Competency is something education and care services and. Understanding cultural competence NEWS AUTUMN 2014

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1 AUTUMN 2014 NEWS Understanding cultural competence This issue of Central News highlights examples of different services journeys towards cultural competence. Competency is something education and care services and educators strive for constantly. It is what a service must demonstrate to prove it is meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard, and what an educator trying to obtain a Certificate III or a Diploma has to prove. But there is a special type of competency that all services must achieve to deliver high quality education and care to all children cultural competency. Cultural competence is an essential practice of both the Early Years Learning Framework and the Framework for School Aged Care My Time, Our Place. It is based on the principle contained in both frameworks respect for diversity. Can educators and services ever truly become culturally competent? Many would say that achievement of this competency is always just beyond grasp. That is why the EYLF and My Time, Our Place educators guides describe cultural competency as a journey. This journey involves developing skills, gathering knowledge, and exploring and questioning attitudes. Why is cultural competence so important? For all human beings, culture is the basis of who we are as people. Children absorb their culture as they learn and grow. For education and care services, understanding and valuing cultural diversity is key to countering racism in our services and in the wider community. Children need to be supported to explore the uniqueness of their culture and identity, while also understanding the cultural diversity that exists in their service and in the world around them. Educators and services need to be able to recognise, value and draw on children s cultural backgrounds as well as helping children maintain their own languages while learning English. Above all, a service needs to support children to understand that being different does not make us better or worse than other people, but that all of our differences can be appreciated. Cultural competence is especially important in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Education and care services can help to recognise the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children s home cultures as crucial to their identity and developing a sense of self-worth. We must also work to ensure we recognise the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures as part of the cultural heritage of all Australians. CENTRAL AUTUMN 2014

2 RECONCILIATION h ROUND UP Are you financially literate? Are you comfortable with the part of your role as a service director, co-ordinator or management committee member that involves managing your service s finances? If you feel like you do not fully understand concepts such as cash and accrual accounting, or do not understand how to read those financial reports the service s administrator or treasurer hands you, this free video for community-based services may help. The video was produced by Network SA and funded by the Australian Government. It can be viewed here: Treasure trove of resources Have you checked out the new online resource library for education and care services run by the Professional Support Coordinators Alliance? Children s Services Central is a member of the Alliance, which operates under the Inclusion and Professional Support Program (IPSP). All resources in the library are free to download and include a wide range of topic areas and formats. Resources include videos, training packages, manuals, sample policies, selfguided learning packages, workbooks, reading materials and much more. The best part is all resources are free to download. Go to: Does your service receive funding from DEC? If your service receives funding from the NSW Department of Education and Communities and would like funding this year, you will be required to accept the 2014/2015 funding Children s Services Central is the Professional Support Co-ordinator in New South Wales and is an initiative funded by the Australian Government under the Inclusion and Professional Support Program. Children s Services Central is managed by a consortium of key organisations that resource and support the sectors of children s services in New South Wales. Children s Services Central Building 21, 142 Addison Road Marrickville NSW 2204 Tollfree telephone: Telephone: (02) Fax: (02) info@cscentral.org.au Web: ABN: agreement through the Department s new Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS). If your service is not registered for the ECCMS, you will not be able to receive your next funding payment. Nsw To discuss professional anything about development the system with DEC, phone If you are having trouble obtaining an Auskey Handbook BOOK ONLINE: (which you will need before you can register on the & calendar for EdUcatION and care services ECCMS), phone feb JUNE 2014 Wishing a workshop was closer to you? Ever found a workshop in the Children s Services Central The Inclusion and Professional Support Program is funded professional development handbook you by the Australian would Government have Department loved of Educationto attend, only to discover it is being held in another location? Do not despair! Contact Children s Services Central via at info@cscentral.org.au and if there is enough demand in your area, we will try to run the course again near you. You can also phone us on No jab, no play: is your register up to date? If you are caring for children below school age, please remember that early childhood education and care services cannot enrol a child unless the parent/guardian has provided documentation