW postcodesfor instances of child abuse and neglect. In 2004it was in the best 25 per cent.

There are countless examples across Australiaof real communities undertaking initiatives tobecome child-friendly communities. InDarebin, Victoria a pram-walking program helpsparents adjust to the demands of a new babyand reduce the risk of social isolation, post-natalstress or depression. Participants enjoy grouppram walks in local parks and are provided withthe opportunity to become involved in regularand affordable physical activity within a socialand supportive environment. Within this com-munity individuals are able to share stories andsupport each others parenting responsibilities.

■ ANYONE CAN HELP

Taking the ‘child-friendly challenge’ within childcare

1. Display NAPCAN parenting resources in a prominent place. Order resources at www.napcan.org.au.

2. Hold fatherhood nights to support local dads in their role

3. Tell a child a story from your childhood

4. Promote local services that provide support and care for childrenand families

5. Build your community—invite families, parents and children to anafternoon tea and discuss how you can work together to makeyour community child-friendly

6. Form a ‘child-friendly communities’ action group, using the onlinekit available at www.napcan.org.au

7. Help us meet the ‘child-friendly challenge’ every day of the year.Hold a fundraiser for NAPCAN

Research shows that strong,healthy communities have lesschild abuse and neglect. Child-friendly communitiesprovide a web of support acrossall aspects of a child’s life—enhancing their development,wellbeing and resilience against harm.


With an emphasis on creating communitiesthat are not just child-friendly but family-friend-ly, the BUDS Helping Families to Grow in FamilyFriendly Communities program aims to assist theWallsend and Blue Gums areas in NSW becomecommunities that are supportive and welcoming.The program has produced two colourful eventscalendars featuring family-friendly activities,community information, children’s artwork andcommunity reflections on what it means to befamily-friendly. Events include library story times,soccer club registrations and family fun days. Theprogram also invited local primary school chil-dren to design a family-friendly logo or posteras part of a classroom activity. The win-ning logo is being produced in stickerform to be used in shop windowsthat meet BUDS’ family-friendlyguidelines.

Although we are a long wayfrom reaching NAPCAN’s visionthat every Australian community ischild-friendly, it is inspiring andheartening to see so many communitiesundertaking good initiatives. ■

Fiona Smart is communications officer for the NAPCANFoundation. NAPCAN is the only national organisation ofits kind to focus on preventing child abuse before itstarts. It strives to inspire all Australians to takeresponsibility for children’s wellbeing and is workingtoward a vision that every Australian community ischild-friendly. [www.napcan.org.au]

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In 1999 Windale was in the worst one per

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AsI sit here, I have just leftmy daughter in formal childcare forthe first time. It feels terrible.

It’s a lovely centre, with fantasticfacilities, lots of outdoor and indoorspace and a better than averagestaff–child ratio. But it wasn’t the sameas leaving her with someone who knowsand loves her.

I am manifestly not myself. Last night, aftercarefully applying name tags to millions of bitsof clothing that still seem heart-breakingly tiny,I couldn’t go to bed until I’d ironed all herclothes – and sheets.

I haven’t felt this anxious since Lucy was anewborn and I was averaging three hours sleep anight.

The drop-off is the worst bit. Being just underpreschool age there’s an absence of the kind ofgathering activities that I remember from child-hood. Seemingly hundreds of terribly busy littlepeople are pottering about in their own rugged-ly individual ways, and the staff are busilychanging nappies and serving morning tea.There’s no-one to take us by the hand and easeus in gently. (OK, we did hang out here togeth-er for eight hours the day before yesterday, so weknow some of the ropes, but don’t they realisethis is different? This time I’m leaving!). Lucylooks OK, if a little withdrawn, but I think I’mgoing to cry.

Parenting is full of hard choices and there’salways someone ready to tell you that you aremaking all the wrong ones.

I have studied the advice to parents and amfollowing it to the letter. We have discussedwhat will happen, and I am going to stay just theright length of time but not linger for so long asto provoke anxiety. I’m going to return atlunchtime and give her the option of then leav-ing with me or staying a little longer alone. It isall OK, really.

