Welcome to this month's newsletter .

The past month has seen us grow even more, so we welcome all of our new families and staff members. If you ever have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to speak to Centre Manager - Suzie or 2IC – Chandell - or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Current Staffing –

Suzie – Centre Manager

Leena – Cook and Educator

Swati – Lead Educator 0-2s Joeys

Leigh-Ann – Assisting Educator 0-2s Joeys

Chandell – 2IC, Educational Leader and Lead Educator 15mth-2yrs Bilbies

Sarah – Assisting Educator 15mth-2yrs Bilbies/float

Kc - Lead Educator 2-3s Koalas

Harman – Assisting Educator 2-3s Koalas

Trish – Lead Educator 3-4s Wombats

Kahu - Educator 3-4s Wombats

Tracey – Early Childhood Teacher 4-5s Goannas

Pinky – Assisting Educator 4-5s Goannas/float

Rachel - Float/relief

Mandeep – Casual Float/relief

Jessica – Casual Float/relief

Re-enrolment for 2021- Forms have been emailed out to all families to complete and return as soon as possible. These forms will assist us with planning for next year and to ensure that we have sufficient staff allocations during the holidays and Christmas/New Year period, when many families and staff like to have time off with their families. As soon as we have completed collating these, we will be able to approve staff leave and commence offering places to families on our waiting list for 2021. We do have vacancies in all age groups if any of you are thinking of adding extra days to your current booking.

Signing in and Out - It is very important that children are signed in and out each day on the Kiosk tablet. This is a legal requirement and a requirement under Childcare Subsidy guidelines. If for some reason the Kiosk tablet is not working or you are experiencing difficulty using the tablet, please ask a staff member for assistance.

Updating Details - It is extremely important that we are made aware of any changes to details that we currently have on file e.g. change of address, phone numbers, authorised pick-ups, current work details etc. If there is an emergency, we need to be able to contact families as quickly as possible. It would be appreciated if parents could possibly phone through if their child is being collected by persons other than themselves and if they could please remind the person to have their license or photo ID with them. It is our policy that we will only release children to authorised persons and all persons dropping children off and collecting children must be 18 years of age.

Dates to Remember -

  • 24th October – United Nations Day
  • 30th October – Scary Dress Up Day and Day For Daniel– you can choose to dress up in something scary orto wear red for Daniel.
  • 9th November – Recycling Week
  • 10th November – Oceans Stars Marine Education visit
  • 11th November – Remembrance Day
  • 13th November – Diwali celebrations (Diwali is on the 14th November)

Ocean Stars Marine Education Visit –

On 10th November Ocean Stars will be visiting the Centre to deliver their "Sustainable Me, Sustainable Sea" program as a part of our activities for recycling week. This program introduces the concept of sustainability and living without harming the environment. Using engaging activities and a make-believe ocean we will explore the effects of rubbish on the environment and encourage children to re-think their rubbish, as well as keeping waterways clean and caring for wildlife. The program runs for approx. 45mins and includes some hands-on learning about awesome marine animals and time at the end of the lesson for each student to touch and interact with some beautiful ocean friends.

Developing children's positive behaviour in child care

Learning to manage emotions and responses can be challenging for some young children. This factsheet will help you understand how you can work collaboratively with the educators at your child's service to help your little one develop these skills.

Each child is unique and they each have different temperaments. Some children are active, others are quiet; some adapt easily to change while others react uneasily to change; some give clear signals to others about what they want and need while others find it difficult to communicate their needs with others.

There are many factors that contribute to children's behaviour. Programs and routines, equipment and resources, the physical environment, interactions between children and between adults, how they rest and sleep, nutrition and medical conditions all affect the child's behaviour at a service. While at home changes to the family environment, birth of a sibling or moving house can also have an effect.

Consistency in the behaviour guidance strategies used at the service and at home help the child's learning and development.

Guiding every child's behaviour

Educators at your service will provide different levels of support to children of different ages. For example, a toddler who is not yet verbal and may bite others as a way of gaining some control over their environment will need a different level of understanding and support to that of an older child who demonstrates inconsiderate behaviour as they interrupt the play of others by continually knocking down their construction.

Each situation is seen as a 'teachable moment' where children can learn, develop empathy, understand the consequences of their behaviour and actions, and build their own strategies for responding to challenging situations. Each child has capacity to learn and develop the life-long skills of resilience, negotiation and problem solving, supported through positive relationships with educators and other children as they attend child care.

Developing positive relationships with children is the most powerful tool that educators have to guide children's behaviour. The day to day interactions lay the foundations for developing the child's self-esteem, positive attitudes, values and behaviour patterns.

In your service you should see educators:

  • displaying Early Childhood Australia's Code of Ethics in their interactions with children and families.
  • providing children with strategies to make informed choices about their behaviours.
  • noticing and listening carefully to children's concerns and discussing diverse perspectives on issues of inclusion and exclusion, and unfair behaviour.
  • designing play environments that are adequately equipped with resources and arranged to allow individual, small and large group activities.
  • being consistent and fair as they guide every child's behaviour positively.
  • setting an example by being in control of their own behaviour, and positively managing their interactions with children, families and colleagues.
  • providing children with clear expectations and instructions for play, in a manner that every child understands.
  • managing noise levels during play and routine activities (such as meals) so that each child's needs are accommodated as they play, eat and sleep or rest.
  • sensitively and actively inviting families to collaboratively develop strategies to support children's behaviour in the service and the family home.

The national legislation informs providers and educators about quality interactions with children. Interactions should maintain the dignity and rights of each child and educators should give each child positive guidance and encouragement toward acceptable behaviour. At no time is it acceptable that educators or staff raise their voices, smack, humiliate or isolate the child for misbehaviour.

Working collaboratively with your child's educator

All services are required to have a policy about interactions with children, which guides how they provide opportunities for children to interact and develop respectful and positive relationships with each other and with staff members. The policy will be available to you and is a good starting point as you work collaboratively with educators to develop your child's behaviour.

Collaboration with your child's educator gives you:

  • support if you are struggling to improve your child's behaviour
  • an opportunity to discuss the behaviour that is expected at the service and how any misbehaviour can be addressed
  • the opportunity to discuss the strategies that educators will use to respond to ongoing misbehaviour that disrupts a child's opportunity to be an active member of the group

It is also important to ensure that all children are treated fairly and that they are supported to develop and practice their problem solving and negotiation skills and to interact positively with their peers.

Developing a shared understanding between families and educators about how children's behaviour is managed is important. It helps create consistency in the behaviour guidance strategies used at the service and at home, making the child's learning and development more effective. Children's self-regulation will develop, and their positive involvement with their learning and development will increase. Both family life, and life at child care will also improve, making everyone's lives easier!

Sourced from www.startingblocks.gov.au