Active Kids Group Professional Training Calendar

Professional Development Program 2018

Inspiring a passion
for learning

Message from the Directors

We are excited to present you with AKG’s Professional Development Program for 2018.

Few activities are more powerful for your professional learning than reflection on practice. Reflecting on
practice is a natural activity for all professionals. As you gain more experience, you become more discerning
and are better able to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Continuous professional learning is essential
just to stay abreast of the latest developments in education.

This professional training program has so much to offer. Our vision inspiring a passion for learning; for today
and tomorrow, is our underlying theme throughout this booklet.

AKG is committed to your professional learning as this will equip you with additional knowledge to support
you in executing the significant responsibilities that you all have… educating young children!

You continuous path to professional growth and development will continue to flourish as our aim is to provide
you with opportunities to maximise your potential as educators and provide the children who attend our
services a sound foundation for future success in learning.

Unlocking everyone’s potential

Vivian Diskoros
MD

About Community Learning Australia

Community Early learning Australia is the peak body for Australia’s early and middle childhood education
sector. We believe all children deserve quality early education and care.

Created by Community Child Care Co-operative, built on tradition and prepared for the future. Our mission is
to amplify early learning’s value throughout Australia.

- We amplify early learning’s value by informing families, influencing policy-makers, and inspiring educators.
- We support evidence-based research, grassroots consultation, and common sense action.
- We actively unite both community based and small provider ECEC services under one banner of support for

community benefit and purpose before profit.

Community Early Learning Australia (CELA), informs, influences and inspires through:

- Advocacy - as the peak body for Australia’s early and middle childhood educator sector, CELA influences
policy-makers, advocates for children and families as well as services and educators. Our advocacy is
grounded in our mission to amplify early learning’s value across Australia, to ensure all children and families
have access to quality, affordable early education and care services.

- Leadership - through our members, we actively unite community based and small provider ECEC services
under one banner of support for our shared community values focusing on purpose-before-profit.

- Learning & Development - providing the highest level of professional development and training through
our Registered Training Organisation, in-house and customised on-site sessions, courses and webinars.

- Resources - providing publications and resources used as references Australia-wide by educators
and families for all things ECEC.

- Consultancy - committed to evidence-based research, grassroots consultation, and
common sense action, our consultants deliver solutions to keep problems and issues
across early and middle childhood education.

- Service Management - through extensive knowledge and expertise we can manage
services on your behalf, or partner with you to deliver operational efficiencies and
quality improvements through Children’s Services Community Management (CSCM).

Participating Service

This program of professional learning has been developed for educators at Active Kids Group services
in Sydney NSW.

Project Detail

This program of professional learning is built around growing participant’s capacity in a range of aspects
of their role with the outcome focused upon establishing, building and enhancing skills, knowledge and
attributes needed to perform these roles successfully as part of the Active Kids Team.

The program would involve a holistic approach to professional learning focused on empowering and
motivating participants to bring about change in practice.

Topics include:
• Identify and respond to children and young people at risk
• Acknowledging and celebrating aboriginal Australia
• Critical reflections and assessing children’s learning
• Speaking their language - interpreting children’s challenging behaviours, strategies,

interventions and responses
• Introduction to play theory - understanding play theory and using play interventions when

working with children’s behaviour
• Going to Big School Next Year: Helping Families and Children Prepare
• Meaningful Engagement with the EYLF
• Food handling Information Session
• WHS
• Creating Sustainable Environments

All parties are encouraged to evaluate the effectiveness of the program as it evolves and at completion.

The program uses the National Quality Framework and the Early Years Learning Framework as foundations
and these frameworks are embedded in all learning.

All programs are delivered with the strategic outcome of enhancing and enriching quality of early childhood
education and care for children and increasing professionalism, skills, confidence and resilience of educators,
Directors and management,

Community Early Learning Australia, formerly Community Child Care Co-oporative NSW, comes with a
significant history in the delivery of professional development in the areas of educational program and
practice management and leadership.

A sample of feedback is provided below.

“Hope you are still basking in the high of a fantastic event. The buzz was so positive and looking forward to
riding the enthusiasm in the centre, The speakers were all hits To have it opened to all levels of educators
should pay dividends back to council but was a great reward to them all for all their efforts.”

