Supporting Sustainable Practice in Early Childhood Education and Care

This project focuses on supporting sustainable practice in early childhood education and care. It includes defining sustainable practice, identifying ways children can participate, introducing sustainability to families and staff, providing experiences for children to experience outdoor space responsibly, and considering differing abilities to participate. The project also covers evaluating the outcome of these strategies. The subject is CHCECE012 and CHCECE013 for Certificate III Early Childhood Education and Care.

Certificate III Early Childhood Education and Care
CHCECE012 Support Children to Connect with their world
&
CHCECE013- Use information about children to inform practice
Cluster Project 1
(Insert an image here)
By
(Add your name & date here)
(Please remove all green print and web links upon submission ensuring your name has been inserts on the front page
and the footer note)
Name DatePage 1

Scenario
CHCECE012
Project 1
You are the person responsible for supporting sustainable practice in a newly opened
education and care service. There are a total of 50 children enrolled of varying ages and
you should take into consideration two children with disabilities. There is an outdoor area
adjoined to a waterway and there is a planted vegetable garden and wildlife that is local
to the area. A contracted cleaning organisation is responsible for building maintenance
and you have established networks with the local community centre and volunteer
organisations.
Your goals are to:
 define sustainable practice
 identify ways children can participate in sustainable practice
 consider where there might be opportunities to introduce the concept or
improvement of sustainability
 provide experiences for children to experience outdoor space responsibly
 take into account differing abilities to participate
 How would you achieve these goals?
 Include in your answer some possible considerations and challenges?
 How would you evaluate the outcome of these strategies?
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Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................4
Centre philosophy...............................................................................................................4
Define sustainable practices that you can teach in Child Care...........................................4
Identify ways children can participate in sustainable practices..........................................5
How could you provide opportunities to introduce the concept or improvement of
sustainability to families or staff?.......................................................................................5
Outdoor spaces for children in Child Care..........................................................................6
Consider children’s differing abilities to participate...........................................................7
How would you achieve these goals?.................................................................................7
How would you evaluate the changes you have made in the Centre regarding the
outdoor changes and sustainability?..................................................................................8
CHCECE013........................................................................................................................9
All about me.......................................................................................................................9
Child information sheet....................................................................................................10
Learning Story..................................................................................................................11
A summary of the National Quality Framework................................................................11
References........................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Provide information about your Child Care Centre here. You can use the Centre you are doing placement at.
(Include opening times, age groups, staff qualifications, how many children is the Centre licensed for extra ‘s such as
does the Centre provide meals or nappies)
Cairns kids early learning center provide care to children from age 6 weeks to 6 years. Meals and snacks are provided to
children and proper care is given to them. Cairns kids is a local SME in the category of children which provides children
care. It opens from Monday to Friday from 6:30 am until 6:30 pm. Staff qualification which is required in Caron's child
care centre is to have education and degree of child care. They should have proper knowledge about how to provide
care to children and training is provided to staff members. Cairns child care is providing good care to children and staff
members are taking care of children. Proper training should be provided to children.
https://www.yellowpages.com.au/find/child-care-centres/cairns-region-qld
https://www.echildcare.com.au/region/cairns/
Centre philosophy
Our Centre Philosophy.
We aim to provide a warm, safe, secure and nurturing environment. We strive to build trusting relationships with all
children, to enhance each child's sense of belonging and wellbeing, which in turn supports each
child's holistic development.
Write 2 more paragraphs here (one paragraph is provided for you. 3 in total)
The main purpose of Cairns child care is to provide safe and healthy environment to children so that they can enjoy and
learn new things. In child care all children are getting equal treatment and proper care is given to all children. The aim is
to provide safe and secure environment to small children and proper care is given to children.
It is important to provide good environment to children so that they can learn new things and this help in enhancing
their knowledge. Child care staff members are taking care of children and try to provide them good services so that they
can learn new things. It is important to give proper care to children and enhance their knowledge by teaching them new
things.
