The Early Education Show: Recent Episodes
Lisa, Leanne and Liam
Earlier this year, Liam was interviewed by Lecturer Kathrine Whitty for a video to her Masters students at the Australian Catholic University. It was an opportunity to discuss all things early education, including Liam's professional journey in the sector, and Kath and the ACU were kind enough to share the audio of the interview for the Early Education Show.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been tasked with conducting an inquiry into Australia’s early education sector. What are they looking at, why does it matter, and what do we hope it will accomplish?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We're back for a new fortnightly series! This week, we're tackling the Federal Government's Early Years Strategy. What is the context of this new strategy, and what do we think it should come up with?
We've been away for a while - but we couldn't let as big a year as 2022 pass without getting the gang back together.
We mostly remember how to podcast, but it's been long enough that Liam managed to forget that a microphone only works when it's... plugged in. Apologies for his terrible sound. He promises to do better in 2023.
It's the final episode of Exploring the NQS - a look at the whole thing, and the journey of exploring it element by element. Thanks for everyone who's listened in.
This week's episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 7: Leadership and service management.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 7 focuses on effective leadership and governance of the service to establish and maintain quality environments for children’s learning and development. Effective leaders establish shared values for the service that reflect the service context and professionalism and set clear direction for the service’s continuous improvement. Governance refers to the systems in place to support effective management and operation of the service, consistent with the service’s statement of philosophy.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 7.2.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Development of professionals".
Element description: Educators, co-ordinators and staff members’ performance is regularly evaluated and individual plans are in place to support learning and development.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 7.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Educational leadership".
Element description: The educational leader is supported and leads the development and implementation of the educational program and assessment and planning cycle.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 7.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Continuous improvement".
Element description: There is an effective self-assessment and quality improvement process in place.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 7.1.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Roles and responsibilities".
Element description: Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, and understood, and support effective decision-making and operation of the service.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 7.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Management systems".
Element description: Systems are in place to manage risk and enable the effective management and operation of a quality service.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 7.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Service philosophy and purpose".
Element description: A statement of philosophy guides all aspects of the service’s operations.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 6 focuses on supportive, respectful relationships with families which are fundamental to achieving quality outcomes for children. Community partnerships that are based on active communication, consultation and collaboration also contribute to children’s inclusion, learning and wellbeing.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 6.2.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Community engagement".
Element description: The service builds relationships and engages with its community.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 6.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Access and participation".
Element description: Effective partnerships support children's access, inclusion and participation in the program.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 6.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Transitions".
Element description: Continuity of learning and transitions for each child are supported by sharing information and clarifying responsibilities.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 6.1.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Families are supported".
Element description: Current information is available to families about the service and relevant community services and resources to support parenting and family wellbeing.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 6.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Parent views are respected".
Element description: The expertise, culture, values and beliefs of families are respected and families share in decision-making about their child’s learning and wellbeing.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 6.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Engagement with the service".
Element description: Families are supported from enrolment to be involved in the service and contribute to service decisions.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 5: Relationships with children.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 5 of the National Quality Standard focuses on educators developing responsive, warm, trusting and respectful relationships with children that promote their wellbeing, self-esteem, sense of security and belonging. Relationships of this kind encourage children to explore the environment and engage in play and learning.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 5.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Self-regulation".
Element description: Each child is supported to regulate their own behaviour, respond appropriately to the behaviour of others and communicate effectively to resolve conflicts.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 5.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Collaborative learning".
Element description: Children are supported to collaborate, learn from and help each other.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 5.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Dignity and rights of the child".
Element description: The dignity and rights of every child are maintained.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 5.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Positive educator to child interactions".
Element description: Responsive and meaningful interactions build trusting relationships which engage and support each child to feel secure, confident and included.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 4: Staffing arrangements.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 4 of the National Quality Standard focuses on the provision of qualified and experienced educators who develop warm, respectful relationships with children, create predictable environments and encourage children’s active engagement in the learning program. A collaborative and ethical culture where professional standards guide all aspects of practice is critical to a quality service.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 4.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Professional standards".
Element description: Professional standards guide practice, interactions and relationships.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 4.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Professional collaboration".
Element description: Management, educators and staff work with mutual respect and collaboratively, and challenge and learn from each other, recognising each other’s strengths and skills.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 4.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Continuity of staff".
Element description: Every effort is made for children to experience continuity of educators at the service.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 4.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Organisation of educators".
Element description: The organisation of educators across the service supports children's learning and development.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 3: Physical environment.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 3 of the National Quality Standard focuses on the physical environment. The physical environment is critical to: contributing to children’s wellbeing, creativity and developing independence; providing a diverse range of experiences that promote children’s learning and development; keeping children safe; and creating/organising spaces to reduce the risk of injury.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 3.2.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Environmentally responsible".
Element description: The service cares for the environment and supports children to become environmentally responsible.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 3.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Resources support play-based learning".
Element description: Resources, materials and equipment allow for multiple uses, are sufficient in number, and enable every child to engage in play-based learning.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 3.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Inclusive environment".
Element description: Outdoor and indoor spaces are organised and adapted to support every child's participation and to engage every child in quality experiences in both built and natural environments.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 3.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Upkeep".
Element description: Premises, furniture and equipment are safe, clean and well maintained.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 3.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Fit for purpose".
Element description: Outdoor and indoor spaces, buildings, fixtures and fittings are suitable for their purpose, including supporting the access of every child.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 2: Children's health and safety.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 2 of the National Quality Standard reinforces children’s right to experience quality education and care in an environment that provides for their health and safety.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 2.2.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Child protection".
Element description: Management, educators and staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities to identify and respond to every child at risk of abuse or neglect.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 2.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Incident and emergency management".
Element description: Plans to effectively manage incidents and emergencies are developed in consultation with relevant authorities, practised and implemented.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This week's episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 2.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Supervision".
Element description: At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazard.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 2.1.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Healthy lifestyle".
Element description: Healthy eating and physical activity are promoted and appropriate for each child.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 2.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Health practices and procedures".
Element description: Effective illness and injury management and hygiene practices are promoted and implemented.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This week's episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 2.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Wellbeing and comfort".
Element description: Each child’s wellbeing and comfort is provided for, including appropriate opportunities to meet each child’s need for sleep, rest and relaxation.
This series were originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS provides an overview of Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice.
From the Guide to the National Quality Standard: Quality Area 1 of the National Quality Standard focuses on ensuring that the educational program and practice of educators are child-centred, stimulating and maximise opportunities for enhancing and extending each child’s learning and development.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.3.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Information for families".
Element description: Families are informed about the program and their child's progress.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.3.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Critical reflection".
Element description: Critical reflection on children’s learning and development, both as individuals and in groups, drives program planning and implementation.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.3.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Assessment and planning".
Element description: Each child’s learning and development is assessed or evaluated as part of an ongoing cycle of observation, analysing learning, documentation, planning, implementation and reflection.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.2.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Child directed learning".
Element description: Each child's agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions that influence events and their world.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.2.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Responsive teaching and scaffolding".
Element description: Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and extend children’s learning through open-ended questions, interactions and feedback.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.2.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Intentional teaching".
