In Focus

Regulatory Spotlight

Unpacking Theme 3

Practice is shaped by meaningful engagement with families and/or the community

Services that demonstrate that they are Exceeding the National Quality Standard (NQS) do so in ways that are unique to the children, families, and context of their service. Educators consider the children and families who are using the service as well as the characteristics, priorities, and strengths of the local community when planning, delivering, and reflecting on everyday practice. This results in practice that is tailored and responsive to the needs of the children, families, and community.

Drawing on the strengths of the service context fosters a culture of inclusiveness that enhances families’ and communities’ sense of belonging, making sustained, meaningful engagement more likely. Check out the ACECQA Guide to the National Quality Framework (the Guide), for more information.

What is meaningful engagement and how does it shape practice?

Meaningful engagement is more than ad hoc consultation or engagement. To meet the NQS, engagement with families and community is a requirement and should form the basis of many practices in a service. When considering meaningful engagement and how it is used to shape practice for any standard, services should consider if their engagement with children, families, community and other professionals is:

• based on secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships
• a fundamental practice for educators to gain a greater understanding of their priorities and aspirations for children, families and the community
• an opportunity for educators to seek deeper insights into the knowledge, capacities, expertise and resources of others
• built on the primary role of families in their own child’s learning and development
• used to build purposeful collaborations and partnerships that utilise strengths in ways that contribute to achieving the aspirations and priorities
• embracing different perspectives and using this as an opportunity for critical reflection and growth
• based on consistently and authentically listening to children’s voices to understand their perspectives to honour their rights to have input into matters that affect them
• culturally responsive.

Each service has a unique context that is shaped by its families, community and location. Diversity in factors such as language, cultural identity, child rearing practices, values and beliefs contributes to the unique depth and complexity of each service. At the Exceeding level for any Standard, practice is suited to and draws inspiration from this unique context. The service team is culturally responsive and inclusive, modelling and actively promoting respect and valuing diversity with children, families, colleagues and the community. Check out (Belonging, Being & Becoming - The Early Years Learning Framework; My Time, Our Place - Framework for School Age Care in Australia) for more information. 

Assessment indicators for Exceeding Theme 3

Services may demonstrate Exceeding level practice for Standards in a variety of ways that suit their particular operating environment and approach to practice. The Guide includes a list of reflective questions for each standard designed to assist services to consider if practice reflects meaningful engagement with families and/or the community and suits the unique context of the service as required at the Exceeding NQS level. Don’t forget, you will need to be able to demonstrate how, when, why and with whom the meaningful engagement occurred/occurs and how this has shaped practice in relation to the relevant standard/s.

Examples of questions an authorised officers may use to establish Exceeding Theme 3

1. does the service engage with families and/or the community (local communities, community organisations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and professionals) in relation to this standard?
2. what made this engagement meaningful?
3. how is/was the meaningful engagement used to shape and inform practice for this standard?
4. how did/does this meaningful engagement inform and shape practice?
5. can you share some examples of where and how your practices are informed/shaped by meaningful engagement?
6. does the way in which the service engages with families and/or the community reflect the service and its context?

Tip: Consider how you can provide information from these types of questions in your Quality Improvement Plan within the exceeding theme for the standard. This will enable the officer to plan how they might verify the information via practice observation, targeted questioning and sighting supporting evidence, saving much time at the visit searching for and unpacking potential evidence.

Exceeding case study from Standard 2.1

Each child’s health and physical activity is supported and promoted.

A centre-based service (providing long day care and OSHC) located in regional Western Australia (WA) was recently awarded exceeding for standard 2.1. The service’s philosophy recognises and values the role of the family, community and also places great emphasis on cultural responsiveness, safety and connectedness. It was evident that respectful, reciprocal relationships are formed with children, families and community, including Aboriginal Elders. For some time, the service has meaningfully engaged with relevant stakeholders to improve and introduce new practices at the service and to support their work with children and families to enhance health outcomes.

Some examples of the meaningful engagement include:

• ongoing work and engagement with Aboriginal Health Services who attend the service regularly to complete ear health checks, dental checks, speech and language assessments, and administer immunisations and vaccines (including Covid 19 and Influenza)
• the strong relationships formed with external agencies and professionals has enabled children and families to develop trust which has improved participation rates in the onsite health services and inform the service policies and procedures.
• the service engaged with Hearing Australia and was provided with resources to introduce the Blow, Breathe, Cough program at the service.
• the service uses resources from the Australian Government’s ‘Care For Kids Ears’ program to support their explicit teaching of ear health and to share with families and children to promote their understanding and participation.
• several community Elders regularly visit the service and promote the health services offered at the service to the community.
• the service has a committee which includes a member from a local health service and an Elder who attend service staff meetings, committee meetings and provide regular input and guidance into service decisions relating to children’s health.
• service follows Red Nose guidance and shares this information with families. The service acknowledged that safe sleep recommendations do not align with sleep practices for many families. To manage this the service co-hosted some ‘safe sleep yarns’ over morning tea with a local paediatric nurse. The expertise of the nurse was also used to develop the service Safe Sleep policy.
• the service provides ‘an open kitchen’ to their children giving them access to nutritional meals up to 5 times per day and any surplus meals are offered as take home meals. This program is supported via donations from several community partners and was developed in consultation with the Child Health Nurse, local shire and service Director in 2020.
• physical activity is promoted through additional participation of community members and role models. The OSHC children have access to attend basketball, football and other sports clinics run by the local PCYC.

