Report: Exemplary teachers: reflections, comparisons, and implications for practice

Report: Exemplary teachers: reflections, comparisons, and implications for practice

Abstract

Early Childhood Education and Care have evolved, and the National Law and Regulations has played a significant role in ensuring that care centers operate within the set laws. There are prescribed roles and responsibilities for the educators and the care leaders to ensure that children get the best from the facilities. Also, there are essential leadership and management qualities that are required of a care leader for the facility to deliver quality care and education. The report highlights some of the roles and responsibilities of Approved Providers as well as Nominated Supervisors while also relating the duties to those of management. The report finds that Approved providers and Nominated Supervisors play an almost similar role to that of the management. The report further looks into some of the Quality Areas that are important in care centers and their importance to the facilities. It takes into account Quality Area 3 and 7 in its analysis

1. Introduction

Early Childhood Education and Care plays a significant role in human development. It has evolved in many aspects to accommodate the different needs of children. However, the change has never been easy because it makes Early Childhood Education and Cares more sophisticated hence the need to have a proper leadership perspective that can make it a success (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) (2011). Educators are not finding it easy because of the ever-changing environment. In case an educator intends to proceed to the leadership role, it is crucial to be able to accept the challenges that come with higher positions. National Quality Framework (NQF) has been at the forefront, pushing for significant roles that are pertinent to early childhood education and care (Cornish, 2012).

Legal and governance leadership responsibilities of the approved provider and nominated Supervisor are critical for the success of the community-based education and care provider. There are also legal and policy requirements in different areas of the organization (Cheeseman, 2011). However, this report will look at the two areas, which are the physical environment and the leadership and service management. Besides, the report will highlight some of the essential management and leadership strategies that help in ensuring that the service provided complies with legal, professional and ethical responsibilities in Children’s Health and Safety (ACECQA, 2011).

Physical environment and leadership and service management are two quality areas that promote a positive culture within the organization. The physical environment and the leadership are dependent on those attending the setting as well as the local community, and for the leadership, NQF insists on a flexible approach that can ensure that the organization does not only excel but also develops (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). Approved providers and nominated Supervisors must have practical leadership skills and be committed to their roles to ensure that children get the highest quality education and care.

1. Overview of the Roles and Responsibilities of the Key Stakeholders

Critical stakeholders in Early Childhood Education and Care are the Approved Provider and the Nominated Supervisor.

Approved Provider

An Approved Provider provides child care to its services or rather the governing management of the service and is responsible for satisfying obligations stipulated under the Commonwealth and state laws such as complying with Family Assistance law and ensuring proper background check (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). National Law and Regulations highlights some of the roles and responsibilities of an Approved Provider. Generally, the roles and responsibilities are related to the management and the operations of the service, and they work alongside the Nominated Supervisors to achieve the service objectives (ACECQA, 2011). Approved provider’s roles are centered around the health and safety, staffing, and documentation processes. Under health and safety, Approved Provider ensures health, hygiene, and food safety and that drinking water and food is regular and nutritious. Also, the Approved Provider has the responsibility of ensuring that children can sleep well, the environment is drug-free, parents get notice of any illness, and prevention of the spread of any infectious disease (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). Also, provision of First aid kits, carrying out risk assessments, promote rehearsal of emergency plans, proper ventilation of indoor spaces, and allowing parents to enter the promise any time. The provider further ensures adequacy in toilets and handwashing facilities and that unauthorized people are not allowed into the premises.

A certified supervisor carries out day-to-day operations, provide access to a telephone for communication, provide responsibilities to the staff, design an educational leader, staff take reasonable precaution to protect children from harm, frequent supervision of teachers, stays on site all times or gets someone such as a Nominated Supervisor to ensure that children are there and safe. Staff ought to get the necessary pieces of training on the children’s rights and development as well as other pieces of training, such as first aid and asthma pieces of training (ACECQA, 2011). The pieces of training are essential in ensuring that the children are well taken care of in case of any emergency. Finally, under documentation, Approved Provider ought to document children’s evaluations, program and menu, policies and procedures, enrolment records, attendance record, emergency plans, incidences, and injuries as well as keeping evidence of insurance on-premises.