Element description: Educators are deliberate, purposeful, and thoughtful in their decisions and actions.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.1.3 of the National Quality Standard, "Program learning opportunities".
Element description: All aspects of the program, including routines, are organised in ways that maximise opportunities for each child’s learning.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
This episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.1.2 of the National Quality Standard, "Child-centred".
Element description: Each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests are the foundation of the program.
This series was originally released in 2018 and 2019 for subscribers on our Patreon page. The episodes are now available freely for all, but have not been edited.
The first episode of our Patreon-exclusive podcast series Exploring the NQS discusses Element 1.1.1 of the National Quality Standard, "Approved learning framework".
Element description: Curriculum decision-making contributes to each child’s learning and development outcomes in relation to their identity, connection with community, wellbeing, confidence as learners and effectiveness as communicators.
The Federal Government has just released its Budget for 2021 and 2022, which - after sustained advocacy from a variety of people and organisations - includes increases in spending in many areas - including early education. But while billions of dollars are in the Budget papers, what is the devil in the detail? Joining us to break down Child Care Subsidy changes, universal preschool funding agreements and more red tape smashing, is the official fourth member of the podcast Karl Hessian!
We also have an announcement about the show before the main discussion.
Find the full show notes at earlyeducationshow.com.
There have been a spate of media articles recently concerning child sexual abuse linked to educators working in the early education sector. This episode, Lisa talks with Deanne Carson, a leading Australian sexuality educator, researcher, speaker, author and Founder and CEO of Body Safety Australia, on how educators and leaders can better ensure their spaces are safe for children.
WARNING: Contains discussions of sexual abuse and child harm. If you require assistance or would like to talk to a trained professional about the issues discussed in this episode please call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Find the full show notes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Minister for Early Education in the Victorian Government, Ingrid Stitt MP, has been raising the alarm about continued uncertainty with the National Partnership on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education. Lisa chats with her about why this funding is so important, why the uncertainty creates so many challenges, and the reforms that the Victorian Government are putting in place with early education.
Find the full show notes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Under the National Quality Framework, professionals and services need to report a range of serious incidents to their regulatory authorities. But why don't we talk more about how services approach reporting and reporting behaviours with their teams? Leanne sits down with Big Fat Smile CEO Jenni Hutchins to discuss why a positive culture of reporting is so important.
Find the full show notes at earlyeducationshow.com.
In 2019, the second review of the National Quality Framework officially commenced. The Review aims to identify aspects of the NQF that could be improved or updated, and to incorporate new thinking about the regulation of early education. Earlier this year, the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement was released, which identifies options for changes to the NQF and what they might mean. There’s nothing we love more than a consultation process, so we spend this episode talking about the NQF Review in general, and a few things from the Regulation Impact Statement specifically.
Find the full show notes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We're back for another year of banter about all things early education in Australia! In our first episode of 2021, we let everyone know what we did on our summer holidays and reflect on the experiences of women that have been dominating the media so far this year.
We then spend the second half of the episode discussing what about the sector makes us optimistic in 2021.
- We’re so glad you’re nearly over. Join us for our fifth annual end of year special episode, taking a look back at the year that was, looking ahead to 2021 and answering some listener questions.
We’ll back back for more episodes in 2021!
The regular ACCS Trends in Community Children’s Services Survey sheds a light on trends in the quality of early education, accessibility and affordability, educator and teacher conditions and entitlements, and the overall impact of policy initiatives such as the NQF and the child care subsidy. It’s a wealth of data and analysis on how the Australian system of early education works - or doesn’t work - for children, educators, families and the community.
To discuss the latest Survey Report released in November, we’re joined by Daniela Kavoukas and Nikki Graham from Community Child Care Association in Victoria.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Anti-bias approaches in early education are about centring equity, tackling bias and creating beautiful ethical learning experiences and environments with and for children in the early years. Now about to be released in its fourth edition, The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood has been a key publication in the history of exploring diversity, identity and inclusion in Australia’s early education sector.
To discuss the new edition of the Anti-Bias Approach, Lisa and Liam are joined by the book’s editor Dr Red Ruby Scarlet, and three of the book’s contributors - Tasha Huddy, Sharon Mathers and Rukmini Bose-Rhaman.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Family Matters has this week launched the Family Matters Report 2020, which examines how Australia is faring in improving the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
To talk about this report, Liam is joined by Sue-Anne Hunter. Sue-Anne is a proud Wurundjeri woman, and National Chair for the Family Matters Campaign.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The Early Childhood Voices Conference is a free international multidisciplinary fully online conference about innovations in early education. International speakers will present research in a virtual online space about innovations to improve the lives of children, families and practitioners during early childhood or within the early childhood sector.
It can be very difficult for early childhood professionals to access, or afford, high-quality professional development, so this is an excellent opportunity that we wanted to find out more about. So to do that, we’re joined by one of the lead organisers of the event, Dr Tamara Cumming, and four of the presenters who will be sharing their presentations during the Conference - Professor Sue Dockett, Professor Bob Perry, Professor Gail Gillon and someone who may be quite familiar to the listeners of the podcast, Leanne Gibbs!
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Early education is currently enjoying a higher political profile than usual. The first COVID-19 lockdown back in March and April saw the Government investing in free early education - but only temporarily. The Federal Opposition has made funding changes to early education the centrepiece of this year’s Budget in Reply. Community calls for greater access to more affordable early education are increasing. Amidst all that, a new advocacy project is trying to promote more, and smarter, investment in early childhood outcomes. We’ve seen lots of different advocacy campaigns - can Thrive By Five change Australia’s early education sector?
To talk about Thrive By Five, and early education policy in Australia, we’re joined by the initiative’s CEO Jay Weatherill.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
While there is no limit to the kinds of resources and materials that can be used to support the learning of young children, it’s hard to argue that the most important of all is books. The research is clear that immersing children in pre-literacy experiences such as reading with a trusted adult has dramatically positive impacts for them throughout their lives. It’s been a heavy year for the early education sector, so we’re going with a lighter look at children’s books and ask - which children’s books should every early education service have?
We also take a look at the recent Budget announcements from the Federal Government, and the Federal Opposition’s early education reform plans.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Australia’s early education sector is about children’s learning and wellbeing in the first five years. Educators and teachers have qualifications and training that are focused on children’s education. Yet, the sector also plays a largely unofficial role in supporting families. This could be as simple as providing resources on parenting, to much larger and more complex roles with families that are particularly struggling. But we know that the sector, and those that work in it, aren’t even given enough support to do the job they’re qualified for. This episode, we’re going to ask the question - should early education services even be supporting families?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Social media users in Australia are some of the most active in the world. 60% of the country are active users of Facebook, with 50% of the population logging on at least once a day. In Australia, there are 16 million Facebook users per month, 15.5 million YouTube users, 9 million Instagram users and 5.8 million Twitter users. With such widespread usage it is not surprising that the use of social media in the education and care sector is huge. But is the sector’s use of social media a force for good or not?
We thought it was time we explored the positives and negatives of social media use in the sector.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
A few weeks ago, we discussed the worsening COVID-19 situation in Victoria and how it was affecting services, children, families and professionals. Soon after we released that episode - things became even more intense. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declared a State of Disaster, and announced Australia’s toughest lockdown. Melbourne has effectively shut down, and early education services have once again faced a whole new world of policies and funding.
