Dear early childhood education professionals
As we move into the second half of the year, it’s a good time to reflect on how your skills and knowledge are supporting the children and families in your service community, and take a new opportunity to deepen and strengthen this.
The revised Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (PDF, 17.3 MB) (VEYLDF) has been released to support your day-to-day work and further strengthen practice across the sector. It sets high expectations for professional practice, supports high-quality teaching and learning, and makes learning and wellbeing programs easier for you to plan and deliver.
The updated framework strengthens the focus on child safety and recognises and embeds the knowledge, cultures and histories of First Nations peoples. It also supports stronger connections between teachers, educators and other early years professionals, helping you to work together to support children’s ongoing learning and development.
We encourage your teams to explore the changes to the VEYLDF and think about how they can support your practice, and the practice of your team and service. To help you understand the changes, information sessions and resources are available through the Early Childhood Hub.
This year, NAIDOC Week took place from Sunday 5 to Sunday 12 July. The theme, 50 Years of Deadly, celebrated the strength, leadership, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the past 50 years.
Early childhood services play a critical role in supporting First Nations children to be strong in their identity. Your work also supports all children to learn about First Nations culture and history. You can find resources to use at your service all year round on the NAIDOC Week website.
Also in this edition, learn how to mark National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, celebrated every year on 4 August. It’s an opportunity to show support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and learn about the impact that culture, family and community have on their lives. You can also read how Early Learning Victoria is using First Nations names at its centres. These names reflect the culture, lands, waterways, animals or plants of the Country on which each centre is located.
Supporting your professional development remains a priority. In this edition, we feature information on supports for early childhood professionals at all stages of their careers. This includes coach and mentor training and conferences for early career teachers and educators.
Finally, it was great to see such a strong turnout at the event, A Day of Play, held at the State Library in early June. Around 300 children took part in free interactive activities, highlighting the benefits of play-based learning.
Thank you for all your work through the first half of this year and all the best for the term ahead.
Bronwen FitzGerald
Deputy Secretary
Early Childhood Education
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