Nominated Supervisor

Nominated Supervisors get approval from the Approved Providers, and when nominated, they must complete child protection training. They usually have several responsibilities as outlined under the National Law and National Regulations, such as the provision of educational programs, supervision, and safety of children and staffing, among others (ACECQA, 2011). Nominated Supervisor must ensure that the educational programs are based on approved learning framework, development needs and are designed to take into account the individual differences. They are also expected to conduct supervision and safety of children by ensuring that they are not exposed to inappropriate discipline (Cornish, 2012). Concerning entry to and exit from the premises, the nominated Supervisors ensure that children do not leave the premises except in accordance to the prescribed law and that parents can enter unless the parent pauses risk to the safety of children or the Supervisor is aware that the parent is not allowed to enter the premises.

Also, Nominated Supervisors ensure adequate health and hygiene practices when handling food, safe drinking water, and ensuring that food and beverages are nutritious, adequate, and chosen about dietary requirements (Cheeseman, 2011). They further have the responsibility of conducting a risk assessment as per the regulations before excursions. In staffing, Nominated Supervisors enforce the educator to child ratio requirements. Only children authorized medications are allowed in the service, but in case of emergency, and it is administered, then the parent of the child ought to know (Bryant & Gibbs, 2013). They also play a critical role in ensuring that children sleep and rest well. Other responsibilities include providing notification of a change in case they cease to be employed or withdraws consent to the nomination.

1. How Roles and Responsibilities of the Stakeholders Relate to that of Managers

Both the roles and responsibilities of the Approved Provider and Nominated Supervisor relate so much with those of managers because the main objectives are to promote a positive organizational culture and to build a professional learning community, commitment to continuous improvements, and effective management of quality service (Gleeson & Smith, 2012). In essence, all the roles and responsibilities are meant to address efficient management of services, address policies and procedures, and lastly dealing with information and record-keeping requirements. Emphasis on effective leadership is pertinent in all the roles hence the need to apply some of the best effective leadership practices (Waniganayake et al., 2012). Approved Providers, Nominated Supervisors, and managers have the responsibility of identifying and articulating a collective vision, ensuring shared understandings, effective communication, encouraging reflection, and commitment to ongoing professional development (Cohrssen, Church & Tayler, 2010). They further monitor and assess practice, distribute leadership, building a learning community and a team culture, encouraging both families and community partnerships, and finally, striking a balance between leadership and management.

Early Childhood Education and Care require effective leadership hence the need for individuals who are given specific jobs to be aware of their responsibilities (Waniganayake et al., 2012). Exploring leadership roles can help provide the much-needed leadership in Early childhood education and care because it makes leaders respond to the merging social-political issues and educational needs of the young people. A good leader is aware of all the stakeholders and their needs, such as the staff, parents, and children (Livingstone, 2014). In early childhood, theorizing leadership is quite a task because not many studies have addressed the issue. There is, therefore, a need to conduct further work on the same to theorize early childhood leadership. However, school leadership literature has been widely used in practice to integrate leadership within the sector (Harris, 2009). There have been contemporary approaches such as critical, humanistic, instrumental, and scientific that can also be used in the early childhood setup up, but the application of active collaboration seems more prevalent in schools and early childhood issues (Waniganayake et al., 2012).

1. Quality Areas 3 and 7

Quality Area 3

Quality Area 3 is about Physical Environment, while Quality Area 7 is about Leadership and Service Management. The physical environment is significant in operating an education and care center (ACECQA, 2011). It contributes to children’s wellbeing, creativity, provides a diverse range of experiences that enhances children’s learning and development, and creates spaces to reduce the risk of injury. There are laws and regulations that an education and care service centers must comply with, such as the National Law and National Regulations. Also, there are state/territory and local government requirements that an institution must comply with, such as the Building Code of Australia, food safety standards, and relevant Australian standards (ACECQA, 2011). An excellent facility ought to have inclusive built and natural environments in both indoor and outdoor spaces with well maintained, fit-for-purpose facilities that provide safety for children and support each child’s access. An excellent physical environment has a positive impact on the quality of children’s experiences.

