Inclusion and Early Intervention General Manager Update

As we fast approach the changing of the seasons it’s been another exciting and busy quarter for ECA in the Inclusion and Early Intervention space.   

The NDIS team have been busy navigating the introduction of some new internal systems and on-boarding more new staff to support an increase in early supports activity. ECA attended the NDIS Partnership Forum in Geelong last month to gather and network with other partners from across the country. With the NDIS independent review panel making their initial recommendations to government, it was good to hear, briefly, from Bruce Bonyhady, the Co-Chair of the review panel.

The IA team have been out and about making the most of the clement weather to visit some of the more remote communities being supported by the IPs. Trips to Emu Point, Titjikala, Timber Creek and Borroloola to name but a few. The Alice Springs team have been contributing to some significant stakeholder engagement activity, participating in the Congress Connected Beginnings Reference Committee, presenting at the ECEA Conference on Partnerships, and supporting the NT Department of Education delivering a Workforce Workshop this month.

There has been more focus on ECEC service access for children this last quarter, particularly children living in remote settings where ECEC services are sometimes closed due to staffing issues or infrastructure constraints and children not attending due to some of the structural and systemic problems such as funding, service integration and perceived expectations. ECA has been working on raising these nuanced and particular barriers to inclusion with all levels of government.

Also, access and participation for children with a disability in more urban areas of the NT has been an area of focus this quarter. ECA has been gathering data and working on developing a partnership with the Carpentaria Paediatric Services to see if we can collaborate for impact in this area of our work.

The inclusion team have also been developing up a Sensory Tools and Equipment Library to further support service inclusion of children with sensory and neurodiversity needs. 

Some beautiful artwork done by the children at Titjikala Children’s Centre last month.

With the 14^th October Referendum date being less than a fortnight away now, ECA is proud to be involved in activities happening all around the country including the making of this fantastic podcast with Thomas Mayo who speaks about the importance of the Voice for all children. Take a moment to listen to this wonderful insight.

ECA continues to be a strong supporter of the ‘Yes Campaign’.

Janet Williams-Smith 
Inclusion and Early Intervention General Manager

ECA NT Staff Update

Inclusion Support Program - Northern Region

Welcome to the latest edition of the Northern Region Inclusion Support Program update. I’m excited to share the journey our team has embarked upon over the past three months.

Our wonderful inclusion professionals continue with business as usual and have been on the move, criss-crossing our region to support services and educators to ensure that every child, particularly those with high inclusion support needs, receive support. From urban centers to remote communities, we've been busy connecting with ECEC services, sharing insights, and collaborating to create nurturing spaces for all children to thrive. Thank you to the services who continue to work collaboratively with us; together we aim to include all children in ECEC services. 

This quarter’s networking brunch with Emily Hinds on sustainability in ECEC was a resounding success! The event brought together passionate minds to explore the intersection of sustainability and inclusion in Early Years Education and Care. The exchange of ideas and shared experiences was invigorating, reminding us of the power of collective action in shaping a brighter future for our children.

Our next networking brunch was held on 13 September. The topic was centered on supporting children with developmental delay. Speakers were Trish Wachtel, Area Manager Early Childhood Approach, and Jacinta McInnerney, Inclusion Professional and Professional Development Coordinator, Inclusion Support Program. Trish’s session focused on the NDIS and the Early Childhood Approach, and Jacinta talked about Play Schemas. It was an engaging session from both Trish and Jacinta.

We're thrilled to welcome 1st-year OT master's students who have joined us as placement students on some of our service visits. Together, we're tackling the sensory tools and equipment library project, an initiative aimed at curating resources that amplify children's participation in ECEC. With an allied health lens and educational focus, we're committed to getting the right tools for the right moments, fostering optimal inclusion and participation for children. If you would like to hear more about our sensory tools and equipment library, please do not hesitate to contact our STEL Coordinator, Alex Kastellorizios at alex.kastellorizios@ecant.org.au or you can call 0477 006 563.

I am also equally thrilled to welcome Maggie Maguire to the team. Maggie started with us in late June and is settling in well. 

We’re in the middle of recruiting for the role of Inclusion Professional/Community Outreach Coordinator. If this position sparks your interest or that of someone you know, we encourage you to check out our listing on Seek and Ethical Jobs and consider applying.

If you have any questions about the inclusion support program, and how we can support you, please reach out to me at filomena.Lay@ecant.org.au or you can call 0499 885 082.