Given these changes, we wanted to come back to Victoria and see what this new situation means for the sector there. We’re joined by Sarah Riches (CEO of ECIA VIC/TAS) and Sarah Louise (Associate at Semann & Slattery).
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been described as a “spotlight” - shining a bright light and illuminating the existing inequalities in our societies. Early education is no exception. While services have been fighting to survive a complex maze of last-minute funding changes, the focus has had to be on funding and economics. But existing social justice concerns haven’t disappeared, and may in fact be getting worse.
To discuss how COVID-19 has changed the landscape for social justice and the early education sector, Lisa, Leanne and Liam are joined by Dr Red Ruby Scarlet (activist, early childhood teacher-researcher, consultant, speaker, artist, academic, and Creative Director of Multiverse) and Stephen Gallen (early childhood consultant and Director of Cawongla Community Preschool).
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
After a first wave that affected the entire country in March and April, COVID-19 cases are now particularly affecting Victoria. The Melbourne area is in lockdown, and early education services are finding themselves back in a situation where they are having to balance health and safety, financial viability and an uncertain funding arrangement. While most of the sector is focusing on just transitioning back to the Child Care Subsidy, many Victorian services are facing a much tougher battle.
Leanne and Liam are joined by Julie Price, the Executive Director of Community Child Care Victoria, and Tamika Hicks, the Director and owner of Cardinia Lakes Early Learning Centre.
Listen to three fantastic conversations that are part of University of Wollongong Early Start’s Expert Insight series, facilitated by Leanne Gibbs. The discussions include:
- Dr Gai Lindsay on children and the arts
- Associate Professor Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett and Professor Marc de Rosnay on how to support children’s emotions when the world is changing
- Dr Lyn Cronin on school transitions during COVID-19.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
COVID-19’s impact on the early education sector has meant that we’ve been having advocacy conversations that we didn’t expect to be having in 2020. The Government implemented free early education - for a short time. Early childhood educators were seen as frontline workers - but not supported properly. Will this be a brief moment before we get back to normal, or have things changed for good? Australia has had lots of changes to our early education system before, thanks in no small part to advocates and feminists who pushed for fairer and more equitable policies and systems. What does that history tell us about what’s happening today?
To discuss that question, Lisa and Liam are joined by one of Australia’s leading advocates for social reform - Eva Cox.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The Federal Education Minister has announced that the Child Care Subsidy system will be back on Monday July 13, along with a number of other new measures. From the Government’s perspective, the economy is getting back to normal, and the early education sector is first cab off the rank for “snapping back”. But the Government’s planned transition is complex and will require an already-strained sector to once again adjust to significant changes. What does this all mean for children, educators and families?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This episode, we’re bringing you the audio from an online Town Hall Meeting conducted by parent advocacy group The Parenthood on Tuesday the 26th of May. Lisa was invited to speak on the panel, alongside Danielle Wood, an economist from the Grattan Institute; Polly Dunning, a teacher and writer; and Jay Weatherill, the CEO of Thrive by Five.
The event was hosted the Parenthood’s campaign director Georgie Dent, and tackled a variety of important questions - including how families have been affected by the funding changes to the sector, what free ECEC would mean for Australia, how educators and the sectors can be better valued, and what we all need to do to work together as advocates during this time.
We’d like to thank The Parenthood and Georgie Dent for allowing us to re-broadcast this event - we think it’s great advocacy.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Like the rest of Australia, the early education sector has had to significantly change the way we operate over the last two months to managed COVID-19 risks. A lot of this time has been spent worrying about funding and financial security, but it’s also opened up opportunities for experimenting with new ways of working. This episode, we wanted to turn the conversation back to children and educators and hear from early education professionals about how children are responding to these changes.
We’re bringing you a conversation with six people from the Northside Community Service team Liam works with, discussing the operational changes they’ve made and some of the unexpected results. That conversation is facilitated by psychologist and consultant Beth Macgregor.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Australia’s early education sector has been given a huge shake-up during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Child Care Subsidy system was replaced with a Government Relief Package that provided centres with 50% direct Government funding, and eliminated the usual gap fee paid by parents. In effect, children are now getting their early education for free. But the current funding system is short term and doesn’t fit all centres. This episode, we’re going to ask the question - how do we advocate for properly-funded, permanent, universal and free early education after COVID-19?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The COVID-19 health crisis continues to affect the entire world. Governments have had to respond to the effects of this crisis in different ways, as we have seen right here in Australia. For those of us who work in early education, we’ve seen some stark differences between how ECEC services and schools have been treated when it comes to health advice, closures, funding and more. This episode, we look at those differences, think about why they’ve appeared, and how we respond as advocates both during and after this crisis.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The COVID-19 health emergency has changed so much of our society, and for the early education sector has overturned almost everything about how we operate. Over the last 6 weeks we have seen an increased focus on infection control and hygiene practices, the sector nearly collapse as enrolments dropped, educators and teachers start to think about how to work with children remotely, and the Government implement a completely new funding model over a single weekend. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
In this episode, we’re taking a step back, and taking a breath. We’re going to reflect on what this intense period of change has meant, what’s stood out for us, and what we’ve learned. To do this, we’re also joined by a special returning guest to the podcast - advocate, software developer and policy expert Karl Hessian.
“As of Sunday night, What we will be doing is turning off the old system and going to a new system.” Those were the words of the Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan earlier today, as he stood next to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and announced wholesale and immediate changes to how Australia funds early education. It’s hard to underestimate what this will mean, but what we know is the sector has four days notice that the Child Care Subsidy system - which took over nearly 3 years to develop and legislate - will be gone, and a new system of direct Government funding of services will be in place on Monday. And the Conservative Prime Minister of this country stated that ECEC will be free.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam try to wrap their heads around what this announcement means for the sector.
Disclaimer: This episode was recorded at 7PM on Tuesday 2 April 2020. Information may have significantly changed since this time. Please check official Government sources for updated information.
Find the shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com.
The COVID-19 situation remains the biggest issue facing Australia’s early education sector. Although the Government is saying that early education services should remain open to support the economy, children are leaving services in droves. It seems likely that at some point services will be directed to close. What does this mean for young children and their learning? What does “remote learning” look like in the early years? How can we stay connected to children and families during a period of isolation?
To help us discuss these questions, we’re joined by Jo Grimmond and Martha Johnson from the University of Wollongong’s Early Start team.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Early education services and professionals have not had detailed advice from Health Departments or Education Departments about exactly what infection control processes services should be following during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. As Leanne, Lisa and Liam are not infection control experts we decided to ask someone who is. Kylie Warren Wright is Goodstart Early Learning’s National Safe Work and Wellbeing Manager, and she’s responsible for giving health and safety advice to over 650 early education services. Lisa chatted with her to discuss how we can stay healthy at work during a pandemic.
After an unprecedented summer of fire and smoke, communities around Australia are facing yet another emergency situation. Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is spreading around the world, with the World Health Organisation officially declaring it a pandemic. Although the risk to most people is minimal, countries - including Australia - are having to take significant steps to try and minimise its impact. These measures will have a big impact on early childhood services, and the children and families they work with. This episode, we’ll try to provide as much facts and clarity as we can about the situation we’re all facing.
