Early Learning Association Australia

Today is .
At ELAA, we emphasise the importance of being proactive in checking in on others, any day of the year. It’s essential to introduce these values from a young age:

In a kindergarten environment, educators can foster empathy, communication, and emotional intelligence, by showing children that it's okay to talk about their feelings and that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Parents can also play a crucial role by creating an open dialogue at home, where children feel safe to express their emotions. Simple routines like family check-ins at dinner or bedtime can make a significant difference in a child's emotional well-being.

Together, we can create a culture where everyone feels supported, understood, and cared for, every day of the year.

👉 Explore R U OK’s website for valuable resources tailored for Early Childhood educators: https://bit.ly/3MGrt7C

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers can apply for a grant to help qualified staff to complete training that adds to their skills. Named the Professional Development Subsidy, it covers one day of training for your qualified ECEC staff. Applications are now open and will be closed on Friday 20 September 2024.

👉 Please apply through the government’s grants portal: https://www.secure-portal.com.au/ececgrants

If you need assistance with the application, please email [email protected] or call the hotline on 03 9917 7865, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm (AEST).

For more information on this subsidy, please refer to Department of Education’s website: https://bit.ly/4ggBqpX

Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT): complete your annual registration by 30 September ⏰

All teachers are required to complete the annual registration process by 30 September each year to maintain their registration. The annual registration process applies to all registration categories. This year teachers will receive their annual registration notifications via email, with subsequent reminders via email and SMS. Only those who opted-in for a paper invoice will receive notifications via mail.

👉 For more information, please refer to VIT's annual registration information page, which provides teachers with all the information they require to complete their tasks (including a ‘how to’ guide and video, FAQs and more): https://bit.ly/3XkkMgD

Applications are now open for funding to support provisionally registered early childhood teachers (PRTs) to move to full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
Approved providers of early childhood services in Victoria can apply for funding of $2,872 (excluding GST) per eligible PRT they wish to support.

Applications close at 5 pm (AEST) on Friday 20 September 2024. To find out more, please visit https://www.vic.gov.au/early-childhood-provisionally-registered-teacher-prt-grants-program

We are thrilled to present the 2024 Early Childhood Awards at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, 21 November 2024. We will celebrate exceptional achievements across three inspiring award categories:

🏆 Emerging Leader Award
🏆 Organisation Innovation Award
🏆 Volunteer of the Year Award

More in ELAAvate:

◻️ Celebrate Early Childhood Educator’s Day, we reflect the vital role of employers play in fostering professionalism and respect in your workplace
◻️ Early Childhood Provisionally Registered Teacher Grants: applications are now open
◻️ (member exclusive) Understanding the new “Wage Theft” laws
◻️Teachers: complete your annual registration by 30 September
◻️ Free Drop-in session: master your Committee Recruitment and Retention
◻️ The crucial role of recording keeping during recruitment and onboarding
◻️ SAEW Project: sign up for upcoming webinars
◻️ Gowrie Victoria: Coaching for Returning Teachers and Educators Program
◻️ We are hiring: Payroll Adviser.

📰 Read this week’s ELAAvate: https://bit.ly/3XaoSI5

Professionalism and respect aren’t just values we hope to see - they’re the foundation of a thriving environment where both educators, teachers and children can flourish ✨

🔗 Read the full article: https://elaa.org.au/news/professionalism-and-respect-in-your-workplace/

This week is National Child Protection Week. At ELAA, the safety and wellbeing of children will always be our top priority. One example of this commitment is our rigorous Use of Children's Image policy. We’ve been reviewing this policy as we prepare to commence our photo replenishment project 📸

We encourage you and your service to use this opportunity to reflect on and review your child safety policies. Join us and Napcan in this year's efforts to promote child protection and ensure that every child is safe and supported.

Join us in celebrating Day to support our rainbow youth 🌈💜 Today, at ELAA we are showing our support by wearing purple and indulging in some delicious themed cupcakes. Let's stand together for inclusion and diversity!

We are seeking a part-time Payroll Advisor to join our team.

The Payroll Advisor will offer expert payroll advice to our members and other early childhood service providers. In this role within our supportive Members' Solutions team, the focus is on delivering precise, timely, and top-notch payroll guidance via phone and email, as well as developing pertinent payroll resources.