Why on earth am I doing this?The struggle of motherhood, to me, is the

struggle to be true to yourself and give at leastglancing acknowledgement to your own desires

and ambitions while you remain inthe thrall of the most transfiguringlove for another. Some kind of lifeoutside the relentless responsibilities

of caring for a small child is impera-tive, but how do you strike the bal-

ance? Which strangers are the bestequipped to care for your child? Is it all

worth it?Ita Buttrose and her ilk would probably

describe this as mother guilt, the nagging senseof never being quite perfect enough. Some peo-ple in my workplace—childless people—smirkas they name what they see as my separationanxiety. Then they laugh.

I’m not surprised that I find it hard to leaveseeing my child for the first time unprotected bya direct mother-substitute. What does surpriseme is my reaction to it—a frightfully conserva-tive one, where I suddenly want to provide mychild with all the housewifely symbols of beingwell-loved—brushed hair, a vegemite-free face,colour-coordinated clothes and ironed sheets forher bed at day care (they sleep on little mats allover the floor, all these perfect little children—except mine, of course, a determined insomniacsince birth).

A big, bright, slightly tatty ‘Learn to Include’poster is stuck up haphazardly on a wall near theentrance. We both respond to it—Lucy, becauseit is familiar and I because it is a symbol that thebig, bad world might be more welcoming that Ihave feared. In the big bay window looking outonto the playground, a slightly bigger girl wholater introduces herself as Bianca is pretendingto read The Rainbow Cubby House to a largebrown baby doll upon whose chest she is sitting.

Andrew Stoner would be apoplectic. I couldkiss Vicky Harding. It feels OK to leave.

(For now.) ■

Bridget Haire is a Sydney-based writer and editor whoworks mainly in the HIV sector. Her daughter, Lucy, isnow three. Article first published in LOTL magazine.Andrew Stoner is the leader of the NSW National Party.He spoke out against Vicki Harding’s childrens’ booksabout same sex parent families, featured in the ‘Learn toInclude’ project.

Letting go is never easy. We step into theshoes of parent Bridget Haire as shecomes to terms with ‘first day blues’.

Parenting

A playgroup set up by early childhoodstaff and students from the SouthbankInsitute of TAFE in Queensland hasbecome an important communityresource. Carrie Rose also reveals howthe playgroup has become a hotbed forcultural and linguistic diversity.

IMAGINEyou’re given a boat shed that stored canoesand kayaks and were encouraged to create

a high quality early childhood environment to train students and toengage the community. Well, that’s what happened to us.

In 2003, Southbank Institute of TAFE faculty director MikeDiezman approached the institute’s Children Services team and thatis exactly what he said to us. He supported the high level of teachingthat we were challenging ourselves to achieve—and this was his wayof showing his support. I am not sure if we saw it at the time but wecertainly felt very grateful for the support by the end of development.

We decided that this was going to be a great idea and began tothink of ways that it could become a reality. We wanted to give asmuch ownership to the students as we could and began includingthem in the vision. Initially, it was difficult to have the studentsengaged in every decision but as the project continued and the


Our wildestDREAMS

■ COMMUNITY INITIATIVE

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momentum began it was hard to keep them out.The students and teachers started collaborat-

ing and 2004 was our year. The workmen beganrebuilding this shed and transformed it into aboat shed painted blue—just minus the boats.It was then that the team truly knew the worklay ahead.

A lot of time and energy was put into design-ing the space for the children and students weregiven a budget for particular areas and theirassessment was to create their visions. This was afantastic experience not just for the students,but also for me and my colleague, Liz Smith,who is a teacher within Children Services atSouthbank Institute. At the time, we were teach-ing creativity and aesthetics in early childhood.

The students presented each ‘learning space’to the group as assessment and the environmenttransformed into a beautiful, purposeful play-group that everyone would love. We were veryproud of these students and they were prettyproud of themselves.

The next task for this group was to get it readyfor an October opening. They worked hard witheach other preparing, advertising and prayingthat it would all come together. Unfortunately,there was little response from the communityand it was back to the drawing board. To theircredit, the students jumped straight back on thehorse (so to speak) and the second time round itall started to fall into place.

