PLEASE SHARE THIS MAGAZINE! If you know anyone who would like to read the interesting and informative articles in Swings & Roundabouts, pass it on! ISSN 1179-688X (Print) • ISSN 1179-7517 (Online) PO Box 5649, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145 WINTER 2022 2022 ECC Conference: Growing Together Take time away from the business to reconnect & grow this September! Welcome to the Community Board: Setting up for success Workplace culture Transitioning to school &
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7 From the editor 8 CEO’s message 12 So you know 14 Unteach racism 16 Welcome to the community board 18 3 key takeaways when attending conference 20 Introducing the ECC Conference sponsors Inside this issue... Editor Trudi Sutcliffe Editorial Enquiries publications@ecc.org.nz Advertising Enquiries Catherine Norton Waterford Press Ltd PO Box 37346, Christchurch, New Zealand. Phone: 03 983 5526 Email: catherine@waterfordpress.co.nz www.waterfordpress.co.nz Production Co-ordinator Luke Lynch Content Co-ordinator Patti Brown Graphic Designer Liki Udam & Anton Gray Subscription Enquiries Early Childhood Council PO Box 5649, Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145 Phone: 0800 742 742 Email: admin@ecc.org.nz www.ecc.org.nz DISCLAIMER: A cancellation fee of 25% may be charged if the booking is cancelled after the sales cut off date. Your Media Consultant will be able to provide that information if you are not aware of it. Applications for advertising in Swings & Roundabouts will be considered from the following: 1) Early childhood centres and/or their associated management groups that are members of the Early Childhood Council. 2) Trade and service suppliers to the early childhood industry. 3) Government and not-for-profit organisations. Please note: Some industries may be restricted due to exclusive arrangements with the Early Childhood Council. Please note: We do not accept advertisements for staff vacancies. All advertising content is at the sole discretion of the editor. All advertising will be at the rates determined by Waterford Press Ltd. Swings & Roundabouts is produced by the Early Childhood Council and is sent free of charge to all independent early childhood centres in New Zealand. The information contained in Swings & Roundabouts is of a general nature only. Readers should not act on the basis of the information it contains without seeking advice for their own specific circumstances. The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the view of the Early Childhood Council Incorporated. All content in this magazine is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the editor. Swings & Roundabouts is published quarterly for the Early Childhood Council by Waterford Press Ltd. 21 Meet the ECC keynote speakers 22 ECC Conference Gala & Centre tours 23 ECC Conference workshops & presenters 24 ECC Conference Programme 26 ECC Conference workshops & presenters cont. 28 Workplace culture can make or break a centre 30 Tolerance and employee engagement 32 Are schools ready for our tamariki 34 Transitioning to school 36 Tohu Manawa Ora | Healthy Heart Award 20-year anniversary 38 Resource Reviews 44 Last laugh June 2022 { 5 }
FROM THE Editor Kia ora koutou katoa, He rangi tā matawhāti, he rangi tā matawhānui. A person with narrow vision has a restricted horizon; a person with wide vision has plentiful opportunities. After having tunnel-vision both professionally and personally over the last two years with the vibe of ‘just getting through the day’ I’m starting to feel that it is time for change and momentum. Hence why I chose the above whakataukī when I thought about the upcoming 2022 ECC Conference. Now was time to challenge myself and move forward. If you are looking to challenge yourself, widen your perspective and meet like-minded people facing similar work-focused challenges the 2022 ECC Conference this September may just be the key. From page 20 find out what’s on offer – from the aspirational keynote speakers to the many centre manager and teaching workshops, plus a variety of expo exhibits – all which you can add to your kete to confront and solve difficult situations and create positive change. Further reading highlights in this issue: If you are a community-based centre you will find Megan Thorn’s article, Welcome to the Community Board: Setting up for success, insightful with many practical ideas when inducting a new board member. If you like what you read, you won’t want to miss Megan’s practical workshop at conference where her session will provide practical tips and tools to help Centre Managers to support their board to be the best they can be. Have you yet accessed the Teaching Council’s Unteach Racism tool? If not head to page 14 and gather some ideas on how this tool can support your culturally responsive practice. I challenge you all to step onto this kaupapa and enrich your teaching and relationships with all tamariki and their whānau. Workplace culture – can make or break a centre on page 28 reminds educational leaders on the importance of aligning your centre’s values to create a positive workplace culture. If your workplace is unsettled or emotive it may be time to revisit your values and philosophy and re-centre! Tolerance and employee engagement on page 30 is a think-piece article, offering a few ideas for educational leaders in how to connect and engage your team with some thoughts around acceptance, involvement and belonging. On page 32, there is a short article from a two-year long research project looking at how schools can be supporting the transition from early learning to school more successfully. There is a follow-up story on page 34, Transitioning to school, offering readers some of the recent research from ERO for ECE services and some reflective starting points from Te Whāriki in how we in early learning can be supporting our tamariki as they transition to school. If you’d like to contribute an article to Swings & Roundabouts, we’d love to hear from you. We like to share positive ECE management and teaching stories to inspire and inform our readers. Any topic you would like to write on will be considered. Ngā mihi Trudi Sutcliffe Editor Specialised business insurance for over 1500 childcare centres Get your insurance sorted 0800 765 429 childproof.co.nz June 2022 { 7 }
