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Supporting bilingualism during early childhood

Australia’s population is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse in the world, with an increasing number of children growing up in homes where more than one language is spoken. These children may also transition into early childhood education and care settings where many languages may be present. This reality presents a range of challenges and opportunities for early childhood professionals who educate and care for diverse groups of young children and their families.

This webinar explores the topic of childhood bilingualism and how early childhood educators can help bilingual children develop language and communication skills during the early years. The webinar also looks at supporting bilingual educators as well as how to share language and culture with young children and their families.

In this course, you will explore:

  • different terms and types of bilingualism during childhood
  • the various factors that influence language development in young children learning more than one language
  • the benefits of bilingualism for children and their families
  • how to identify and promote factors that support bilingualism during early childhood.
Category: ECA Subscriptions

Supporting Children with Disability or Delay

Category: Everyday Learning Series

Supporting children’s creativity in early childhood education

Category: Everyday Learning Series

Supporting children’s self-regulation: 3-5 years

In this course, we focus on how to help children learn to manage their own attention, emotions, thinking, and behaviour. Self-regulation develops rapidly in the early years, through experiences and relationships that shape brain development. What can you do to support children to develop these critical skills?

After completing this course you will:

  • discover why self-regulation is a critical skill that develops in early childhood and underpins all future learning and wellbeing
  • explore the educator’s role in supporting self-regulation development through reflective practice, strong relationships with children and families and embedding self-regulation support strategies into all aspects of planning and the curriculum
  • examine how play, the use of language, group games, and music and movement experiences can all support children’s self-regulation skills.
Category: ECA Subscriptions

Supporting children’s self-regulation: Birth to three years

This course explains how educators can help very young children understand, name and manage their emotions and begin self-regulating their behaviour. By establishing solid relationships with children, educators can help them build strong foundations for lifelong learning and communication.

Throughout this course, you will:

  • find out what self-regulation is
  • understand why it’s important to help children self-regulate their emotions and behaviour
  • explore tips for building children’s self-regulation skills
  • unpack the role of the educator in supporting self-regulation.
Category: ECA Subscriptions

Supporting healthy eating behaviours in early childhood

Supporting healthy eating behaviours in early childhood is about more than just providing healthy food options—it’s about how we talk with children, how we interact and care for their wellbeing, and how we create opportunities to explore where food comes from. This course invites educators to reflect on the many ways we can nurture positive relationships with food, guided by our everyday practices and interactions.

Throughout the course, educators will explore the reasons behind selective eating and gain insight into what may contribute to a child’s avoidant eating response. Educators will consider how to respond sensitively to children’s hunger and fullness cues, promoting a respectful and responsive approach to mealtimes. The course offers practical ideas for planning intentional learning experiences that focus on healthy eating, while also embracing the value of spontaneous conversations and opportunities to build on children’s emerging interests.

Educators will discover how to involve children in meaningful, play-based learning experiences that encourage curiosity, enjoyment and connection with food. There will be a strong focus on creating positive educator–child interactions during mealtimes and food-related play, helping to build trusting relationships and support children’s sense of agency and wellbeing.

This course directly relates to Quality Areas 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the National Quality Standard, and aligns with Learning Outcome 3 of the Early Years Learning Framework (V2.0), which highlights how educators can support children’s growing understanding of health and wellbeing.

Category: ECA Subscriptions

Supporting language development in the early years 

The process of acquiring language is complex and language learning is considered a key developmental milestone in early childhood. Understanding the process and supporting young children in learning language is integral to the role of early childhood education and care professionals.

This module explores how language develops between birth and the age of six years. It focuses largely on ways to support the language learning journey of children who speak two or more languages, in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The module also examines current theories of language learning and provides practical examples of ways to facilitate language development in the early years.

Category: ECA Subscriptions

Supporting young children experiencing parental separation and divorce

Category: Everyday Learning Series

Take me outside: An introduction to outdoor learning

This course is an introduction to exploring the importance of outdoor learning in young children’s lives. Be inspired to create outdoor learning environments full of wonder, curiosity and active play! Learn about the essentials of a high quality outdoor learning environment that encourages healthy risk-taking, supporting the development of skills such as agency, self-resilience and confidence. This course also explores the role of active play in the outdoors, how educators can facilitate experiences based on children’s interests and needs through intentional teaching, discover theories and approaches to inspire planning in outdoor learning environments, and how to overcome challenges in a variety of different service settings and locations. You will also be introduced and encouraged to think deeply about the concept of ‘going beyond the gate’ and how to embed this into your early learning curriculum.

Category: ECA Subscriptions

The art of leading in challenging times

Leading others is a sophisticated process and leaders often have to straddle two worlds. They have to nurture their team’s sense of belonging and security while inviting them to leap into new arenas and take on previously unimaginable practice challenges. They also have to consider different perspectives and encourage a lively exchange of ideas but, when necessary, make clear and non-negotiable decisions. In the landscape of children’s education and care, effective leaders are indispensable and play a pivotal role in delivering outcomes for children, families and educators.

If this held true for the ordinary practice of children’s service delivery during the Black Summer bushfires, then what more is required of leaders in the current turbulent times? As the leader of an early learning setting, you might not have imagined having to navigate the uncharted territory of a global pandemic, but it is exactly what you find yourself doing—adopting a day-by-day approach and trying to focus on your purpose. It is timely then to pause and reflect on the art of leading others in challenging times.