Disclaimer: This episode was recorded on Tuesday 17 March 2020. Information may have significantly changed since this time. Please check official Government sources for updated information.
Episode links
Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers (Department of Health)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) health alert (Department of Health)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information for schools and early childhood centres, students and parents (Department of Health)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) information sheet for child care providers and services (Department of Education)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Webcast for Child Care Providers and Services 19 March 2020 (Department of Education)
Affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) (Services Australia)
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and children in Australia (Raising Children Network)
Cash flow assistance for businesses (Australian Government)
Coronacast with Dr Norman Swan (ABC Podcast)
COVID-19: Implications for business (McKinsey & Company)
‘It’s okay to be scared’: Norway holds children-only COVID-19 press conference to allay growing fears (SBS News)
Australia has just come out of a terrible summer of unprecedented bushfires. According to the Australia Institute, More than half of all Australians have been directly affected by bushfire crisis, including millions suffering health effects. This includes young children and their families, as well as educators and services. Entire communities will be dealing with this summer for years to come. This episode, Lisa and Liam discuss what working with young children now means as we face an ongoing climate emergency that will affect the children we work with long into the future.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The inaugural National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell has released her final report on children’s rights in Australia. It’s described as a “full and frank look” at how Australia is faring on a range of areas related to children and young people, and makes over 80 recommendations to improve our record.
This episode, Lisa, Leanne and Liam have a discussion about how the early education sector is engaging with issues of children’s rights, before we hear from an interview Liam conducted with Megan Mitchell on her report and her time as the first Children’s Commissioner.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
It's the end of another year, which mean's it's time for our annual Year in Review episode! We look back on the year that's been for early education, look ahead to 2020 and answer some listener questions.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
6000 children under 5 live in Mt Druitt in NSW. 33% of those children are considered ‘developmentally vulnerable’ when they start school. The Hive is an initiative started in 2015 by the Ten20 Foundation, United Way Australia, and NSW Family and Community Services to ensure that all children in the 2770 postcode start school well.
This episode features voices from the graduation ceremony of the Collaboration 4 Learning (C4L) project, a unique professional development opportunity established for educators to engage in their own research projects.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The NSW Government has announced that services in NSW will be required to display a star rating alongside their usual National Quality Standard rating, in an apparent bid to help families better understand ratings. The star ratings have had a very mixed response from the sector, raising issues of professional identity, the marketing of the NQF to the community and how well services are being supported to improve quality. Lisa, Leanne and Liam discuss this new initiative before Lisa chats with presenter and researcher Anthony Semann.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Christmas, Anzac Day, Melbourne Cup, Mother's and Father's Days, Australia Day - celebrations have become a controversial and challenging topic for many in the early education sector. This episode, we take a look a like at why celebrations are so contested and how educators can explore different perspectives on commonly-held celebrations.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This episode, we’re spending some time thinking about educator and teacher practice in the first three years. There’s a huge amount of advocacy out there for the importance of the first five years, but plenty of research points to the idea that the first three years are even more important for children. Yet infants and toddlers practice in the sector often receives far less attention than the years just before school.
To look at this area from two different perspectives, Leanne and Liam spoke separately with Dr Andi Salamon, an early childhood teacher, researcher and advocate, and Lauren Hibberson, an Infants Team Leader with Northside Community Service.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week, SNAICC and Family Matters have released a Position Paper endorsed by more than 80 organisations and individuals calling for the establishment of a national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. Liam talks with SNAICC CEO Richard Weston about why this position is needed and what a commissioner could achieve.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This episode, we’re taking a look at one of the biggest frustrations out there in the sector - recruitment and retention. With subsidies flowing and the market-model growing, Australia’s early education sector needs more educators and teachers than ever before. But with TAFEs and Unis producing less graduates, and turnover rates not getting any better, we seem to be facing a growing crisis in how to actually ensure professional and qualified educators are working in services.
To discuss all these issues, and more, Lisa and Liam are joined by Melissa Armstrong. Mel is the Director of Hamilton’s, a recruitment organisation based in NSW. Mel has a background as an Early Childhood Educator and Teacher, including working as a Centre Director.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This episode, we’re taking one of our deep dives into early education policy. There are currently three major reviews being conducted into key parts of Australia’s early education sector. Right now, the Universal Access partnership for preschool funding, the National Quality Framework and ACECQA itself are all under the microscope. For each of these reviews, we’re going to take a step back and look at history and background, the context of the current review, and speculate wildly about what the reviews mean and what could happen.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Over the last few years, Family Day Care has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Multi-million dollar frauds of the subsidy system have made headlines, and have seen the Government focus on cracking down on those rorting the system. But while it’s a small part of the education and care sector, Family Day Care has been working to move beyond these negative stories.
Anita Jovanovski, CEO of NSW Family Day Care Association, joins Lisa and Liam to talk about Family Day Care and how it fits in with the modern early education sector.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
One of the most important roles in the early education sector is the Centre Director. As well as usually being the Nominated Supervisor and individually responsible for ensuring the Law and Regulations are upheld in their service, Directors are also employee managers, often manage administration, need to meet organisational requirements, and a range of other responsibilities. The role is critical to positive outcomes for children, educators and families. But is it time to take a step back and ask - today, is too much expected of Centre Directors?
This episode, it’s a special live edition of the podcast recorded at the Social Justice in Early Education Conference. We discuss what public policies and what practices in our sector are infringing on the capacity of all Australian children to access high quality early education and care this year? And what can we do as practitioners and advocates to further our cause?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The National Quality Framework, at its most fundamental level, is about positive outcomes for children in their learning and wellbeing. It sets the standard for quality, and raises the bar for the provision of children’s services in Australia. But the people who are expected to deliver this reform for Australia, educators, are paid low wages, work in shifts, and often aren’t recognised as professionals. Is it time to ask - are we too child-centred in our work, and what does that mean for educators?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Quality Area 1 - educational program and practice - is the Quality Area of the National Quality Standard that is most likely to be rated Working Towards. The sector is still working through the new requirements of the NQF, and what they mean for educators and children. In a world that is embracing more and more software and technology, what does documentation and planning mean in a digital world?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Valuing Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures is one of the guiding principles of the National Quality Framework. However, engaging with Indigenous perspectives can be a daunting prospect for many services. Why is it so important for educators and services to understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being? Where can they start? And what does the work in the first five years mean for broader advocacy? This episode, we're joined by Jessica Staines from the Koori Curriculum to tackle these big questions.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This episode, Leanne talks to Jan Millikan about the Reggio Emilia Educational Project. What are the principles that underpin the Reggio Emilia Educational Project? And how can they be applied in an Australian context?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
How educators view themselves and their profession is a key part of early education practice. Experienced sector consultant Catharine Hydon joins Lisa and Leanne for a discussion on professional identity - what it means, why it's important, and how we can improve it.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The podcast team gather to look at the surprising election result that has seen Scott Morrison returned as Prime Minister of a Coalition Government. What does this result mean for the sector, and what should advocates do over the next three years?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
As a special treat for our 100th episode, we recorded an episode in front of a live audience at ELAA's Early Childhood Education Conference 2019. We discuss how we all took our first steps into advocacy, what the election campaign has told us about sector advocacy and how we'd create our own advocacy campaigns.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
The bonuses keep on comin’… Lisa and Liam really wanted to talk through the recent media reports on a $5 million fraud operation in the Family Day Care sector, so we called friend of the podcast Karl and talked through this bizarre story.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Another quick bonus episode this week. Lisa and Liam talk about Lisa’s election articles for The Framework, a free website for sector news, analysis and opinion. We discuss why politics matters, and the interesting reaction from educators to recent election commitments.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
On Sunday Labor announced policies on lowering early education costs for families and raising wages for early childhood educators. In this extra episode Lisa, Leanne and Liam take a look at these policies and what they mean for the sector.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week Liam gets an update on the Early Childhood Educator Wellbeing Project (ECEWP) we covered earlier in the year. Liam speaks to Tamara Cumming, one of the researchers leading the Project; Leisa Wright, Centre Director at Harrison Early Childhood Centre, one of the services taking part in the Project; and Leanne Gibbs, who facilitated a session at the Project’s recent Stakeholder Roundtable.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
This week we chat with Tamika Hicks, the Manager of Cardinia Lakes Early Learning Centre, a standalone service in Victoria. Tamika is an advocate and activist with a focus on quality - how does she approach balancing ethical approaches to early education with successfully operating a business?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa and Liam quickly scour the budget papers (and Twitter), before giving our immediate reactions to the Federal Government’s Budget for 2019/20.
