Motivating well-qualified staff to remain at your service is not only important to cut down training costs but also to provide the best outcomes for children.  The following article provides strategies on how to retain staff within your early childhood service. 

Mentoring is a hugely beneficial way for early childhood services to build the professional capacities of new educators as well as leadership capacities for their own organization. However, the success of a mentoring programme depends to a large extent on the efficacy of mentors. The following article provides strategies such as the Roles and Responsibilities, Who Can Be A Mentor and Requirements Of An Effective Mentor in an early childhood setting.

Among the important guiding principles of the National Quality Framework is ‘Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are valued. The following article provides information on recognising and valuing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through early childhood services through the display of the flags.

Among the two most important resources for services to build partnerships with new families are enrolment and orientation. The following article shows guidelines on using Enrolment and Orientation processes to collaborate with families so that children’s well-being and learning have the best chances of thriving.

Hiring overseas educators can not only bring a service the benefits of a diverse, multicultural workplace but also address staffing shortage issues. However before an overseas candidate can be recognised as an early childhood educator under the NQF, their qualification will have assessed for equivalence by ACECQA.

Inviting families to give their input on the care and education of their children is not only an NQS requirement – Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities – but makes sheer practical sense. The more they feel their opinions on service policies are genuinely sought, the greater will be their acceptance of policies and satisfaction with the service. The following article provides strategies on how services and educators can include family input to ensure better outcomes for children.

Early childhood Services that have had to close or partially close due to COVID-19, including in the absence of stay-at-home orders, can apply for a Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) Special Circumstances grant. The Community Child Care Fund (CCCF) Special Circumstances Grant Opportunity helps services stay open when something unexpected happens.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Education James Merlino today announced a plan to keep education settings open while taking every measure to protect children and Educators – with surveillance testing, ventilation, vaccinations and comprehensive workforce planning to ensure a successful 2022 school year.

NSW Health has advised that people who are symptomatic or are household contacts of a positive case may rely on the results of a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), instead of awaiting the results of the PCR nose and throat swab from a testing clinic.

The best way to deal with a positive case when it happens is to be as prepared as possible before it happens. The following provides information for early childhood services in NSW that includes Managing Positive Cases, COVID - 19 Contacts Within A Service, RAT, Cleaning, Letter To Contacts and more.