One of CELA’s top 10 Assessment and Rating queries is around the self-assessment process and self-assessment tool. In this series of Amplify articles, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions about self-assessment, with a view to giving you clarity and confidence around how it fits within the A&R process.

Have you signed up for the International Fairy Tea Party 2020 yet? In a year which has been full of challenges, this international celebration aims to unite the world in play. The celebration was created by Swedish play and education activist Suzanne Axelsson. It takes place annually over three days on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday closest to the September 21st equinox. 

Hundreds of thousands of children across Australia are finishing early childhood education this year. For four and five year olds it will be a very different experience to those who’ve gone before them. Their education has been disrupted by COVID-19 at a crucial time when they should be learning new skills to support their transition to school.

Prior to the pandemic, runny noses were an expected sight in early education and care settings. They have now been blown into the centre of heated debates around ECEC protocols and safety measures.

Across Australia, hundreds of thousands of children are attending their final year of early childhood education and care, before starting primary school.

Cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture takes something from another culture that is experiencing oppression. In Australia, it usually refers to when a non-Indigenous person/organisation/group/business takes an element of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander culture and uses it without permission, cultural respect or any form of reciprocity or payment.

An assessment notice is a little like a winter electricity bill – we all know it’s coming but it’s still a shock when it arrives. Unlike your power bill, your assessment and rating (A&R) visit is an opportunity to shake off that dread and show how your service shines.

Early childhood professionals have navigated a pandemic, employment changes, extra duties and major funding changes, and are now facing a workforce crisis. Supporting mental wellbeing is even more important now than ever.

Amanda Abel, a psychologist at Northern Centre for Child Development, says that educators run the risk of burnout if their mental health is not in some part supported by their workplace. We share six resources that can help to support improved mental wellbeing in the workplace.