Episode 2: Voice and Choice in the National Quality Framework PART 2

In this episode, host Katey Street sits down with educators Lisa Warburton and Angie Camilleri, and Child Safe Officer Rachel Norman to get to grips with child-centred practice in the early childhood education and outside school hours care (ECEC) sector following the update of the Approved Learning Frameworks.

About this podcast:

This episode is part of a short series produced by the Office of the Children's Guardian and funded by the NSW Department of Education, the NSW regulatory authority for early childhood education and care services in NSW as part of its Safety and Quality Practice program.

In part 2 of this episode, Katey and the group discuss practices and policies in the ECEC sector which encourage children to be empowered when learning and playing, as well as ways in which they contribute to educators' planning cycles.

About our speakers:

Lisa Warburton is an innovative Family Day Care Educator and children's advocate from Sydney. Her career spans more than two decades in early childhood education across the globe while her breadth of experience as a parent and as a former management consultant fuels her passion in providing all children with the strongest possible start in life. Lisa's creative approach to early childhood education is underpinned by integrity, tenacity and a lifelong love of learning. Her latest venture is supporting children and their carers is a parenting book to be released next year.

Angie Camilleri has worked in the Early Childhood sector for 15 years. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master's Degree in Education (Primary). Angie currently holds the role of Education Leader in a long daycare service and has done so for 5 years.

Rachel Norman, from the Office of the Children's Guardian, has a Master's Degree in Disability Policy and Practice. She worked with the ECEC sector for three years and is passionate about educating service providers about the risks of abuse in organisations.

This episode was recorded and edited on Gadigal land. The NSW Department of Education and the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian recognise that the land we work and live on always was and always will be Aboriginal land, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Resource mentioned in this episode:

OCG Child Safe Self Assessment

OCG SAFE Series Protective Behaviours program events/training

OCG SAFE Series Protective Behaviours program resources

OCG Empowerment and Participation handbook (PDF 9.0 MB)

eSafety Commissioner's website - resources for parents

3D Dinosaur viewer from Google: How to

Early Childhood Australia learning hub

Bravehearts

Teeny Tiny Stevies - Boss of my own body song

Educate2Empower

If you are looking for support on how to improve your child safe practices, or to speak to a child safe officer, contact childsafe@ocg.nsw.gov.au

Have a concern or a complaint about a child-related organisation? You can contact us via this form - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/contact-us or call us on (02) 8219 3600

Episode 2: Voice and Choice in the National Quality Framework PART 1

In this episode host Katey Street sits down with Rhonda Livingstone, the National Educational Leader for a chat about the updates to the Approved Learning Frameworks.

About this podcast:

This episode is part of a short series produced by the Office of the Children's Guardian and funded by the NSW Department of Education, the NSW regulatory authority for early childhood education and care services in NSW as part of its Safety and Quality Practice program.

Katey and Rhonda discuss the background of how and why the Frameworks for Early Education and Care; Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF) and My Time, Our Place: The Framework for School Age Care in Australia, were updated. They also explore how children's voices and choices were promoted during the development of the Approved Learning Frameworks to ensure that children are supported to become active participants in their learning.

About our speaker:

Rhonda Livingstone is ACECQA's National Educational Leader. She also leads the teams responsible for promoting and recognising quality educational programs, practices and policies. Rhonda and her team support the sector and regulatory officers to build a shared understanding of, and commitment to, implementing and administering the National Quality Framework (NQF) and continuous quality improvement.

Rhonda's extensive involvement in the National Quality Agenda reforms saw her contribute to the development of the National Quality Standard and its guide, assessment and rating tools and processes, the training and testing program for regulatory officers and the refresh of the nationally Approved Learning Framworks.

This episode was recorded and edited on Gadigal land. The NSW Department of Education and the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian recognise that the land we work and live on always was and always will be Aboriginal land, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

OCG resource page

OCG SAFE Series Protective Behaviours program

OCG Child Safe Self Assessment

Australian Human Rights Commission

Be You

Emerging Minds

Australian Institute of Famiy Studies

Alannah and Madeline Foundation

ACECQA Guide to the National Quality Framework

eSafety Commissioner's website

Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

ACECQA information sheets

ACECQA Kahoot! quiz instructions (PDF 281 KB)

ACECQA Starting Blocks for Families

ACECQA newsletter

ACECQA Facebook page

ACECQA NQF changes overview

ACECQA Approved Learning Frameworks matching game (PDF 2.6 MB)

Department of Education - educator resources

Reconciliation Australia resources

If you are looking for support on how to improve your child safe practices, or to speak to a child safe officer, contact childsafe@ocg.nsw.gov.au

Have a concern or a complaint about a child-related organisation? You can contact us via this form - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/contact-us or call us on (02) 8219 3600

Policy and Practice in Focus: an ECEC child safe podcast miniseries

Episode 1: The Child Safe Scheme in a ECEC context

Early Childhood Educators face unique challenges when applying the Child Safe Scheme. In this podcast Simon Luckhurst talks to two early childhood professionals and an Office of the Children’s Guardian compliance officer to answer some common questions.