Generally, the design of the facilities used ought to be fit for the activities offered at the facility. Having a fit for purpose facility that supports the access of every child is vital in giving the children a pleasant experience. Also, for the upkeep, it is essential to have clean, safe, and well-maintained premises, furniture, and equipment that make education and care not only comfortable but enjoyable and motivational (ACECQA, 2011). The environment ought to be inclusive and promotes exploration and play-based learning to help with child development and growth. The environment must be inclusive to engage every child in quality experiences with resources that support play-based learning. Quality area 3 is, therefore, critical for ensuring a safe environment for the growth and development of children.

Quality Area 7

Quality Area 7 is about governance and leadership, which are essential in establishing and maintaining a quality environment by creating shared values and setting a clear direction. Governance focuses on the proper management and operations aligned with the service statement of philosophy to achieve the best outcomes for children and families (ACECQA, 2011). Governance and leadership are also about having a sound administration and risk management systems that ensure continuous improvement of service delivery. Quality service delivery is not achievable unless sound governance and leadership systems are in place that can encourage continuous improvement in all areas of service. Child education and care require a high standard of leadership and governance skills because it is a crucial stage of human growth and development (ACECQA, 2011). Governance supports quality delivery, and management systems manage risks and promote effective operations. Quality Area 7 is, therefore, the core of childhood education and care because it plays a significant role in service delivery and all other issues that touch on the service.

1. Management and Leadership Strategies that will Encourage compliance with the Child Safety and Health Requirements

Proper management and leadership strategies are essential in promoting compliance with safety and health requirements. One of the strategies that can be used to ensure compliance is making the regulations of the company easy to understand for the staff and encouraging them to utilize free resources that can help them stay up to date with the child care matters (Lewis & Hill, 2012). Consulting an attorney to conduct training on child rights and other National/territory laws. Another strategy is holding frequent leadership meetings to ascertain the level of compliance while also sharing updates that touch on compliance issues (Cheeseman, 2011). Child care and education leaders can also focus on continuous learning while also getting help from experts who can get it all done. Sharing compliance information in all departments of the service center to ensure that all the staff members comply with child safety and health requirements. In essence, management and leadership play a significant role in ensuring that the center complies with child safety and health requirements.

1. Conclusion

Early Childhood Leadership is critical in making the service center succeed in all its operations. Putting in place the right strategies in a care center is likely to promote childhood care and education while also promoting conflict management and pedagogical practice. The leadership of a care center ought to visualize a bright future by setting direction, promoting trust, and giving not only the staff but the children and another stakeholder home.

1. Recommendations

For upcoming leadership, there is a need to encourage continuous training on matters of early childhood care and education. Regular training can play a critical role in encouraging reflective practice and keep all leaders updated with necessary information regarding early childhood. Forming a partnership with all the stakeholders, such as children and families, can help in encouraging good leadership that takes care of all the stakeholders’ needs.

References

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). (2011). Guide to the education and care services national law and the education and care services national regulations. Sydney, NSW: ACECQA. http://acecqa.gov.au/links-and-resources/ national-quality-framework-resources/

Bryant, L & Gibbs, L. (2013). A Director’s Manual: Managing an Early Education and Care Service in NSW. Marrickville, NSW: Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd.

Cheeseman, S. (2011). The Educational Leader. National Quality Standard Professional Learning Practice [No. 33]. Sydney, NSW: Australian Government Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). Retrieved from  www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-content/ uploads/2012/05/NQS_PLP_E-Newsletter_No33.pdf

Cohrssen, C. Church, A & Tayler, C. (2010). Evidence Paper Practice Principle 1: Family-Centred Practice. Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Victoria, Melbourne: The University of Melbourne.

Cornish, R. (2012). Pedagogical Leadership: A Distributed Model. [No. 49]. Tasmania: Gowrie, Australia.

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Harris, A. (2009). Distributed school leadership: Evidence, issues, and future directions. Sydney Australia Council of Education Leaders.

Lewis, J. & Hill, J. (2012). What Does Leadership Look Like in Early Childhood Settings? Every Child Magazine. Vol. 18 [4]. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/every-child-magazine/every-child-index/every-child-vol-18-4-2012/leadership-look-like-early-childhood-settings/

Livingstone, R. (2014). What Does It Mean to Be the Educational Leader in Your Service? Preschool Matters. ACECQA.

Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W. (2012). Leadership. Contexts and complexities in early childhood education. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.