Swings + Roundabouts Autumn 2021

KNOW SO YOU This ERO report outlines the impacts of Covid-19 on the early childhood education in 2020. Early childhood education services had to quickly adapt to changing requirements and periods of uncertainty due to Covid-19 in 2020. Through the Education Review Office’s (ERO) work on the impact of Covid-19 it was found that services went above and beyond to support children, staff and whānau and there have been some real gains in how leaders and kaiako support and teach children. However, ERO also found that the full impact on early childhood education may be yet to come. To help early childhood education services and the education system to respond to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this report sets out what the challenges have been for services and what lessons can support children, teachers and whānau going forward. To find out more go here, https://www.ero. govt.nz/publications/learning-in-a-covid- 19-world-2/ MOE ADVICE FOR EARLY LEARNING SERVICES  COVID-19 With new variants of COVID-19 being identified as easier to pass from person to person it is even more important that we maintain controls to minimise spread: ● Maintaining good hygiene (washing hands thoroughly and frequently and good cough and sneeze etiquette) ● Checking in using the NZ COVID Tracer App (or keeping a track of where you have been through another means) ● Regular cleaning and disinfecting of high- touch surfaces ● Staying home if you are sick (and seeking advice on getting tested) ● Physical distancing from people you don’t know when out and about. For up-to-date information on COVID-19 go to: https://www.education.govt.nz/ covid-19/advice-for-early-learning-services/ for the health and safety guidelines specific to early learning services. Also keep-to-date with the MoE monthly e-newsletter, He Pānui Kōhungahunga | The Early Learning Bulletin. APPRAISAL IN EARLY LEARNING SERVICES The Ministry of Education (MoE) has clarified the requirements under the Licensing Criteria, which are separate from the Teaching Council’s certification requirements. The MoE states that, ‘while the Teaching Council have revised the requirements for certificated teachers, these do not remove the requirement under GMA7 for services to have a system of regular appraisal. This remains a requirement under the Human Resource Management licensing criteria.’ Service providers, employers and staff in early learning should note however that there is no change to the licensing requirement for all services to have a system of regular appraisal in place for staff and employees. Appraisal in an early learning setting covers qualified, non-qualified staff and homebased educators. It is recognised as an effective professional development system for staff, employers and educators. There are a variety of systems available to service providers to use, however any system should demonstrate individual support for staff development and performance. (He Pānui Kōhungahunga, Nov.2020) LEARNING IN A COVID-19 WORLD: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION March 2021 { 14 }