Early Years Community of Practice

Introduction

Village and partners developed the Early Years Community of Practice in response to community feedback, including feedback received by the ACT Governments through its consultations with early years practitioners as part of the Best Start for Canberra’s Children: The First 1000 Days Strategy development.

Early Years Community of Practice (CoP) is regarded as a group of people in a professional setting who have a mutual interest or passion for a topic, or a common concern and who come together to learn and share. It is a commitment to advancing professional learning by sharing best practices. It also provides an opportunity to communicate, connect and develop a supportive network. Interaction on an ongoing basis is an important part of the CoP and this relies on face-to-face meetings.

Celebration & Planning!

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Early Years Community of Practice celebration and planning event. Your contributions, insights, and ideas were invaluable, and they will play an essential role in shaping the future of our Community of Practice. It was also wonderful to see everyone connecting and enjoying the outdoor games – giant Connect Four was certainly a crowd favourite!

We understand that it’s not always possible to attend events like these due to various commitments. For those who couldn’t join us, your feedback is important, and we warmly invite you to complete the survey. Each response helps us to better understand the needs of our community and continue to improve and adapt. The survey will remain open until Friday, 20th December, and we would be grateful if you could provide your feedback by then.

Please feel free to share the link to our feedback survey with any colleagues who may wish to provide their input. We’re eager to gather as many perspectives as possible to ensure our Community of Practice meets the needs of all involved.

Have your say here!

To create an environment where early years professionals can advance their learning and practice and better connect with the outcome of improving how the sector supports itself, children and families. The CoP has a focus on holistic child development including wellbeing, education, disability and the social determinants of health.

The CoP is for anyone working within the early years sector.

This includes professionals across Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings, preschool/primary education, health, academia and the community services. If you are an educator, centre director, teacher, health professional or work with children and families the CoP is for you!

The CoP format includes a combination of presentations, panel and round table discussions, as well as networking opportunities. Presentations are interactive and topic experts will be available to answer questions and contribute to conversation. Topics are informed by the needs of attendees and relevant resources will be provided.

Attendees are invited to share knowledge, insights, research, and resources. An agenda will be made available in the week(s) prior to the CoP session, including a call for relevant resources to be shared.

Following the CoP, attendees will receive email containing the link to the Village CoP webpage, which will host the presentations, resources and other related information.

The CoP is a 2 hour session delivered 6 times a year during school terms, with afternoon tea provided.

It is coordinated by Village partners including Capital Region Community Service (CRCS), Community Services Directorate (Best Start and AEDC) and EACH (NDIS partner delivering the Early Childhood Approach).

  • Develop a professional network of peers
  • Build working relationships to learn from each other’s successes and failures
  • Share learnings to improve practice in your field
  • Create a sense of community
  • Connect with a range of services to support the children and families in your services and centres
  • Share practice

Presentation Slides and Handouts

Educator wellbeing and resilience

Presenter: Alicia Marshall, Be You – Early Childhood Australia

Alicia is extremely passionate about the mental health and wellbeing for all community members and is a strong advocate for contextualising any form of professional learning or continuous improvement to your specific setting for increased chances of success.

Part 1:

Educator wellbeing and resilience: Moving beyond self-care

When: Tuesday 6 August 2024
Where: Holt Neighbourhood Hall, Holt ACT

Part 2:

Reflections, evaluations and actions. How can we transfer our knowledge into action

When: 10th September 2024
Where: Holt Neighbourhood Hall, Holt ACT

Resources and tools

Courageous Conversations Series – Partnering with families to support child development

Presenter: Stephanie Johnston, Community Capacity Leader, EACH – NDIS partner

Stephanie has been working with children and families for 16 years and has a background in primary school teaching, counselling, and community development.

Part 1

When: Tuesday 14th May 2024
Where: Holt Neighbourhood Hall, Holt ACT

Download slides here

Part 2

When: Tuesday 25th June 2024
Where: Online

Download slides here

Understanding Behaviour Series – Supporting Children’s Participation in Early Childhood and Community Settings

Part 1: Multiple causes & child lens

Presenters: Cate Hilly, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy and Jonathan Ramke, Occupational Therapist from University of Canberra

When: Tuesday 13th February 2024
Where: Community Room, Kingsford Smith School, Holt ACT

Checkout the handouts here

Download slides here

Part 2: Support strategies & consistency

Presenters: Cate Hilly, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Jonathan Ramke, Occupational Therapist from University of Canberra and Livia Pitz, Educator at CRCS Bruce

When: Tuesday 26th March 2024
Where: Holt Neighbourhood Hall, Holt ACT

Checkout the handouts here

Download slides here

Further Reading

Courageous Conversations

The first Early Years Community of Practice was held on 8th August at the Humpy Hall Scullin with over 40 practitioners from health, education and early childhood centres attending the session.

Stephanie Johnston, Community Capacity Building Lead, EACH ACT presented and discussion about:

  • Developmental milestones from birth to five years?
  • What is developmental delay and disability?
  • Strategies to build stronger relationships with families
  • Tips to effectively communicate concerns with families
  • Where to seek support

The presentation slides can be downloaded here and presentation handouts here

Related Resources

Collaborating Partners