Funding to support Early Childhood Education and Care in Regional WA

Three not-for-profit community organisations have been granted a total of $2,958,558 (exc. GST) in funding to deliver new initiatives and models of service that aim to strengthen Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services in regional WA.

The grants have been awarded to One Tree Community Services Incorporated, Child Australia and Regional Early Education and Development Inc.

One Tree Community Services Incorporated received $1,000,000 in grant funding to deliver the Regional Early Years Learn and Lead program in the Gascoyne, Goldfields-Esperance, Kimberley, Midwest and Pilbara regions. The program will provide tailored support to eligible services.

Child Australia received $958,558 and will deliver the ECEC Support, Empowering Regional Services WA coordination support model program in the Great Southern, parts of Peel (excluding Mandurah), South-West and Wheatbelt regions.

Regional Early Education and Development Inc received $1,000,000 and will expand their existing REED Cluster Model to the Goldfields-Esperance, Great Southern and Southwest regions.

Through supporting these organisations to deliver regional initiatives that address key challenges faced by the sector, the grants will improve access to early childhood education for children and families in regional WA.

For more information, see Early Childhood Education Minister Sabine Winton's media statement.

Are you aware of your reporting obligations under the Western Australia Reportable Conduct Scheme

The Western Australia Reportable Conduct Scheme (Scheme) applies to all childcare providers, including family day care and before and after school care providers.

What are my obligations?

The obligations of employees under the Scheme are:

1. To Report Allegations and Convictions: Employees must report any reportable allegations or reportable convictions they become aware of to the head of their organisation as soon as practicable.
2. Timely Reporting: Timely reporting is crucial to enable the matter to be investigated and appropriate action to be taken to protect children.

Please note employees may have additional obligations arising from other legislative schemes or their organisation’s policies.

Who is an employee?

Under the Scheme, an "employee" includes various types of workers and volunteers who are over 18 years of age, including:

1. Officers or employees of the organisation: individuals who are employed by the organisation, regardless of whether they provide services to children.
2. Volunteers and contractors: Volunteers and contractors are considered employees under the Scheme only if they provide services to children.

Will I be protected if I make a report?

Yes. There are protections under the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1971 for providing information under the Scheme, including protection from:

• breaches of confidentiality or professional standards;
• protection from victimisation; and
• a prohibition on publishing information that identifies or is likely to identify a person who has made a report under the Scheme.

Where can I find more information about the Scheme?

Employees can seek guidance from their organisation about the Scheme. If they are a member of an employee union, their union representative may also be able to provide advice if an allegation is made against them.

Further information about the Scheme, is also available online at: www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au/Reportable_Conduct/Reportable_Conduct.htm.

Or for clarification and guidance, talk to the Ombudsman’s Reportable Conduct team, which can be contacted by telephone on 9220 7471 or by email: reportableconduct@ombudsman.wa.gov.au.

Triple P – Positive Parenting Program

Parenting has a big impact on a child’s wellbeing, development, behaviour and life skills. However, handling the challenges confidently can be difficult. The world-acclaimed Triple P – Positive Parenting Program can help.  Thanks to Australian Government funding, a variety of free online programs are readily available for parents and carers in Western Australia. These programs offer evidence-based strategies to help raise happy, healthy and capable children who thrive in all aspects of life. Whether families want to improve behaviour, adjust to life with a new baby, or are facing everyday parenting challenges, there is a free online program for the early years and beyond. You can refer families now to www.triplep-parenting.net.au.

Triple P also offer face-to-face seminars for families in Western Australia on a variety of common parenting issues. To learn more about how Triple P can support your work, or for free promotional support, please contact: connect@triplep.net

Reminders & Upcoming events

Revised checklists are now available on the ECRU website for services to access and use as a self-auditing tool or to simply review to know what to expect at a compliance monitoring visit.

Mandatory Reporting Training sessions are still available, and all educators are encouraged to attend a session or complete the online training prior to 1 November 2024. Please review the upcoming sessions via Eventbrite to register. 

Managing Cow’s Milk Allergy in Children’s Education and Care:  ECRU has seen an increase in cases of children being given known allergens while attending education and care services. To address this, we’ve partnered up with the National Allergy Council to offer a webinar focused on managing food allergies, focusing on cow’s milk allergy. The webinar is aimed at educators and food service staff and will be presented by experienced paediatric allergy dietitians. Registrations are now open for this free online webinar. There are two opportunities available:

• Wednesday 24 July 2024 10:00AM - 11:00AM
• Wednesday 24 July 2024 6:30PM - 7:30PM

The Supporting NAIDOC Toolkit provides guidance to help inspire your team, workplace, school, club or community group to celebrate National NAIDOC Week. You can use this toolkit any time of the year, not just during National NAIDOC Week in July every year. In fact, the more you use this toolkit, the more opportunities you will create to form genuine partnerships, celebrate Blak excellence and amplify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Download the Supporting NAIDOC Toolkit.