The Early Education Show

We discuss the new edition of The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood with Dr Red Ruby Scarlet, Tasha Huddy, Sharon Mathers and Rukmini Bose-Rhaman.

A discussion about the Family Matters Report 2020 with Sue-Anne Hunter.

We preview The Early Childhood Voices Conference with Dr Tamara Cumming, Professor Sue Dockett, Professor Bob Perry and Professor Gail Gillon

Early education is currently enjoying a higher political profile than usual. The first COVID-19 lockdown back in March and April saw the Government investing in free early education - but only temporarily. The Federal Opposition has made funding changes to early education the centrepiece of this year’s Budget in Reply. Community calls for greater access to more affordable early education are increasing. Amidst all that, a new advocacy project is trying to promote more, and smarter, investment in early childhood outcomes. We’ve seen lots of different advocacy campaigns - can Thrive By Five change Australia’s early education sector? To talk about Thrive By Five, and early education policy in Australia, we’re joined by the initiative’s CEO Jay Weatherill. Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

While there is no limit to the kinds of resources and materials that can be used to support the learning of young children, it’s hard to argue that the most important of all is books. The research is clear that immersing children in pre-literacy experiences such as reading with a trusted adult has dramatically positive impacts for them throughout their lives. It’s been a heavy year for the early education sector, so we’re going with a lighter look at children’s books and ask - which children’s books should every early education service have? We also take a look at the recent Budget announcements from the Federal Government, and the Federal Opposition’s early education reform plans. Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

Australia’s early education sector is about children’s learning and wellbeing in the first five years. Educators and teachers have qualifications and training that are focused on children’s education. Yet, the sector also plays a largely unofficial role in supporting families. This could be as simple as providing resources on parenting, to much larger and more complex roles with families that are particularly struggling. But we know that the sector, and those that work in it, aren’t even given enough support to do the job they’re qualified for. This episode, we’re going to ask the question - should early education services even be supporting families? Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

Social media users in Australia are some of the most active in the world. 60% of the country are active users of Facebook, with 50% of the population logging on at least once a day. In Australia, there are 16 million Facebook users per month, 15.5 million YouTube users, 9 million Instagram users and 5.8 million Twitter users. With such widespread usage it is not surprising that the use of social media in the education and care sector is huge. But is the sector’s use of social media a force for good or not? We thought it was time we explored the positives and negatives of social media use in the sector.  Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

A few weeks ago, we discussed the worsening COVID-19 situation in Victoria and how it was affecting services, children, families and professionals. Soon after we released that episode - things became even more intense. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declared a State of Disaster, and announced Australia’s toughest lockdown. Melbourne has effectively shut down, and early education services have once again faced a whole new world of policies and funding.   Given these changes, we wanted to come back to Victoria and see what this new situation means for the sector there. We’re joined by Sarah Riches (CEO of ECIA VIC/TAS) and Sarah Louise (Associate at Semann & Slattery).   Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been described as a “spotlight” - shining a bright light and illuminating the existing inequalities in our societies. Early education is no exception. While services have been fighting to survive a complex maze of last-minute funding changes, the focus has had to be on funding and economics. But existing social justice concerns haven’t disappeared, and may in fact be getting worse. To discuss how COVID-19 has changed the landscape for social justice and the early education sector, Lisa, Leanne and Liam are joined by Dr Red Ruby Scarlet (activist, early childhood teacher-researcher, consultant, speaker, artist, academic, and Creative Director of Multiverse) and Stephen Gallen (early childhood consultant and Director of Cawongla Community Preschool). Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

After a first wave that affected the entire country in March and April, COVID-19 cases are now particularly affecting Victoria. The Melbourne area is in lockdown, and early education services are finding themselves back in a situation where they are having to balance health and safety, financial viability and an uncertain funding arrangement. While most of the sector is focusing on just transitioning back to the Child Care Subsidy, many Victorian services are facing a much tougher battle.   Leanne and Liam are joined by Julie Price, the Executive Director of Community Child Care Victoria, and Tamika Hicks, the Director and owner of Cardinia Lakes Early Learning Centre.

Listen to three fantastic conversations that are part of University of Wollongong Early Start’s Expert Insight series, facilitated by Leanne Gibbs. The discussions include: Dr Gai Lindsay on children and the arts Associate Professor Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett and Professor Marc de Rosnay on how to support children’s emotions when the world is changing Dr Lyn Cronin on school transitions during COVID-19.   Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

COVID-19’s impact on the early education sector has meant that we’ve been having advocacy conversations that we didn’t expect to be having in 2020. The Government implemented free early education - for a short time. Early childhood educators were seen as frontline workers - but not supported properly. Will this be a brief moment before we get back to normal, or have things changed for good? Australia has had lots of changes to our early education system before, thanks in no small part to advocates and feminists who pushed for fairer and more equitable policies and systems. What does that history tell us about what’s happening today? To discuss that question, Lisa and Liam are joined by one of Australia’s leading advocates for social reform - Eva Cox.   Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

The Federal Education Minister has announced that the Child Care Subsidy system will be back on Monday July 13, along with a number of other new measures. From the Government’s perspective, the economy is getting back to normal, and the early education sector is first cab off the rank for “snapping back”. But the Government’s planned transition is complex and will require an already-strained sector to once again adjust to significant changes. What does this all mean for children, educators and families? Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

This episode, we’re bringing you the audio from an online Town Hall Meeting conducted by parent advocacy group The Parenthood on Tuesday the 26th of May. Lisa was invited to speak on the panel, alongside Danielle Wood, an economist from the Grattan Institute; Polly Dunning, a teacher and writer; and Jay Weatherill, the CEO of Thrive by Five.   The event was hosted the Parenthood’s campaign director Georgie Dent, and tackled a variety of important questions - including how families have been affected by the funding changes to the sector, what free ECEC would mean for Australia, how educators and the sectors can be better valued, and what we all need to do to work together as advocates during this time.   We’d like to thank The Parenthood and Georgie Dent for allowing us to re-broadcast this event - we think it’s great advocacy.   Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.

Like the rest of Australia, the early education sector has had to significantly change the way we operate over the last two months to managed COVID-19 risks. A lot of this time has been spent worrying about funding and financial security, but it’s also opened up opportunities for experimenting with new ways of working. This episode, we wanted to turn the conversation back to children and educators and hear from early education professionals about how children are responding to these changes. We’re bringing you a conversation with six people from the Northside Community Service team Liam works with, discussing the operational changes they’ve made and some of the unexpected results. That conversation is facilitated by psychologist and consultant Beth Macgregor. Find the full shownotes at earlyeducationshow.com.