We were proud to be asked by the Victorian Department of Education to allow them to film this short video at our Centre as part of the launch of Victoria’s Early Childhood Reform Plan. Our State government believes in the importance of quality kindergarten for a child’s development and the new reform plan will support this.

Congratulations!! to our very own Sarah who was this week awarded the 2017 Agnes Farrance Award from Early Childhood Australia (ECA). This annual award is given to an early childhood educator who demonstrates a strong commitment to working within the early childhood teaching and caring profession. The Award provides financial support to enable the recipient to participate in a professional conference and to have the opportunity to share their experience with colleagues and peers. Sarah will use her prize to travel to Brisbane next week where she will attend (and give a presentation at) the Australian Council for Educational leaders (ACEL) 2017 Conference. Sarah’s presentation is about Distributed and Catalytic Leadership in Early Childhood.

So proud to have been announced the Victorian Early Childhood Director of the Year 2017!

Here’s me (far right) with other State finalists.

We are proud that educators and children from our Centre are featured in a series of video resources produced by the Victorian department of Education & Training. These videos profile each of the eight Practice Principles, as strengthened in the revised VEYLDF. Narrated by Anne Stonehouse, consultant for early childhood, each Practice Principle includes interviews with early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals and leaders. They also include video footage from a range of ECEC settings that exemplifies effective ways for supporting children’s learning and development, in line with each Practice Principle. This video highlights Respectful Relationships and Responsive Engagement

We recently received the very exciting news that the CCC educator team have been named as finalists in the 2016 HESTA Early Childhood Education & Care Awards. The category in which we have been nominated is Advancing Pedagogy & Practice which recognises early childhood educators that have significantly advanced early childhood education and care through demonstrating innovation, quality improvement and enhanced outcomes for young children. Our nomination particularly emphasised the use of action research by our educator team to enhance our teaching practices and children’s learning outcomes. These are national awards and very prestigious in the early education sector so we are all thrilled to have reached this final stage of judging. I will now be joining Mel, Natalie and Caroline at the Early Childhood Australia Conference in Darwin (where they will be presenting some of their research practice) and we will attend the Awards Dinner on Friday evening where the various Awards winners will be announced. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Postscript: We had a great time at the ECA Conference and at the Awards Dinner. We weren’t the overall winner of our category but felt very honoured to be included as finalists – we were in very impressive company.

As a Centre, we are proud to lead by example with regard to ‘best practice’ in early education and care and, at times, we have opportunities to share our practice with a wider audience.

Late in 2015, a film crew from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) spent a day in the Magic Room. The video footage they recorded has now been used to develop two separate Illustrations of Practice vignettes that can support other early childhood teachers to understand how their practice meets the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and as an illustration of what the Standard look likes in practice.

This first vignette illustrates Setting Expectations for Using ICT.

I was so proud to be there with Mel last Wednesday evening when she received her “Highly Commended” certificate from Minister Jenny Mikakos at the Victorian Early Years Awards. To be one of three finalists in what was reportedly a very large field of excellent nominations for the early Childhood Teacher of the Year was a very well-deserved honour, as I’m sure you will all agree. Congratulations, Mel!!

I am SO excited and proud to be able to announce that our very own Mel has been shortlisted as an Early Childhood Teacher of the Year finalist in the 2015 Early Years Awards. These State Government awards celebrate exceptional work being done to improve the health, learning, development and wellbeing of Victorian children from birth to eight years and their families. The Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award highlights exemplary teachers who are going above and beyond to engage children in their learning programs. Mel’s nomination focuses on her incorporation of long-term inquiry projects to support children’s collaborative exploration of ideas, feelings, misunderstandings and questions about “big” issues. If she wins, Mel will receive $10,000 to support her ongoing professional development.
The 2015 Early Years Awards will be presented by The Hon. Jenny Mikakos MP, Minister for Families and Children, in the Great Hall at the National Gallery of Victoria International on Wednesday, 28 October. Fingers crossed!!