Then, in anticipation that we were probably not going to like this Budget, Lisa dazzles us all with her fantasy Federal Budget for early education.
2019 Federal Budget Lisa’s Fantasy Budget
This week Lisa and Liam have a brief chat about this weekend's NSW Election, before tackling the Australian National Audit Office's review of the design and implementation of the Government's Child Care Package. We speak to four people in the sector to get a range of views on how well (or not) the Package was delivered.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week Lisa and Liam chat with activist, artist and researcher Dr Red Ruby Scarlet about why services who work with young children should engage with issues of social justice.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week we are joined by Laureate Professor Marilyn Fleer, who discusses her work as the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellow and developer of the Conceptual PlayLab, an evidence-based model of intentional teaching for early childhood and early primary and an example of world-leading research.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Supporters of the show on Patreon have access to our bonus series "Exploring the NQS", which has covered all elements of Quality Areas 1 and 2 of the National Quality Standard.
This week Liam chats with Ali Sewter, Kylie Keane and Carl Kroon from Forrest Out of School Hours Care about their recent achievement of receiving the Excellent rating from ACECQA; and Leanne brings us her reflections from Day 2 of the recent AJEC Symposium.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week Lisa, Leanne and Liam discuss recent advocacy around the numbers of Early Childhood Teachers required in NSW early education services.
Leanne also provides a summary of her time at the recent AJEC Conference.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
This week, Lisa and Liam take a look at all the different advocacy campaigns and battles that are happening in 2019 in the early education sector.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Element 2.1.3: Healthy lifestyle now available on Exploring the NQS.
In our first episode of 2019, Liam chats with Associate Professor Sandie Wong, Dr Tamara Cumming and Dr Helen Logan about the Early Childhood Educator Wellbeing Project. The Project takes an holistic approach to examine the psychological and physiological aspects of early childhood educators’ well-being within the context of their work environments.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
For the third year running we present our end-of-year episode! We provide an overview of the big moments from 2018, make some predictions for what might be to come in 2019, and the answer a few listener questions.
Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with us for another year. We’ll be back in February for another year of policy discussions, rants about children’s rights and analysis of whatever crazy things politicians have done that week. See you in 2019!
Exploring the NQS Our Patreon-exclusive series on the National Quality Standard has launched. Analysis of the first seven elements of Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice are now available. Check them all out right here.
There’s been a flurry of ECEC news in December, and we didn’t want to wait until February to chat about it. Get up to speed with our quick bonus episode!
For our last regular episode of the year, we turn the microphone over to two early childhood education leaders. Anna Whitty (Executive Director, Northside Children’s Services) speaks with Wendy Mackay (Centre Director of Harrison Early Childhood Centre) about leading her centre from a Working Towards rating in 2015, to an Exceeding rating in 2018. The discussion documents the highs and lows of this three-year journey of quality improvement through leadership, self-reflection and professional identity.
Got a question you’d like us to answer in our End-of-Year Q&A episode? You can ask us right here.
Exploring the NQS: Our Patreon-exclusive series on the National Quality Standard has launched. Element 1.2.1 “Intentional teaching” now available.
This week Lisa and Liam talk about community management of early education services with the ex-President of Alstonville Community Preschool Katherine Buckley. Katherine talks to us about the challenges in saving Alstonville from funding challenges, how she and the committee work with the Centre Director and what the biggest challenges are for this model.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Exploring the NQS Our Patreon-exclusive series on the National Quality Standard has launched. Element 1.1.3 “Program learning opportunities” now available.
This week we tackle one of the most exciting and thrilling topics in early education - service policies and procedures! We discuss why they’re actually important, how you can approach them and why they’re great resources for you and the work you do.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Exploring the NQS: Our Patreon-exclusive series on the National Quality Standard has launched. Element 1.1.2 “Child-centred” now available.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are joined this week by Professor Deborah Harcourt to discuss the growing trend of early education environments all having similar looks. Where has this trend come from, and what does it mean for children and educators?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Exploring the NQS: Our Patreon-exclusive series on the National Quality Standard has launched. Element 1.1.1 “Approved learning framework” now available.
This week Lisa and Liam chat with Charlene Smith from the Mitchell Institute about their new report The Capable Country, which calls for rapid government action to boost capabilities across all stages of learning.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister Scott Morrison apologised on behalf of the nation for failing and abandoning the thousands of survivors of institutional child sex abuse. The Apology came after the Royal Commission conducted a years-long investigation into Australia’s failure to keep children safe in many instances.
This week, we take a look at how the Royal Commission and the Apology affects early childhood education services, what it means to be a child-safe organisation and what the Commission’s proposed Child Safe Standards mean for children and the sector.
Please note: This episode contains discussions related to child abuse and harm.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa and Leanne are taking an extra (well-deserved) week off, so Liam takes a look at the Labor Party's recent early education policy announcements regarding three-year-old preschool and free TAFE places.
He chats about Labor's new policies with the Shadow Education Minister Amanda Rishworth, and then talks with Mitchell Institute Director and policy expert Megan O'Connell to take a deeper look at what they mean for the sector.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week we briefly discuss the Labor Party’s plans to crackdown on freebies and giveaways to families to get more enrolments, before chatting with CEO of Big Fat Smile Jenni Hutchins.
As CEO of an organisation with more than over 40 children’s services, Jenni is also the Approved Provider for Big Fat Smile under the National Quality Framework. Jenni discusses navigating the compliance and regulatory system as an Approved Provider, supporting Nominated Supervisors with their legal obligations, and how to lead and support an organisation during a prosecution.
This week, we're bringing you the third of a series of conference presentations from the Victorian Government's Realising the Potential Conference.
