Implementing the EYLF!

Questions related to program, planning, assessing, managing documentation, implementing EYLF, MTOP, NQS and other approved frameworks.
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stacey_samuels
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Implementing the EYLF!

Post by stacey_samuels » Tue Dec 21, 2010 7:25 am

Hi there,

Id love to hear of your thoughts on the new National Quality Framework, along with ideas/ suggestions for implementing the EYLF (early years learning framework). Any feeback would be great


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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:33 pm

Hey Stacey,

Merry Christmas! Our centre has also begun to implement the early years learning framework! We have started on the "learning stories".We have used "learning stories" in the past, so we are all familiar with them, now we just have to link the framework outcomes to the learning stories as well as a review and further planning. Normally our "learning stories" were only done during group projects, however now we are trying to maintain "learning stories" for each individual child. Yes, it's a lot more work although once we all get used to it, it should be a lot easier.

At the moment I'm doing my own research into the early years learning framework to determine what needs changing in the programming and planning side of things.

Just browsing through the documentation my director gave me, it looks like alot more work. Hey but the good thing about it, it's a nationally recognized across Australia!

I believe that this would create a higher standard of learning for children across all childcare centres, though it would be difficult to implement at first until we all get used to it

I'm thinking about enrolling in some workshops, just so I can get a better understanding of what I need to do!

:geek:
L.A

stacey_samuels
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by stacey_samuels » Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:47 pm

Hey L.A,
Merry xmas to you too! Im not working over the holidays (yay)!! our centre closes for 2 weeks :) very excited for the break!!

We have begun implementing the eylf and at times i feel as though it is more work, but at other times i feel it is less.. We are still trying to get our heads around it. We are fining that starting with "learning stories" has helped us... Im loving it so far... Especially our family inputs (where we implement activities based on the child's/ families weekend activities).
All of the parents have been great and patient whilst we adjust and try to fully understand how we are going to change things!
I think all of us childcare professionals will get our heads around it soon :)

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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Wed Dec 22, 2010 5:08 pm

Hi Stacey,

After a few discussions with staff one idea that came up is that we used to make the kids have group time which we found didn't work as well. Some kids were interested yet others had no interest what so ever and were always distracting others who were interested. To solve this, we want to change group time into "workshops". We basically do the same thing as we would for group time such as songs, story telling, etc. In the morning the kids sign up for the "workshops" if they want to attend and of course if they didn't sign up and want to join in they always can. The other kids who aren't interested just simply continue on with their play experiences.

Also we know how important it is to work together with families to create the curriculum but honestly most of the parents at my centre are always rushing in and out. They spend like a total of 5 minutes at the centre. Pick up their child, get their things, sign in or out and leave. Still determining ways on getting the parents involved.

You said that you implement activities based on children's weekend activities (a great idea by the way). Are all families getting involved in this or just a few? If only a few contribute, to the curriculum, don't the other children miss out? I'm glad to hear that your parents are getting involved. I don't think the parents at my centre will be so patient

:geek:
L.A

stacey_samuels
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by stacey_samuels » Tue Dec 28, 2010 2:30 pm

hi L.A,

My xmas was great, Santa was very good to me!!

I undertand what you mean by the parents just walking in and out of the centre (I assume they think that they are paying for the service, hence they need not contribute any further. Along with the fact that they are busy people themselves).

We get the families input by sending them home with whats called a "family weekend" sheet. (we physically hand it to the parents to ensure that they get it, and we explain what its for: to get their input for our curriculum). Some of the parents in my room have returned them (about 30 %), and with these sheets we derive what the child has done with their families on the weekend (weve had alot of shopping, swimming, doctors, etc) form this we implement our activities; eg; doctors surgeries, shopping centres and so on... Weve found this great, I found that all of the children join in and become engaged in the activities even if for a few moments (the child whose parent has returned the sheet will sometimes even discuss that this is what they did on the weekend) with some encouragement.

