How to become a star at goal setting

One of the key responsibilities of the Centre Manager is to support the team while motivating and inspiring them to become the best educators possible. It’s imperative that each staff member is given time to formally set goals and that these are being constantly evaluated, worked on and celebrated.

Here are 3 tips on becoming professional goal setting expert: 

1. Relate them back to the Quality Areas so it’s clear what is being worked on. This will also give the educators a greater confidence in discussing these areas during assessment.

2. Define how these goals will be achieved. Will the goals will be met through further research and learning such as attending Professional Development session, through practical implementation, or by working with other staff to achieve a common purpose?

3. Set timeframes and discuss how evidence of work will be collated. Will it be through photographs, written documentation or via discussions at the next review?

Keep the staff motivated by checking in and offering assistance and encouragement. Celebrate when goals are met! Lead by example and talk about centre-wide goals and offer updates at staff meetings. 

9 tips for a more environmentally sustainable centre

These great tips are really easy to implement around your centre. The children will learn so much from being involved in these experiences. 

🚰 Recycle water the children have left over after they have a drink. Get them to help empty their water bottles or cups on to indoor plants or in the garden and watch the greenery grow!

🥕 Start a small veggie garden, you can even grow something in small ice cream containers, old gum boots or milk bottles. The kids will love eating what they’ve nurtured.

🍳Ask families to donate clothes, kitchen utensils, and other household items for the children to play with in the home corner or sand pit.

🐛 Start a compost bin.

🗑Transform the home corner into a recycling depot, complete with items to sort into recycling bins

🌱Organise an excursion to buy seedlings from the local nursery, let the children choose their own and then watch them grow together.

♻️ Recycle paper in a box for children to use in their art experiences.

🖼Encourage the use of natural art experiences.  Drawing in the sand or using fallen leaves to create a mosaic for example .  Take photos and digitally display these art works.

💻Strive as a centre to be a paperless as possible. Email newsletters and notes rather than having paper versions. Like this email (Don’t print it!)

Let’s work towards introducing more sustainable practices into our centres where we can. It’s an amazing way to introduce the concept of sustainability to the kids, and it also helps our planet. 

Creating a Space Children Will LOVE

How inspirational is your room? 

The way a room is set up can have a huge impact on how children learn. This week we take a look at how to assess your room, and provide tips on how best to make it an incredible learning environment.  We interviewed Megan who has 20 years of experience in the industry and is a Director (as well as a trainer) here at ECT:  

What’s the best time to asses the room?

It’s great to walk into the room when it’s empty. Does it feel cluttered? Is there enough room for the children to move freely? Are there spaces where they can play quietly? 

We also need to be mindful of not providing too many options and over stimulate the room as this can cause problems for some children. 

What questions should you ask yourself and your team when preparing the room?

Ask yourself: 

• How does it look?

• How does it feel?

• Is it a place you’d like to play in?

• Have you taken the children’s individual needs and interests into account?

• Does it feel cluttered or is it open?

How often would you suggest mixing things up? 

Evidence suggests that leaving the same room setup for long periods of time is a great way for children to build their sense of agency. They become confident in how the day is going to look and start to teach each other about how the day will unfold

However children can get bored, but that could be because they haven’t discovered everything available in the room. If  you find areas that aren’t being used, go and sit with the children and see if you can create some new excitement. 

How do you give the children a voice in the room layout? 

Children’s ideas should be brought to life in these rooms. They should feel like they really contributed. Have a planning meeting to talk about where they would like things to be. 

Room setup is so important. It creates an environment that is ready for some enthusiastic play. Include children in the process, they will love playing in a world that they helped create.

How does the new Educator Minimum Wage effect you?

The recent announcement by the Fair Work Commission to increase award wages and the national minimum wage by 3% was much needed. ECT welcome this increase as an attempt to show appreciation to this valued sector.

The increase will apply only to those educators receiving their pay rates from the national minimum wage, a modern award or in some cases a registered agreement. Educators who currently receive above minimum wage pay will not officially qualify for the increase unless there is an arrangement with the employer to pass on these increases even for above award wages.

The increase, which came into effect on the 1 July 2019, is definitely one that Educators should take as a small victory that should be celebrated. At ECT we understand how important Educators are and are delighted that their important work remains acknowledged.

The increase was effective from the 1 July 2019 which means Educators should see the increase from the first full pay period that starts on or after 1 July 2019.

To understand more about the increase, please review this document.

Best,

Sam Rosenberg
Director
Early Childhood Training