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Published by jsmalpage, 2018-10-07 23:52:42

Early Childhood Newsletter_Term4_Issue4

Early Childhood


Newsletter



Photo: Child Side School
2018 Term 4 | Issue 4

Photo: Presbyterian Ladies’ College



Welcome back for Term 4! Contents
The end of the school year is rapidly approaching, but there
Page 2 Welcome to Term 4
is still much to look forward to this term. This newsletter
Page 3 Competition Time
provides a deeper insight into some key early childhood
Page 4 Early childhood team
principles and practices and highlights a range of exciting
Page 6 NQS Spotlight
upcoming professional learning. We always love to come
Page 7 Supporting Transitions
and visit to support you in school whenever we can. Please
Page 8 Play-based Learning
feel very welcome to contact us!
Page 10 On Entry Update

Page 12 HASS Week
We also love staying in touch via our AISWA Early
Page 13 Journeys of Inquiry
Childhood Facebook group, so if you are yet to join we
Page 14 On Our Bookshelves
would love ‘see’ you there. Filled with great links,
Page 18 Upcoming Professional Learning
notification of upcoming PL events and opportunities for

networking, the group is only open to educators in member

schools - AISWA Early Childhood Facebook


We wish you a fantastic Term 4!























2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 2

Competition Time!





Photo: Peter Moyes Anglican Community School



We are excited to offer another easy-to-enter competition.
All you need to do is send Janelle an email simply stating
your favourite page from this edition of our newsletter and
your name will be included in a random draw to win a pack
of teacher resource books, including a copy of our latest
publication, Journeys of Inquiry. There are three book
packs to win. Entries must be received no later than
Thursday 25 October, with the prizes drawn at random the
following day.

Please send your entries to - [email protected]




































2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 3

Who We Are




Wendy Gorman [email protected]
I loved my early years of school. Kindergarten was a delight with the biggest home corner one could imagine. Not just
one pram and one doll but a whole range to choose from! We would wheel our dollies around the big outdoor space
shaded by tall gum trees.

I was taught in my first years of primary school by Miss Metcalf-Agg. I adored her, though when I look back at my early
exercise books I can see that, then and now, she and I had different ideas about handwriting.












Sam Wynne [email protected]
I always wondered if I became an early childhood teacher to have my Kindy and Pre-Primary experience as I missed out
on it as a child. Living in a country town I was put in year one a year early so the school did not lose a teacher! We lived
next door to the Kindy and I remember looking over the fence thinking it looked a lot more interesting than Year One!! I
more than made it for me during my teaching life and made sure my class was all of the things my own school
experience had not been.

Rebecca Duncan [email protected]
When I think of my primary school years, along with treasured memories of lunch-time gymnastic tricks swinging around
and around the high bars with ‘no hands’ (enough to instill terror in the heart of any duty teacher, I’m sure!), many of
my distinct memories involve my favourite teacher, Mr Mearns. As a Year 7, I wasn’t the most confident child, but
through his encouragement, humour and guidance I grew. He even awarded me the coveted lead role in the Year 7
assembly item – something I now recognise was but one of the ways he actively tried to support my developing sense of
self. I was devastated to learn a few years ago that he recently passed away, well before his time.

Deb Martin [email protected]
My earliest memories of school was in Year 1 when I would run home from school to get home to my younger sister
(then aged 3) to “set” her homework on our blackboard in our play room. I think I always knew I wanted to be a teacher
from a young age. Although my many strategies were far from best practice, I certainly had the determination to ensure
my sister completed all the sums and copied all the words I wrote out for her on the board as her homework. At the end
of the school year, I would bring home my school books and enjoy “marking” them over the school break, each line
would have a red tick at the end. When I reflect on the teachers I had throughout my schooling, the most valuable
attribute would have to be the ability to form relationships; to listen, to show they cared, to see me as a child. That is
what I valued (and continue to value) foremost, those were the teachers I remembered.












