Program

Registration

Monday, 8 August 2016

8:15 AM - 9:00 AMRegistration

Included

9:00 AM - 9:05 AMWelcome by Rebecca Storck

Director, Darling Downs South West Region, Early Childhood Education and Care

Speakers: Rebecca Storck

Included

9:05 AM - 9:15 AMWelcome to Country

Speakers: Bianca Beattie

Included

9:15 AM - 9:30 AMOfficial opening by Darling Downs South West Region

Speakers: Peter Baker

Included

9:30 AM - 10:15 AMKey note presentation - Dr Tim Moore

Speakers: Dr Tim Moore

Included

10:15 AM - 10:40 AMMorning Tea

Included

10:40 AM - 10:45 AMMovement to concurrent session 1

Included

10:45 AM - 11:20 AM1a) Supporting successful transitions - Trusting partnerships

Effective partnerships between schools, early childhood services and the broader community are essential to supporting children make a successful transition to school. The Department of Education and Training's Supporting successful transitions School Decision-making tool includes a focus on trusting partnerships and reciprocal relationships.

In this presentation, a State School and an Early childhood education and care (ECEC) service will discuss their transitions partnership approach and the collaborative strategies they are implementing in their community.

Speakers: Megan Nass

Optional

10:45 AM - 11:20 AM1b) Leadership in the Early Years

This presentation will share a place-based model for improving pedagogical leadership through a community of practice across ECEC services and the early years of school. The Newtown Early Years Community Network (comprising 24 education and care service delivery partners) and the DDSW region have partnered with the Queensland Education Leadership Institute (QELi) to develop and deliver a leadership program designed specifically for leaders and educators in the 0-8 years range. The program is aligned with the National Quality Standard (NQS) Quality Area 7 – Leadership and service management. Key elements of the program and the experiences of participants will be shared.

Speakers: Julie Johnston, Judy Cuskelly, Rowena Shirtcliff

Optional

10:45 AM - 11:20 AM1c) Innovative ECEC program and practice - Family centred practice

In this session Goodstart Early Learning will share innovative approaches to delivering high quality ECEC services that enhance children’s learning and development. The focus will be on how educational leaders, management and educators reviewed practice and processes to exceed Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and the community. Practical strategies for working effectively with families including Culturally and linguistically diverse families will be shared.

Speakers: Judy Anderson, Megan Davis, Amanda Parmenter

Optional

11:20 AM - 11:30 AMMovement to concurrent session 2

Included

11:30 AM - 12:05 PM2a) Supporting successful transitions - Knowing children and families

In planning for children’s transition to school, ECEC educators and school teachers benefit from having a ‘picture’ of children’s development, dispositions, strengths and needs. This session will focus on the role and use of kindergarten transition statements in ECEC services as well as for transitions planning. Transitions statements, and the supporting conversations that occur between families and educators in developing and sharing the statement, support ECEC services, schools and families to plan for each child’s identified talents, interests and learning needs.

Speakers: Madeline Hagon, Robyn Whiting, Jo Darbyshire

Optional

11:30 AM - 12:05 PM2b) Supporting successful transitions - Effective pedagogy and practice

Using age-appropriate pedagogies in the early years of schooling plays a lead role in supporting children to be actively engaged, creative and successful learners. This session will unpack the role of effective pedagogy and practice as an important element of the Department of Education and Training's Supporting successful transitions framework. The characteristics of age-appropriate pedagogies and practical classroom examples from Goombungee State School will be explored.

 

Speakers: Mark Cooper, Skye Gabler, Jane Newman

Optional

11:30 AM - 12:05 PM2c) Using the AEDC to inform ECEC program and practice

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides evidence to support the critical work of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in providing the best development opportunities for children. Building on resources developed by the Department of Education and Training in partnership with Early Childhood Australia, this presentation will explore the alignment between the AEDC and the National Quality Standards and the Early Years Learning Framework. Practical examples of how Queensland ECEC educators and services have used the AEDC data to inform programming, planning and quality improvement will be shared.

Speakers: Lynden Lauer

Optional

12:05 PM - 12:15 PMMovement to concurrent session 3

Included

12:15 PM - 12:50 PM3a) Enhancing home learning environments

This session focuses on strategies for supporting parents as their child’s first and most important educator. Two pilot programs, UnitingCare Community - Intensive Early Childhood Development Program (IECD) and the Department of Education - Abecedarian Project (3a), collaborated to support the empowerment of families to allow them to create effective and developmentally appropriate learning environments for children. Practical examples of the implementation of the 3a approach in client homes and within a supported playgroup will be shared. 

Speakers: Danielle Schutt, Emma Jarvis, Marina Kenway

Optional

12:15 PM - 12:50 PM3b) Innovative early years program and practice - Engaging sustainable environments

In this session presenters will share how they have approached their various individual environments to enhance and support innovative practice, for children birth to and including school children.

You will hear from various providers how they have reviewed and enhanced their environments to support children’s learning and development aligning to the relevant learning frameworks and the National Quality Standard.

 

Speakers: Nettie Shields, Fiona Milburn-Brown, Tracey Thomas, Tarryn Lyons

Optional

12:15 PM - 12:50 PM3c) Responding to the AEDC through transitions partnerships

The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) provides vital information about how children are faring as they transition into their first year of schooling at a community level. The data can provide a starting point for school and early childhood education and care partnerships to identify shared goals for children in the community.

This session will unpack the implications of the recently released 2015 AEDC data for Queensland children and their communities and explore opportunities for collaboration between early childhood education and care services, schools and communities to support children successfully transition to school.

Speakers: Lynden Lauer, Madeline Hagon

Optional

12:50 PM - 1:30 PMLunch

Included

1:30 PM - 1:45 PMStatewide transition to school initiatives overview

Dr Mary Lincoln, Director, Early Learning Pathways, Early Childhood and Community Engagement

Speakers: Dr Mary Lincoln

Included

1:45 PM - 2:30 PMKey note presentation - Emeritus Professor Dorothy Scott

University of South Australia and University of Melbourne

Speakers: Emeritus Professor Dorothy Scott

Included

2:30 PM - 2:45 PMEarly childhood priorities

Included

2:30 PM - 2:45 PMFinal comments and close

Included