This is our Winter issue and that also means it’s our Budget issue! And surprise, surprise – there’s also the Emissions Reduction Plan. I felt so proud to work for the Early Childhood Council when I was writing this column. We had just delivered a really successful webinar on helping to prepare early learning centres on how to approach the subject of ventilation ahead of Winter, with superb support from the Ministry of Education, Worksafe and Dr Alison Leversha from Auckland DHB. Why ventilation? Ventilation has always been an important part of the ECE regulations as poor ventilation is harmful to people’s health. Regulations require centres to have ventilation that allows fresh air to circulate, and centres must be designed to comply with the Building Code. It’s all just compliance, right? Close scrutiny on ventilation in centres was prompted by ventilation becoming one of the key health measures in the COVID-19 Protection Framework (CPF) for early learning. If you compare the health measures available in the early learning CPF they are much more limited than what schools had. Education no longer has mandatory vaccination requirements for staff, masks have never been a requirement for children or teachers in early learning and, physical distancing was never imposed (it would be impossible to enforce on very young children). This means that what we do about ventilation in centres becomes a really critical part of how we keep people safe from COVID-19. Technology has changed but it seems that, for now, some older technologies still work best of all when it comes to ventilation. Some people are surprised that the Ministry of Education’s advice focuses on using windows and doors for ventilation and that other newer technologies are much lower-order (like air purifiers with HEPA filters). Newer technologies get lower-order treatment because they MESSAGE CEO's are less effective at delivering effective ventilation compared to using windows and doors. It is not about the cost it’s about what practice is most effective in each setting. Let this be a good lesson to us, to not thoughtlessly discard older approaches and assume the best from what is shiny and new. And in terms of being inquisitive, think carefully about what problem you are trying to solve. Is it actually a new problem? No. So, why wouldn’t we turn first to the tried-and-true practices of using windows and doors for air flow? On top of this, I think it also reveals a behavioural preference we all have. To want to solve a problem by the most convenient route. As we were all scrambling to the next COVID-19 challenge in late 2021 and early 2022 it would have been nice if we could have just purchased a new technology, a “new thing” that makes the problem simply go away. In this case, we already know that ventilation wasn’t actually a new problem. We must move away from that kind of simplistic approach – at its core is consumerism, not effectiveness. We need effectiveness because that is what helps achieve the health objectives for the children and staff working in the centre. More on sustainable approaches in a moment. The problem is that ventilation is dealing with something invisible, un-smellable and untastable. Carbon dioxide (CO2), the principle gas that the air monitors detect, isn’t harmful itself. We use the detection of that gas as a proxy for particles of COVID-19 virus because high concentrations of carbon dioxide is generally indicative of poor ventilation. If you establish effective ventilation then the COVID-19 is similarly removed (along with CO2) from the room. I think it’s best we trust the medical and research advice that shows that infection occurs through the airborne transmission of virus particles (invisible droplets). Remember in the earlier part of the pandemic there were those times when people contracted COVID while in MIQ and they June 2022 { 8 }
couldn’t work out how? That was before we fully appreciated the whole “airborne transmission” thing. If there’s one thing we’ve all learnt, is an educative approach to new things actually works – and remember we all learn at different rates and so we make quite different decisions. New Zealanders have been trained to have a “fear response” to COVID-19. Taking up best practice ventilation approaches should be in every centre’s Winter planning though. COVID-19 as an illness is less severe for young children but centres are at risk of other illnesses too – like RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) and Measles. RSV came into NZ in 2021 when the bubble to Australia opened. Many young children were hospitalised as a result – it is not mild for young children. We do not want more RSV in centres (or Measles!). Effective ventilation also mitigates the spread of these other viruses. Budget 2022 Budget 2022 included bold new ECE investments. Pay parity got a further investment with 265.6 million over four years. Some of this goes into funding Step 6 so the new Pay Parity Rates include all the Steps 1-6. But further complexity and deep flaws are emerging with a new set of Extended Pay Parity Rates – to cover the remaining Steps 7-11 (and including a new management step). The Extended Pay Parity Rates are only partially funded. That means that the accompanying minimum salary levels that services must attest to paying will cost services more to pay (on average) than the level of new funding provided by the government. It is being deliberately and openly under-funded. ECC has been working on how the Budget 2021 Pay Parity Funding Rates work for services and we were fast reaching a conclusion that even the fully-funded Pay Parity Funding Rates are not sufficient for too many services. This is why we are saying that, on top of the teacher supply crisis, this new move to extending pay parity could be ill-judged and lead to a haemorrhaging crisis for services. We do understand why the Government took this approach because if there is a strictly limited amount of funding (is there?!) then you can either partially fund the new levels or only fund three or perhaps four levels with that same total amount of funding (leaving some of the higher levels completely un-funded). That is the bureaucrat talking. In more simple terms, it is very disappointing if the best result from Extended Pay Parity is for the sector to avoid it. The sector could really use $265.6 million of fresh investment, but not delivered like this. This is not going to be stopping our best and brightest graduates from avoiding studying ECE and hopping on a plane to Australia instead. The Cost Adjustment provided $231.8 million over four years and was based on a forecast inflation rate of 2.75% (the same rate was applied to School Operations grants). While ECC welcomes the adjustment, the new funds only start in January 2023. This means the Government effectively saves half the cost they would otherwise have had to spend in the current financial year - because they don’t have to pay for the six months from 1 July 2022. The six months the early learning sector waits for the increase are likely to be difficult months indeed with inflationary pressure building. “Ventilation advice: behaviours in early learning centres (and schools) now need to change. It is ok to have your heaters on and windows open in Winter – we are not kidding! You need to keep spaces at a comfortable 18 degrees Centigrade but also with fresh air flow.” The Government released its Emissions Reduction Plan in May. On the day the education sector was sent a link and the detail on action 3.1.1 as it contained a range of education actions and mentions early learning specifically. Unfortunately, it did not actually include any actions in early learning. ECC