2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 4

Barbara Bosich [email protected]
I did not attend an early learning centre as a child, although I feel I have happily lived in them ever since. My primary
years, whilst distant, are remembered as warm and successful but with the odd drama. Up there is the year 3 class
recorder piece at the school assembly where I fingered but didn’t blow; the curdled milk and the reusable chocolate
paper straws; rubbing apricot stones to make whistles (it took all of lunch time); and running to the local fish and chip
shop with a token to get lunch (1/6d. I think). I don’t remember being hovered over at recess or lunch where we played
hide-y or made houses under the bushes in the ‘quiet corner’. We were pretty free to run, play imaginatively all over the
school. I was fine academically but ‘mental maths’ challenged me – “Stand up if you got more than 5 wrong” was my
nightmare - I was scarred for a long time.

Maree Whiteley [email protected]
I still have clear memories of walking to and from primary school, responsible for my younger brother and our
neighbours’ young children on either side of our house. In total, we were a group of six primary kids, aged between 5
and 12, joined by other children along the way, crossing busy roads (all holding hands) on our 1.5km journey to and from
school each day. The highlights were an occasional stop at the corner deli for a Freezer, a Redskin, a Choo-choo bar or
20c bag of mixed lollies.





























































2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 5

NQS Spotlight - Agency







Quality Area 1 – Educational program and practice

1.2.3 Child Directed Learning – Each child’s agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions that
influence their world.



The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states children
have a right to be active participants in all matters affecting their lives.
How do we in our K-2 classrooms ensure than we are honouring this?

The EYLF defines agency as being able to make choices and decisions to
influence events and to have an impact on one’s world. Supporting
children to be agentic is about recognising that children have a right to
make choices and decisions, and are capable of initiating their own
learning.

When you are auditing this area you might want to discuss and reflect
on how you involve children in decision making:

 What is an appropriate level of autonomy for children in each of
the year levels?
 What responsibilities do children currently have in each year Photo: Geraldton Grammar School
level?
 How are children involved in the decision making about the classroom environment?
 How are children involved in decision making about the program?
 Is there an opportunity to follow the emergent curriculum of children?
 How do you currently capture the ‘voice’ of children in planning and in seeking their feedback? How is this made
visible (to the children, to the families, in your planning)?
 How will children know if they have been heard?
 How are children’s interests pursued and celebrated authentically?
 Does your early years philosophy reflect this right of children?

Further Information and support:
Sam Wynne [email protected]

Compliance
By now, Principals should have completed their NQS Principal Audit and be preparing to provide feedback to the
School Board and to the ECE staff in Term Four. The Principal Audit and Fact Sheet can be found on the AISWA
website.

Principals wanting advice or support in NQS can contact Sam Wynne – [email protected]









2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 6

Supporting Transitions




Photo: Wesley College



As we approach the end of the year, it is timely to consider how we support children in these times of transition. These
are significant moments in a child’s life. Transitioning from their home environment or from familiar educators with
whom they have forged strong relationships and a sense of security and belonging, into a largely unfamiliar new
environment, is likely to evoke both positive emotions and anticipation as well as questions and concerns for both
children and their families. Educators recognise that positive, effective transitions are critical to the development of
children’s identity, confidence and resilience, and greatly impact their learning. We therefore think about and respond to
transition as an ongoing process, rather than a ‘one off’ event or something that only occurs in the final and initial weeks
of any year. There are some fantastic resources that can support you to identify contextually appropriate strategies to
support children’s transitions, including the following:

 Continuity of Learning – A Resource to support effective transition to school and school age care. This resource
offers highly comprehensive information about transitions, explicitly connected to the EYLF, with a huge array of
practical examples from educators in early childhood settings to support transitions for children and families.
(https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/pdf_with_bookmarking_-_continuity_of_learning-
_30_october_2014_1_0.pdf )
 KidsMatter – Practical ways to give the gift of a positive school transition. Several information sheets written
especially for families that also contain great ideas for educators to consider enhancing what you already do. The
rest of the KidsMatter website is a brilliant resource to support children’s mental health during transitions and
beyond (https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/blog/practical-ways-give-gift-positive-school-transition)
 A Practice Guide for Working with Families from Pre-Birth to Eight Years: Engaging families in the early childhood
development story. Developed in response to neuroscience evidence to determine four key principles and
associated practices for working with families to achieve the best outcomes for children. (http://
www.scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/Reports%20and%20publications/Publications/Early%
20childhood%20education/DECD_PracticeGuide_FINAL.pdf )

Further Information:
Rebecca Duncan [email protected]








2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 7

Quality Play Pedagogies - Part 2




Photo: Peter Moy Photo: Cornish College, Victoria es Anglican Community School


Quality Play Pedagogies – Part 2
Our Term 3 newsletter included an insight into the benefits of play and an overview of several essential elements of
quality play pedagogies, including planning and programming for children’s play. Part 2 explores further key elements
including learning environments, educators’ roles during play, and documenting and assessing children’s learning
through play.