The presentations this week all fall under the theme of “How do I lead and improve excellence in early learning?” and feature Professor Joce Nuttall, Director of the Teacher Education Research Concentration in the Learning Sciences Institute Australia, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University; Dr Dan Cloney, Research Fellow, Policy Research and Practice, Australian Council for Educational Research; Andrew Hume, Chief Executive Officer, Gowrie Victoria; and Anthony Semann, Semann & Slattery.
You can also check out interviews we conducted with many of the speakers featured here in Episodes 69 and 70 of the podcast.
The audio for this session has been generously provided by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Find out more at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/ecforum.
This week, we're bringing you the second in a series of conference presentations from the Victorian Government's Realising the Potential Conference.
The presentations this week all fall under the theme of “Encouraging and supporting positive parenting” and feature Warren Cann, Chief Executive Officer Parenting Research Centre; Marcia Armstrong, Principal Maternal and Child health Nurse Advisor, Department of Education and Training; Michelle Forster, Indigenous Implementation Consultant, Triple P International; and Tegan Bastow, Early Childhood Educator and Kimberley Do, Family Support Worker, Yappera Children’s Services Cooperative LTD.
The audio for this session has been generously provided by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Find out more at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/ecforum.
This week, we're bringing you the first of a series of conference presentations from the Victorian Government's Realising the Potential Conference.
This session covered the importance of creating a more coherent and connected early childhood system and how to empower professionals and leaders in the sector to work together to advocate for change and improve community awareness and understand of the importance of early education and care.
It features the wonderful Charlene Smith, Policy Program Director at Mitchell Institute; the well-known and fabulous Catharine Hydon, Early Childhood Consultant; and the outstanding Emeritus Professor Deborah Brennan who co-wrote the Lifting the Game report.
The audio for this session has been generously provided by the Victorian Department of Education and Training. Find out more at http://www.education.vic.gov.au/ecforum.
It's been a while since we got rid of a Prime Minister, so the Liberal Party went a bit mad and now we have to get used to saying the words "Scott Morrison, Prime Minister" and not feeling ill. We chat about that, then reflect on the legacy of outgoing Education Minister Simon Birmingham before taking a look at the new old white bloke in the job - Dan Tehan.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week features an interview with Meredith Chan and Karen Fong from Mia Mia Child and Family Centre, talking about the history and philosophy of that historic service and their approaches to infants and young children.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week we reflect on the passing of early childhood artist, author and educator Ursula Kolbe; then we chat with Associate Professor Sheila Degotardi about her recent research on the quality and quantity of language being used in ECEC settings with young children.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
This week we have a chat about recent media on the lack of Federal Government funding for four-year-old preschool after 2020, and then discuss how Governments are supporting the sector to improve quality ratings.
It's a very special episode this week: a recording of our first ever live episode from the Social Justice in Early Childhood Conference held at Redfern NSW on Saturday July 28. We discuss why we think the biggest social justice issue facing the early childhood education sector is the Child Care Subsidy.
We also speak with the committee behind the Social Justice in Early Childhood group.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week Lisa, Leanne and Liam take a look at the history and challenges of trying to make the ECEC sector more "flexible". We discuss 24-hour centres, the big 2013 flexibility trials and what we think might happen with the new Child Care Subsidy system.
Listener note: Unfortunately Liam suffered some technical issues in the first 10 minutes of the episode. Apologies for the poor sound quality.
Read the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
To mark NAIDOC Week, Leanne has a chat with Kim King, the Acting Chairperson of Yenu Allowah Aboriginal Child and Family Centre. Kim shares her story about establishing the integrated service, and its future.
This week, Lisa and Liam take a look at the first week of the Child Care Package - what’s made the news and what’s been the experience for services and families.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week it's the second part of our coverage of the Realising the Potential Early Childhood Forum that was held on Friday June 8. We hear Lisa's interviews with Andrew Hume, the CEO of Gowrie Victoria; Anthony Semann, presenter, researcher and head of professional learning organisation Semann & Slattery; and then a joint interview with Charlene Smith from the Mitchell Institute; consultant and President of ECA Victorian Branch Catharine Hydon; and the author of the Lifting Our Game Report Professor Deb Brennan.
This week is the first of two episodes with interviews from speakers at the Victorian Government's Realising the Potential Early Childhood Forum that was held on Friday June 8. This week, Lisa speaks with Simon Kent from the Victorian Education Department, Joce Nutall from ACECQA and the Australian Catholic University, and consultant, trainer, writer and researcher Anne Kennedy.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Friend of the podcast Karl Hessian joins us (before being defeated by technical difficulties!) to discuss how ready the sector, and the community, is for the new Child Care Package.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We take a quick look at some sector resources for National Reconciliation Week, before taking a look at the challenges faced by the early education sector in Western Australia and the Northern Territory with Child Australia CEO Tina Holtom.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
After taking another look at the Federal Government's decision last week to cease funding the National Quality Agenda, we then cross the aisle to take a look at the Labor Party. What would early education policy look like if Labor won the next election?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa and Liam break down this week's Federal Budget and what it means for early childhood education. Mostly by complaining about it.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week we discuss a new "skills forecast" developed for RTOs providing children's services qualifications, and how it fits into the broader picture about the educator workforce in Australia right now.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Episode Times
01'10" Newschat 21'15" RTOs and the educator workforce 51'07" Recommendations
This week we have an interview with Megan Mitchell, the inaugural National Children's Commissioner. Commissioner Mitchell discusses why a Children's Commissioner is so important, the successes and areas of improvement for Australia in relation to children's rights, and what she will be working on over the next two years.
Episode Times
01'07" News Chat 15'12" Megan Mitchell Interview 34'43" Recommendations
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week Liam has a chat about the role of the Educational Leader with Doreen Blyth, part of the fantastic Educational Leaders Association. Doreen discusses how the Association brings leaders from across Australia together, how educators can think about advocacy, and some of the challenges facing Educational Leaders today.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa and Liam take to the streets this week, as we hear from a range of educators who joined the Big Steps Big Walk Off on Tuesday March 27 at rally events in NSW and the ACT.
Next Tuesday (March 27), United Voice will be organising walk-off actions for early childhood educators. Lisa and Liam are joined by United Voice NSW organiser Bettina Moltke to discuss why educators should be walking off the job, how important it is to get families involved, and the importance of taking action together as a sector.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Episode Times
00'00" Intro and News Chat 05'58" Bettina Moltke Interview 31'05" Recommendations
This week Lisa and Liam take a look at how some early education services market themselves, and provide some particularly... "interesting" examples. They then look ahead to what the marketing ideas of tomorrow could be!
(We had a few technical issues with the recording this week, so apologies in advance for a few sound problems.)
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Episode Times
00'00" Introduction 01'12" News Chat 12'02" Marketing early education services 41'51" Recommendations
Yesterday marked International Women's Day for 2018, so we spend some time thinking about whether this event should be celebrated and acknowledged in early education services - and with children.
We also include some chats that Leanne had with a fabulous team of Centre Directors with Blacktown City Council.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Episode Times
00'00" Introduction 01'56" News Chat 12'13" Should IWD be celebrated in early education services? 37'36" Blacktown City Council Centre Director Interviews 53'20" Recommendations
We welcome Leanne back to the show after a few weeks off, tackle a new segment in #NewsChat (hashtag required), and then chat with Kate Sollis from ARACY about their recently released Report Card on Australia's performance in a range of indicators for children and young people.
