Tag: NQF
Dear Zoo – extending children’s interests is different to extending learning
A child would come to my Kinder room on a Monday morning and be very excited to share their stories about their trip to the Zoo on the weekend. So as a graduate teacher 6 years ago, I was so proud of my efforts in setting up a table with beautiful fabric, a range of animals, and some construction materials...
Sustainability and the NQS: program priority or area of focus
Growing gardens, nurturing worm farms, recycling and saving water are all a great start… but let’s ask ourselves, how they are impacting the bigger picture, the outcomes for children and overall community? Sustainability: Program Priority or Area of Focus The real question is what are we hoping to achieve holistically? Growing gardens, nurturing worm farms, recycling and saving water are...
What does it take to achieve an ‘Excellent’ NQF rating?
This blog post is written by Narelle Dawson, Director/Teacher at Bribie Island Community Kindergarten, one of only 33 centres in Australia that have achieved an ‘Excellent’ NQF rating. Narelle shares some background, ideas and reflections about being ‘Excellent’. “The Bribie Island Community Kindergarten is a ‘one of a kind’. Many little things combined make it the extraordinary place it is. It...
Long Day Care Professional Development Programme Opportunities
The Long Day Care Professional Development Programme (LDCPDP) is the single biggest investment ever in Australian professional development for child care and early learning educators in long day care (LDC) services. There are a lot of opportunities to invest your LDCPDP funds, including covering the cost of Storypark. To quote the Department of Education Website: “The LDCPDP will fund LDC services to...
Criteria, standards, planning and technology
Courtney Caligiore is a senior teacher who is part of a large early learning centre in Melbourne. In this blog post she describes their centre’s journey in delivering quality education and documenting their work within Australia’s National Quality Framework. I am the educational leader in a large LDC centre in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. We support highly professional families, situated...
Walking alongside a teacher’s career
Sharon Carlson has worked as a Kindergarten teacher, Head teacher and consultant. In this blog post, she talks about reporting and assessment in teaching and the launch of Storypark’s new teacher portfolios. As teachers, we have to show evidence of our own learning and progression as well as that of the children we work with. In Australia, many centres are...