has written to the Government about this as we consider that now effort needs to go into implementing the full plan – that means taking action systematically. It should involve key industries and sectors like early learning directly. I don’t think many people are going to read the plan actually. Unless we do something with this plan, we won’t see behaviours changing fast enough (we will just have another new plan that sits on the shelf). In early learning, this could mean it will fall to centre operators to adopt new actions and seek to make changes to the way we work so we lead by example: showing the young children / mokopuna in early learning that we truly value the whole of their wellbeing including future wellbeing. This is a fine extension of principles in Te Whāriki. An initial area we will be seeking to explore is more sustainable and efficient heating solutions in the education sector – after all, we know that schools will be shifting away from coal and potentially oil-fired boilers so the “A-team” in the Ministry of Education’s infrastructure and digital division will surely be researching new technologies to replace these. Let’s ensure that early learning gets included in this scoping work – government shouldn’t want to exclude early learning providers. If they take that exclusionary approach then early learning centres will know no better and continue to purchase less sustainable or inefficient heating technologies that have higher running costs or more harmful environmental impacts. June 2022 { 9 }
Pay Equity Claim update ECC represents 202 employers in the Pay Equity Claim. In recent weeks, a Pay Equity Steering Group has been established. The Steering Group has developed a High-Level Bargaining Strategy. This document will be shared with employers before the Steering Group looks to formally adopt it. ECC has established a special ECC Pay Equity email group – and we will be sending out updates to that group as work progresses and where employers need to give attention to the work and provide feedback. Policy updates A large number of ECC policies have been updated for you to access and guide the writing of your centre policies, including: Child Protection, Animals at the Centre, Alcohol & Drugs, Fees and Vaccination Policies. This responds to ECC member queries and getting things ready for upcoming ECC webinars. You can find these updated policies here: https://www.ecc.org. nz/Category?Action=View&Category_id=331 (Policy Management under Centre Support). Membership to ECC - your renewals Our membership year is 1 April to 31 March. Please note that if your membership expired on 31st March 2022 you will not be able to log in to the ECC website or sign up for events under member pricing. Contact admin@ecc.org.nz if you require another copy of your invoice. Nau mai, haere mai The Early Childhood Council (ECC) warmly welcomes the following early learning centres that recently joined the ECC: ● Kainga Tamarki Early Learning Centre, Kihikihi ● Little Poppy's Preschool, Auckland ● The Forest ECE, Cambridge ● Minimee Early Childhood Education, Auckland ● Burnham Country Montessori, Christchurch ● The Village Early Learning Centre, Auckland ● Capital Montessori School, Wellington ● Kelburn Preschool and Nursery, Wellington ● Collectively Kids, Auckland ● Natural Steps, Auckland ● Nature Kids Motueka, Motueka ● My Kindy Ltd (Tiny Stars, Bright Sparks), Auckland ● Explore & Flourish Early Learning, Mt Maunganui ● Premier Preschool Johnsonville, Wellington ● Biggles Childcare, Auckland ● Kakapo Creek Children's Garden, Auckland ● Harbour View Kindergarten, Auckland ● ACG Parnell Early Learning School, Auckland ● Highbury House ELC, Auckland ● Kiwi Kids Childcare, Auckland ● Tiny Smiles Early Learning Centre, New Plymouth (Provisional) ● Rhyme and Reason, Christchurch (Provisional) ● Ako Early Learning, Papamoa (Provisional) ECC will be renewing its focus on the pay parity policy. From June we will be running a centrebased sector-wide salary and wages survey to help shine a light on the situation. ECC wants pay parity to work and does not condone the pressure to raise fees to parents to pay for it, or reduce service quality (like ratios) or simply close. 30 62 55 12 8 ECC survey on centre fee increases in 2022 (23 May; n =167) No fee increases (0%) 1-5% 6-10% 11-15% Higher than 15% A recent survey of attendees at a post-Budget 2022 ECC webinar (where the focus was the new extended pay parity initiative), showed that 82% of centres were contemplating or already had raised fees by significant margins. Only 30% were not raising fees at all (n = 167). June 2022 { 10 }
Memberships for individual or group for just $190 per year childspace.nz/atyourplace Would you love to instantly access videos, interviews and articles to support your current challenges, inquiry or evaluation? Could your team benefit from 24/7 access to an ever-expanding library of videos, articles, and interviews? Would you enjoy the many benefits of watching, listening and reading from the comfort of your own home or together as a team at your service? For just $190 annually, your whole team will enjoy the benefits of access to: • Interviews with insightful ECE legends such as Nathan Wallis, Dr. Kathryn Murray, Rusty Keeler, Kathryn Burkett and Dr. Andi Salamon. • A constantly expanding library of early childhood specific articles covering such subjects as settling families, teaching as inquiry, intentional language, practical ideas and so much more. • A massive range of short videos that cover subjects such as team building, leadership, rituals, mat time, Te Whāriki, toddler behaviours, wellbeing, environment design, Dr.Bob, zentangle, loose parts, risk, resilience, RIE/ Pikler inspiration, superheroes, villians and weapon play. Just one membership is required and your whole team can log on individually from home or during research time. Similarly videos and interviews can be viewed together as a team at meetings. Here’s what other AYP members have enjoyed and how they are using the platform… “I lead a team of over twenty Kaiako and we explore one article/interview or video each month as homework. Everyone can read or view in their own time and from their own devices so that we can bring back our learning for discussion at our next meeting.” “This platform is easy to use and the videos are all so fun and lively it makes learning and growing in my role as kaiako fun and easy.” “We watch together as a team at meetings and the content always sparks lively discussion and professional learning.” “I go straight there when I need to find articles for parents or to support my inquiry or evaluation topic.” “The whole thing has been organised in such a way that it’s easy to find what I’m looking for when I log in.” We add new content each month and notify our members of what is new online. There are simple search tools and clustered subjects to make navigation simple. Don’t delay, join today, and give you and your team the many benefits of this valuable membership.