The next scheduled opening was a great suc-cess. We had more than 20 people come to thatopening and within two weeks the students andstaff were operating the playgroup two days aweek catering for 15 families each of the days.

We set our sights high for 2005. It was decid-ed that our goal was to open for five mornings aweek and we began advertising. Initially we wereall a bit nervous about the response, but endedup being incredibly overwhelmed by it. Weneeded to cap each morning at 20 families andbegan a waiting list.

After just two months of operating five days aweek, we were forced to stop taking people onthe waiting list as it was now 30 people for eachday and the likelihood of them getting a placewas quite some time away. The calls just keptcoming though and the word had spread aroundthe community like wildfire.

Most parents loved the idea of the studentsworking with the children. Many mother’sgroups have joined the playgroup together andthis has been a great way for them to keep intouch without having to have morning teas ateach other’s houses.

The students are timetabled in for particularshifts one or two times a week and they have

really taken hold of the playgroup now. There isa real sense of ownership and the teachers havefound it the best teaching environment. Thestudents have really begun to engage with thechildren and have opportunity to practice manyskills prior to going out on vocational place-ment. They continue to think of new ways toengage with the families.

Some of these ways are information posters tohelp parents understand their child’s develop-ment; promoting language and literacy throughbook fairs and book club; making resources forthe children; implementing experiences, includ-ing small group sessions; planning for the chil-dren’s interests; and setting up environmentsthat enhance learning. Other ideas have beentranslating songs and posters into other lan-guages to assist families to feel welcomes andvalued and they are now in the process of settingit up a ‘lending library’ for parents.

Two of the families at the playgroup haveshared some more personal moments with usand have allowed us to share them with you:

The story of Akiko and Abby

Akiko is a Japanese migrant and her husbandis Australian. They adopted Abby from Koreawhen she was a baby and brought her back toAustralia.

Akiko saw the article in the local paper aboutthe playgroup, and enquired if it was a multicul-tural playgroup. After the staff assured her that


The students presented each ‘learning space’ to the group as assessment and the environment

transformed into a beautiful, purposeful playgroup thateveryone would love. We were very proud of these students

and they were pretty proud of themselves.


she would be most welcome to come, Akikoattended her first day.

After the first day, she said she felt very posi-tive and loved the facility and the diverse cul-tures of the families that attended. She beganinviting all of her friends to come along. As wehad spaces to fill up, soon the playgroup hadmany families from Akiko and Abby’s circle offriends.

Some of these families have adopted childrenfrom other nationalities and the playgroup pro-vided them with a great meeting point each week,or for some, twice a week. They engaged in manyconversations and we watched as the friendshipsgrew, not only within their circle of friends, butalso within the Southbank Playgroup community.

Akiko describes her experience at the play-group as her and Abby’s world has ‘expandedand we have learnt a lot from other members.’Akiko believes that: ‘As an older first-time moth-er and Asian, life is not always easy in Australia,but it has been easier since last October.’

The story of Heesu, Chaeyon and Junsuh

Heesu and her family arrived in Australia in2004. Chaeyon was just over two and is blindand physically disabled (unable to walk) andJunsuh was three-months-old. They had nofriends or family in Australia.

Heesu’s husband did not speak very much

English, however she spoke some and thereforewas responsible for most of the interpretation.This included buying a car and renting a house.Heesu talked to me about the loneliness she felt.‘I stayed at home with the kids for the first threemonths and never went outside unless my hus-band came home to help me.’

She also discussed the challenges she faced.Heesu was not a confident driver and was excep-tionally nervous on Australian roads, so thethought of going to playgroup was quite daunt-ing for her. She didn’t believe she would be ableto get the two children in and out of the car andalmost didn’t come on that first day. She calledthe playgroup and staff spoke to her, assuringher that if she could just get here, we would helpher in and out of the car, and that studentswould assist her with Chaeyon.

This is how she described her first day: ‘I meetother mums… and I can talk to staff and stu-dents too… Sometimes being a mother of a dis-abled child is not easy. A lot of people say theyunderstand what I have, but don’t think theyreally do.’