that shows the child: n is fully vaccinated for their age, or n has a medical reason not to be vaccinated, or n has a parent/guardian who has a conscientious objection to vaccination, or n is on a recognised catch-up schedule if their child has fallen behind with their vaccinations. Your education and care service needs to maintain an immunisation register recording the immunisation status of all enrolled children. The child s immunisation status must be recorded upon their initial enrolment in the service and at each immunisation milestone (i.e. two, four, six, 12 and 18 months, and three-and-a-half to four years). OSHC Services are exempt from these requirements. For more information, visit: toolkit-contents.aspx A Reconciliation Action Plan? St Andrew s Kindergarten is a 35-place preschool in the inner west of Sydney. Director Janette Bickley explains the service s process toward reconciliation. Our service has nine staff and one of the nine is Aboriginal. Through her influence, we have always had a strong Aboriginal focus in the program through the use of Aboriginal cultural resources such as books, music, puzzles and visitors (Aboriginal dancers and Aunty Wendy) but we were always concerned about how meaningful this approach was. The idea of developing our own Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) was a response to this concern and a way of meeting Quality Area 6 of the then National Quality Standards. We were fortunate enough to have strong contacts with a local government Aboriginal Consultative Committee who gave us guidance as to how to begin. We worked within the Reconciliation Australia framework of Relationships, Respect and Opportunities and wrote goals which we thought we could achieve within our environment. All of our staff were involved at staff meetings in the process and our committee was regularly updated and involved through a special Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) and RAP section added to the monthly director s report. The most challenging part was communicating the reasons for wanting to write a RAP plan to stakeholders some committee members did not initially fully understand the benefits to the children of having a strong Aboriginal perspective in our program. We pushed on, however. Identifying our goals In each of the three areas of Relationships, Respect and Opportunities, we have a particular focus on reconciliation and from there we wrote our specific goals. In most instances, these were very simple steps in developing relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in an organisation that had very few existing relationships. Having a visual presence was one of our first goals with things like: n purchasing artwork from a local Aboriginal artist (money sought from a grant) for our new reception area n having the Aboriginal word for welcome from the Wangal clan (our original local custodians) on our entrance door n having an acknowledgement and the Aboriginal flag alongside the Australian flag at the beginning of our Parent Information booklet. Other goals also included establishing a relationship with Aboriginal Employment Strategies to create opportunities for Aboriginal educators to be employed within our service when opportunities arose. We sent a draft of our RAP to Reconciliation Australia, seeking endorsement and as a way of ensuring that protocols were being met. Reconciliation Australia was very helpful in giving us advice and, after a few changes to the draft, we had a RAP that was formally endorsed in December We were able then to use the Reconciliation Australia logo on our RAP as an official endorsement. Their website is also very useful in Artwork by noted Aboriginal artist Bronwyn Bancroft for the reception area. keeping up to date with current issues and has lots of helpful information. We all believe now that our RAP has definitely been beneficial to our organisation. It has become part of our overall Quality Improvement Plan and was included in the documents for our first ever assessment and ratings visit in February We believe it has given everyone a much deeper understanding of issues surrounding reconciliation but, more importantly, has helped us develop strong, secure and respectful relationships with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and given our children a deeper understanding of Aboriginal people and culture. We are now working to ensure it continues. The Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program is a process through which organisations and companies develop business plans that document what they will do to contribute to reconciliation in Australia. A Reconciliation Action Plan outlines the practical actions that an organisation will take to build strong relationships and enhanced respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. Reconciliation Australia says, put simply, the RAP program is about working with organisations across Australia to turn their good intentions into real actions. Are you interested in doing a Reconciliation Action Plan for your service? Go to: 2 CENTRAL AUTUMN 2014 CENTRAL AUTUMN