🔗 Click for more details about the position: https://www.seek.com.au/job/78300360
(Applications close on September 22).

If you think this role suits someone you know, tag them in the comments below 👇

Explore Kadink's Early Learning Range: 🔗 https://bit.ly/474wIYn
Designed for young children and pre-schoolers, ELAA preferred partner Officeworks, offers a wide range of educational products to help inspire children to think creatively and reach new heights 🌈✨

If you are an ELAA member, Officeworks provides exclusive business pricing on everyday items that you purchase for your business. Find out more: 🔗https://bit.ly/4fXKNL5

ECEC leaders (Presidents, CEOs, Service/Centre directors), have your say on teacher registration and certification and participate in The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL)'s virtual workshop on Tuesday, 27 August.

Join AITSL to discuss teacher registration and certification under the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The workshop will be delivered via MS Teams on Tuesday 27 August at the times below depending on your location:
▪️ 4.30pm – 5.30pm AEST
▪️ 4.00pm – 5.00pm ACST
▪️ 2.30pm – 3.30pm AWST

For more information, please contact the AITSL team at [email protected].

Starting this week, ELAAvate will switch to a fortnightly release schedule to offer more engaging and relevant content. We’d love to hear how your service is making a difference, improve access for children, make families feel welcome and prepare children for school and beyond. 🏆You could go into the running to win a $100 Bunnings gift card!

More in ELAAvate:

◻️ Member exclusive online workshop: Decoding the Grant Application - Bush Kinder Grants
◻️ Arrival: new kindergarten enrolment and attendance system from January 2025
◻️ Committee of Management: understanding your role as an employer and when to consider engage an independent industrial relations specialist
◻️ AITSL consultation workshop: have your say on teacher registration and certification
◻️ VIT’s Early Childhood Teacher Evidence Guide

📰 Read ELAAvate: https://bit.ly/3SZM2iS

👉 Don't navigate change alone - reach out to us today to discover how the Employment and Onboarding Guide can make a difference for your organisation.

Workplaces are dynamic and constantly evolving. Naturally, these evolutions can and do impact employees in the organisation. If your organisation is currently undergoing or may undertake periods of significant change, it is critical to navigate such periods with the correct procedures.

ELAA’s new Employment and Onboarding Guide has comprehensive information and templates on how navigate this involved process:

Employment and Onboarding Guide - Annual Subscription - Early Learning Association Australia Benefits of a strong employment and onboarding approach influences retention, lowering turnover rates, and enhancing overall employee satisfaction. ELAA's latest Employment and Onboarding Guide aims to simplify and strengthen this process for you. This thorough guide covers various topics and templa...

Follow the link to find out more about 's Consultancy services
🔗 https://bit.ly/3yEhIkh

Join us for a powerful and informative free guest speaker session designed to help early childhood educators empower families within their services. 🌟

Hosted by two incredible organisations, Link Health and Community and the Association for Children with Disability - ACD, this webinar is perfect for early childhood educators who are looking to strengthen their understanding of the NDIS Early Childhood Approach, build connections with key community resources, and find new ways to advocate for and empower the families they work with.

👉Secure your spot today! https://tinyurl.com/3m32fwb8

To learn more about the SAEW Project and sign up: https://elaa.org.au/saew-project/

In this week’s edition of ELAAvate, our Fair Work Law Change series looks at the new definitions of casual employment. We explore what this means for you as an employer and what are the considerations for converting casual employees to permanent employment.

More in ELAAvate:

◻️ Make the most of your Bunnings Warehouse Australia PowerPass membership benefits
◻️ Exploring Early Years Managemen: a path to sustainable kindergarten operations
◻️ Be You: free mental health and wellbeing resource dedicated to the educational community
◻️ Apply now for the Victorian Government's Building Blocks Grant - Improvement (IT).

📰 Read ELAAvate: https://bit.ly/4dB1lq8

Did you know offers a Capability Assessment Support Program?
🔗Click https://bit.ly/3wdBceN to learn more.

By transitioning to an EYM, your kindergarten can continue to deliver high quality programs with less administrative burden on staff and parent volunteers.