She continues: ‘I go to playgroup and makegood friends for myself. It is very important tohave someone to talk to when you need it. Ibarely have a chance to speak to adults exceptmy husband. So it is the most wonderful thingto me. Also talking to other mums is good

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chance to get emotional support too.’Heesu believes that the playgroup has assisted

her in achieving the goals she has set for herfamily. She describes that as ‘Chaeyon has over-come meeting new people and is experiencing anormal life. Now Heesu has developed manyfriends from playgroup and has a network out-side of this community to meet up with and weare grateful for meeting her and her family.’

Other families commented on the playgroupduring the interview sessions and these weresome of their comments:

‘As a mother of 18-month-old twins, it is oftendifficult to go to social gatherings by myself…The high ratio of students to children meansthat the kids are exposed to new people (of dif-ferent ages, nationalities and sexes) every week.’

‘Jonty (10 months now) has grown up here. Ilove watching him crawl to the various areas,noticing the students following him and learn-ing with him…Jordan our nearly-three-year-oldtells everyone about Jordie’s playgroup.’

‘Playgroup is a fantastic way to meet new peo-ple from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds,enabling us to experience different culturalexperiences and views.’

‘The students have fantastic activities andideas each week influenced by their varied back-grounds that is passed to the children.’

‘In the past six months it has been exciting for

me to watch Sophia grow and developwith children from different ages andbackgrounds. The activities andequipment have always been interest-ing and challenging.’

‘Meeting and interacting with chil-dren of different ages, from differentparts of the world gives my children auseful early lesson in diversity, which,without any doubt, will be beneficial in theirfuture dealing with other people in society…Teaching mutual respect and understandingand accepting differences among people willcreate a peaceful and prosperous society.’

We are very proud of the playgroup and thestudents who operate it. It has created a won-derful communication hub that has exceededeven our wildest dreams. ■

Carrie Rose is the co-ordinator of Children’s Services atthe Southbank Institute of TAFE in Brisbane. She firstgave this presentation at the recent National ECAConference in Brisbane.

‘As a mother of 18-month-old twins, it is often difficult to goto social gatherings by myself… The high ratio of students tochildren means that the kids are

exposed to new people (ofdifferent ages, nationalities and

sexes) every week.’

He remembers my name! I can't believe he remembers my name.After all, it must have been at least a month since I last saw thischild. Wow! Oh, careful, don’t fall over, you don’t want to lookunprofessional.

I never would have envisaged that while working as a CDO in alarge family day care scheme-overseeing the quality of the home-based care in 19 carers' homes-the most memorable moment of myfirst year out of university would be one child out of the 150 chil-dren I am responsible for saying my name.

This was the first child to remember my name. Previously I hadbeen called all sorts of things by children when I arrived at carers'homes. Among these were names of other CDOs –the closest a childever got to saying my actual name was 'Kathy', but there had been aCDO named Kathy in this area before. I had been farewelled from acarer's home once by a four-year-old calling out ‘Bye, family daycare’. I had been called ‘girl’, ‘lady’ and even ‘mum’, but never beforehad a child remembered my name and, here, a toddler had just said‘Kathryn’, clear as day.

When I returned to the co-ordination unit that afternoon, no-one else seemed to be as excited as I was that a child had said myname. When I saw this same child a few weeks later and he again

26 ■ RATTLER 74 | WINTER 2005

■ FIRST YEAR OUTATURES

The littlethings that

countWorking as a child development officer can be tough and heartbreaking. But the job also provides simple rewards that make it all worthwhile. Kathryn Hopps diarises her experiences as a first-year-out early childhood professional.

It is 2.30PM in a residential street in a regional city somewhere in New SouthWales. A car pulls into the driveway of number 42. 'Oops, better back out, don't want to upset theowner by blocking her husband's car in.' The car backs out. 'Careful not to fall off the end of thedriveway like my colleague once did.' The car is parked. The uniformed family day care childdevelopment officer (CDO) alights from the vehicle and approaches the front door. It's been a hardweek; glad it's Friday. Knock on the door. 'Hope it's not an inconvenient time.' The door opens, and asmall group of children can be heard playing inside. The young CDO greets the experienced familyday carer. 'Hi, just stopped by to drop off the resources you asked for.' The CDO and the carer conversefor a few minutes. They talk about one of the children in the carer's service who will be starting schoolnext year. All of a sudden, from nowhere, a sweet little voice pipes up, ‘Kathryn!’