How can we use the Environment as the Third Teacher?
One of the key principles of the Reggio Emilia approach is the idea of the ‘environment as the third teacher’ (Katz, 1993).
Early childhood environments make visible the educator’s image of children and how they believe young children learn.
Perhaps consider your own learning environment:
What do you see? Open learning spaces, open-ended and rich resources, children’s learning on display, natural
resources, visible documentation, plants, and warm/natural lighting, calming colours?
What can you hear? Children talking, laughter, silence, teacher talk, busy noise?
How do you feel? Safe, secure, happy, inspired, excited, homely?
However, is not enough to simply have a beautiful learning environment. As outlined in Journeys of Inquiry (AISWA,
2018, p.24), while aesthetics are certainly a consideration, educators do not merely decorate learning spaces, they
intentionally and meticulously design them to amplify learning. High quality early childhood environments therefore
inspire learning and encourage children to explore, discover, question whilst providing opportunities for children to
practise Literacy and Numeracy skills. These spaces are highly intentional and created with consideration for the
individual children in your class. Let’s have a think about the range of learning areas or spaces in and outside your
classroom. Research has given us the knowledge and understanding that “children need different types of play to fully
develop the whole brain and body” (Robinson et al, 2018). So it is our role as educators to provide opportunities for all
types of play – imaginative and socio-dramatic play, constructive and investigative play, explorative play, sensory play,
language and communication play, digital/technology play. This can be achieved through the many different open ended
learning areas in your classroom, such as: science, nature, dramatic play, sensory, construction, numeracy and literacy
resources, reading, painting and drawing, creative, climbing, physical and tinkering.










2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 8

The Many Roles of the Educator during Play
We know from recent neuroscience that humans need and desire to form relationships and to relate to others. These
influence the wiring of the brain significantly. Children’s feelings of safety and security and their relationships with
others will impact their academic learning, and this therefore needs to be a foremost consideration for educators. One
of the main roles of the educator during play is to listen. As educators listen to and observe the children it deepens their
understanding about a child’s knowledge, understanding and interests. An educator’s knowledge of the child enables
them to decide when it is appropriate to extend or support that child’s learning and when to intentionally step back. At
times, the educator may be required to model use of areas or possibilities of how to use resources in order for children
to engage deeply in play. The educator can enter children’s play as a co-player, engaging in the play to add or provide
another layer to their learning, using opportunities to build on children’s knowledge or interests and making the most of
those teachable moments. Another role of the educator is to scaffold children’s learning by asking open ended questions
to encourage children to find out for themselves, share their own ideas, engage in philosophical discussions, or guide
them to theorise and explore their thinking. Educators have to determine when it is the right time to give children
answers to their questions OR when is it more appropriate to respond to children’s questions with a question. This
provides opportunities for sustained shared thinking, known to be a key indicator of high quality adult-child interactions.
Educators aim to be co-learners alongside children and to model a disposition for lifelong learning every day. The NQS
and Re-Registration Standards expect educators to differentiate their program to meet the needs of all children.
Therefore, one of the essential roles of the teacher is to ensure they engage with the Assessment and Planning Cycle by
using the information collected of the child’s knowledge, skills and understanding to inform the planning and delivery of
individualised programs, reflective of each children’s individual needs and capabilities, and then identify children who
need intervention, consolidation or extension.