After a couple of weeks i found that some parents were asking about it (as we had the weekend sheets placed on the walls with the curriculum activities that came from them, along with our learning stories). I explained that it is apart of the EYLF, i also explained that we find it much more beneficial to educate the chn and to plan the curriculum with some of this input, as the children become more engaged due to the fact that the activities have come from home/ family experiences.

I have found that the "family inputs" have been great! We still have a long way to go, and i think that slowly but surely more parents will contribute once they see that a certain few of the parents are contributing.

The children whose parents have not returned the "family weekend" sheets are still benefitting, as they are also becoming engaged in these activities, and are the discussing their weekends/ home lives (therefore we can derive individual child input and implement this into our curriculum planning.

Still a lot of work to do, but its going to be great once we have gained more in depth knowledge of the eylf!!

Stacey!!

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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Wed Dec 29, 2010 5:05 pm

Hi Stacey,

It's so positive to hear that your implementation of the Early Years Learning Framework is being supported by the families in your early childhood setting! By working and collaborating with families within your service, you are designing a curriculum with the children...it really makes you feel like you are contributing to the children's learning this way!! Especially when parents value what you do and begin to understand that it's so much more than babysitting :mrgreen: .

I can understand exactly what you mean when trying to get families to contribute to their children's learning. Don't give up, it just may take a little longer for you to collaborate family input onto your curriculum. When you grow in confidence with the EYLF the families will realize the changes that are being made and contribute within their own time!! It's just something you have to work towards...

I have written an article called "Understanding Early Years Learning Framework". This article helps you to understand EYLF. It provides you with a simple explanation of the key concepts within the Early Years Learning Framework – Belonging, Being & Becoming, Principles, Practices and Learning Outcomes. It also provides tips on implementing the EYLF within your early childhood setting and much more.. Hopefully this article will give you a better understanding of the EYLF...Click here to read.

If you have any suggestions / comments you would like to share regarding the Early Years Learning Framework, then please click here.

We will also be providing a Curriculum Planning Documentation article on our site. The planning documentation provided in this article will ensure you are collecting information, communicating children's learning and reflecting on your daily practices as referred to in the EYLF. We will keep you all updated on when it's available.

Cheers :geek:
L.A

sif
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by sif » Sun Jan 02, 2011 8:19 pm

L.A wrote:Hi Stacey,

After a few discussions with staff one idea that came up is that we used to make the kids have group time which we found didn't work as well. Some kids were interested yet others had no interest what so ever and were always distracting others who were interested. To solve this, we want to change group time into "workshops". We basically do the same thing as we would for group time such as songs, story telling, etc. In the morning the kids sign up for the "workshops" if they want to attend and of course if they didn't sign up and want to join in they always can. The other kids who aren't interested just simply continue on with their play experiences.

Also we know how important it is to work together with families to create the curriculum but honestly most of the parents at my centre are always rushing in and out. They spend like a total of 5 minutes at the centre. Pick up their child, get their things, sign in or out and leave. Still determining ways on getting the parents involved.

You said that you implement activities based on children's weekend activities (a great idea by the way). Are all families getting involved in this or just a few? If only a few contribute, to the curriculum, don't the other children miss out? I'm glad to hear that your parents are getting involved. I don't think the parents at my centre will be so patient
Hi there!
Waw, that is good idea. Can you please explain how work shop was implemented? I have some older toddlers who have no interest in group time. Does workshop and group time happening at the same time, and how do you set up the workshop?

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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Mon Jan 03, 2011 1:40 pm

Hi Sif,

Thanks!!! I'm glad you liked this idea that I use at my centre... :D

Well the reason why we implemented this in the room I work in because group time wasn't really working. So along with the other staff in the room we tried implementing the workshops instead, which has worked very well...

On the curriculum plan we call them "Group Workshops" instead of "Group time" (we are still trying to come up with a better title). We normally set this up after morning tea before the children begin getting into their free play, inside in our quiet area (such as book corner). Even though we found the kids are still being interrupted or less likely to participate because they are more interested in playing.

