Sustainable Practices in Early Childhood Education and Care

Running head: DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Formative & Summative 1
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Formative assessment
Activity 1:
One example of an environmental, social and economic sustainability strategy for the child
services industry context is switching off the lights when needed.
Switching off the electrical appliances when not in use and using energy efficient lighting
would facilitate less consumption of the energy, leading to less cost in the energy
consumption 1.
Activity 2
1. The organisation of concern does not necessarily work on recycling the already used
goods. Since, the concerned organisation is a child care centre and therefore, hence the
different resources used for playing can be made with recycled goods likeusing unused
bottles, plastic containers and the beads for creating different structures2.
2. Using, leaves rocks and twigs for the different creative craft work would be keep the
students close to nature and help them to interact with the natural world. Increasing the
children’s connection with the nature would enhance awareness among the children about
the conservation of the natural resources and why sustainability is important2.
3. Some of the information sources that can be used for identifying the areas of change are
electric consumption bills and other government websites that provide information about
environmental factors like the air quality index3.
1 Ritchie, Jenny. "Sustainability and relationality within early childhood care and education settings in Aotearoa
New Zealand." International Journal of Early Childhood 45.3 (2013): 307-326.
2 Pereira, L., et al. "Design for Innovation: Toys for Sustainable Play." International Conference on Research
into Design. Springer, Singapore, 2017.
3 Asmuni, Shahariah, Jamaliah Mohd Khalili, and Zahariah Mohd Zain. "Sustainable consumption practices of
University students in Selangor, Malaysia." Journal of Asian Behavioural Studies 2.5 (2017): 79-86.

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DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Activity 3
1. While developing a sustainability plan, it is necessary to have a close monitoring on the
energy consumption of the centre each month, proper disposal of the wastes and solid waste
management by composting, setting up of community gardens and careful supervision of
those gardens. It is also necessary to monitor and apply weedicides to prevent the growth of
the weeds in and around the childcare centre3.
2. An environmental management tool is a structured system that can be used by an
organisation to identify the different environmental impacts resulting from the business
activities and to improve the environmental performance. It provides a methodological
approach for the planning, implementation and reviewing of the environment management of
the organisation4.
Activity 4.
1. 10 components of developing and implementing a sustainable strategies involves-
 Nil poverty
 Zero hunger
 Proper health and wellbeing
 Clean drinking water and sanitation
 Ground water level
 Affordable and clean energy
 Responsible energy consumption 5
4 National Library Of Australia. Environmental management system tool. 2017.Access date: 24.2.2019.
Retrieved from:http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/gov/20170424130534/http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/
sustainable-communities/government-sustainability/environmental-management/ems-tool
5 Shove, Elizabeth, and Nicola Spurling, eds. Sustainable practices: Social theory and climate change.
Routledge, 2013.

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DIPLOMA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
 Climatic change
 Afforestation
 biodiversity
2. One of the concerns that requires positive change is the proper disposal of the wastes.
This can be done by introducing waste disposal bins of different colours2. Children
can be educated to dispose off different kinds of wastes in bins of different colors –
Organic wastes like the kitchen wastes has to be disposed off in green colored bins,
glass in yellow colored bins, Metal containers and the lids in the grey bins, plastic
bags , bottles and the containers has to be discarded in the blue ones. Children and
their parents would be encouraged bring reusable bottles and lunch boxes in the
educational centre2.
3. Two ways to check whether the policy has been implemented-
 Regular audit
 Feedback from the stakeholders
Activity 5
1. One of the activities using recycled goods involves making of a catapult by the use of the
used ice-cream sticks and used spoons and used rubber bands. Making of a catapult is a
part of STEM based learning for the kids that requires inquisitive scientific minds and
polishes the cognitive abilities of children. It also helps to develop problem solving skills
and rational thinking among the children. Parents can help the children in gathering the
resources like ice-cream sticks and using the paper cutters.