Read the Report Card Read ARACY's introduction to the Report Card
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Episode Times:
01'30" - News Chat 17'55" - Kate Sollis Interview 34'44" - Recommendations
With men only accounting for 3-4% of the early childhood educator workforce, the experiences of males in the sector has always been a topic of discussion. This week Lisa and Liam break down an article Liam wrote explaining why he won't be getting involved in campaigns, events and advocacy related to this issue anymore.
You can read Liam's original article here.
Forgive the plug, but Lisa and Liam have been involved in developing a new guide for services transitioning to the New Child Care Package. Find out more about "Getting Ready" here.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
With Leanne once again travelling the world, Lisa and Liam are joined this week by Verena Heron from the Independent Education Union. Verena talks us through the IEU's Equal Remuneration Case with Fair Work Australia.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
We're back with our first episode 2018, and we're tackling the fantastic new early childhood education report Lifting Our Game. Leanne and Lisa speak with one of the authors, and long-time early childhood policy expert, Professor Deb Brennan.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
AEU Vice President for Early Childhood Martel Menz joins Liam McNicholas for a quick chat about today's decision by the full bench of Fair Work Australia to throw out the long-running Pay Equity Case.
Early Childhood Teachers Victoria Facebook Group
It's our last episode of 2017, so we're taking a look back at a tumultuous year for early childhood education. After a quick round of predictions for 2018, we then take a few questions from listeners.
Thanks to all our listeners who have stuck with us this year! We'll be back in 2018.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Episode Times
03'07" 2017 Year in Review 19'10" 2018 Predictions 37'24" Listener Questions 60'55" Recommendations and Outro
This week, we have a quick chat about the now-released Minister's and Secretary's Rules for the new Child Care Package due to start in July 2018, before having a longer discussion about who are the "customers" of early childhood education. Is it families, or children, or even the Government? Are there other ways we could look at the issue?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Episode Times
03'46" Minister's and Secretary's Rules 13'35" Are families the "customers" of early childhood education? 37'16" Recommendations and Outro
Leanne and Lisa have a chat with the (very) new Federal Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Development Amanda Rishworth MP, who has just taken on the role from Kate Ellis. Amanda talks about her priorities in the role and her concerns about the current Government's approach to early education.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week, we bring you the presentations and some guest interviews from the Children's Week event and morning tea hosted by Early Learning Everyone Benefits at Parliament House.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa and Liam fly solo again (Leanne will return we promise!) and chat about this year's National Children's Week. The theme this year is about education being focused on developing children as individuals, and we discuss how services could use this opportunity to advocate for early education.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Another short episode this week, as Lisa and Liam discuss Lisa's article published this week on ABC News about how profit-seeking landlords are one of the big, undiscussed factors behind rising prices for early education and care.
Click here to read the article.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Liam has a chat with Sarah Baray, the CEO of Pre-K 4 SA - an innovative and groundbreaking early education program from San Antonio in Texas. Sarah discusses the challenges of securing funding for children's programs, and how it can lift children out of disadvantage.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week Lisa and Liam are joined by Dr. Deborah Harcourt to discuss her recent article on approaches to quality in early childhood education and care settings, as well as her own fortnightly podcast on early education.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Episode Times
01'22" Newslist 12'36" Discussion with Deborah Harcourt 54'06" Recommendations 58'30" Outro
Early Learning Everyone Benefits spokesperson and Early Childhood Australia CEO Sam Page joins Lisa and Liam for a discussion about the State of Early Learning in Australia 2017 Report released this week.
Episode Times
02'40" State of Early Learning Report Discussion 47'51" Recommendations 55'19" Outro
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week, Lisa and Liam talk about National Child Protection Week and how well early childhood education services and organisations are performing in their child protection roles.
01'08" Newslist 18'23" Child Protection Week 48'49" Recommendations 51'19" Outro
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
Early childhood educators, services and advocates exploring issues of inclusion and social justice have been getting a lot of negative attention in the media recently, mostly from the conservative newspapers. Why are some media outlets to outraged by exploring rights in early education settings, and how should the sector respond?
Lisa also talks with Dr Red Ruby Scarlet about how she has responded to the recent media interest and why the sector needs people who will publicly champion social justice issues.
01'21" Newslist 09'03" Children's rights and the media 28'41" Dr Red Ruby Scarlet Interview 45'38" Recommendations 49'36" Outro
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
It's Children's Book Week, so Leanne and Liam talk about the importance of literacy and reading in the early years, before sharing their favourite children's authors and providing a book recommendation each for early education professionals.
02'39" Newslist 13'33" Children's Book Week 51'40" Recommendations 54'29" Outro
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
This week, Lisa has a chat over the phone with our resident expert on all things tricky and complex with early childhood legislation, Karl Hessian. Karl lets us know what he thinks all services should be doing before the reform package takes effect in July 2018.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week we bring you an interview Leanne conducted with Kate Washington MP, NSW Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education. They discuss Labor's policy positions on early childhood education, current issues with funding of early education in NSW and much more. Plus, stay tuned right to the end to find out about our exciting first ever competition!
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week, Liam talks with Sharron Williams - the Board Chairperson of SNAICC and CEO of Aboriginal Family Support Services - about National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children's Day. This annual event is the largest national day to celebrate Australia's Indigenous children. Sharron talks about how important his day is, and why early childhood education services should get involved.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We're all big supporters of not-for-profit provision of early childhood education, but how has community-based management changed after the introduction of the National Quality Framework - and why is it a good model for ECEC?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The gang's all back together as Lisa, Leanne and Liam bring you another look at the new revised National Quality Standard. This episode we look at Quality Area 2: Children's Health and Safety.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
This week, we're bringing you a follow-up to our last regular episode which focused on trauma-informed practice. This episode features psychologist Beth Macgregor speaking with three educators from Northside Community Service in the ACT on their work with Beth in 2017, and how it supported them to support children.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Leanne brings us some chats with a few of the winners from the recent Australian Family Early Education & Care Awards (in-between bouts on the dance floor).
This week Liam has a chat with Beth Macgregor, a psychologist with a focus on young children who has worked with a range of early childhood settings. Beth talks about how working with a trauma-informed background can help all children, and how educators have an opportunity to support children at a critical time in their life.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Leanne has a chat with Sarah Mitchell MLC, NSW Minister for Early Childhood Education, discussing the NSW Government's Start Strong funding and the importance of early education.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education Kate Ellis has launched a national consultation on policy reform for Australia's early education and care sector. This episode we go through the discussion paper question-by-question and create our own audio submission. 26 questions in just over an hour - it's the early childhood policy lightning round!
It's Leanne's turn to take a break this week, so Lisa and Liam take you through a discussion on the data on quality ratings in "Long Day Care" and Preschool settings. Why is there such a stark difference, and what does the data mean for the sector's definition of "quality"?
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com.
Tomorrow marks the start of National Reconciliation Week, so we chat with Alex Shain from Reconciliation Australia about their work in promoting reconciliation, the Narragunnawali platform for early childhood education and why educators and leaders should engage with Indigenous perspectives.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Leanne and Liam are flying without Lisa again this week, but are joined by National Educational Leader for ACECQA Rhonda Livingstone to discuss the new version of Quality Area 1.