3 Cultural competence Cultural competence: A Bicultural Support perspective Everyone has his or her own unique interpretation of what cultural competence means, but in a Bicultural Support context, cultural competence is the ability to see life beyond our own existence. By Meni Tsambouniaris, Co-ordinator Bicultural Support. Bicultural Support workers play a major role in assisting services to be aware of the need for and to become more culturally competent. They are a unique human resource, setting the scene and planting the seeds of cultural competence in education and care settings. Services invite Bicultural Support workers to share cultures that make up their educational and wider communities. By introducing their culture and language through specific cultural activities and in their day-to-day interactions within services which promote inclusive practices, Bicultural Support workers help to promote and instil the strong sense of positive cultural identity which is essential to children s sense of who they are and where they belong. Accessing Bicultural Support enables the education and care sector and educators to unpack and embrace cultural competence. What Bicultural Support workers do: n Bicultural Support workers challenge educators to become more aware of their own view of culture and what it means to them, as well as helping develop positive Hoa Thi Tran from Bicultural Support (reading) with staff and children from Bankstown Multicultural Children s Centre. attitudes towards cultural differences. Bicultural Support workers also support services to develop and acquire skills for communication and interaction across cultures. n Bicultural Support workers demonstrate cultural competence at an individual level by introducing and sharing their culture with children, families and educators. Their presence at services and the underpinning philosophy behind Bicultural Support, has the flow-on effect of getting educators to think about their own values, beliefs and attitudes related to culture, diversity, similarities and differences. This enables educators to face any bias they may hold. n Bicultural Support can also support services to undertake cultural audits, ensure policies and procedures reflect culturally competent and inclusive practices, and embrace cultural competency at all levels through professional development and access to resources. n Bicultural Support workers also help services become more culturally competent at the systems level there have been many good news stories, for example, of Aboriginal Bicultural Support workers supporting services to better relate and connect with their local community and agencies. Services have, for example, invited local Aboriginal Elders to the centre on an ongoing basis to authentically share their culture, stories, language and foods. n Bicultural Support also promotes cultural competence through introducing and promoting diversity, regardless of whether there are culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) or Aboriginal children and families accessing a service. Having a Bicultural Support worker at a service is a cultural awareness and cultural competence exercise in itself. I recently asked a handful of Bicultural Support workers: How do you, as a Bicultural Support worker, work with education and care services to enhance cultural competency? These are some of the responses: Many years of working in children s services as a Bicultural Support worker/consultant has enabled me to acquire the knowledge, skills and the insight to understand culture and diversity. I believe we are culturally diverse. I fully appreciate the influence and impact by which culture shapes our daily lives and I reinforce this with the services I work with. I also encourage them to reflect on the importance of differentiating between culture and aspiring to be culturally competent. By implementing culturally appropriate Celebrating Sinhala New Year at family day care Cultural competency isn t always just about being alert to the varying cultures of the children in your service. Sometimes, it is about ensuring that children are introduced to the cultural background of their educators. Although important in all service types, this is especially important in family day care settings where children are in educators own homes. Domanee Premachandra, a family day care educator registered with Leichhardt Family Day Care, makes special efforts in this area. Domanee s cultural background is Sinhalese. The Sinhalese people form one of the largest ethnic groups of Sri Lanka. activities such as music, songs, stories, utilising and promoting home language, respecting diverse child-rearing practices and expanding this awareness/knowledge to the children, educators, and the families we may come into contact with, I believe I have enhanced service s awareness and cultural competence. Access, exposure or deliverance of our cultures (be it nationality, ethnic origin, religion, child-rearing practices) helps bring to the forefront individual attributes of each Bicultural Support worker, or early childhood educator. This helps pave a united path to cultural competence for the early education and care sector. Bicultural Support is a great resource when it comes to supporting education and care services to become culturally competent places for children. Bicultural Support workers and consultants provide services with invaluable information about language and culture as they have the understanding, values, knowledge, skills, resources and professional practice needed to work effectively with children and families from diverse backgrounds. Lastly, recent feedback received through the eyes of a child on the impact that Bicultural Support had on them really summed up cultural competence for me. The child said: It is good that you can understand me, because it is very funny that the other staff can t understand, and I have to talk very simply and explain to them Domanee believes that awareness of differing cultures helps children to appreciate the differences in people and their traditions. She also thinks such awareness helps children respect and be tolerant of those from cultures differing from their own. Domanee actively shares her Sinhala culture with the children she cares for as an integral part of daily routines and activities. Many Sinhalese artefacts are on display in her home and she often plays Sinhala music during the day. This enables Domanee to teach the children Sinhala dances. The