YOU SO KNOW New Immigration scheme for teachers – Accredited Employer Work Visa The Border Exception scheme is now full. ECE teachers have filled the majority of the 300 places. It is still possible that people will get slots – if current applicants withdraw. The New Zealand border is scheduled to open (for immigration) in July 2022. As a result the Border Exception scheme will no longer be required. A new scheme has been announced called the Accredited Employer Work Visa. This scheme has three key stages: (1) employers get accredited with Immigration NZ; (2) Immigration checks the job meets the minimum requirements (there are salary and other terms employers must meet to be eligible); and (3) the migrant needs to apply. 01. Employer accreditation - applications open 23 May 2022 02. Job check - applications open 20 June 2022 The 2022 New Zealand Book Awards The 2022 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults attracted a record-breaking 199 entries, with 28 titles just announced as finalists. This is the highest number of submissions ever received for the Awards, which are the preeminent celebration of publishing for young people in Aotearoa. Competing across six main categories, the 2022 finalists offer New Zealand’s young readers an educative, engaging and engrossing selection of books with a uniquely Kiwi flavour. The growing strength of books with te ao Māori worldview and the growing number and quality of titles in te reo Māori also stood out to this year’s judges. The judges describe this year's Picture Book Award shortlist as “a tutti-frutti of deliciousness”. From quirky and whimsical to rambunctious and mischievous, all the stories feature dollops of humour and a richly diverse illustrative palette. Picture Book Award Finalists Bumblebee Grumblebee, David Elliot (Gecko Press) The Eight Gifts of Te Wheke, Steph Matuku, illustrated by Laya MuttonRogers (Huia Publishers) Lion Guards the Cake, Ruth Paul (Scholastic New Zealand) My Cat Can See Ghosts, Emily Joe (Beatnik) The Greatest Haka Festival on Earth, Pania Tahau-Hodges, illustrated by Story HemiMorehouse (Huia Publishers) A ceremony to announce the winners will take place in Wellington on the evening of Wednesday 10 August. 03. Invitation to make visa applications – opens 4 July 2022 If the role you are trying to fill meets the job check requirements you can seek to become an accredited employer from 23 May (noting that the stage where migrants can apply doesn’t start until 4 July). You can read more information about the scheme here: https://www.immigration. govt.nz/employ-migrants/new-employeraccreditation-and-work-visa June 2022 { 12 }
Contact us for a chat. sanjesh@keola.co.nz 021 280 8580 www.keola.co.nz Building a new centre? Consider contractor early involvement and create your beautiful centre without blowing budgets.
By Rose-Anne London Unteach Racism how it can help your practice Example one Example two 4-year-old Māori boy has an intense love of all things sport, whose attention would quickly shift from one thing to the next. Although some kaimahi were apprehensive, kaiako A arranged to take him on a trip to a local sports centre where he could see his local heroes honoured on a sporting wall of fame. During the excursion the boy stayed right next to the kaiako A, chatting about where they were going, what they saw, and on return to the Early Learning service thanked for taking him, as he had never had an opportunity like this, where someone had trusted him, before. Kaiako B looked at the pukapuka on the bookshelf and wondered about the stereotypes that these books may be inadvertently be perpetuating. Kaiako B noticed that in the pukapuka the villains of the stories either had darker skin or were wearing black and heroes were portrayed in lighter colours. Kaiako B then set about ensuring that all learners could see themselves as the heroes on the bookshelf. What is Unteach Racism? The first iteration of Unteach Racism was released in May 2021 with an aim to help teachers, identify, confront, and dismantle racism in education. The Teaching Council | Matatū Aotearoa partnered with the Human Rights Commission’s Give Nothing to Racism campaign to create conversations around racism in Aotearoa New Zealand. Teachers have a unique opportunity to shape the hearts and minds of children and young people, so Unteach Racism has been designed specifically for you. How does it work? Unteach Racism recognises racism is learned and therefore can be unlearned. Unteach Racism aligns to commitments in Our Code, Our Standards | Ngā Tikanga Matatika, Ngā Paerewa and presents a professional learning opportunity through: ● ● Unteach App - made up of eight key modules that sit across the concepts of identifying and confronting racism ● ● A website – kaiako can access the app from the website as well as key resources to use during professional learning ● ● Quarterly newsletters – including guest narrative, tips, and updates on when new resources become available ● ● Toolkit – including downloadable posters and social media graphics to support you and your colleagues to Join the Movement. Modules currently available There are eight modules currently available, covering identifying and confronting racism. One example is Module 2, which is themed around low self-belief. This module guides kaiako through understanding intrapersonal racism and learner experiences of this. It guides kaiako through an activity ranking learner quotes, such as: “Im really good at maths but my teacher just thinks I’m stupid so never gave me any time cept to get me n trouble. But if you’re Pākehā its all good” leading kaiako to then consider a ‘where to next’ with this understanding of interpersonal racism and low self-belief. Examples of kaiako practice Here are two examples of practice where kaiako attempt to counter the negative perceptions of learners’ race. Consider these examples and the prompting questions below. June 2022 { 14 }