Define sustainable practices that you can teach in Child Care
 Reduce, reuse and recycle
 Water savings buy turning off taps
 Turning off lights and fans before leaving
 Encourage use of reusable containers to store snacks
 Start a veggie garden
https://aussiechildcarenetwork.com.au/articles/childcare-articles/sustainability-practices-in-childcare
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Identify ways children can participate in sustainable practices
http://ncac.acecqa.gov.au/educator-resources/pcf-articles/environmental_experiences_in_child_care_sept06.pdf
 Role model sustainable practices
 Put fruit and vegetable scrapes into a worm farm
 List a few more bullet points below:
 Put mechanical timers on children’s taps
 Encourage children to participate in a recycling program
 Organize programs for children and encourage them to participate
How could you provide opportunities to introduce the concept or improvement
of sustainability to families or staff?
 Asking families to bring in recyclable items to use for arts and craft,
 Utilising environmentally friendly products (where possible).
 Have recycle bins and compost bins
 List a few more bullet points below
 Ask children to be “ eco monitors”
 Organize a family book or clothing swap
 Create a weather action chart
http://www.steppingstonesa.com.au/about/sustainability
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001593/159355e.pdf
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Outdoor spaces for children in Child Care
Write a few paragraphs here explaining requirements of play spaces from ACECQA
 Quality area 3-Physiacl environment
 The aim of Quality area 3 under the National Quality standard is to ensure that good environment is provided to
children and physical environment is safe and suitable. Children should get some space to play and they should
play outdoor games. Outdoor games help in children’s growth and they can learn new things.
https://www.acecqa.gov.au/nqf/national-quality-standard/quality-area-3-physical-environment
(Insert an image here of an outside play space. You can use your Centre. Ask the Director for permission to take a
photo of the outside play space)
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Consider children’s differing abilities to participate
Add a few paragraphs here explaining how children with different abilities can still participate
Children with different abilities can still participate like, use matter of fact language, teach kindness and sensitivity,
diversify everyday experiences, use language which can be understood by children with disabilities. Talking about
differences, puzzle should be given to children, some mobility devices can be used like, wheel chair, sit on scooter etc.
Each child’s individual needs and requirements are used in planning and developing of both short term and long-term
goals discussed with the child’s family, specialists and educators involved.
http://childrenshousepreschool.org/learning-about-different-abilities/
http://www.ecrh.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/ipsp/Create-the-perfect-play-space-learning-environments-
for-young-children.pdf?sfvrsn=12
How would you achieve these goals?
All Centres’ are required to have a QIP (Quality improvement plan) in place within 3 months of operating. This assists
with goals and improvements with in the day-to-day operations and learning at the centre.
 Plans are to be put in place for the widening of the footpath to accommodate access for the 2 new children with
disabilities.
 Family input will be required
 Easy access to the garden for all children
 A mix of high and low gardens for children in wheelchairs to access garden beds
 Identify areas for improvement
 Include statement about service’s philosophy
 Assessment should be done of program and practices at the services
https://www.acecqa.gov.au/assessment/quality-improvement-plans
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How would you evaluate the changes you have made in the Centre regarding the outdoor changes and sustainability?
Write a few more here explaining the above:
 Staff meetings to discuss the changes and the benefits
 Family feedback (this will assist in improvements)
 Invest in office plants
 Support green vendors
 Implement a recycling program
 Promote a paperless office
(Insert images here of some sustainable practices and their images)
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Plants need water to grow and
stay alive, people also need
water to live their life and
animals need water to live.
Plants use water directly when
they capture light energy of the
sun.
It is important to teach children
about how to look after nature.
Some ways to teach are,
conserve water, reuse, recycle,
avoid disposables, plant more
trees and look after them. It is
essential to teach them
importance of environment.

CHCECE013
All about me
Child’s name Child’s date of birth
What are my favourite things to do?
