A campaign and a conference

There has been so much happening on the ECEC bargaining and professional front.

The most prominent is the progress of the supported bargaining negotiations for pay rises for teachers in community preschools in the Fair Work Commission.

This is being led by a passionate team of IEU organisers and preschool teacher members/ ambassadors (see left). A full-day hearing was held at the Fair Work Commission on Friday 25 October, and members will have received detailed updates from the union via email.

Pedagogy and practice

The 2024 Early Childhood Australia National Conference was held in Brisbane from 17-20 September. This year’s conference was titled ‘Realising the vision: An integrated future for the early years’.

Before the conference, delegates had the opportunity to tour a variety of childcare centres across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. The tours were a wonderful way to network and connect with other equally passionate teachers and educators from across Australia and beyond, including from Malaysia. It was a joy to see centres honouring and upholding children’s right to play.

The conference included many engaging presentations, providing delegates with moments to reflect on the pedagogy and practice in their own centres. It was a time to consider how we value the children in our early learning spaces authentically.

There were a few common themes across the conference, such as slow pedagogy, which sparked some interesting questions. Are transitions in settings robbing our early learners of the opportunity for deep learning or honouring rituals? How can we create a space that allows us to be ‘present’ in the environment to stop, engage and practise deep listening with children?

Other topics included trauma-informed practice, children’s development of executive function skills for flexible thinking in the 21st century, and children’s stages of escalation/de-escalation with challenging behaviours.

The 2024 Early Childhood Australia National Conference was most definitely a feast for the mind and a delight to the soul.