Spiritual Reflection

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. (Peter 1:6-7 NIV)
 

Growing up means different things to different people. For some of us, there are more fond memories than bad; for others, the opposite is true. Looking back, I have learned to consider the tough times as part of what has made me who I am and I know God has allowed those times to happen because He knows what I need to become all He plans for me to be. Character is said to be built and there is good reason for that. Character does not come easy or cheap. It is nurtured over time and often involves many tough times and hard lessons. When I was young, I use to ask, “Why?” and with regard to life today, I still do. But the tough times still come and there is still plenty of character needing to be built within me. Knowing that and knowing that God never leaves us alone no matter what we go through, doesn’t make dealing with everything a piece of cake, but it certainly makes it easier to remember that God is still God, good can come from bad and I can, in the midst of a storm, still experience His peace.

From the QLECS Office

Staffing
We welcome our new Business and Finance Manager, Mr Reg Gulley, who will commence on September 28th. Many of you may know Reg who was previously the Business Manager at Prince of Peace and has also had a time in politics! Reg will initially work 2-3 days a week until his current contract is completed during Term 4. Our Accounts Team have done an exceptional job during the interim months.  I also want to thank you for your patience during this time of change and transition.

Kindergarten Funding and Eligibility Changes for 2016
The State Government is also planning to produce clear guidelines for funding eligibility for children attending kindergarten in 2016. This is related to the change in age eligibility that was introduced late last year. Gabrielle Sinclair, Deputy Director-General Early Childhood Education
and Care has said that moves are under way to introduce clear criteria from 2017 governing the age at which a child can be enrolled in Prep, emphasising that early entry for July-born children should be available only if the child is socially, emotionally and physically ready.

From 2016, the QKFS will prioritise kindergarten placements and funding for children who are turning four years old by 30 June in the year of enrolment. Children born in July 2011 who participated in kindergarten in 2015 without progressing to Prep in 2016 will remain eligible to attract a kindergarten funding subsidy again in 2016.

The interim measure introduced this year extending the QKFS subsidy to children who were turning four before 31 July to accommodate early entry to Prep will cease in 2016. QLECS is required to inform the Department of any children who have already been enrolled children in this age cohort for Kindergarten in 2016. Christine Hartung, our Children’s Service’s Manager who oversees the Kindergarten area, will be in contact with all Service Leaders soon to ascertain this information.

IPSP Online Library
The Inclusion Professional Support Program (IPSP) Online Library is a database which contains a wealth of education and care-specific resources such as templates, forms, digitised booklets, vignettes, articles, research and other information. The IPSP Library has a useful search function enabling you to locate resources by key word. You can access the IPSP Online Library here : http://www.ipsplibrary.net.au/

From ACECQA and the NQF

New Ratios and Transition Arrangements Ending 2015
From 1 January 2016, a number of transitional regulations will no longer apply. These provisionshave been in place to give providers time to meet the requirements.  For example, the transitional provision that allows an educator who was continuously employed for 15 years or longer to be counted as a certificate III educator ends on 31 December 2015, except
for services in remote or very remote areas, where it will continue to apply until 1 January 2018 (regulation 240).

Other transitional regulations set to expire include:
• Regulation 250 – Declared approved family day care services (fencing requirement, for the purpose of quality assessment and rating)
• Regulation 251 – Declared out of scope services (requirements for fencing, outdoor space and premises designed to facilitate supervision, for the purpose of quality assessment and rating)
• Regulation 254 – Declared approved learning frameworks (ACT)
• Regulation 336 – Family day care educators (SA) (FDC educator qualifications)

New ratios also come into effect from 1 January 2016. These will have an impact on staffing and group numbers. If services are unsure if any of their current groupings can continue next year –
particularly involving 2 and 3 year olds – please contact your Children’s Service’s manager for clarification.

NB:  Important!  Please read this fact sheet with the new ratios and transition changes which you can read here http://deta.qld.gov.au/earlychildhood/pdfs/key-changes-qld.pdf

Family Day Care Notice Period
Family day care educators who are due for assessment and rating will now have a notice period of between zero and five days before the visit by the authorised officer. The new timeframe, which applies across all states and territories, aims to ensure a consistent national approach to assessment and rating of family day care services. It is not anticipated that this will lead to any significant changes in practice in Queensland, given that five days’ notice will continue to be used in most cases. Approved Providers will continue to be sent a letter advising them of the date range in which the assessment and rating visits will take place.

More Support for Families
Parents needing support to care for their children safely at home will have more assistance with additional Family and Child Connect services. There are new locations at Browns Plains,
Caboolture, Emerald, Gladstone, Ipswich, Kingaroy, Hervey Bay, Murgon and Rockhampton.  Family and Child Connect works with vulnerable families to connect them to the right support
services in their local community. Families who are at risk of entering the child protection system will receive the help they need before problems escalate and Child Safety intervenes. Any person, including early childhood education and care staff and educators can contact Family and Child Connect for general advice and information. With a family’s consent, staff and educators can make a referral and Family and Child Connect will make direct contact with the family to assess their needs.

Intensive Family Support services work with families who have more complex needs. To check the locations or to contact Family and Child Connect, call 13FAMILY or 13 32 64 or go
to www.familychildconnect.org.au.

Better Together Forum
Transitioning to school and early childhood development will be the focus of a free forum at the Twin Waters Resort, Sunshine Coast on 20 October 2015. The forum, Better Together: Connecting Schools, Early Childhood Services and Communities will bring together school leaders, teachers, early childhood educators and local community representatives. Themes to be explored include building effective collaborative partnerships, innovative early childhood practice and meeting the needs of all children and families. The program will feature guest speaker, Emeritus Professor Dorothy Scott, from the University of South Australia, presentations from North Coast region schools and early childhood services, and a panel discussion with Gabrielle Sinclair, Deputy Director-General, Early Childhood Education and Care.

Learn about LEAPS
Go online to learn about LEAPS (Learning, Eating, Active Play and Sleep) for free and implement the Get Up and Grow Healthy Physical Activity for Early Childhood Guidelines which aligns with the National Quality Standard and Early Years Learning Framework.
 

With every blessing for all you do and for those entering school holidays, I pray you have a restful and refreshing break.

Lyndal Mayer
QLECS CEO