How might we Assess and Document Children’s Learning Through Play?
1. Who the child is, where the child is
If we genuinely value play, we must document and assess young children’s
working, who they are playing with
learning in play contexts. Bass and Walker (2015) suggest the key purposes
and what are they doing.
of documentation include:
 Knowing where a child is at now and where they are headed 2. The observable skills the child is
 Capturing the educators’ intentions demonstrating/practising.
 Noting children’s interests to use these to further develop skills 3. A comment regarding ‘where to
next’; related to the child’s strengths
 Recording what you know about the child and identifying what you
or needs.
are going to do next
Documenting young children’s knowledge, skills, interests and
understanding during play focuses on HOW they are learning, not just WHAT. Documentation of children’s learning
through play does not mean educators need to write everything down that happened in the day, it does not necessitate
taking millions of photos, nor does it look like educators spending hours prettying up portfolio pages with borders.
Documentation of play-based learning should allow the children to see what they have earnt over time and to explore
how their thinking may have changed. It should help the child and others to not only see the ‘products’ of their play, but
should allow children to reflect on an experience, revisit those emotions, understand what they were thinking at the
time, and create opportunities for ongoing conversation.

Conclusion
In order to implement a high quality play pedagogy, all Early Childhood educators need to know the different types of
play, why it is important to provide a balance between both child-initiated play and playful pedagogies, how to set up
intentional, open ended learning spaces, how to implement and assess a play-based program and their role in it.
Ongoing professional development can assist in a deeper understanding of play and ensure continuous improvement in
educators’ practice with the aim of supporting the best possible outcomes for all children.

Further Information
Deb Martin can support educators with high quality play pedagogies in-school, on staff professional development days
and/or after-school staff meetings. Examples of balanced timetables and ideas for planning approaches are available.
[email protected]






2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 9

On Entry Assessment: Update




Photo: Photo: Cornish College, Victoria Christ Church Grammar School


Re-Assessment
The On Entry Assessments are made available again in Term 4, between Monday 8 October and Friday 2 November
2018. The system will stay open until Friday 16 November 2018 for teachers to upload, check and finalise data. Please
remember, re-assessment is only designed for those students who are considered 'at risk' or may have made limited
progress throughout the year and is not designed for the whole class. This re-assessment uses the same module as Term
1. Re-assessment may only be appropriate in particular learning areas or modes.

Writing Progression Points
We have been notified that the writing progression points are still in development and will be available in Term 1, 2019.
This delay is due to the progression points being replaced by a scaled score for Literacy and Numeracy, which is a huge
development task for ICT. Please remember the writing data is still available in the other reports. Unfortunately, you will
not be able to compare this year’s and last year's writing data as 2018 writing was scored differently to previous years.

Assessing Only Certain Sections of the Assessment
If your school is already participating in other forms of formative assessment (e.g. Brightpath, Early Numeracy Interview
etc), you ARE able to choose to administer only the reading, writing or speaking and listening items. Or you could just
assess Numeracy, but you do need to complete the whole Numeracy assessment. However, it is highly recommended
that you conduct the whole assessment in Literacy and Numeracy to have an initial data set to match in the future. If you
are completing only one mode, to generate individual reports in the current format you need to select ‘not attempted’
for the remaining items to finalise the assessment. This will change when the system is updated, at which time teachers
will be able to select "reading mode" and finalise and generate reading reports only. The price will still remain the same,
whether you assess all or part of each module; $6.60 per module.


















2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 10

On Entry in 2019 – Expressions of Interest
AISWA is currently seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from schools that would like to participate in 2019. Please note
this EOI process is only applicable to schools that are new to the assessment OR existing schools that would like to take it
on in other year levels. The On Entry assessment tool is highly respected as an informative and valuable diagnostic
assessment in literacy and numeracy beginning in Pre Primary. Following the administration of the assessment early in
Term 1, educators are immediately provided with information that supports teaching targeted specifically at students'
points of need. The cost of testing is $6.60 per module per student. Currently there are FOUR modules available:
Module 1: for Pre Primary students
Module 2: for Year One students
Module 3 and 4: for Year 2 students

To submit an Expression of Interest form for 2019, please contact Janelle Dickinson ([email protected]) by mid-
November. In addition, if your school has made any changes to leadership, administration, movement in Year levels or if
there are any new teachers to the school, please contact Janelle to update your details on the system by mid-November.



