At Euroka Children’s Centre in the NSW Blue Mountains suburb of Blaxland, leadership opportunities are open to educators of all levels. All educators are also given non-contact programming time to develop and realise these opportunities and the projects that arise from them.  

We speak to Director Lorriene Bullivant, who's been working in the sector for 40 years, about how this model of distributed leadership came about and how it benefits staff, children and the community.  

Reports of the ECEC workforce crisis, educator burnout, insufficient pay, and a lack of professional respect have recently been prevalent in the media. These reports are backed up by studies such as CELA’s Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Survey Pulse Check, which showed that demand for places, alongside staff absences due to illnesses, professional fatigue and caring for sick family members, are impacting services’ capacity to operate.  

The University of Sydney is currently conducting a study called the Early Learning Work Matters Project (ELWM). The study aims to provide more information about educator workload and how it relates to quality education and care. This week we share results from the study’s initial phase and how you can share your experiences relating to workload through their survey.  

Guided play, or scaffolding, has long been lauded in early childhood as a powerful tool to support children’s learning outcomes. In recent research, brain activity tracking of child-parent duos during play revealed the benefits of guided play via brain synchronisation.

We explore the neuroscience of guided play and how educators can harness this concept to inform everyday practice. 

Many of our members say that their team have critical skill gaps – we can help you to fill them today.

CELA’s new Micro Credentials action key recommendations from Shaping Our Future – 10-year National Workforce Strategy. Micro Credentials are online, self-paced workshops that allow you to learn at your own pace and apply what you learn on the job straight away.

The Federal Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit was held at Parliament House in Canberra on 1-2 September. Its purpose was to bring together unions, employers, civil society and governments to address shared economic challenges. 

In the lead-up to The Summit, CELA participated in the Ministerial Roundtable on Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Issues held in Sydney on 8th August, where we shared our recommendations with Minister for Early Childhood Education and Youth, Dr Anne Aly, and other key ministers. At the Summit, our sector was represented by Early Childhood Australia CEO Sam Page, who received contributions from CELA, ELAA (Early Learning Association Australia) and CCC (Community Childcare Association) in advance. Here we summarise key takeaways from The Summit and provide an update on our ongoing advocacy position.  

The mental health statistics in this country were already confronting before the pandemic, but the impact of COVID, natural disasters and inflation have seen the incidence of people struggling with mental health climb substantially.   

In honour of R U OK Day (this Thursday, 8 September), we share Raleigh Street Community Children's Centre's experience with The Resilience Project, a program providing evidence-based mental health strategies for building resilience and happiness in adults and children.