Prompts for considering these examples further: 01. In what ways are these kaiako supporting or challenging stereotypes? 02. In what ways might these environments be reminding learners of positive and/or negative perceptions of their race that exist in society? Where to from here? Every institution, organisation, community, and individual is confronted with racism. It is up to us whether we feed it, or we starve it. It might feel scary or uncomfortable at times, but it is more important than ever to forge ahead. Self-reflection and frank, open conversations grounded in Our Code | Ngā Tikanga Matatika is the first step. Unteach Racism has more to come; for now, here are some suggestions on how you can join the movement: ● ● Visit unteachracism.nz/foursteps and start the four steps ● ● Sign up to the Unteach Racism Newsletter. We would love to hear how you have used the app or resources personally, or with your colleagues. Please tell us by emailing Letstalk@ teachingcouncil.nz Ka rere manu ki uta, ka rere manu ki tai, ka rere tāwhangawhanga, ka tieke tī, ka tieke tā. “The bird takes flight inland, then takes flight to the shore. A flight that measures and plans from, and to different points.” LIMITED SPACES. DO NOT MISS OUT! Child Protection in ECE Early Literacy in ECE Inquiries, Assessment, SelfReview, Internal and External Evaluation in ECE Ngā Paerewa / the Standards for the Teaching Profession in ECE Practice Physical Health & Movement in ECE Professional Growth Cycle Te Ara Poutama – Teachers and the Quality Indicators The Role of Learning Stories in Assessment, Planning and Evaluation Transition and Continuity of Learning in ECE Your Local Curriculum “What Matters Here” TEACHER ONLINE WORKSHOPS For information and bookings visit www.ecc.org.nz/events Cost - $65 +gst exclusive Member rate; $95+gst non-member About the Author Rose-Anne London started her early childhood education experience as a part time holiday job in Papaioea. This led to a love of teaching and a career including professional leader roles across services throughout Kāpiti and Whanganui-a-Tara. Currently residing in Whanganui-a-Tara, she is a Senior Advisor in the Teacher Capability and Collaboration team at the Teaching Council | Matatū Aotearoa. June 2022 { 15 }
A strong governing group is critical in creating a successful Centre that is sustainable for the long-term. Often people join governing groups with no real understanding of what governance involves. If we want community board members to do their job well, we need to ensure we set them up for success through a great induction experience. New board members start evaluating their experience from their first contact. Your induction process is an opportunity to provide them with a great experience. Doing this well ensures your new team member is: ● Well informed about their role and has a top line understanding of how your Centre operates. ● Familiar with others in the team and their roles and feels part of the team. ● Ready to contribute from day one. ● Feeling valued and appreciated. ● Talking positively about their experience with other parents (a great recruiting tool!). Two important elements to ensure induction is successful are: Appointing a board member who is a guardian for your induction process They don’t have to be the person who does induction, they are the person who makes sure it happens. They are also responsible for regularly reviewing your process and improving with the feedback they gather. It can be a great role for a board member and can take a role off your plate as Centre Manager. Connect your new board member to a mentor If someone is new to the community board, mentorship by an experienced member can help them understand what to expect, answer their questions and help them get involved. Partnering with a buddy will be helpful for someone who already has governance experience as they navigate how things work specifically at your Centre. What is your process? Start as you mean to go on. Guide your board member through your induction process with the same passion and enthusiasm you want to see from them as they govern your Centre. Mix it up. Ensure it’s not all about reading. Use it to connect with a range of team members. Creating a process ensures each new team member receives the same experience. Step through each part of the process and put yourself in your new board member’s shoes. What do they need? ● How does the process of appointment work? ● What happens on successful appointment? � Who contacts them to let them know? How do they do that? � How are they connected with their mentor? � Follow up with written confirmation, including dates their term begins and ends. � Share information about the induction process so they know what to expect. � How is information about the new appointment shared with the staff team and parents? ● What is the plan for sharing information? They won’t need all the information at once, in fact that can sometimes feel overwhelming. What do they need to know and when? � What is best to do in-person? What will be provided as reading material in the welcome pack? Who do they need to meet? ● What is the follow up and feedback process? Induction toolkit Create your Centre’s induction toolkit. Assemble everything you might include in one place and make it easy for those doing the induction to pick the relevant elements to customise for your new person. The process stays the same, the content shared may change. You might include: Meet the team What can you do to help your new trustee seamlessly integrate into the team? At the very least, share brief information to get to know other board members – their role, their specific skills and expertise. What’s Welcome to the Community Board: Setting up for success By Megan Thorn - Exult June 2022 { 16 }