children she cares for have access to picture books from Sri Lanka and Domanee teaches the children to count from one to 10 in Sinhala. Cooking activities sometimes involve cooking kiribath, which is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice and milk, similar to a rice pudding. Domanee ensures all the children in her care can participate in Sinhalese New Year celebrations, known as Aluth Avurudda, which is an important national holiday for the cultures of the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka. All Domanee s families are invited to participate in the traditional Sinhala New Year celebrations with her family. She provides the children with traditional clothing to dress for the occasion. Kiribath is cooked and served as the first meal of the new year and each child greets their family in the traditional way with a betel leaf. Domanee has also organised this breakfast at the family day care play session where other educators children participated. Domanee believes that involving children and their families in celebrations such as these enables the families to form a community of friends that support each other and their children. Domanee also celebrates special days and holidays from a range of cultures, as well as her own, to ensure the children she cares for know there are many cultural traditions that people celebrate in Australia and across the world. 4 CENTRAL AUTUMN 2014 CENTRAL AUTUMN

4 Cultural competence Cultural competence Community in Practice (Sister Service) Project lives on Children s Services Central takes a look back at the origins and success of the Community in Practice (Sister Service) Project. While it has evolved into a new program with a new name, the spirit of the project, to connect education and care services with Aboriginal communities, lives on in the program s new Yarnin Circle format. By Judy McKay Tempest, from IPSU (NSW/ACT). IPSU (NSW/ACT) is managed by Gowrie NSW. In 2010, Children s Services Central funded the Indigenous Professional Support Unit (NSW/ACT) to facilitate a project, the Sister Service Project, to engage Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal early childhood educators in professional learning through a communities in practice model. The project was based on an earlier project run by Gowrie NSW for three Multifunctional Aboriginal Children s Services (MACS). Children s Services Central and the IPSU (NSW/ACT) worked collaboratively with Inclusion Support Agencies in specific regions to provide a sister service opportunity, partnering six NSW Aboriginal community-controlled MACS, long day care and playgroup services with community-based non- Aboriginal early childhood education and care service in the same local area. The Community in Practice Sister Service project aimed to: n promote a local focus on closing the gap in early childhood education and care services n provide professional development for participants n develop best practice models for inclusive practice and cultural competency n improve/develop new strategies for the recruitment and retention of staff in remote, disadvantaged and diverse communities n establish ongoing communities of practice that would be sustained after completion of the project. The services that participated were: n Albury Family Day Care (Albury) n Amy Hurd Child Care Centre (Wagga Wagga) n Gujaga MACS (La Perouse, Sydney) n Koori Kindermanna Aboriginal Playgroup and Preschool (Albury) n Mitchell Early Learning Centre (Bathurst) n North Cowra Children s Centre (Cowra) n Plumpton Long Day Care (Bidwill) n Tigger s Honeypot Childcare Centre (Randwick, Sydney) n Towri MACS (Bathurst) n Wiradjuri MACS (Wagga Wagga) n Yalbillinga Boori MACS (Cowra) n Yawarra Community and Child Care Centre (Bidwill). So, what happened in the Sister Service project? The services in each community joined together for a range of combined activities such as joint staff meetings, staff exchange opportunities and combined training sessions so participants could be in environments and undertake activities that would enable the mutual exchange of ideas, stories and experiences between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal educators. Did the project work? All participants found their experiences helped to break down cultural barriers and to give them the confidence to re-examine the cultural safety and competency of their own programs for all children and families. Participants had many practical opportunities to share their ideas and education and care practices and to learn from the successes and challenges experienced by their sister service. The project provided educators with opportunities to create ongoing networks between sister services to allow for the future exchange of ideas and support. Of course, the project wasn t without challenges. Logistical difficulties in carrying out planned staff swaps were problematic. Services didn t always have the same staff qualifications and unanticipated staff changes often arose! However, these challenges were overcome by adapting this aspect of the project to allow for the sister services to arrange for mutually appropriate opportunities to bring educators and children together in other real and meaningful ways. Moreover, by working together to create these meeting and sharing opportunities, educators were able to gain a stronger understanding of the specific circumstances and needs of their sister service. Today, the project is called Making Connections with Aboriginal Communities: Yarnin Circles. These Yarnin Circles provide an opportunity for educators to talk up issues that they may have faced in making connections with their local Aboriginal community and/or an opportunity to share how educators have made connections. Sessions are run by the Indigenous Professional