On-Entry Training
To support educators who are new to the On Entry Assessment or who are taking it on in other year levels in 2019, a
training morning will be held at the AISWA offices during Term 4.

Further Information and registration
CN 11944 14/11


































Photo: St Mark’s Anglican Community School


















2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 11

HASS Conference 2018










The inaugural WA HASS Week was held in Term 3 Week 3 and was not only a
celebration and promotion of the Learning Area, but also provided some high
quality Professional Learning events during the week for Primary (P-6) and
Secondary (7-10) teachers. But perhaps the highlight of the week were the
numerous school-based events for students and the Humanities and Social
Sciences (HASS) Conference which was held over two days at the State Library of
WA (SLWA), which included student presentations and a dedicated series of Early
Childhood (K-2) sessions linking children’s literature, hands-on workshops and an
amazing presentation by some Year 2 students using Technology integration to
communicate with Syrian children in Jordan via a Skype Classroom program.

Amanda Jones from the State Library presented a session based on resources
from the Better Beginnings family literacy program. The focus of this session was
to build knowledge of how to integrate literacy and the HASS curriculum within an
early years setting, using the six early literacy skills and how they naturally fit
within subject areas such as the HASS curriculum. Teachers and educators were
provided with further opportunities to make connections between the Early Years Learning Framework, the National
Quality Standards and the HASS curriculum, and take away practical ideas and strategies.

Other Early Years sessions included a hands-on, historical inquiry session about Object Literacy, presented by the
Discovery Zone Team from the WA Museum and a guided, Information Literacy Tour by Kate Akerman, one of the SLWA
Educators, which included the Education Space and Children’s Literature programs for K-2 visitors to the library.



Save the date for HASS Week 2019 (Term 3 Week 3) where we will have more dedicated Early Years PL events, including
teacher and student presentations on Inquiry, Children’s Literature and much more.









2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 12

Journeys of Inquiry



Photo: John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School



We are thrilled to announce every member school has now
been sent a copy of our latest publication, Journeys of
Inquiry. If you are yet to see your school’s copy, please ask
your Principal. Journeys of Inquiry features fifteen case
studies from educators and school leaders at various stages
of their own journeys of inquiry, presenting a powerful
glimpse into what is possible when we honour the
capabilities of young children. These stories illustrate
contextualised representations of the essential elements of
high quality inquiry pedagogies, which are described in the
opening chapter. We trust these stories will provide
affirmation, inspiration and provocation to a wide audience
of early childhood educators, wherever they may be on
their own journeys of inquiry.

Additional copies of Journeys of Inquiry are now available
from the AISWA Bookstore. Please ensure you log in to
access member prices - http://store.ais.wa.edu.au

Further Information
Rebecca Duncan – [email protected]


















2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 13

Quality Early Years



















Photos: AICS Broome Conference


The Quality Early Years project held its second study tour for the year in August. This tour was hosted by Purnululu
Community School in the East Kimberley. The two day study tour started with the children from the early childhood
classroom participating in a Welcome to Country ceremony where they splashed water on the visitors using gum leaves.
This delighted both children and adults but also was important ritual in asking permission from the spirits for the visitors
to be on the land.

















































2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 14

Amanda and Sophia’s Early Years classroom, although very compact, was full of engaging learning centres that facilitated
fantastic learning. High quality examples of scaffolded learning were evident throughout the day. For Example a large
new bridge is being built on the highway across the local river not far from the school. This has created lots of
conversations and bridge building in the classroom. Research has been conducted using books and the internet on
different types of bridges and comparisons made with the new bridge. During the Investigation session on the morning
we were there Amanda had provided the chief bridge builder with a photo of the local bridge under construction. The
chief bridge builder carefully compared and noted how his block building was similar to the local bridge and made
adjustments.






































Photos: Purnululu Community School








































2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 15

On Our Bookshelves: Resource Reviews






















On Our









Early Childhood Leadership in Action: Evidence-based approaches for effective
practice

E. Stamopoulos, L. Barblett. Published by Allen & Unwin (2018).
Reviewed by Rebecca Duncan

As the authors of this worthy resource assert, regardless of whether you have a formal role as an early childhood leader,
you are positioned as a leader every time you lead the learning of others, mentor, make everyday decisions about ethical
practice or advocate for children and childhood. In short, every early childhood educator leads. Leadership is
‘everybody’s responsibility, as it is inherent in being, belonging and becoming a professional’ (p. 6).