However just before we went on our holiday break we did a few group workshops in our outdoor area (we have a verandah outside our room). This has worked extremely well as the children who aren't interested just stay inside with a staff member and continue their free play and those children who are interested in the workshops go out onto the verandah with the group leader. Depending on what the children are interested in is what we discuss during our group workshop. Since we are starting to implement the EYLF there is always an interest being observed that we discuss during our workshop sessions. For example...one of the boys found a spider web in the corner of the outside shed. During our group workshop this sparked a discussion about spiders, webs, insect habitats etc. Also when we have our group workshops after morning tea, it gives us a chance to talk to the kids about what is going to happen in our "group workshops" and the children get to decide if they want to participate or not.

How we set up the workshop depends on what is being discussed. But all the children and staff sit in a circle with a giant piece of paper in the middle for brainstorming and mind mapping. The children also each get a texta/pencil so they can draw or write their own ideas etc... For the example given above (with the spider) the group leader downloaded images of different types of spiders, pictures of webs, types of insects spiders eat etc... then this was all laid out in the middle of the circle for the children to look out and discuss...

Well I hope this gives you some more information about the workshops... if you have any more questions let me know and I'll be more than happy to help you out...

:geek:
L.A

sif
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by sif » Tue Jan 04, 2011 6:31 pm

Thank you for your quick respond. I will try to intraduce it in my room

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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:56 pm

Hi Stacey,

How are you going? Still enjoying the holidays?? Not long now until we all get back to work soon & then the hard work begins for another year!

Just wanted to share my thoughts about the new national quality framework. The new staff to child ratios that are going to be implemented across all childcare centres in Australia, is going to be great for us childcare professionals and children because its more one on one care but there are other issues that my arise due to this... For e.g small centres, how are they going to cope with this change? I mean some small centres only employ two diplomas and the rest are either cert 3 trained or trainee... it's definitely going to be hard for them financially to start employing more staff to cover ratios and not to mention employing an ECT. Also parents will need to start paying more for childcare to cover the cost of ECT and other experienced staffs to cover the ratio... I won't be surprised that once the national quality framework comes into place that alot of small centres may begin to close down because they simply can't afford to stay open. It's a shame...

Also the national quality framework says that an ECT teacher needs to be employed across all child care centres. Which is fine but what about experienced diplomas? What I mean is, when a centre employs an ECT they are most likely to be put in the preschool room to "teach". If you are a diploma with a lot of experience who likes to teach in the preschool room, then you are going to miss out on that opportunity and be put in the baby or toddler room. From experience I know that there are diplomas with a hell of a lot of experience who enjoy teaching in the preschool room but when the national framework comes into effect then they have to be moved from the preschool room since the ECT may now take over their preschool room... I'm not saying that it's not a good idea to employ an ECT but I just think it's unfair for experienced diplomas to get the raw end of the deal... I believe that diplomas with more than enough experience should also be given an opportunity... I guess we should just see how it all works out.

That's my opinion,

Enjoy your last week of freedom, if you haven't already started work ;)

Cheers :geek:
L.A

stacey_samuels
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by stacey_samuels » Fri Jan 21, 2011 6:47 pm

It will be very hard for smaller centres to stay open without raising the fees. I wonder if the government plans to raise funding for the CCB and rebate considering many centres will be affected by this change.

Thats a very good point regarding the shift of rooms for well trained and experienced diplomas in the pre-schoolers rooms. It will be sad to see dedicated people that love to teach the preschool aged children have to give up this form of "teaching". Do the ECTs need to teach solely in the preschool room the entire time that they are at the service? or can they do half and half? If it could be halved then perhaps the role of preschool teacher could be shared between an ECT and a diploma... Just an idea to keep people happy!

I think im slowly but surely getting there with understanding the eylf, got a long way to go, but it think it comes down to research, research, research. And open discussion of course!!

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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:38 pm

Hi Stacey,

Hows it going? I hope your keeping busy with work :D .

I have just written an article "EYLF Curriculum Planning & Documentation" which basically explains the EYLF Curriculum and there are some sample documentations that you may like to check out too. Hopefully this will give you an idea on how to begin implementing the EYLF at your centre, ideas on designing your own curriculum and other supporting documents you may need like child observation, daily diary etc.