RATTLER 74 | WINTER 2005 ■ 27

(above) Registered Carer VasukiLingabala, at left, and Child DevelopmentOfficer Kathryn Hopps at the New South

Wales Children's Week Awards atGovernment House, Sydney.

greeted me by name, as if confirming that Ihadn't imagined it before, I explained to hismother that it had made my day. She justsmiled. No-one else could understand how ithad made me feel that afternoon, but then no-one else had been through the baptism of firethat I had just survived in my first year out.

MY FIRST YEAR OUT HAD SEEN ME:■ Dealing with irate, intimidating and unrea-

sonable parents who had stormed into theoffice where I happened to be (wrong place,wrong time); bearing the brunt of theirattacks; being called a liar, having the doorslammed in my face and then being debriefedon the incident and spending the rest of theafternoon writing up everything that had hap-pened, word for word, blow by blow.

■ Being an accidental counsellor almost daily.Trying to comfort a parent in tears. Lending alistening ear to a carer whose marriage wasbreaking down, when I was the only face-to-face adult conversation during her workingday. Helping a carer deal with an incident onher property when a parent had arrived withthe police in tow. Trying to be understandingwhen a parent or carer pours out their prob-lems, and not having a clue what to say.

■ Making ten phone calls and spending a wholeafternoon arranging care for a child; ringingthe parent, and hearing them say that theyhave found other arrangements.

■ Coming into the job feeling like a very organ-ised person, having completed a four-yeardegree with honours. A few weeks down thetrack, feeling like the most disorganised per-son in the office: 'Everyone else around is cop-ing really well, so, how come I'm not? What'swrong with me?'; having an in-tray that willnever be empty; having to cope with the factthat there will always be some bit of paper-work that will have to wait until tomorrow;having a pile of filing like a bottomless pit.

■ Reorganising my whole day to drive a mental-ly ill parent and her four-year-old son to hiscarer's home, to save the child from having towalk four kilometres. Nearly throwing up onthe dashboard because of the putrid smell ofmy passengers. Being thanked for serving as ataxi driver by rude, then threatening behav-iour from the parent. Trying to concentrateon driving while fearing for my life as the par-ent rustled through her bag: was she going topull out a knife?

■ Handling grievances about my own carers.Acting as an unwilling mediator between par-ents and carers. Picking up the pieces whenthese two parties are not honest with eachother. Looking like an idiot when I tell a par-ent something and then the carer tells themsomething very different. Having a carer or aparent's dirty work, such as relaying a difficultmessage, palmed off to one of the poor officestaff –usually me.

28 ■ RATTLER 74 | WINTER 2005

■ Being called in to a meeting with the boss tobe told that I had offended a carer, when all Ihad tried to do was support her. Not beingable to sleep at night; questioning whether Ihad chosen the right career path: maybe Iwasn’t cut out for being a child developmentofficer. Coming to grips with the fact that youcan't please everyone, that not everyone willlike you, and that it’s not about being liked ordisliked: it’s about doing the job properly andkeeping the children as my number one prior-ity. Realising that I can only do my best, andthat my best will never be good enough forsome people. Learning that people can sayone thing but be thinking the opposite.Knowing that when someone says ‘every-thing’s fine’, it might very well not be.

■ Feeling alone on the departure of two staffmembers who I thought highly of and whomentored me in my first few months.

■ Defending myself and my qualificationsagainst naïve comments like ‘How can you doa safety check on a carer's home when youdon't have children yourself?’; ‘But you are soyoung’; ‘You are just a teenager yourself’.Standing up in front of 40 or so carers, many

of them old enough to be my mum, andexploring through higher order thinking tech-niques what they perceive as the role of thechild development officer. Being told then bysome carers that they think child developmentofficers are young, inexperienced, straight outof university, intimidating, and rude.