“...I don’t know about you, but I have not stopped talking all weekend. I think my family think I am mad. Hands
up who thought Saturday was inspirational, rewarding and now very excited... Thank you to all the staff
for making this happen. I know a function like this dos not happen overnight. Cant wait to see great things
happen. Happy Monday (saying it with a “bounce” in my step).”

Project Overview

The project covers 10 topics delivered over 14 facilitated sessions:

CHCPRT001: Identify and respond to children & young
people at risk

Under the National Quality Framework, Nominated and Certified Supervisors must have training in child
protection in order to be the responsible person in change of a service. This unit from the CHC Community
Services Training Package, meets this requirement.

Participants who successfully complete the related assessment task will be issues with a Statement of
Attainment (SOA) for this unit This SOA is Nationally Recognised.

The training will include an overview of Keep Them Safe, requirements for mandatory reporters in NSW,
identifying significant harm and risk factors and the provision of child safe environments.

Delivery 1 x 6 hour session

Acknowledging and celebrating Aboriginal Australia
(New NESA 2018)

AS mainstream services, we often feel that we should be acknowledging and celebrating Aboriginal Australia
in our service program. But where do we begin? And how do we enable others to understand the importance
of this rich and diverse culture?

This workshop is designed to provide educators with a clearer understanding of why they are wanting to
introduce Aboriginal Australia into their services. We will also explore ideas about how and who to engage
with when ready to embed Aboriginal perspectives into their service program.

This is a great workshop for those wanting to create a understanding of the following:

• Why is it important to celebrate and acknowledge Aboriginal Australia withing mainstream services?

• Where and how do I begin?

• How do I know if I’m being culturally competent?

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1,4,5 & 6
Suggested Delivery 2 x 2.5 hour sessions

Critical Reflection & Assessing Children’s Learning -
NESA Endorsed

This session will teach educators how to critically reflex on their practice and look at how critical reflection
informs and influenced their teaching and curriculum planning. We will also unpack what to document, how
you might do this and where this might be shown.

Session Outcomes:
• Reflect on current understandings of critical reflection as part of informing practice.
• Unpack and examine the link between critical reflection and analysis in influencing curriculum decision-making.
• Identify how programming/planning and documentation is enhance using critical reflection.

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1 & 7

Completing the Critical reflection and assessing children’s learning session contributes 3 hours of NESA
Registered PD addressing 3.6.2 and 6.2.6 from the Australian professional standards for Teachers towards
maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW. Participants must attend the full session to be eligible
for the accredited hours.

Suggested delivery 2 x 2.5 hour sessions

Speaking their language - interpreting children’s challenging
behaviours, strategies, interventions and responses
(New NESA 2018)

All behaviour is a form of communication. This workshop is designed to assist educators in understanding what
children are communicating through challenging behaviours.

By exploring theories such as emotional intelligence and working with trauma research, this workshop aims to help
educators identify the ‘why’ and ‘what’ behind a child’s behaviour. Educators will have the opportunity to discuss
effective strategies to engage and work with children who exhibit challenging behaviours.

This is an essential workshop for educators wanting to know how to work more effectively with children who
display challenging behaviours

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1, 4, 5 & 6
Suggested delivery: 2 x 2.5 hour sessions

Play Theory & Behaviour Interventions

What is play theory? Can educators use play as a successful behaviour intervention?

This hands-on interactive session will explore play theory, our interpretation of play and whether educators are
choosing the most effective and ethical behaviour intervention strategies. We will also discover new ways to
support children’s play narratives, imaginations and creativity.

This is an essential workshop for those wanting to better enable themselves to respond to behaviour through more
playful interventions.

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1, 4, 5 & 7
Suggested delivery: 2 x 2.5 hour sessions

“Education is the most powerful weapon
which you can use to change the world.”

- Nelson Mandela

Going to Big School Next Year:
Helping Families & Children Prepare

Early Years educators understand the changes children face when moving to school - what can we do to
ensure each child and their family are prepared tor the transition?

This session will explore how we can prepare children and families to embrace the transition, have a clear
picture of what to expect at big school and work together to create achievable long term goals.