Support Unit (NSW/ACT) for Children s Services Central. For information, please contact IPSU (NSW/ACT) on their tollfree number: Walking the land together Ngroo Education was established to improve opportunities for Aboriginal children to participate in early childhood education and care. Ngroo runs workshops to increase the service s ability to create culturally safe and welcoming places and ultimately increase the number of Aboriginal children at the service. The workshops Ngroo offers include: Walking Together Walking in Circles: Who Are We, Who Are You? Walking the Land Together Walking Backwards: Barriers Facing Aboriginal People Does the Shoe Fit? How to Include Inclusion. Ngroo also provides services with ongoing mentoring and engagement with local Aboriginal communities. For more information, go to: Need to know (more) Many great publications and resources exist to help education and care services travel along the path of cultural competency. NQS PLP e-newsletter No Setting the scene Cultural competence stories about work in progress Note: This e-newsletter builds on information in several publications: Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2010). Cultural competence and The Journey for educators: Growing competence in working with Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, Educators belonging, being and becoming: Educators guide to the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra, ACT: DEEWR. Goodwin, J. (2012). Indigenous culture: It s everybody s business. Every Child, 18(1) p. 3. Connor, J. (2011). Understanding cultural competence. ECA EYLF PLP e-newsletter, No.7. If you are beginning to explore cultural competence and what it means for your work, you may want to review these articles before reading this e-newsletter. Cultural competence, a Practice in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), is a complex concept that informs all aspects of the operation of an early childhood setting. It is defined as: A set of congruent behaviours, attitudes and policies that come together in a system, agency or among professionals that enable them to work together effectively in cross-cultural settings. (Tong and Cross in VACCA 2008, quoted on p. 23, in the Educators Guide to the EYLF, p. 21). All seven Quality Areas in the National Quality Standard (NQS) require cultural competence, particularly those aspects of practice that relate directly to interactions, communication and relationships with children, families and colleagues. Cultural competence includes: being aware of your own culture and world views and how they influence your practice respecting and valuing different ways of knowing, seeing and living honouring differences appreciating the centrality of culture in children s belonging, being and becoming continually learning about different cultural practices and world views supporting and encouraging children s developing cultural competence learning to communicate in effective and respectful ways with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. (Adapted from EYLF, p. 16) The term culture encompasses not only ethnicity, but also other dimensions of identity and the ways we live our lives: What is culture? Culture can be defined as what we create beyond our biology. Not given to us, but made by us (Williams, in MacNaughton, 2003, p. 14). Using this definition, culture incorporates the scope of human diversity and ways of being, such as gender, ethnicity, class, religions, ability, age, and sexuality. (DEEWR, 2010, p. 22). Understanding Cultural Competence and Stories About Work in Progress These are Early Childhood Australia s (ECA) Professional Learning Program s e-newsletters (pictured above). These are an easy read for all educators to learn about what cultural competence is and read about what other services are doing. Deadly Cards The Deadly Cards are a vibrant collection of 64 cards designed to assist educators to explore cultural competence through facilitated conversation, or yarning. The cards produced by the Workforce Council in Queensland, encourage personal engagement in understanding the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inclusion. 1 Making Connections with Aboriginal Communities Who are the traditional custodians of the land on which your education and care service stands? Can families identify with their Aboriginal culture in your care environment? How do you form links with your local Aboriginal communities? How do you find out what Aboriginal events are celebrated in your community? What is the language spoken by the traditional custodians of the land? Do you use these languages on the welcome sign in your education and care service? Do you have an enrolment/ orientation process and resources available to gather cultural information from families? Contact your Inclusion Support Agency (ISA) for further support in including and engaging with Aboriginal communities. The Inclusion and Professional Support Program is an initiative funded by the Australian Government to resource and support eligible child care services. Engaging with Aboriginal Communities Where do we start? Educators recognise that diversity contributes to the richness of our society and provides a valid evidence base about ways of knowing. For Australia it also includes promoting greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being. Make contacts with your local Aboriginal community If you do not have any contacts or direct links with your local Aboriginal community, a good starting point is to contact either the Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) or Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG). For further information go to: or Find out who the Traditional Custodians of your area are and the language spoken Making contact