Role of Leadership in Early Childhood Education and Care Services

This essay delves into the critical role of leadership within early childhood education and care services. It emphasizes the service director's pivotal position in ensuring quality through effective communication and leadership. The essay examines the significance of the National Quality Framework and the division of quality into process and structural elements. It explores the importance of curriculum, teaching, and community engagement in delivering quality service. Furthermore, the essay analyzes the leadership skills required for fostering family and community partnerships, particularly in building positive relationships. It also addresses challenges like confidentiality, communication, and professionalism, while highlighting the benefits of community connections and the need for intentional leaders to support staff and families. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of situational leadership, active listening, and ongoing reflection to meet the needs of children, families, and society.

There are many complex areas in Early childhood education and care services that
require the assistance of the managerial positions so that a demonstration can be
made about the leadership skills for operating in an effective manner to provide their
customers with proper quality of service. Service director can be considered as main
key leader based on which the provision for quality most dependent. A provision of
quality service begins with the way the director communicates and leads its
employees. They are responsible for selecting quality aspects that they consider
essential for their service and create new techniques to meet them. Directors need to
continually refresh their knowledge and research of both the frameworks that include
the legislative and non-legislative functions so that guidance can be provided to them
throughout the practice as well as planning; the National Quality framework is a
guide that offers the regulation as well as the rating for the provision of quality
service. Bryant & Gibbs (2013) states well known high-quality education and cares
services help children’s development outcomes achieve significant forms and
learning programs along with the strengthening the family and social community and
grows into a reliable service associated with support and knowledge. Quality of care
and education in Australia is usually divided into parts, which are process elements
(qualitative indicators, e.g. interactions) and structural components (quantitative
regulatory and measurable indicators). The role of curriculum and teaching and
working with the community are some of the critical components of providing quality
service for children. The essay brings out a discussion on the role of leadership in
collaborating with the families and communities; it will also critically analyse the
leadership skills required by management positions in the area of family and
community partnerships; particularly, building a positive relationship between all
parties. The primary objective of this partnership as stated in the National Quality
Framework Area 6 so that quality program and outcomes can be provided to the
employees can deliver to every child with the help of family as well as community
involvement and opinion (ACECQA, 2017).
A quality early education along with care service is aimed at meeting the
requirements of families as well as the community in which they are located. There
are benefits for the development, health and well-being of children when programs
meet, support and respect needs. This meets one out of the five outcomes in the
Early Years Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR,2009). A genuine connection among

employees as well as families begins promptly upon service entry. An excellent
method to start the relationship will be inviting the families to the orientation; this way
parents feel comfortable when meeting different families and staff members.
Attending orientation will create a sense of belonging that should also reflect the
policies of the centre while accepting and respecting the diversity as another strategy
(Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). Establishment of a relationship during the initial stage is
essential as family is the main influences within their child's life (DEEWR, 2009).
In order to achieve this, employees must provide value as well as respect the
significance related to diversity, which is referred to as a cultural competence in the
EYLF (DEEWR, 2009). Quality area 6 The National Quality Framework (NQF)
standard 1 is of the opinion that the respectful relationship with families are formed
as well as sustained and support is provided to the families during parenting. Family
understand the children along with the identity, and educators know the manner of
providing education and development of children. Correlation among taking care for
the twin sides related to education need to be acknowledged as complementary
(Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). The partnership among employees as well as parents may
not only "enhance the program, but help in creating an additional place of respect
"(Bryant & Gibbs, 2013), enabling kids to gain benefit. Families grow detailed
information about the program and are designed to meet the needs of their child,
while educators understand the life of a kid placed outside the facility. A genuine
relationship arises from a mutual as well as collaborative partnership applying
process to the elements associated with interactions that allows individuals to gain
further knowledge about one another. Though the relationships as well as
partnerships with families come with various benefits, many challenges are present.
Bryant & Gibbs (2013) state an international leader would apply for a non-
hierarchical leadership model, like Blanchard and Hersey's Situational leadership to
help each person within the team deal with challenges by giving support,
empowerment, coaching and guiding them. As an intentional leader, it is essential
that they educate and help their staff to support families in diverse situation with
confidence and to be able to make families understand that they are welcome into
the environment by including them within the setting. This is linked to Foucault's idea
that freedom must be available for both sides in any power relationship (Bryant &
Gibbs, 2013). A method for facing challenges allows the intentional leader to develop