Filomena Lay, 
NT IA Northern Region Manager

Early Childhood Australia Partnership with St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies)

ECA NT have begun a partnership with St Vinnies NT to provide clothing to the remote services we visit. Inclusion Professionals are able to let St Vinnies know what the requirements for the remote childcare or creche are, and St Vinnies very kindly make up large bags of suitable clothes. ECA NT would like to thank Luci, Christine and Teressa and the whole team at St Vinnies for this wonderful service that makes a huge difference to the lives of our remote communities. So far we have been able to support three remote communities – Wunala Creche Borroloola, Little Crocs Creche Timber Creek and Roper Gulf Regional Council.

“So wonderful to hear that Vinnies donations went to people in need and were greatly received. Thank you very much for facilitating... Many hands makes our work much lighter to meet the people we serve.” (Luci - St Vinnies)   

“Thank you very much for dropping the clothes off, the children loved them.” (Beth O'Brien, Children Service Manager Roper Gulf Regional Council.)

Naomi Ross is Wunala Creche Acting Manager in Borroloola. Naomi was very appreciative of the clothes  and will have another open day at the Creche for members of the community to come in and chose some clothes. "It makes a big difference for families that don’t have access to local shops to buy clothes."

Anita Casey is Little Crocs Creche Coordinator at Timber Creek. Anita was very thankful for the clothes and reported that the children loved going through he bags and choosing what they would wear. She said the children were able to take a bag of clothes home with them and the rest of the clothes would be kept at the creche for children to choose when needed. "Thanks very much to Inclusion Professionals Lucy and Jacinta and St Vinnies."

Jacinta McInnerney, 
Inclusion Professional Training Coordinator 

Inclusion Support Program - Southern Region

These last few months have seen us enjoy participating in a number of events across our region celebrating with our services, children and families. We’ve celebrated Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week, Early Learning Matters Week and most recently Early Childhood Educators' Day, where we paid tribute to the amazing work our educators do each and every day!

We continue building strong relationships with educators, partnering with them on their inclusion journey. We’ve been focused recently on building greater understanding of the value of relationship, as a foundation for all the work we do with families, children, colleagues, and other stakeholders in our communities. We’ve been looking at how building relationships and creating partnerships are essential building blocks of inclusive practice and therefore, boosting better outcomes for children.

If you haven’t already, please talk to us about how we can help in this space. ECA’s Online Learning Hub also offers a great range of self-paced learning modules on relationships, which educators and teams can access themselves.

Our Alice Springs Early Childhood Education and Care Networking meeting in July had guest presenters from Tangentyere Council, speaking to us about the Girls Can, Boys Can program and sharing a fabulous resource for use in our ECEC settings. All our attendees were excited by the information shared and all were very keen to access this kit. I look forward to seeing how our local services use this within their programs. Thank you Tangentyere! If you’d like to hear more about this, speak with one of our team.

We have also been looking at the current shortages of childcare spaces, as well as workforce challenges affecting our region. Together with services and stakeholders, we’ve been looking at how we might strive to overcome them by thinking together on finding possible solutions which might work in our area. The Workforce Workshop hosted in Alice, by the Department of Education, in August, was great opportunity to brainstorm as was the ACCC Childcare Inquiry Round-table we attended in Darwin.

Some of our team were privileged to attend the SNAICC Conference in Darwin in September where we were able to hear from a broad range of presenters on a great variety of topics. I’m really proud to share that the Red Centre was well represented in this space with a number of presentations and workshops provided by our stakeholders.

In our own Southern Inclusion Support Team, we have farewelled our manager, mentor, colleague and friend, Bronwyn Truscott, who retired on 31/8/2023. We were able to join together with well-wishers from around the country as we celebrated Bronwyn’s contribution to our sector over many, many years. We thank Bronwyn for all she has brought to our industry and wish her the very best as she enjoys a well-earned retirement.

We also continue our search for another Inclusion Professional to join our team. So, if you, or someone you know is interested, please contact us to discuss. There is nothing quite like life in the Red Centre!

Catherine Clucas, 
NT IA Southern Region Program Manager

NDIS - Early Childhood Approach

The NDIS are transitioning their client records management system to a new system called PACE.  This is a huge endeavour by the agency. To ensure that everyone is coming along for the journey, there are information sessions for the public, providers, and participants. I encourage you to look on the NDIA website for further information. The ‘Go Live’ date for PACE is 30^th October so the team have been busy learning and practicing how to do business in this new system in preparation for the changeover. 

The NDIA have released some new operational guidelines to help people understand the Early Childhood Approach Early childhood approach | NDIS. If you have any families asking questions, please direct them to this link or alternatively they can call us directly for a conversation.

Finally, the NDIA team are experiencing an expansion of the team so we are currently recruiting. If you are aware of anyone that may be interested in applying, please direct them to  ethical jobs.