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com
We're donning our sparkly costumes, organising huge props and light shows and tackling Australia's National Partnership for Early Childhood Education. Why is it structured the way it is, why is funding always uncertain and does it work for children and the sector? And does Europe come out on top with the best approach to pre-school learning?
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com
Leanne and Liam have a chat with the wonderful Martel Menz about unions, campaigns and educators. What is the role of unions in supporting professional recognition of the work educators do, and should educators be more involved?
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com
We're back after a bit of a break to tackle the challenges, tensions and implications of early childhood education run in a business context. What are the biggest issues that emerge when trying to work ethically with young children while operating as a business?
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com
You're all getting a break from hearing Leanne, Lisa and Liam this week! Instead we bring you a presentation from Niru Palanivel and Zoe Grant from the fantastic advocacy organisation ChilOut to the NSW Chapter of OMEP on the current situation for children in Australia immigration detention.
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com
We're all still a bit shocked that the Jobs for Families package is now legislated, and vulnerable children will be those who are the biggest losers in these "reforms". So what do you do when you get bad news? You talk it over with your friends. So this episode we ditch the usual format and bring you a bunch of interviews with amazing early childhood people. Let's work through this together, everyone!
Find the full shownotes for this episode at earlyeducationshow.com
After some shared commiserations on the likelihood of the Jobs for Families reforms becoming law this week, we go to an interview Liam conducted at Parliament House with Labor's Early Education Shadow Minister Kate Ellis MP. Kate was incredibly generous with her time on what turned into a very, very busy day! She discusses her legacy in early education politics, problems with the Government's planned reforms and what advocates for children should be focused on.
Get the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
With Kate Ellis leaving politics at the next election, we take some time to reflect on her legacy in the policy and politics of Australian early childhood education.
Find all the shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com
We are women (and a bloke), hear us roar! This episode we're discussing women, feminism and gender and how they relate to early childhood education in Australia.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We run down the news of the week, before tackling the recently announced changes to the National Quality Framework.
You can find ACECQA's summary of the changes here.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We take a quick look at some of the news of the last week, before heading back for the second half of Liam's interview with Professor Frank Oberklaid.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We catch up on the recent news, including the ongoing insanity of the Jobs for Families package, before turning over to Part 1 of an interview Liam conducted with Professor Frank Oberklaid. Catch Part 2 in next week's episode.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
The Government has tried to force through its controversial early childhood education reforms this week - with a lot of other things attached to it. We tackle this new attempt to reform the sector, and what it means for advocacy.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Liam chats with Jenny Mikakos, Minister for Families and Children in the Victorian Government and discuss the Jobs for Families Package and the National Partnership Agreement for Early Education.
Links
Jenny Mikakos Website Jenny Mikakos on Twitter Petition - Stop the Kinder Cuts
So there was a fair bit of early childhood news during our break! We spend a catch-up episode going over all the big news, including:
ECEC fees continue to rise The NQF Review should be out soon ACECQA has a new CEO NSW has a new Early Childhood Minister A centre is offering "university-style" early learning Senator David Lleyonhelm is an idiot, sector responds fabulously Turnbull announces Jobs for Families legislation changes - kind of
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We're back for the last regular episode of 2016, with:
- A look back at the key events of the year
- A quick peek ahead to 2017
- The answers to some listener's questions.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
This week we're focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) in early childhood education. How does it fit with the current early years curriculum and programs, and how can we support children's skills in these areas?
Thanks to Sibylle Seidler from Little Scientists for joining Leanne for an interview. You can find out more about the Little Scientists program here.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam return with special guest Karl Hessian to discuss the history, complexity and risks of corporate early childhood education provision in Australia.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We're back with some more discussion on the policy and politics of early education in Australia. This week:
- What would we do if we were put in charge of early childhood education for a day?
- Is the quality ratings system under threat?
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
We're back with another packed episode! This week on the agenda:
- Should we talk politics with young children in early education centres, and if so - how?
- We each share one of our favourite bits of research with each other
- A quick chat about AGM season, and elections to boards and peak bodies
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
A quick "deleted scene" from our last episode which ran a bit long (even for us). We have a bit of a chat about some of the stark divisions in how we talk about early childhood as a society.
We're back, with an episode focused on engaging with politics, including an interview with recently elected ACT MLA Chris Steel.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam return to your ears once again to discuss:
- The state of early childhood politics in the United States as we prepare for either President Clinton (yay!) or President Trump (oh dear God no!!!) next week
- The likelihood of Australia extending funded preschool to all 3-year-olds
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss how well Australia is doing in upholding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and how well we engage with rights in the early childhood sector.
You’ll also hear Leanne interviewing Associate Professor Fran Press and Dr Sandie Wong about OMEP’s declaration on addressing the rights of migrant and refugee children. Thanks Fran and Sandie for joining us!
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss: How do the words and language we use around early childhood education make a difference?
Then we hear from Liam and some special guests on Kate Ellis’s address to the National Press Club, including interviews with Kate Ellis herself as well as Sam Page from Early Childhood Australia.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss:
- The recent flurry of media on systemic “rorting” in the Family Day Care sector; and
- The future of Budget Based Funded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services under planned Government policy.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa brings us her third and final update from Early Childhood Australia's 2016 National Conference. This time, we're hearing from two of the attendees on their thoughts on the Conference, and what they'll be taking back to their services.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Intrepid Early Education Show reporter Lisa Bryant is at the Early Childhood Australia 2016 National Conference. This special mini episode has some great interviews with National Children's Commissioner Megan Mitchell and Geraldine Atkinson from SNAICC.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss:
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Examples of “push-down” curriculum, where school-readiness programs are becoming more prevalent in the Birth - 5 space. (The article that got us thinking about this is here.)
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The thorny issue of professional identity in the sector. What are the challenges and opportunities? (Leanne has insisted that links be provided to Liam’s blog pieces on the topic here and here).
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss:
- The recent announcement by the NSW Government regarding funding of early childhood education (an article from the Sydney Morning Herald on this can be found here, the NSW Government press release is here and a previous media article on the Auditor-General Report is here.
- The OECD’s recent update of their “Education at a Glance” series. The 2016 Report is here, and there is also a great webinar running through the stats.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss:
- The release of the Productivity Commission’s Draft Report into the National Evidence Base (you can get a summary of the key findings and recommendations here); and
- Innovation in early childhood - what are the challenges and opportunities? Liam recommends checking out earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again to discuss:
- Why Australia’s performance in the provision of early childhood education is so poor when compared to other countries (check out the Growing Strong IV report from the OECD for a very in-depth look at the numbers on this); and
- What is the way forward for early childhood educators in Australia facing professional development issues and unclear solutions to poor wages.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa, Leanne and Liam are back again - and we've updated our name to better reflect our chats! This week, we discuss:
- The end of the Early Years Workforce Strategy, how it has worked (or not worked) and what we’d like to see replace it; and
- The rise of apps and software designed for early childhood centres to share “children’s learning” with families.
Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.
Lisa and Liam kick off the podcast with a discussion on the new make-up of the Parliament and the likelihood of policy movement for early learning; and the shameful detention of children on Nauru. Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.