■ Being sworn at by a carer’s husband whileconducting a safety audit of her home.Having my feet licked by a dog on a homesafety check experience. Being made to feelvery uncomfortable and unwelcome afterhaving to confront a carer about a breach of agovernment regulation. Turning up to work todiscover a break-in and then feeling anxiousabout being on my own in the office.

■ Being a part of the quality assurance processin Family Day Care. Coaching my carersthrough an unfamiliar self-study and valida-tion process. Trying to answer my carers’questions about what the validator will askthem; not really knowing. Battling to get themessage through that this process is aboutconstant improvement, and about providingthe highest quality care, not just doing itbecause they have to. Feeling glad it was allover when the validator left, and relievedwhen the well-deserved result came through.

■ Being told by a carer: ‘Kathryn, your bottomhas gotten smaller’–and not really knowinghow to take that comment!

■ Dealing with the grim realities of child pro-tection. Witnessing evidence of neglect andabuse. Receiving a court subpoena to supplyinformation about a family. Sifting throughyears of documentation on the children andreading things that didn't let me sleep well atnight. Having to face the fact that this is ahuge part of my job and will never go away.

■ Having the opportunity to teach the nextgeneration of early childhood educators whenI have only ‘been out’ a few months.Returning to my own university to be on theother side of the fence to lecture third yearstudents on conducting research in earlychildhood settings. Standing up in my firstlecture and wondering how I would bereceived and whether I would be eaten alive.Being a proud advocate for family day care,and sparking students’ interest in my work asa CDO and in conducting research. Being onthe other side of the academic fence againwhen acting as an associate teacher for twopracticum students and supervising highschool work experience. Hoping that I hadencouraged more people to the field and set apositive image of my job and family day care.

■ Child development officers –What's their role?

As their title suggests, child development officers (CDOs) areresponsible for observing children placed in family day care-tracking children's development and encourage carers toimplement developmentally appropriate experiences.

They play an important role in providing support, guidance, trainingand administrative support to registered carers. CDOs also monitorcarer's compliance with children's services regulations, occupationalhealth and safety and child protection legislation. They resourcecarers with the latest information on childcare and education, andprovide services such as a toy library lending system.

18 month oldTiffany Caldwellposes as abudding FamilyDay Care ChildDevelopmentOfficer, completewith home visitbag full of aCDO’s tools ofthe trade


■ Turning up alone to a home where a domesticdisturbance was occurring. Thinking that theraised voices must have been the televisionturned up really loud, and virtually walkingstraight into a violent argument. Feelingscared as I tried to get out of there as swiftlyas I could, rushing past smashed windows.

■ Driving into inner-city Sydney by myself forthe first time in my life; walking proudly in myuniform down Elizabeth Street, through theBotanical Gardens; striding into GovernmentHouse to enjoy tea and cucumber sandwichesin the company of Governor Marie Bashir andother celebrities. My face beaming with pridewhen one of my carers received her NSWChildren’s Week Award. Being in the samemagnificent room as so many inspiring peoplewho work with children. Hoping that one day Iwould have some of the courage that thesepeople have shown.The past 12 months have been a roller coaster

ride, to say the least. It has been a big year andsometimes I wonder how I ever got through. Iexperienced some huge events and learnt fromevery single one of them.

The events I have described are just a part ofthe daily working life of a child development offi-cer. It's not an easy job and I am sure that not just

anyone could do it. There are some really difficultthings I have to do every day, but when a five-and-a-half-year-old boy says ‘You smell nice’; orwhen a 13-month-old reaches out to give you acuddle; or when a two-year-old remembers yourname, I look back on the good times and thetougher ones and it makes everything worth-while. Moments like these are the most memo-rable, and make the job satisfying despite thestruggles and challenges that I have already met,as well as those that no doubt still lie ahead.