important to them outside the board? Include contact details and a photograph of each trustee to make it easier to put a face to a name. Do the same for the operations team. Create space for them to meet you as Centre Manager. This signals a different relationship – board member vs. parent. Hands on experience If the new board member is not a parent who has experience at the Centre. Coming in for a session (or two) is a great way to truly understand why the Centre exists and what you do. A visit will keep them connected to the big picture of their role. Your history 1-pager Sharing the Centre’s history is a vital part of helping people understand the big picture and can help to put their role into context. Big picture key points, not the day-today happenings. Bring them to life using photographs, videos, or storyboards. Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan Board members need to understand the Centre’s direction for the future. What is your vision - the future you are trying to create? What is your mission – what do you do on a day-to-day basis to make that vision a reality? What are your longer-term focus areas? Clear understanding of your vision, mission and focus areas will enable trustees to make effective decisions. How you work together – What’s important? What are your Centre’s values? What’s important to your Centre about how you do things? “It’s not hard to make decisions once you know what your values are.” - Roy E Disney Your Constitution This document outlines the rules by which your Centre must be run as an Incorporated Society. The board is responsible for making sure those rules are followed. Expectations of board members The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 sets out duties for governing group members. There will also be expectations specific to your organisation. For example positively contributing at meetings, practising due diligence in decision making, undertaking training etc. They are not necessarily expected by all organisations, so you need to make yours clear from the start. Code of conduct To avoid potential upset, conflict, or embarrassment further down the track, make sure your new board members are given a Code of Conduct. What you include in this document is up to you, but you might want to consider things like how you work together or how trustees must conduct themselves with staff and other parents. Your process for managing conflict of interest. Setting out what is expected provides clarity. Role and responsibilities Regardless of the size of your Centre, you need to ensure your new member understands the role of governance and About the author Megan is Managing Director of Exult. She is passionate about governance and helping organisations to build governing group capability and best practice process to help them work to their full potential. Megan runs a range of governance workshops from getting everyone on the same page to meeting processes, conflict of interest, power of policies and being a successful Chair. Join Megan for her workshop at the ECC Conference in September. Focused on community-based Centres, her session will provide practical tips and tools to help Centre Managers to support their board to be the best they can be. their responsibilities from the outset. How do you manage the split of governance and operational roles and responsibilities between the board and Centre Manager? Liabilities Ensure your board member understands how the Centre manages potential liability for board members. What is set out in your constitution? What legislation applies to the Centre and how can you make it as easy as possible for board members to understand what is involved. You might also include: ● Full Centre organisational chart ● Centre highlights for the previous year ● Recent annual reports ● External audit reports ● Fundraising strategy 1-page overview ● Approved budget for the year ● Most recent monthly financials ● Board meeting minutes of the last 3 meetings and the agenda for the next meeting ● Governance boards and members ● Logistics and policy information ● Past Centre newsletters ● List of upcoming meetings and events that your new person might like to attend Create your process and plan for sharing the information that helps your new board member feel equipped and engaged first, then enable them to access the rest at their own pace. You might choose to share through a Board Charter or Handbook. You can ask your trustee to sign as having read and understood, not from a legal perspective, from a commitment and clarity perspective. June 2022 { 17 }
01. Network and meet like-minded people A big reason for going to conferences is to meet with likeminded people and industry peers. Conferences bring together people from all different geographical areas who share a common goal, aspiration or role. Often it’s the face-to-face connections that people cite as the most valuable takeaway after attending a conference, whether it’s from chatting to someone during lunch, a workshop discussion or waiting to head into a presentation. Give yourself a mini-goal to reach out to at least three people each day, whether it’s a simple ‘where are you from’ to ‘what have you enjoyed the most and why?’. When two or more people begin to discuss topics on a deeper and personal level, the success of those involved becomes irreplaceable. 02. Expand your knowledge and find solutions to problems We live in a world where you can find all that you need to know online, but one of the difficulties is dredging and dissecting all that information. By attending a conference, the scrutinising is done for you and you can actively sit and listen, with opportunities to participate by asking questions or having discussions with those around you that you couldn’t do by reading an online article in your office. For many working in ECE, whether in management or teaching, often the role becomes so busy that often out of sheer necessity becomes quite inward focused (especially in the last two years) making it difficult to find the time to take a wider perspective of what you are doing, why you are doing it and what changes you need to implement. Listening and participating in presentations and workshops gives you the opportunity to discover and learn from thoughtleaders you may not have heard from before, hear a different point-of-view, or a deeper insight to what you already know. You will hear ideas that will inspire you and encourage you to take a deeper look at what you are doing and on a practical level if in management offer new and better administration solutions or if teaching, ideas to aspire to and make informed decisions on how you can improve the learning outcomes for your tamariki. 