The session will examine issues such as:
• Adapting to a different learning approach and curriculum
• Building resilience
• Creating Joint Goals
• Making connections with local schools, and
• Building new friendships and relationships

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1, 3 & 7
Suggested delivery: 1 x 2.5 hour session

Meaningful Engagement with the EYLF

Are you uncertain about the links between the EYLF, documentation and reflective practice? This session
engages participants with the principles and outcomes of the EYLF and explored how they relate to everyday
practice. Participants will examine how they can best support children’s education. Come along and explore
ideas for documentation and sharing children’s development and learning with families.

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7
Suggested delivery: 1 x 2.5 hour session

Food Safety Information Session

This information session aims to provide educators with information to enable them to safely handle an d
serve food in an early/middle childhood setting. This session will review the Legislation and Standards related
to food handling and safety and discuss food safety responsibilities. As educators are often involved in
preparing and storing of food, through this session participants will explore the principles of Food Handling
ans refresh their knowledge of the importance of safe food handling practices.

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1, 2 & 7
Suggested delivery: 1 x 2.5 hour session

Work Health & Safety

Are you finding it difficult to understand what WHS means for your service? This webinar will explore the
terminology and identify responsibilities and obligations of both employers and employees under the Work
Health & Safety Act 2011. The Webinar will provide information on risk assessment, documentation and record
keeping, manual handling and general practices to help keep the workplace safe.

• Reflect on current practices and consider what represents best practice
• Read and discuss documents that support best practice
• Identify WHS issues specific to the education and care sector
• Participate in hazard identification, risk assessment, risk control and review practices within their service

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 2 & 7
Suggested delivery: 1 x 2.5 hour session

Creating Sustainable Environments

When sustainable practices are embedded and integrated into all aspects of a service’s operation, your
service can inspire and empower children, families, educators and your community to initiate actions which
assist and value the natural environment and the interdependence of people, plants, animals and the land.

Sustainability is about starting small and building of practices, including the establishment of indoor and
outdoor learning environments that are time and resource-efficient. In this session, we consider the practical
application of the philosophy and ethics of sustainability.

NQS QUALITY AREAS - 1, 3,5,6 & 7
Suggested delivery: 1 x 2.5 hour session



Project Overview

Session Title Date of No of Sessions & Duration Session
Delivery Location
Meaningful Engagement 1 session maximum, (proposed)
with the EYLF 20/02/2018 25 participants per session
Session time: Bondi
Critical Reflection & Assessing 8/03/2018 & 6.30pm - 9.00pm
Children’s Learning - 22/03/2018 Liverpool Street
NESA Endorsed 2 part session maximum,
10/04/2018 & 25 participants per session Homebush
Acknowledging & Celebrating 24/04/2018 Session time:
Aboriginal Australia - 6.30pm - 9.00pm Homebush
New NESA 2018 17/05/2018 &
24/05/2018 2 part session maximum, Bondi
CHCPRT001 25 participants per session
Identify & respond to children 31/05/2018 Session time: Liverpool Street
& young people at risk 6.30pm - 9.00pm
5/06/2018 & Bondi
Going to Big School: Helping 19/06/2018 2 x 3 hour session maximum,
Families & Children Prepare 25 participants per session Liverpool Street
10/07/2018 Session time:
Speaking their language - 6.00pm - 9.00pm Homebush
interpreting children’s challenging 15/08/2018 &
behaviours, strategies, interventions 22/08/2018 1 session maximum, Bondi
& responses 25 participants per session
New NESA 2018 13/09/2018 Session time:
Creating Sustainable Environments 6.30pm - 9.00pm
18/10/2018
Play Theory & 2 part session maximum 25
Behaviour Interventions participants per session
Session time:
Food handling Information Session 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Work Health & Safety 1 session maximum,
25 participants per session
Session time:
6.30pm - 9.00pm

2 part session maximum,
25 participants per session
Session time:
6.30pm - 9.00pm

1 session maximum,
25 participants per session
Session time:
6.30pm - 9.00pm

1 session maximum,
25 participants per session
Session time:
6.30pm - 9.00pm

activekidsgroup.com.au

BONDI • CREMORNE • EDGECLIFF • ERMINGTON • HOMEBUSH • MASCOT • MOORE PARK • NARWEE (0-3 YEARS)
NARWEE (3-5 YEARS) • NEWTOWN • ROSE BAY • VAUCLUSE • WOOLLAHRA • WORLD SQUARE • WORLD TOWER