There’s no denying 2020 was an incredibly challenging year for everyone, and the challenges will continue well into 2021. With so much uncertainty still ahead of us, one way we can help our sector to thrive throughout the turmoil is by nurturing our workforce.

A giant thank you to the CELA members* who completed our workforce survey in late 2020. Your responses provide us with a good understanding of the shape of our workforce, and the recruitment challenges our members are facing. This will help us with our advocacy in 2021, and in particular how CELA can feed into ACECQA’s National Workforce Strategy, which is currently under development and will be open for consultation in 2021.

Do you offer progressive meal times at your service? The idea is becoming more common in early learning environments, but some families and educators find the concept hard to digest. We look at the pros and cons of progressive mealtimes, and Pedagogical Leader Karla Wintle shares how a reflection on meal times led to the adoption of this concept in her service.

As we head towards another 26 January, the request to ‘change the date’ is still being hotly debated. Many early education services choose not to celebrate a day that is a source of pain to so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. However, others wonder if there’s still a way to acknowledge or approach the day respectfully, particularly when families are celebrating Australia Day at home, and children may be discussing it with their educators.

Early education resource specialist and Dunghutti woman Deborah Hoger reflects on the topic. 

Be You Consultants Nikki Edwards and Tanya Burr share why educator self-care is so important and how you can start the conversation at your service.