with the LALC or the AECG should help with finding out the Traditional Custodians of your area. Your local council may also have this information. To access an Aboriginal map go to: Find out what land or nations your families have connections with Children are connected to family, a culture, the land, water and the wider community before they are born. So it is important for educators to develop relationships and discuss with the family what land or nation their family has connections with. This will create a greater sense of belonging for children and families. Provide opportunities for families to identify with the Aboriginal culture in your care environment Take a walk through your education and care service; reflect on the entrance, indoor and outdoor environments. What do you see? Does your education and care service show you value Aboriginal culture? Investigate what the tribal names are of the local traditional custodians and display them. Include Aboriginal language on welcome signs. Use language, songs, games and stories from the local area in learning experiences. Engaging with Aboriginal Communities: Where do we start? These Inclusion and Professional Support Program sheets (pictured above) provide clear and easy steps for services that are not Aboriginal to follow to engage with their local Aboriginal communities. Fact Sheets for out-of-school hours care services Resources for cultural competence relating to out-of-school hours care services can be found at: (Belonging, Being and Becoming Commonwealth of Australia 2009, P.13) The Inclusion and Professional Support Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. For links to all these resources, please go to: 6 CENTRAL AUTUMN 2014 CENTRAL AUTUMN

5 Central is published by Children s Services Central ISSN Editor Lisa Bryant Production ARMEDIA Manager Children s Services Central Carolyn McGuinness Children s Services Central is the Professional Support Co-ordinator in New South Wales. The Inclusion and Professional Support Program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education. Children s Services Central: Building 21, 142 Addison Road, Marrickville NSW 2204 Phone: (02) Fax: (02) Tollfree: info@cscentral.org.au Web: Need to know (cont.) Why culture matters for children s development and wellbeing Contents f Diversity in Australia f What is cultural diversity? f Diversity and belonging f How does diversity influence children s mental health? f Challenges that may affect children and families from culturally diverse backgrounds Diversity in Australia Our community in Australia is diverse. Census figures now show that 27% of the resident Australian population were born overseas (ABS, 2011). In addition, 20% of Australians have at least one parent who was born overseas (ABS, 2011), and the number of languages spoken at home by Australians is more than 400 (ABS, 2009) Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Australia therefore have contact with families from many different cultural backgrounds Humans are cultural beings We learn to communicate and understand our world through the context of our languages, traditions, behaviours, beliefs and values. Our cultural experiences and values shape the way we see ourselves and what we think is important When individuals are part of a cultural group, we learn the ways of that culture (e g, behaviour and beliefs), which enable us to feel like we belong to our community. Cultural perspectives also influence how we parent, how we understand children, how we help them grow up and how we teach them new skills f Developing relationships f The role of early childhood education and care services Cultural Connections Booklet Migration has contributed to the richness in diversity of cultures, ethnicities and races in Australia. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2011) Reflecting a nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, (No ) Canberra: Author Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2009) Yearbook Australia, : Characteristics of the population (No ) Canberra: Author Professional Support Coordinator Why culture matters for children s development and wellbeing 1 Cultural Connections Booklet This booklet prepared by Child Australia (the Professional Support Co-ordinator for Western Australia and the Northern Territory) contains fantastic practical examples, stories, reflective questions and staff exercises for education and care services looking to become more culturally competent. Kids Matter Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resource portal This portal has more resources than anyone could ever use! Check out Working with Aboriginal People and Communities, a practical resource, put out by NSW Department of Community Services, which provides great practice tips for communicating with Aboriginal Communities. Information for families and early childhood educators Component 1 Creating a sense of community Why culture matters for children s development and wellbeing Produced by Kids Matter Early Childhood, this resource outlines how early childhood and education services can play a critical role in supporting and engaging children and families from cultural backgrounds. Early Years Learning Framework for Australia Framework for School Age Care in Australia. Both of these publications were developed to assist educators to implement the Learning Frameworks in their service. Both the Frameworks and these guides are designed to engage educators in critical thinking, reflection and inquiry. EDUCATORS BELONGING, BEING & BECOMING EARLY YEARS LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOR AUSTRALIA Educators My Time, Our Place EDUCATORS GUIDE TO THE FRAMEWORK FOR SCHOOL AGE CARE IN AUSTRALIA For links to all these resources, please go to: 8 CENTRAL AUTUMN 2014