A child remembered my name that day and Iwill never forget it. It really is the little thingsthat count. ■

Kathryn Hopps is currently working in a variety of rolesin children's services including child development offi-cer in family day care, coordinator of a vacation careservice and regional facilitator of outside school hourscare services in the Central West of New South Wales.She previously worked in long day care centres and as acasual lecturer at Charles Sturt University's School ofTeacher Education. This story appeared in an anthologyof stories of education graduate’s ‘first year out’ teach-ing experiences, edited by L. Harrison, R. Allen, J.Phillips, and J. Reid, titled: Into the Whirly Wind: Storiesof 'first year out' teaching, published by the School ofTeacher Education, Charles Sturt University, BathurstCampus. The book can be ordered from Charles SturtUniversity http://www.csu.edu.au/division/alumni/mem-orabilia.htm#2 or purchased through the CoopBookshop, ISBN 0-646-43686-4

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Little Crooked HouseBy Margaret WildPublished by ABC BooksCost: $27.95

Here’s a story that explores a concept close to thehearts of many small children—stability and the

security of living in a safe and happy home.Based on the traditional nursery rhyme, it

follows the many moves of a crooked man, hiscrooked cat, crooked mouse and their crooked littlehouse. Time upon time their surroundings causethem havoc so they have to keep moving… again andagain and again.Finally they set down roots and find a place they arehappy to call home:

One summer evening, the crooked man said, ‘Here wewill not be shaken to bits, or buried in sand, or washedaway by the river. Here we are safe, and here we willstay for ever and ever.’

Seadragon SeaBy Margaret Spurling & Danny SnellPublished by Working Title PressCost: $24.95Another sweet story about the importanceof finding ‘home’, this tale delves into thebeautiful depths of the Southern Ocean. Down in the sea where the spongegardens grow and the water is cold anddeep, ten baby seadragons hatched out oftheir eggs. But almost as soon as theyuncurled their tails, the babies knew thatthis was not their real home.One little seadragon is left behind as his

brothers and sisters head off through the dangeroussea to find the warmer waters where the seagrassmeadows grow. He’s directed by the sea animals hemeets along the way—the wobbegong, cuttlefish,flying fish and dophins—eventually finding his

family, peace and security.

Time for a StoryCompiled by Play SchoolPublished by ABC BooksCost: $29.95In true Play School form, this great storybook

entertains and educates. Withfive stories in total (one foreach weekday), it providesplenty of good reading fodder.

The stories range fromfavourites like The three bearsto lesser known tales from thePlay School stable. Each are agreat length – just enough to

capture imaginations withoutlosing their attention.

Play School presenters introduce each story, givingit a familiar and personal feel. And children canlearn about numbers and time with the moveablehands on the Hickory Dickory Clock.

Pratical Solutions to Practically Every ProblemBy Steffan Saifer; Australian edition adapted bySusan ClarkPublished by Pademelon PressCost: $54.95The title says it all. This is an extremelycomprehensive resource to have on hand when youneed to find solutions quickly and easily.

The Australian edition has been revised andexpanded with new topics, including:

■ Helping children deal with traumatic life events;

■ Developing a curriculum;

■ Working with mixed-age groups;

■ Children who are ill and other health concernsincluding allergies, anaphylactic shock, asthmaand head lice, etc.;

■ Using computers in the service.

While not the be-all-and-end-all, it certainly offershundreds of tested solutions for tricky problems,questions and concerns that are part of every earlychildhood professional’s day. It also referencesplenty of other journals and websites, which havebeen recently updated.

The Anti-Bullying and Teasing Book for Preschool ClassroomsBy Barbara Sprung, Merle Froschl and Dr Blythe HinitzPublished by Gryphon HouseCost: $39.95While it’s natural for children to experiment withsocial interactions while learning about their world,it’s also important to address negative behaviour,such as teasing and bullying, before it develops. Ifnot, teasing and bullying can affect a child’slearning, physical health and emotional wellbeing.

While this book focuses onschool-aged children andmay seem quite Americanat first glance, it does offersome very practical advicethat could be applied toAustralian preschools. Itdescribes how to useactivities, the classroomenvironment and familyinvolvement to developempathy in children andcreate a climate of mutualrespect.

BookwormRattler’s literary roundup page, where we preview what’s new on the shelves—resources for you and storytime books for all ages.


Community Child Care Co-operativeLtd. (NSW)

Statement of Apology and Commitment to

Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander People

Statement of Apology and Commitment to

Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander People

Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd.(NSW) acknowledges the loss of family,cultural identity, land, language andcommunity of Aborigines and Torres StraitIslanders through the policies andpractices of Australian governments,organisations and people.