This webinar will help you refine the practice of guiding and inspiring others when the going gets tough. By looking at emerging literature, ECA’s Leadership Capability Framework and the ECA Code of Ethics, it will unpack key elements contributing to effective leadership and explore their use in challenging times. It will also invite you to consider practice that continually strengthens your team while maintaining a focus on your core role: enhancing children’s learning. The webinar’s online format will allow you time to reflect on your challenges, strengths and vulnerabilities so you can plan a new and responsive approach for the future.

Category: ECA Subscriptions

The role of fathers in children’s early learning

Category: Everyday Learning Series

The value of play

Play offers children opportunities to engage with the world around them. Being intrinsically motivated and freely chosen, it allows children control over their actions and their learning. Play also helps children develop their self-regulation and problem-solving capacity, and it enriches their vocabulary and language skills. Today, nearly 200 years after Froebel first argued for its importance in children’s lives, play remains an essential part of effective early childhood learning. This is reflected in the Early Years Learning Framework when it describes play as a ‘context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they actively engage with people, objects and representations’.

This course will examine:

  • what play is and why it is important in early childhood
  • how significant play is for children’s learning and development
  • the role of educators in supporting effective play-based learning
  • how educators can balance intentional teaching with play-based approaches in a variety of early childhood settings
  • the characteristics of play as well as the many aspects of play to be considered and planned for
  • how to develop an argument in support of play-based programs.
Category: ECA Subscriptions

Transitions in children’s everyday lives

Category: Everyday Learning Series

Trauma-aware early childhood education and care

Category: Research in Practice Series

Understand the role: Nominated supervisor and person in day-to-day charge in education and care

This module is designed to unpack what it means to be a nominated supervisor or a person in day-to-day charge of an early childhood education and care service. Participants will be assisted in understanding the role’s key responsibilities and how the legislation is constructed to give effect to this role. They will also be taken through the key legislative requirements and how these look like in practice, including what they should expect of approved providers (employers).

Through this course, participants will:

  • gain an awareness of the Education and Care Services National Law and Education and Care services National Regulations relevant to the role of nominated supervisor and person in day-to-day charge
  • understand obligations and liabilities of a nominated supervisor and person in day-to-day charge
  • get familiarised with best practice systems and processes to ensure compliance with requirements of the National Law and Regulations
  • engage in a scenario-based exercise to explore the responsibilities of the nominated supervisor or person in day-to-day charge.

Please note, part of this course includes two learning pathways to specifically cater to the two roles and ensure the responsibilities of each role are clearly understood. Learners will have the choice of completing one or both role learning pathway options. The options are 1) nominated supervisor, 2) person in day-to-day-charge. Please note, if you choose to complete both learning pathways the estimated course duration time is approx. 120 minutes.

Category: ECA Subscriptions

Understanding intercultural ways

*** This is a recorded version of a live event ***

ECA presented this live webinar in partnership with Bravehearts. Recognising the signs of grooming can be challenging, but it is essential for protecting children. Hear from Kate McGill from Bravehearts as she explains what grooming is and how to identify its signs. The webinar provides practical strategies for creating a child-safe culture within your service. Protect children by understanding what grooming looks like and learning how to respond effectively.

Category: Live Webinars

Understanding young children’s behaviour and empowering their future (2-part series)

This series is suitable for all educators currently working in an approved education and care setting across Australia. This is a foundation course that focuses on essential knowledge to guide children’s behaviour and may be suitable for educators who are new to the sector or embarking on a formal early childhood qualification.

To effectively support and guide young children’s behaviour, it is essential that educators develop an understanding of the form and function of children’s behaviour. Developing an understanding of the meaning of children’s behaviour will in turn support educators in developing strategies and teaching techniques unique for each individual child, with the overall aim of empowering children to take control.

In part 1 of this series, you will:

  • understand why behaviour is a form of communication that can help educators to develop a better understanding of each individual child
  • learn how children regulate their emotions, thoughts and behaviours.

In part 2 of this series, you will:

  • develop strategies to support children in times of stress, frustration or anger
  • discover and recognise the signs and meanings behind children’s behaviours and strategies to support young children
  • uncover how to understand children’s triggers and what these can look like.
Category: ECA Subscriptions

Using Critical Reflection

This course explains how critical reflection forms a crucial part of professional practice in early childhood education and care. It will provide you with a model and suggestions on how to make critical reflection a positive part of your everyday practice.

In this course, you will:

  • learn how to support children’s learning, development and wellbeing through critical reflection
  • explore the three elements integral to your success as a critical thinker: self-awareness, developing relationships with others, and building your own and your team’s knowledge
  • be introduced to the Circle of Change Revisited model of critical thinking.
Category: ECA Subscriptions

Visual arts in early childhood settings

Category: Everyday Learning Series

Walking with children on their journey to literacy: Practitioner perspectives 

Literacy is a journey. Children make meaning from letters, numbers, and symbols and begin to understand patterns from birth. This module looks at the key elements of literacy and the practical ways it can be woven into everyday moments, rich environments and fostered with children from the earliest years.

After completing this course, you will:

  • consider early childhood philosophies that view the development of literacy skills as part of a life-long journey from birth
  • understand your role as an educator and the how the environment can support pre-literacy skills and dispositions
  • identify the importance of the role of choice and enjoyment in developing literacy skills in the everyday.
Category: ECA Subscriptions
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