Early Childhood Leadership in Action begins by conceptualising and theorising early childhood leadership, setting the
scene around current political and policy directions and exploring the complexity of leading in times of change. The key
elements of contemporary early childhood leadership are comprehensively unpacked, striking a great balance between
theory and practice, in part through the inclusion of voices from the field and leaders’ stories, which provide useful
insights and reflections. Reflection points and discussion questions will be highly useful in supporting readers to
contemplate their beliefs and practice, particularly leaders and aspiring leaders. Many familiar names appear in these
contributions, including that of Asha Rojahn, an early childhood educator at St James’ Anglican Community School.

We invited Asha to reflect on her contribution to Early Childhood Leadership in Action, and were extremely grateful to
receive the following reflection:



















2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 16

Last year, I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute to the Early Childhood Leadership in Action publication. This is a
brilliant book which focus on the principles and practices for creating confident and effective leaders within the early childhood
sector. Last month I was invited along to the book launch to meet with many inspirational leaders in early childhood education
- I certainly felt star struck! This all started when Lennie Barblett (one of the authors) visited my Kindergarten classroom and
was impressed with the way in which I incorporated families and the community within my program. I was honoured when she
asked me to contribute. Incorporating families and the community within the classroom is not always an easy task, but is
something I am very passionate about. I believe communication with families is key. In my classroom we use an app for our
main form of communication. The app allows us to share photos, notes and updates of their child and encourages the children
to converse with their families about their day… Each year the parents are asked if they have any special skills or talents to
bring into the classroom. To give some examples: chefs have visited to cook, nurses have helped with hospital role play, and a
musician came to play music. The learning that stems from these real world experiences is invaluable. In the article I also
reflected on the opportunities that stem from various community grants. For example, Planet Ark funded new shrubs and
trees, the women’s shed provided us with seedlings to plant around the school, a local café provided us with a $2000
sustainability grant. You would be surprised at how much local business want to help. In the article I also wrote of the
importance of getting the children out into the community to engage with their surroundings. Our local supermarket has been
a wonderful resource. There is no better way to enrich a simple cooking activity than walking over to the supermarket to buy
the ingredients. So much incidental learning can take place! Our local surf lifesaving club even brought the rescue helicopter to
the oval for us to explore. I have been blown away at the support that is out there. The wealth of resources that can come out
of engaging with parents and the community is invaluable. Just remember, all you have to do is ask!

Early Childhood Leadership in Action is highly recommended as a wide-ranging reference for any early childhood professional.




Monster Party

Reviewed by Ron Gorman

Monster Party is a delightful picture book made with the children from Rawa
Community School (one of the most rural of the 14 Aboriginal
Independent Community Schools in Western Australia) in collaboration with
Alison Lester (Australian Children’s Laureate 2012/13) and Jane Godwin. In this
playful story ‘Monsters have a party at Dora Lake and go galumphing all over the
place’.

The lively text has monsters causing all sorts of mischief and the beautiful
illustrations has the reader enthralled with the interactions of the monsters and
what they get up to. The story has great appeal young audiences and its
whimsical nature will have wide appeal.

The text published by Magabala Books is a fine example of the capacity for children to craft an appealing story as well as
creating some wonderful artwork. It reminds educators that given the time and space to engage in deep learning
opportunities, children are can generate some very engaging and creative stories.

Click here to order your copy today!














2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 17

Photos: The LEGO Foundation


Online: The LEGO Foundation
Their contribution to our understanding of the power of play

https://www.legofoundation.com/en/
Reviewed by Barbara Bosich

We have long known of the absorbing value of LEGO in all its forms. The Swedish manipulatives have been the ‘go-to’
play pieces for generations of growing children and their parents (who often battle with the instructions!)