We unreservedly apologise for theongoing suffering and loss that thesepolicies and practices have caused toAboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderchildren, parents, families andcommunities.

Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd.(NSW)

26 May, 1998

www.ccccnsw.org.auLink to Educational Experience direct from:

NEW

Following some major changes in our industry, which involvedacquisitions of resource suppliers by corporate childcaregroups, we set about looking for the company that shared ourvalues and beliefs when it came to giving back to community-based childcare. We looked at ownership (who owned whatand how many they owned), experience, value for money and,above all, service to our members.

As such, we are delighted to announce that we havecommenced working with Educational Experience, which isgoing to make life a lot easier for all children’s services that aremembers of Community Child Care. Knowing that resources aretight and budgets are stretched in all services, EducationalExperience have guaranteed to make our budgets go furtherthrough a preferential discount for our members.

WHAT IS IT?A huge 15 per cent discount on all products purchased fromEducational Experience – Australia’s best specialist toy andeducational product supplier to preschools and childcare centres.

WHO CAN GET IT?All members of Community Child Care Co-operative.

IS IT A ONE-OFF DISCOUNT?No. It is ongoing. Any products you buy from EducationalExperience’s Teacher’s Resource Catalogue (700+ pages!) fromnow on will be discounted by 15 per cent. (As long as youremain a member of Community Child Care, of course!).

WHY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE?Because it is the company that most of our members use fortoy and equipment purchases; they have almost 30 yearsexperience in supplying the sector; they offer value for moneyand because, unlike some toy companies, they are NOT ownedby a corporate childcare company.

HOW DO I ORDER?Community Child Care hasplaced a link to the EducationalExperience’s website on ourwebsite (www.ccccnsw.org.au)to make browsing and emailordering of products easier.Alternatively, you can justphone or fax through yourorder to EducationalExperience as you usually do… just make sure you haveyour Community Child Caremembership numberhandy. For phone ordering,their Freecall number is1800 025 270.

WHERE’S MY MEMBERSHIP NUMBER?Your membership number was sent to you when you joinedCommunity Child Care. If you don’t have it, call Anne atCommunity Child Care on (02) 9560 4771.

AM I A MEMBER?Some people are confused about whether their service is amember of Community Child Care. Just because you asubscriber to our publications, it doesn’t mean you are also amember. Membership for children’s services, however, is only$165 per year. This includes your subscription to Rattler andBroadside. Your subscription cost alone is $88, so for only $77more per year, you can have full membership, including yourEducational Experience discount.

To join, call Anne on (02) 9560 4771 or download an applicationform from our website www.ccccnsw.org.au

member benefit 15% discount on all Educational Experience products

Community Child Care is all about doing things for the rightreasons, whether it be ensuring children’s safety or workingwith the right organisations to benefit our members.

Community Child Care Co-operative

Ltd. (NSW)

OUR VISIONOur vision at Community Child Care is for children, families

and communities of NSW to have access to a diverse range of quality, affordable children’s services.

RESOURCESAND ADVICE

Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd (NSW)provides advice and up-to-date information forcommittee members,

staff and families. Pleasecall us to discuss issues,concerns or ideas about

the operation ormanagement of your

service.

CONSULTANCY& CUSTOMISEDPROFESSIONALDEVELOPMENT

We offer personalisedconsulting on all aspectsof management and early

childhood servicesoperations. We willidentify solutions byworking with you toformulate a plan of

action. Our consultantsalso provide customised

professional developmentspecific to your service or

a group of services onany subject.

TRAININGCommunity Child Care

Co-operative Ltd (NSW)co-ordinates training

sessions at night, overthe weekend or duringthe day on a variety of

subjects. Visit ourwebsite to view our

training directory, ourcurrent training calendar

or simply call us todiscuss.

For more information about Community Child Care Co-operative, contact us on:

1800 629 397 or 9560 4771Or go to our website …

www.ccccnsw.org.au

leadership • information • advocacy • management advice • training • publications

issue 76, summer 2005 rattler - cela...rattler issue 76, summer 2005 community child care co-op kid...

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