03. Refresh and reflect Last but not least, conference events are fun. Physical conferences let you escape the routine. They can recharge your motivation and energy levels by offering inspiring stories from those who faced similar challenges or give you something to aspire to. But remember to have some conference goals in mind when planning your attendance. Conferences can often be overwhelming so think about what you want to learn or the type of people you want to meet. By focusing on what you want to get out of it, you can make the most of the conference programme. One way to plan ahead is to research the presenters you are going to be listening to. Let this frame your ideas on the possible direction of the workshop, what you could get out of it and allow you to think ahead on possible questions you could ask. But remember to stay open-minded as you never quite know what the presenter’s message will be on the day! To give you an opportunity to reflect it might even be worth taking an extra day after the conference (if possible) to organise your notes, make some smart goals in what changes you would like to see, and what you need to do to gather more information. One way to reflect is to write and design a presentation to share with others in your centre about what you've learnt over the conference, and get their feedback and ideas on how this could be implemented. Presenting what you’ve learnt is also a great way to process the experience and cement the information you took away from it. Just remember to do it sooner rather than later! -Mā te kimi ka kite, Mā te kite ka mōhio, Mā te mōhio ka mārama Seek and discover. Discover and know. Know and become enlightened. key takeaways when attending conference 3 June 2022 { 18 }
2022 ECC CONFERENCE GROWING NAPIER 16 & 17 September ART DECO THEME GALA DINNER For more information Visit the ECC website www.ecc.org.nz Full Registration Full registration includes full access to the ECC Conference on Friday 16 & Saturday 17 September. (Centre Tours and Gala Dinner are sold separately) ECC Members - $550 GST exclusive Non-members - $825 GST exclusive Saturday Registration Registration access for Saturday 17 September only. (Centre Tours and Gala Dinner are sold separately) ECC Members - $300 GST exclusive Non-members - $450 GST exclusive A collaborative approach to success in early childhood education in New Zealand TAKE TIME AWAY FROM THE BUSINESS TO RECONNECT WITH OTHER PROFESSIONALS, AND TO INVEST IN YOUR TEAM’S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH. Exciting line up of KEYNOTE SPEAKERS PLUS WORKSHOPS, GALA DINNER AND CENTRE TOURS TOGETHER
Introducing the ECC 2022 Conference sponsors The ECC is proud to announce the following sponsors for the upcoming ECC conference, with special recognition OF our Premium Sponsor – DISCOVER. Discover by Xplor offers enterprise software solutions to childcare centres, assisting with centre administration, documentation, parent engagement, occupancy, and waitlists. The cloud-based platform is an all-in-one software solution that seamlessly simplifies compliance, increases parent engagement, and delivers the best educational experience possible. Xplor Education serves 9000+ childcare services across Australia and New Zealand through its Discover, Office and QikKids brands, providing a seamless experience for educators, families, and services. To learn more, visit https://try.discoverchildcare.co.nz/ OfficeMax, a preferred supplier with ECC, offers over 16,000 stock products from cleaning & hygiene products, art supplies, ECE furniture, copiers, specialty business papers … plus much more. Low prices are backed up by our Price Match Promise with members receiving additional discounts. To access these benefits email ecc@officemax.co.nz. To learn more visit www.officemax.co.nz Juniorlogs is a modern, cloud based Student Management System that streamlines and simplifies your administration by making enquiry management, enrolment, rostering, reporting and invoicing a breeze. With fair & affordable pricing and no lock in contracts, enjoy 12 months of FREE access to your new SMS. NZ based and MoE approved. To learn more, visit www.juniorlogs.co.nz 1Place Childcare is a digital compliance platform, replacing paper-based checklists and incident forms with mobile tools that help childcare organizations meet their quality, health and safety and external compliance obligations. The 1Place system is used for: child/employee incident forms, open/close checks, health and safety, food safety and transport/property compliance. Contact details: 0800 175 223 or www.1placechildcare.com/nz Kindello is where families find all their early childhood options in one place – and it’s free for parents and ECE services. We’ve created every centre listing in the country. That means you can claim your listing for free and receive enquiries and bookings with no fees at all. Kindello provides a full enquiries management function. Visit www.Kindello.com to get more enquiries now. SafetyNest makes Health & Safety and Compliance easy. The easy-to-use mobile software system and up-todate Health & Safety tools allows you to efficiently and accurately help manage events, hazards, observations, checklists and keeps records safe and secure. SafetyNest has been designed for ECE centres in NZ. For more info go to www.safetynest.co.nz or email contact@safetynest.co.nz NZ Childcare Finance provides short term funding exclusively to the ECE sector to ease financial stress and smooth cash flows. A preferred supplier with the ECC for over 17 years, that focuses solely on its members short term financial needs. To find out more contact Lena Thomson on mob 0274329227 or 0800 777 559 or go to www.childcarefinance.co.nz ECC conference silver sponsors: June 2022 { 20 }
Introducing the 2022 ECC conference Keynote Speakers Tupe SolomonTanoa’i Tupe is the Chief Philanthropic Officer of the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation, which is working towards an Aotearoa New Zealand that is just, inclusive, tolerant and free. In addition to her professional role, Tupe is the writer and co-producer of a web series on unconscious bias, the host and co-producer of a chat show on Pacific success, and the theme of her talk at TEDx Pipitea was “Leading through self-acceptance”. In 2020 Tupe was the winner of the diversity category in the New Zealand Women of Influence Awards. In 2021, she was named one of New Zealand’s most Influential Lawyers by NZ Lawyer in the category of Human Rights, Advocacy and Criminal Justice. Kathryn Berkett: What is neurodiversity? Kathryn has her Masters in Educational Psychology, and has certified as a Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics practitioner with Dr Perry. Kathryn has extensive experience in understanding how trauma can impact on development. She