👉 Access our free EYM Transition Guide and learn more: https://bit.ly/3Aa48Z3

Ready to deepen your understanding of the Arts in early childhood education?
Join us for an insightful webinar that delves deeper into Foundational Practice: The Arts eLearning module, exploring how the Arts can enrich a play-based environment within an Early Childhood setting. 🌟

Led by expert teachers, Julie London and Jade Dunne from Gowrie Victoria, this session will unpack the definition of the "Arts" and highlight the numerous benefits they bring to young learners.

🖌️ You’ll gain practical examples, tools, and strategies to enhance your teaching practice and create a vibrant, creative atmosphere in your classroom. 🎨

🎵🎭 Let’s come together to explore the boundless possibilities of the Arts in early childhood education.
Secure your spot today! https://tinyurl.com/545db6ca

Sunday, 4 August, is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day.

At , we encourage service providers to join us in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and learn about the importance of culture, family, and community in every child's life.

👉 Visit SNAICC-National Voice for our Children's website for some great resources and activities: https://tinyurl.com/3xep7dw3

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In this week’s edition of ELAAvate, we kick off our Fair Work Law Change series with an article on employees’ right to disconnect. We explore what this means for you as an employer and how it could impact your workplace.

More in ELAAvate:

◻️ Meet our BSBL Reform advisor Leanne Rodriguez
◻️️ Book your ticket for our ECEC-specific OHS training
◻️️ Celebrating National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day
◻️️ Victorian Government’s Building Blocks Grant Inclusion stream, application close in a month’s time.

📰 Read ELAAvate: https://tinyurl.com/3ddn4cxy

Last week at ELAA, we had a member content brainstorming session. Led by our interim CEO Tim Watts and joined by staff from our member solutions team, our Best Start Best Life team, and our communications team, we explored three key questions: Who is our audience? What do they care about? What are their preferred formats for content? We bounced ideas around and had a productive discussion, focusing on delivering valuable content in the formats our audience prefers.

Stay tuned for more updates and tailored content that meet your needs.

👇 Comment below on what content you would like to see more from ELAA. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us create resources that best serve our community 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦✨

Look no further!
Presented by ELAA in partnership with the Victorian Department of Education, this drop-in session offers the support you need in navigating change management within your Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) service.

Some staff might embrace the new with excitement and enthusiasm, while others might show signs of resistance, fear, or anxiety. If you’re encountering diverse reactions from your early childhood teachers and educators when introducing changes, we can help.
👉 Book your spot today: https://tinyurl.com/2nstvf2y

📣 About our presenters:
ELAA’s Member Solutions team bring specialist skills and extensive experience to these sessions. With background in management of early childhood services, industrial relations, human resource and early childhood teaching, they understand the challenges that committees of management face.

More in ELAAvate:

◻️ Upcoming Fair Work law changes
◻️ How to recruit effectively for your CoM
◻️ Starting out Safely: download your multilingual resources for educators and families
◻️ A new approach to employment and onboarding in the ECEC sector
◻️ New early childhood learning trajectories animated videos from AERO.

📰Read ELAAvate: https://bit.ly/3SoCQ7r

People are at the centre of every successful Early Childhood Education and Care organisation. Empower your employees to reach their full potential with ELAA’s Employment and Onboarding Guide. The Professional Development chapter talks about why professional development is so important for both your employees and your organisation.

👉 Contact us today to learn more about the Employment and Onboarding Guide or visit our website: https://bit.ly/4cverWq

This free session will guide you through planning your Annual General Meeting (AGM) and ensuring a seamless handover to the new committee.

We'll cover key topics like constitutional requirements, committee recruitment, and planning the meeting. You'll also get tips on setting up the agenda, preparing reports, and running committee elections. Plus, we'll share strategies to encourage attendance.

We'll also dive into the handover process, focusing on preparation, key information to pass on, and the handover meeting itself.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable insights and make your AGM a success.
👉 Sign up now to secure your spot and learn how to make the transition smooth and effective: https://bit.ly/3VH8U7x

In this week’s ELAAvate:

◻️ (Member exclusive) July wage bulletins now live
◻️ ELAA welcomes ACECQA’s new guidance on using personal electronic devices in the ECEC sector
◻️ DE (Vic)’s new evidence factsheet to build understanding of the Best Start, Best Life reforms
◻️ Upcoming OHS training: Safety – Not Child’s Play– VIT’s employer webinar: Manage and monitor teacher registration compliance: VIT’s employer webinar.

🔗 Read ELAAvate: https://bit.ly/468OVDA