You can find a sample in this article that I have created using my own style and through my understandings of the EYLF so far.

Please be advised that I am still following up with various senior childcare professionals to make sure that this article (including documentation) meets the requirements of the EYLF Framework. As I find out more, I will keep the article updated and also add further updates and suggestions in this forum under the topic "EYLF Programming & Planning" (under Supporting Childcare Workers At Work).

So have a read through it and let me know if you still have any further doubts. You are more than welcome to use my style if you wish and you can find the printables in pdf format available for you to use within the article itself.

Let me know your comments,

Click here to read this article...

Cheers :geek: ,
L.A

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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Sat May 14, 2011 2:57 pm

Hey Everyone,

Just to let you know that I recently went to an EYLF workshop and I found out some more information about the EYLF Programming which you may find useful.

I've updated my forum topic "EYLF Programming AND Planning Documentation". So click here to view this topic.

If you have any further questions or comments in regards to the EYLF can I please suggest you post them in the above forum.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers :geek:,
L.A

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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by emmastudent » Sun May 22, 2011 1:42 pm

Hi there,
At the centre i just left we began to implement the EYLF by using a brainstorming program. We had the five main learning outcomes in the centre in individual circles we then shot off our ideas joining them to relevant outcomes and to each other. While this is not really implementing any changes to what we were doing with the children we found it helped staff to wrap their heads around the terminology and start understanding the different outcomes.
We also incorporated the Learning Outcomes into our Observation sheets so instead of using the old evaluation of the observation method we instead look up the relevant Learning Outcomes and write those down instead. we also substituted the NSW Framework e.g The Social, Emotional and Moral Child for the Five main outcomes.

One more thing we started doing was learning stories and using an Intentional Teaching approach which isnt that different to what we all do anyway but it just focusses on listening and watching the children and considering how to approach them with intent and purpose to further their interests and ideas in a spontaneous way.
Hope that helps!!

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Lorina
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Sat Jun 18, 2011 3:35 pm

Hi All,

I have received a lot of feedback from you guys regarding the Input Keys on the EYLF Daily Curriculum. At the moment I'm working on how to make the Input Keys a lot easier and more simpler to use. I'll also be adding 2 new input keys (outdoor play and spontaneous experiences). I let you all know once I have these ready.

Also in the meantime I have created a poll in the following topic "EYLF Programming & Planning Documentation". This is so I can find out if you are using a daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly curriculum plan at your centre. This will also give me an idea on if I need to provide you with anymore EYLF Curriculum Plan Format samples. The poll will remain active for the next 1 month and can be found on page 1 in the above topic.

So can I kindly ask that you take a quick second to vote on this poll! I really appreciate it…Please note that you need to be logged in to vote!

Click here to vote :mrgreen:

Thanks Everyone!

Cheers :geek:,
L.A

sherry.mcc
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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by sherry.mcc » Thu Aug 25, 2011 9:03 am

Hello,
I am a family day care mother and I have been trying to work how to do the EYLF. I have finally started to understand how to do it from this site and also the EYLF forums. Also the plans on this website I have started to use and they are so simple and easy once I started using them.
I do have a diary which I use for photoes and jottings of the observed child for that day.
My question is the Reflections of our Day form can I use that for a weekly reflections as the day reflections with 5 children is a lot of work.
The curriculum plan is that for each day or can you use that weekly?

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Re: Implementing the EYLF!

Post by Lorina » Thu Aug 25, 2011 1:42 pm

Hey Sherry,

Glad to hear that you are beginning to implement the EYLF within your centre :)!

The Reflections of Our Day needs to be done on a daily basis (even though it may only be for 5 children). You should be using this document to write down the children's daily experiences, interests and any spontaneous events that emerge. You should also be REFLECTING the experiences on your program within your Reflection of Our Day. With the curriculum plan you can either use it for daily or weekly...

Hopefully this helps you out!

Let me know if you have any further questions!

Cheers :geek:,
L.A


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