has worked and trained, nationally and internationally, on the subject of neuroscience for over twenty years, delivering to a variety of organisations including: the Police; Oranga Tamariki; Teachers; Corrections; Parents; Recreation Groups; Mental Health Professionals; NZ Rugby; and Corporates. Kathryn also has a TEDx talk titled: ‘Neuroscience of Device Zombies’. Toni and Robin Christie: Respectful people, places and things Toni and Robin Christie founded Childspace Early Learning Centres and subsequently the Childspace Early Childhood Institute in Wellington. Currently their work involves teaching adults about the importance of the early years. Toni and Robin have written books and resources, they publish a quarterly magazine, host conferences, design and build environments for children, inspire early childhood practitioners through their keynote and workshop presentations, and they love their jobs! Toni and Robin believe that early childhood is the most significant stage of every person’s development. They are driven to provide practical, relevant, natural and aesthetic resources and environments for all who play and work with very young children. Hon Chris Hipkins - Minister of Education Chris is the ministers for both Education and COVID-19 Response portfolios. Simon Laube – Chief Executive of the Early Childhood Council: ECC’s vision for growth Simon will be speaking about how we seek to grow and strengthen centres – how we might feel our attention is being diverted by risks and outside threats but there remains good opportunities to focus on. June 2022 { 21 }
Don your Deco best with prizes available for the best dressed. Friday 16 September 7.30pm – 12.00am Tickets - $120 GST exclusive Your ticket price includes: Enjoy a delicious formal plated three course dinner while listening to dinner speaker, former ECE teacher, celebrity Karen O’Leary – known for her humour, energy and personality. (AKA Officer O’Leary – Wellington Paranormal). Then dance the night away to local band – Audio Pimp A cash bar is available. Look forward to seeing you there! CENTRE TOURS Join us for this very special experience. Your tour will take you to three local ECE centres, travelling in the famous Napier Art Deco buses. Pick up (6.00pm) and return (8.00pm) to the conference venue, Napier War Memorial Centre. Thursday 15 September 6.00 – 8.00pm $35.00 GST exclusive Numbers are strictly limited, booking MUST be made in advance of the conference. Join us for the Conference 'Art Deco Gala Dinner' at the Napier War Memorial Centre June 2022 { 22 }
– Lonnie Parker, Sue Kurtovich & Mark Salman A panel of the ECC’s three leading experts in the business of ECE will give an overview of the current climate in the ECE sector, and will answer your questions about the good financial health of your centre. Lonnie is a trained Accountant and current ECC Executive Committee member with decades of experience in ECE including as Centre Owner/Operator. Mark is an Accountant from Rubiix Accountants. Community based Centres: Supporting your board to be the best they can be - MEGAN THORN Focused on community-based Centres, Megan's session will provide practical tips and tools to help Centre Managers to support their board to be the best they can be. Megan has more than 16 years’ experience in facilitation. Her passion is working with people who make a real difference in their communities. (Go to page 18 to read Megan’s article on supporting new board members.) Facebook for Business – Jodine McIntyre This workshop will demystify how to market your business on Facebook from setting up your Facebook page, to what, when and how to post. Jodine (Social Smarty) specialises in breaking down social media marketing into simple systems and actionable tactics and helps business owners and professionals simplify their social media marketing. CURRICULUM Supporting children who have experienced trauma - Melody Stuckey Melody shares how their centre implemented a trauma informed approach for dealing with challenging behaviours including preventative and corrective strategies in partnership with whānau. Melody has been involved in early years leadership over the last 28 years and is currently the General Manager and Educational Leader for three centres in the Hawkes Bay. Continuity of Care – Ali Porteous & Marcia Knight Explore the pros, cons and logistics of the continuity of care model to enhance whānau relationships, planning, and assessment relationships. Learn how it impacts the settling process and transitions, with links to te ao Māori concepts. Marcia and Ali both work at Childspace Ngaio where they have been involved in both COI and TLIF funded research projects. Marcia is the assistant manager and Ali is the curriculum leader. Rituals - Making the Everyday Extraordinary in Early Childhood – Becky Gray & Josh Allen Learn what Rituals are, the difference between Rituals and Routines, how rituals can be woven into our everyday with tamariki, and transform mundane routines, into beautiful and authentic rituals. Becky is the centre manager at Childspace Wilton and Josh is undertaking his PhD on Whakamana at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University, and teaching at Childspace Karori. Introduction to "Te Ahu o te reo Māori - Kingi Kiriona, Te Waipounamu Teinakore & Rawinia Paringata A session that provides an introduction to two key PLD opportunities delivered by TupuOra to the education workforce, namely Te Ahu o te reo Māori and Mā te Ahu, ka Rea. Presenters: Kingi Kiriona, M.A., PC.Cert (Te Reo Māori), BA (Screen Media & Maori) Te Waipounamu Teinakore, Med, PG, Dip (Literacy & Numeracy), BEd Rawinia Paringatai, BA (Screen and Media & Māori), Graddip in Secondary School Teaching RUNNING THE BUSINESS Regulatory Update – Sue Kurtovich & Katina Beauchamp The ECE regulatory framework has had many changes in recent times. This workshop provides an update on all recent changes, as well as those that are still in the pipeline. Sue is an ECE Management Consultant and Advisor to the Early Childhood Council with extensive knowledge of the ECE regulatory environment, and has a strong policy and advocacy background. Financial Management for ECE centres The 2022 ECC conference workshops Continued on page 26 June 2022 { 23 }
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