The LEGO Learning Institute is a network of international academic experts, funded by the LEGO Foundation. Its purpose
is to build greater public understanding of play, learning, creativity and child development. Beyond being publicly
available, the research findings help translate the company motto of ‘only the best is good enough’ into all LEGO products
and experiences – each designed to ‘inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow’ (the company mission) and develop
creativity and learning ability in children of all ages. (2013)

Their most recent publications include a white paper “Learning through play: a review of the evidence” (2017), with
authors from University of Cambridge (Whitebread and Neale), Harvard University (Liu and Solis), Temple University
(Hirsh-Pasek and Hopkins), Pennsylvania State University (Zosh) and the LEGO Foundation Centre for Creativity, Play and
Learning, which builds upon the LEGO Foundation’s previous works using the framework play characteristics as:
 Socially interactive
 Iterative
 Joyful
 Actively engaging; and
 Meaningful















2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 18

Further they posit all their works within the topical constructs of:
 What we know;
 What we think; and
 What needs to be done,
 In the realm of play.

Their publications are a powerful contribution to our knowledge and conviction of the value of play, and include:
 The Future of Learning (2011)
 What we mean by: Learning through Play (2017)
 The Role of Play in Children’s Development: a review of the evidence (2017)
 The Future of Play. Defining the role and value of play in the 21 Century (2010)
st
 Neuroscience and learning through play: review of the evidence (2017)
 Learning through play: a review of the evidence (2017)

You will find these housed within the Knowledge Base under the ‘Learn How’ menu on the website’s front page. The LEGO
Foundation website is a terrific source of evidence and a helpful reference for your early childhood philosophy documentation.

































































2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 19

Upcoming Professional Learning





Photo: KidsMatter 0 Photo: Great Southern Grammar



Network Meeting - When to Worry - Building Cultural Competence in Early
Social/Emotional and Mental Health Childhood Educators

Challenges In partnership with Early Childhood Australia (ECA) please
join us for an afternoon of personal and professional
Sandy Clark from KidsMatter will speak to the important
learning that will showcase the ongoing projects by six
issue of children’s mental health providing us with an
AISWA schools, from a range of diverse Early Learning
overview of the issues and signalling where we as teachers
settings and community contexts, building capacity around
and leaders can be proactive in the lives of children who
the EYLF and curriculum links such as the 'Intercultural and
have significant challenges.
Ethical Understanding' General Capability and the

Aboriginal and/or Asia Cross Curriculum
KidsMatter is a mental health promotion, prevention and
Priority. These wonderful Early Childhood Educators will
early intervention initiative set in primary schools and in
share their personal stories of building their own cultural
early childhood education and care (ECEC) services – like
awareness and how this is transforming the way they bring
preschools, kindergartens and day care centres. KidsMatter
these new insights into their learning environments.
Early Childhood aims to help improve the mental health

and wellbeing of children from birth to school-age; reduce
CN 11945 26/10
mental health problems in children and achieve greater

support for children with mental health problems and their

families.

CN 11968 23/10














2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 20

Photo:
Photos: Little Scientists - Water


Little Scientists Professional Learning Program
This high quality early childhood professional learning program
continues to grow in its reach and effectiveness. Next year the WA
Department of Education will roll out the Little Scientists
professional learning program across the state. AISWA EC is proud
to have lead the way in this initiative and commend the three Little
Scientist Houses in WA. Congratulations to Hensman Street
Kindergarten, Beechboro Christian School and Swan Christian
College!

AISWA EC is committed to continue to subsidise this professional
learning in 2019. Please note that this subsidy only occurs if you
book through AISWA rather than the Little Scientists website. Our trainers Wendy Gorman and Glenda Leslie are
accredited to offer the full suite of Little Scientist workshops: Water, Optics, Air, Engineering, Mathematics, Human Body
and Computer Science.
Look out for our list of workshops in our 2019 PL Calendar. Alternatively, you can host a workshop at your school for
your own staff and neighbourhood schools. Subject to our availability this can be on a Saturday or during school
holidays.

https://littlescientists.org.au/workshops/




















2018 Term 4 | Issue 4 Page 21

Suite 3/41 Walters Drive
Osborne Park WA 6017
+61 (08) 9441 1600
[email protected]
www.ais.wa.edu.au



Photo: St Mark’s Anglican Community School


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