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.
Register for the next CoP Session!
Session 2: Reflections, evaluations and actions. How can we transfer our knowledge into action
- Provide time and space for reflection and evaluation conversations following session one
- Further unpack the role of boundaries in supporting our mental health
- Begin to explore the ideas of implementation – the ‘how’ in turning knowledge into action
When: 10th September 2024 | Time: 3:30 – 5:30 PM
Where: Holt Neighbourhood Hall, 72 Beaurepaire Cres, Holt ACT
Presenter
Alicia Marshall
Be You – Early Childhood Australia
Alicia is a Be You Consultant with Early Childhood Australia. Joining Early Childhood Australia in 2017, Alicia is an early childhood educator with a background in psychology, early childhood mental health and adult education. With experience across multiple early childhood settings, including Consultancy work and VET training, Alicia is also a Circle of Security Facilitator and working towards a certification in implementation science through the Centre for Implementation.
Contact Village for registration or addition information
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
Session 1: Educator wellbeing and resilience: Moving beyond self-care
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.
When: Tuesday 6 August 2024
Where: Holt Neighbourhood Hall, Holt ACT
Resources and tools
- Beyond Self-Care: An Educator Wellbeing Guide
- Planning for Wellbeing: mine, yours, ours
- Mental health services and support helplines
- Mental Health Continuum
- BETLS Anecdotal Observation Tool
- Understand module
- Wellbeing Plan for Educators
- Communication skills for educators Fact Sheet
- Discussing concerns with families
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
Part 2
When: Tuesday 25th June 2024
Where: Online
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
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
Further Reading
- Learning Through the Senses Resource Manual, The Impact of Sensory Processing in the Classroom
- The Alert Program (online)
- The Alert Program Resources (Free)
- Play Based Learning Program
- Behaviour support for children with disability: working alongside parents
- Dr. Mona Delahooke podcasts/videos/webinars/resources
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
- AEDC Guide to Communication skills
- AEDC Guide to Emotional Maturity
- AEDC Guide to Language & Cognitive Skills
- AEDC Guide to Physical Health
- AEDC Guide to Social Competence
- Linking AEDC with National Quality Standard
- AEDC & Early Years Learning Framework
- Guide to using AEDC
- Yerrabi Yurwang Child & Family Aboriginal Corporation
Collaborating Partners