spaces which offer staff and families to express their views. Within this space, the
conversation which is shared enables the leader to determine whether there is any
agreement or disagreement over discourses that apply to the setting. Despite the
outcome, any effect which leads to change is for the better (MacNaughton&Huges,
2011). When there is conflict, it is necessary that an intentional leader can apply the
active listening skills so that aim can be made for 'power with' instead of 'power over'
relationship and family relationships; this can be activated when the leader uses their
theory, ethical principles and their philosophy (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). Hence, the
challenges developed within the relationship provide opportunities to build are more
significant and meaningful relationship supporting and assisting their staff.
There are legal concerns which need to be followed in the National Regulations
while constructing and maintaining a stable relationship between families as well as
communities. Confidentiality and privacy are one of the main issues. In particular, the
National Law Act and the National Regulations for education and care services the
director should ensure that staff comply with the legislation. As mentioned above, the
intentional leader needs to provide conversation spaces in connection to Regulation
Part 4.3, Div 2, 111 spaces which the approved provider of the centre-based service
needs to guarantee it is a satisfactory space which are available to conduct private
conversations (Education and Care Services National Regulation,2011). The above
method allows families to address issues comfortably, but it is to be made clear it
would be kept private and confidential. Additionally, there is a problem with
communication methods. Using online methods increases concern about content,
access and who is responsible for sending and receiving them. When discussing
situations ethically, leaders need to make communication with teams and families to
establish protocols and expectations (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). In addition, if the line
among professionalism and friendliness gets blurred while developing authentic and
reliable relationships, another problem may arise. This becomes a problem when a
family discusses personal issues, such as marriage problems or bankruptcy, which
do not involve the centre. This is where community connections are established.
Quality area 6 NQF Standard 2 states that partnerships improve the education,
inclusion and well-being of children. It is not important about a care and education
service establishes links within the community but this gives the centre a knowledge
source that allows the setting to be a resource in the community. This means that

what is know within a community coalition can form relationships with the same
attitude of rivals in the community that all want to cause changes or for achieving
similar goals (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). Therefore, if the general objective is to fit the
requirement of families within the community, children will also benefit from
relationships with the community. Reaching out to organisations and agencies The
method for building links with the community is for the intentional leader to reach out
with similar values is a strategy for building links with the community, this helps
develop genuine relationships through shared perception. Bryant & Gibbs (2013)
explain whether it is social service, education or health, these collaborative teams
are prepared to provide service for a child and their family together. They must also
support the family's needs, strengths and skills. The above example, if a family
discloses information which is personal, it is the task of the leader to help staff and
provide the appropriate education on a way to deal with these issues by informing
them that it is not their job to resolves these problems, but ti "empower families to
seek assistance from the proper sources within the community (Bryant &Gibbs,
2013). The staff member which this information was disclosed would then guide the
family member to the suitable field or organisation to help them. Community
relationships are not only beneficial to families, but they also encourage employees
to have support groups for guidance. These opportunities all the development
professional programs or community event which support educators to establish
relationships with other educators. Genuine connections with staff and the
community professionals enable them to share a similar experience and their work
with families.
It can be concluded that quality education and care service need the assistance of
intentional leader so that Situational Leadership can be used by the staff members to
provide an excellent degree for the children, along with the families and the society
by providing the needs and demands. Leaders need to frame an authentic
relationship with the families and society by the application of active listening skills in
order to know about the concerns and opinions, in a private and confidential manner,
so that positive changes can be made for the centre to benefit the children as well as
the educational programs. It is necessary to lead the staff to provide them with
support based on working with families and to provide help to family during their
need. Lastly, intentional leaders need to create a sense of connection within the

society, to source resources that can help in meeting the needs, skills and strengths
of families, but also to break professional isolation by applying multi disciplinary
teams that can work side by side to build the knowledge banks. Educators need to
reflect in a constant manner so that they can keep themselves updated with
frameworks and the requirements of the society to understand the families in a better
manner. Authentic relationship with the families as well as the community can help in
the development of the children in terms of health and well-being.
References:
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. (2012). National Quality
Framework. http://www.acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework
Bryant, L. & Gibbs, L. (2013). A Director’s manual: Managing an education and care
service in NSW. Sydney, Australia: Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd.
Department of Education, Employment, Employment and Workplace Relations.
(2009). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for
Australia. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth of Australia.
Education and Care Services National Regulation 2011 (NSW).
https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2011/
MacNaughton, G. & Hughes, P. (2011) Parents and Professionals in Early Childhood
Settings. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2011.
Waniganayake, M., Cheesman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F. & Shepherd, W. (2012).
Leadership: Contexts and complexities in early childhood education. South
Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.