Work Health and Safety (WHS) is a core pillar of quality practice in early childhood education and care. With children, families, educators, and visitors moving through the environment every day, services must maintain safe, well‑managed spaces and strong risk‑prevention systems. Many services appoint a dedicated WHS officer to oversee this work, but what does that role actually involve?

This article outlines a clear, practical role description for a WHS Officer in an early childhood setting, including examples of what the role looks like in action.

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives is a core part of high‑quality early childhood education. But occasionally, families may express uncertainty or request that their child not participate in these experiences. This is a practical guide for early childhood educators on addressing family concerns about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, with culturally safe responses, EYLF‑aligned explanations, and NQS‑based professional guidance.

In early childhood education, we work at the intersection of family values, children’s rights, and professional obligations. Most days, these elements align beautifully. But sometimes, they collide, and one of the most challenging situations arises when a family requests that their child not participate in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural activities or learning.

This article unpacks how educators can navigate this respectfully, confidently, and in line with the EYLF and NQS with practical examples you can use immediately.

Children are not passive recipients of care. From birth, they express preferences, make decisions, and influence their world. In early childhood education, agency is both a right and a developmental necessity. EYLF positions the agency as central to Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity- specifically Outcome 1. 2: Children develop their emerging autonomy, interdependence, resilience, and sense of agency.

When educators intentionally design environments, routines, and interactions that honour children’s choices and efforts, agency becomes visible, meaningful, and empowering.

Discover how to nurture children’s agency across babies, toddlers, and preschoolers with practical strategies, autonomy‑supportive language, and EYLF‑aligned documentation tips for early childhood educators.

In early childhood education, timing shapes interpretation. A message that would normally pass quietly through the sector can suddenly feel loaded when educators are already carrying frustration, fatigue, and a sense of being unheard. That’s exactly what happened when ACECQA published a routine #funfactfriday post. The post itself was simple and familiar. ACECQA shared a link to one of their infographics, saying, "Did You Know... ACECQA Does Not Conduct Assessment and Rating Visits? 

As the year draws to a close, many early childhood services find themselves navigating the familiar tradition of end‑of‑year gifting. Families want to show appreciation, educators want to be gracious, and services try to balance gratitude with fairness.

But in recent years, this once‑simple gesture has become more complicated. Rising living costs, shifting expectations, and concerns about equity have prompted many educators and leaders to ask an important question:

Are end‑of‑year gifts still a kind tradition, or have they become an unnecessary pressure for families and staff?