Me-time or ‘meh’ time? One thing we know (and research backs it up) is that in so-called caring professions like education, people find it even more difficult to create ‘me-time’ or the kind of self-care that rejuvenates flagging spirits and revives tired bodies. We often find it hard to follow the oxygen mask advice […]
By Amy Pratten, Lara Hernandez and Paul Gordon – Munch & Move State Team NSW Office of Preventive Health National Children’s Week, celebrated each year in October, provides us with a reminder to celebrate the rights of children. This year we focus on the fundamental right of young Australians to good health. We all want […]
In Australia, one in 10 children have asthma. This is one of the highest of rates of childhood asthma in the world. With air quality labelled as “hazardous” over many areas of Australia due to recent fires, there has been an increase of asthma related presentations to emergency departments. With this increased risk, Sarah Hunstead, […]
Recently the CELA office received a moving letter from the Director of a Mobile early childhood service in regional NSW, which is severely drought affected. She raised important issues about the reality of how to manage our own stress and mental health in times of crisis. This week we share her message and story with […]
In this week’s Amplify we share a story from Emma Harrison, the Centre Coordinator for Victoria Avenue Children’s Centre in Sydney. She writes about their wellbeing program MIndfully Me, a healthy community initiative devised as part of their QIP, and how it has positively impacted the staff. Over the past 6 months the team at […]
We don’t think of young children as having ‘mental health problems’ but any educator will have experience of dealing with children who were overwhelmed by their emotions, and have sometimes felt challenged by the behaviour of toddlers and pre-schoolers. In fact the early years are a crucial time when children’s brains are developing the architecture […]
We all love to celebrate Children’s Week, after all supporting children’s happiness and wellbeing and helping them to thrive is the foundation of quality early childhood education. This year’s theme looks straightforward, but it actually contains many layers which we unpack with the help of the National Children’s Commissioner. The Theme for Children’s Week 2019 […]
Sharp knives. Raw meat. Cooking on the BBQ. Does this sound risky or does it sound like real cooking experiences for children? John Stewart shows services how to bring more risk into the kitchen, and beyond. In an early childhood education and care setting, educators may well be challenged by the thought of cooking with […]
Educators need education. The focus on both entry level and ongoing professional development is a fundamental requirement of participation in the National Quality Framework and, more generally, one of the hallmarks of a true profession in the modern world. But sometimes it’s easier said than done. Time, money, confidence, employment, location and awareness can all […]
Grow safely this Spring There’s no doubt that many Australian services have a long tradition of gardening and natural surroundings for young children. Equally, there’s no doubt that through the 1990s and Noughties there was an explosion of ‘plastic fantastic’ outdoor areas for early childhood education, driven in part by a community-wide fear of insurance […]