Trish Wachtel
Area Manager Early Childhood Approach

g4gd® (gym 4 growth & development program) 

Term 3

We are pleased to report that we partnered up with the Palmerston Child and Family Centre again to deliver a six-week program of g4gd® with the Young Mums Strong Mums group (which is run by FaFT). We were very happy to be delivering our g4gd® program again with families with lots of singing, dancing, playing, and engaging with families. 

Lastly we had to say goodbye to Ingrid Avery who is leaving the g4gd® team to move to WA. We can't thank Ingrid enough for all her excitement and enthusiasm she brought to our g4gd® team. She will be dearly missed by stakeholders, the team and families. On Tuesday the 12th of September we held a farewell morning for Ingrid to wish her a fond farewell and safe travels to WA. 

Events and Media Update

Events again have been busy the last three months starting off with NAIDOC Week from the 3^rd -7^th of July. We celebrated this by attending the NAIDOC Street March in Darwin city followed by some great dances and inspiring speeches. In the July school holidays Clubhouse Territory invited us to two Be-Inclusive Community fun days, the first down at the Darwin Waterfront and the second at the Palmerston Recreation Centre. They were fun events to be a part of and we were able to connect with many families and stakeholders.

We celebrated Early Learning Matters Week from 24-28 July. We hosted Minister Eva Lawler at the Gray Child Care Centre to celebrate the week which brings together early childhood educators, parents, carers, and community leaders around Australia to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of early learning and the difference the profession makes. The media were there too which added to the occasion!

In August we celebrated National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children's Day down at Tiverton Park, Moulden. It was a fun and exciting morning with lots of activities including story time, dancing, jumping castles, face painting and cake!

We also celebrated Indigenous Literacy Day held on the 6^th of September by reading the children’s book ‘Shordi Krik’ (Shorty Creek) with our Young Mums Strong Mums group where we deliver g4gd®. The book was published by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation:

At Shordi Krik, life is sweet. Join students from Barunga School on a trip to their local creek where they play and swim. Written in Kriol and English, everyone will be singing along with this joyful song and learning more about life in Barunga as they go!

About the authors:
This book was written by students from Barunga School with ILF Lifetime Ambassador Justine Clarke, who is a regular visitor to Barunga. Barunga is a small Aboriginal community, located approximately 80 kilometres southeast of Katherine in the Northern Territory.

About the illustrators:
The illustrations for this book were created by students from Barunga School, inspired by digital illustrating workshops produced by Alison Lester AM, who is also a Lifetime Ambassador for Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

Claire Bredhauer,
Media, Events & Program Coordinator 

 Northern Territory Education and Care Awards

Congratulations to the finalists and winners! Winners of the 2023 NT Education and Care Awards were announced on Friday 22 September at a ceremony held at Double-tree Hilton, Darwin. Well done on your outstanding achievements and for making a positive impact on the lives of children and families.

Congratulations to the following recipients of the awards.

Outstanding Educator - Gabriela Brunetta Savio from Milestones Early Learning Darwin City

Outstanding Aboriginal Educator - Bronwyn Fielding from Learning with families

Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher - Rachel Jericho from Larapinta Child & Family Centre

Outstanding Leader - Rachel Marriott from Goodstart Early Learning

Outstanding Education & Care Program - Clyde Fenton Long Day Care

Earlier that day The "Reimagining the Early Years" panel discussion, held as part of the Little People Big Dreams Conference in Darwin, it was a truly inspiring event. We gathered with a shared commitment to prioritise the early years of children in the Northern Territory and throughout our country. This event highlighted the progress already made and inspired a shared commitment to creating a more inclusive and brighter future for children in their early years. 

Early Childhood Australia was at the Little People Big Dreams conference on the 23rd of September we had the benefits of sharing our fantastic Online Learning Hub. We held a merchandise store including our ‘Women’s’, ‘Unity’ and ‘Pride’ pins as well as our weekly and daily planners, and books. Click here to purchase from our online store if you missed out. 

ECA NT Committee  

The time has come to celebrate and recognise outstanding sustainable practices in early childhood education through the SPROuts Practice Awards 2023, supported by Early Childhood Australia (ECA). These awards, now open to all ECA members, have a rich history of inspiring the early childhood community and have significantly influenced the integration of sustainable practices into early childhood services since their inception in 2005.  

The SPROuts Practice Awards aim to showcase projects that highlight children's active involvement in caring for the environment and contributing to a sustainable future.  For more information click HERE

How to Apply:

To be eligible for these awards, entrants must be current ECA members. If you are not a member yet, you can join through the ECA website.

Applications should be submitted using the SPROuts Practice Award template, which includes guidelines to assist you in the process. 

Recent and Up Coming Events

Early Childhood Australia NT acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout the Northern Territory and pay our respect to Elders past and present for their continuing custodianship of the land and the children of this land, across the generations.