Swings + Roundabouts Spring 2021

Kia ora koutou Welcome to the spring edition of Swings & Roundabouts and to the new ECC CEO Simon Laube. To find out more on who Simon Laube is and what attributes he brings to the ECC CEO role head to page 10 to read Simon's profile. This issue, regular readers will notice a slight difference, with the CEO Message being replaced by the ECC’s President, Dr Darius Singh. Go to page 8 to read Darius' message and discover how the ECC have been recently supporting members and how they have advocated for the ECE sector. As I wrote this editorial for the second time (in level 3), due to publication delays from the recent outbreak of the Delta strain I just want to acknowledge all centre owners, managers and kaiako who worked hard in ensuring our tamariki and their whānau continue to have their needs meet, as we all strive and succeed together. It hasn’t been easy. This lockdown has been a real struggle for many of us, and it’s often hard to see the light at the end of this COVID19 tunnel, but maybe if we can focus on the relationships we have with one another and the wellbeing of our early learning community we can all get through this together. Page 14 has some resource links for kaiako in supporting tamariki, whānau and themselves. In this Spring/September issue we had a focus and reminder of Te wiki o te reo Māori, which was held during the week of 13-19 Mahuru/September 2021, on page 18. Unfortunately this week as gone by, but we’ve kept the essence of the article alongside the resources, because as we know, speaking te reo Māori is an everyday commitment for all teachers. For those early learning centres who have a board, we have advice in how to use your vision to bring Board conversations back on track on page 28. To find out more about governing successfully, consider buying the ECC’s e-learning video on Good Governance for both Community and Privately-owned centres, https://www.ecc.org.nz/e- learningvideos Encouraging all teachers to see themselves as leaders is seen as one of the many roles of those in positional leadership. To read more on how both teachers can see themselves as leaders and how positional leaders can encourage this, go to page 20 to read more. If you are an ECC member or considering becoming a member, go to page 23 for the ECC Member Benefit Scheme directory. These preferred suppliers provide ECC members with the opportunity to save dollars through discounted rates and high quality consultation. Thank you to our spring contributors, your support is always appreciated. If you’d like to contribute an article to Swings & Roundabouts , we’d love to hear from you, especially on the topic of how you are surviving this pandemic, alongside supporting your ECE whānau (from kaiako to tamariki to whānau). There are some amazing stories out there how centres and kaiako are supporting whānau who are struggling either financially, spiritually or mentally. Ngā mihi Trudi Sutcliffe Editor Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini. My strength is not as an individual, but as a collective. FROM THE Editor Your Expert Childcare centre construction Partner September 2021 { 7 }