My favourite things to do is plant more trees and
take care of them. I like to play outdoor games,
read story books and want to learn new things.
Things I am learning to do?
I am learning different ways to keep environment
safe and planting more trees. I am learning how
to communicate and tips for environment
protection.
Who is in my family/cultural background?
In my family, my mother, father, grandfather,
grandmother and brother. My family culture
influences things like beliefs, values or traditions.
Things I like to do with my family?
I like to go on vacation with my family, grow a
herb garden, play hide and seek, take lot of
pictures, play card games. I like to enjoy with my
family and want to spend more time.
(Insert an image here)
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Child information sheet
Child’s First Name: Age: years months
Days at center  Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday
Separation Routine
How child separates on arrival e.g. cuddle, wave etc.
Sit with child for a while and ask them what they want,
when child seems comfortable give it to caregiver, kiss
and hug your child good bye and then leave.
Self-Help Skills:
Dress/undress self; Toilet self/wash/dry hands;
Manage spoon/fork; Pour own drink.
It is important to develop self skills among children like,
self – feeding, independent dressing and grooming,
hygiene and toileting, helping with daily chores like
picking up toys.
Usual Sleep Routine:
Does child usually have afternoon sleep? Comforters?
There’s no rule about how much child sleep. It depends
on their age of child. Toddler may sleep 13 hours at night
with only some daytime. In afternoon child take 2 hour
nap.
Self Expression:
Ability to communicate their needs/wants.
To communicate listen to what others want to convey,
non verbal communication should be use, be clear and
concise, be personable, confident and use some gestures.
Play/Transitions:
Ability to make appropriate play choices. Ability to
manage transitions, follow directions.
Teach students to know about themselves, let them
make mistakes because sometimes people learn from
their mistakes, expose them to real world, learn about
children’s interest, involve them in all the activities.
(Insert an image here)
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Learning Story
Child’s First Name: Age: years
months
Date:
Today… Future Planning Experiences
1. To introduce new ideas and
experiences
2. To promote learning and
development skills among
children
3. To support interest of children
4. Respond to each child individually
Interpretation/Evaluation/Reflection
According to my opinion, plans should be made so that there will be less chance of issues. It is important to
evaluate plans which is made for development of children. It is essential to make plans for growth of children and
provide good environment to them so that they can learn new things. In my opinion, children should play outdoor
games and learn things from their surrounding.
A summary of the National Quality Framework
 the National Quality Framework (NQF) and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF): Belonging, Being and Becoming
and My Time, Our Place
 the Education and Care Services National Law and the Education and Care Services National Regulations which set
the National Quality Standard (NQS) and the regulatory frameworks for most long day care, preschool/
kindergarten, family day care and outside school hours care services in all states and territories
National Quality Framework (NQF) sets minimum qualification to children and child ratio requirements for education of
children and care services. It is important to provide good physical environment to children and teach them ways to look
after nature. There are some components of national quality framework are, children’s health and safety, physical
environment, staffing arrangements and relationship with children. Some areas which is covered by national quality
framework are, educational program and practice, collaborative partnership with families and communities, online
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professional learning. The purpose of national quality framework is to provide national approach to regulation,
assessment and quality improvement for early childhood.
Early years learning framework is guide to support young children’s learning from birth to five years of age. There are
some principles of early years learning framework like, partnership, respect for diversity, high expectations and equity,
ongoing learning and reflective practice, secure and respectful relationship. It is important to provide support and
nurture young children learning from birth to five years of age. It is essential to provide good physical environment to
children so that they can learn new things and develop skills which is beneficial for future growth of children. Key
elements of early years learning framework are, principles, practices and learning outcomes. These principles help in
making better plans and good services can be provided to children. Learning outcomes of early years learning framework
are, children have a strong sense of identity, they are connected with world, they have a strong sense of well being,
children are effective communicators, children are confident and involved learners. It is important to support small
children and teach them basic things so that they can enhance their knowledge.
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