As the year draws to a close, early childhood educators across the country find themselves in a familiar tension: the rush to finish documentation, complete assessments, and tie up loose ends—while simultaneously holding the emotional weight of transition, endings, and the quiet realisation that children are not the same people they were in January.

In a sector often dominated by checklists, compliance tasks, and the pressure to “prove” learning, it’s easy for the most meaningful parts of the year to slip through the cracks. Yet when educators pause—truly pause—a different story emerges. One that isn’t captured in formal observations or assessment grids, but in the lived, relational, surprising moments that shaped the year.

These are the moments that mattered.

For decades, “group time” has been treated as a non‑negotiable part of the early childhood day, a ritualised circle where children gather for songs, stories, and shared learning. But as educators become more attuned to children’s emotional needs, sensory profiles, and developmental rhythms, many are asking an important question:

If group time doesn’t work for all children, what do we do instead?

The answer isn’t to remove shared learning altogether. It’s to redesign it. When we step away from the traditional circle, we discover a world of flexible, responsive, deeply meaningful ways for children to connect, communicate, and learn together.

As 2026 winds down, educators across Australia are asking the same question they’ve been asking all year: Why haven’t ratios been addressed?

Despite months of advocacy, countless submissions, and direct feedback from the floor, the issue remains untouched. Ratios, the single most urgent concern raised by educators, have been sidelined in favour of training modules, registers, and compliance tweaks.

Yes, we’ve seen movement in workforce pay, child safety training, and regulation. But the one thing that determines whether educators can actually keep children safe, supported, and emotionally secure—staffing ratios and group sizes is still being tiptoed around.

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with everyone affected by the tragic events at Bondi. We hold close in our hearts those who have suffered loss, those who were injured, and all families and community members navigating shock, grief, or uncertainty. In moments like these, we stand together in compassion, care, and solidarity.

When our wider community is shaken, children and families often look to us for steadiness, gentleness, and a sense of safety. Even when the world feels uncertain, the relationships we build in early childhood settings become powerful anchors.

As educators, we don’t need all the answers. What we can offer is presence, predictability, and compassion.

We know many of you are feeling unsure about what will happen to your pay once the Wage Increase Grant ends. This message is here to give you a clear, honest explanation so you know exactly what to expect.

Early childhood work is fast‑paced, relational, and constantly shifting. Good time management isn’t about squeezing more tasks into your day; it’s about creating space to be present with children, reducing overwhelm, and protecting your well-being.

This guide offers simple, educator‑friendly strategies that work in real rooms, with real children, and real staffing realities.

A: Roster changes can feel unsettling, especially when you’ve built routines around a regular day off. Here’s a simple breakdown to help you understand your rights and what usually happens in early childhood settings. 

From 2026, every educator covered by the Children’s Services Award will move into a new, simplified classification structure. Instead of navigating 30 different levels, educators will transition into one of eight new Children's Services Employee (CSE) levels based on their qualification, experience, and role responsibilities.

This update doesn’t change the work you do; it simply ensures your classification and minimum pay rate accurately reflect the skills, knowledge, and responsibility you bring to your role. Whether you’re new to the sector, a Certificate III educator, a Diploma‑qualified educator, a room leader, or a director, you’ll be able to clearly see where you fit and what your new minimum rate will be by the end of the five‑year transition.

Below is an easy‑to‑read guide showing how each current classification translates into the new structure.

Provocations are not displays. They are not Pinterest‑perfect tableaus or aesthetic arrangements designed to impress adults. At their core, provocations are intentional invitations, carefully curated materials that nudge children toward exploration, questioning, and meaning‑making.

When we design with purpose, we shift from “setting up activities” to co-constructing possibilities. A well‑designed provocation whispers:

“I wonder what you’ll do with this…”
“What might you discover today…”

This shift honours children as thinkers, researchers, and capable contributors to their learning community.

When children dig, pour, smear, splash, squeeze, and explore, they’re not “making a mess.” They’re building the neural architecture that supports language, self-regulation, creativity, and problem‑solving. Sensory experiences are one of the most powerful, developmentally aligned ways children make sense of their world.