About this episode:

This episode kicks off a short series produced by the Office of the Children's Guardian and funded by the NSW Department of Education, the NSW regulatory authority for early education and care as part of their Safety and Quality Practice program.

The NSW Child Safe Scheme means child-related organisations (including those involved in Early Childhood Education and Outside School Hours Care) must be able to demonstrate their commitment to child safety by employing the ten Child Safe Standards handed down by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

If organisations and their staff and volunteers are applying the Child Safe Standards, children are safer from harm and abuse. While many organisations understand what it means to keep children safe – and are also meeting the requirements under their National Quality Framework obligations – the Child Safe Scheme is designed to ensure all aspects of child safety are maintained and improved.

In this podcast Simon Luckhurst talks to two early childhood professionals and an OCG compliance officer to find out more about the scheme in the Early Childhood Education context.

About our speakers:

Meg Mendham, previous CEO of Community Connections Solutions Australia and also a board member, advisor and executive with over thirty years’ experience in the Early Childhood sector, including as an educator.

Angela Gillespie, a Senior Manager the Blue Mountains-based Connect Children and Families organisation, and winner of the 2023 Early Childhood Australia Barbara Creaser Champion Award.

Brittany Taylor, a Child Safe Officer in the Compliance Team at the Office of the Children’s Guardian.

This episode was recorded and edited on Gadigal land. The NSW Department of Education and the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian recognise that the land we work and live on always was and always will be Aboriginal land, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Office of the Children’s Guardian resources page

OCG Child Safe Self-Assessment

OCG Child Safe eLearning

Coffee Conversations

If you are looking for support on how to improve your child safe practices, or to speak to a child safe officer, contact childsafe@ocg.nsw.gov.au

Have a concern or a complaint about a child-related organisation? You can contact us via this form - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/contact-us or call us on (02) 8219 3600

Episode 2: Compliance with the NSW Child Safe Scheme

Compliance doesn’t have to be confusing! In this episode, host Simon Luckhurst and guest speakers Louise Coe, Lisa Purves and Sean Brohier break down what compliance to the Child Safe Scheme looks like, as well as what it doesn’t look like.

About this podcast:

This episode discusses compliance with the Child Safe Scheme. It also talks about what support is available to organisations to help them build capabilities, knowledge and skills of the Scheme – and includes a preview of the new Child Safe Self-Assessment from the OCG.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses themes and topics that may be upsetting for some audiences. We encourage you to look after your mental health and seek help if necessary.

BEYOND BLUE: 1300 22 4636 https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

LIFELINE: 131 114 https://www.lifeline.org.au/about/our-services/

NSW MENTAL HEALTH LINE: 1800 011 511 https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/Pages/mental-health-line.aspx

KIDS HELPLINE: 1800 551 800 https://kidshelpline.com.au/

About our speakers: Louise Coe is the Director of Child Safe Organisations at the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian, and was previously the Director of the Working with Children Check team. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce /Laws (honours) and Executive Masters of Public Administration, and has experience across both government and non-government organisations in a variety of legal and regulatory roles.

Sean Brohier has held a career in compliance and investigations for over 20 years. He has worked for the Office of State Revenue, NSW Fair Trading, and is currently the manager of the OCG’s Compliance and Investigations teams. He’s passionate about working with the community to help keep children safe.

Lisa Purves came to the OCG in 2011 and is currently the Manager of the Child Safe Organisations team. While she has a compliance and regulatory background her preference is to create training and resources that make it easy for people to comply with their obligations, recognising that most people want to do the right thing – if they know what to do.

Support and Resources:

Child Safe Self-Assessment: cssa.ocg.nsw.gov.au

Office of the Children’s Guardian resources - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/our-resources

If you are looking for support from an OCG Child Safe Officer specific to your sector, or to book a training webinar for your staff contact childsafe@ocg.nsw.gov.au

This episode discusses why and how the Royal Commission was set up, the implications of the Commission’s findings across child safe organisations, the challenges that some organisations faced in updating their policy and practice, and where organisations can now find support and other helpful resources to become more child safe.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses themes and topics that may be upsetting for some audiences. We encourage you to look after your mental health and seek help if necessary.

BEYOND BLUE: 1300 22 4636 https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

LIFELINE: 131 114 https://www.lifeline.org.au/about/our-services/

NSW MENTAL HEALTH LINE: 1800 011 511 https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/Pages/mental-health-line.aspx

KIDS HELPLINE: 1800 551 800 https://kidshelpline.com.au/

We’d like to thank our guest speakers on this episode:

Justice Peter McClelland was a Judge of Appeal in New South Wales. Prior to this, he was the Chief Judge at Common Law of Supreme Court of New South Wales, a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, Chairman of the Sydney Water Inquiry and Assistant Commissioner at the Independent Commission Against Corruption. He was also the head of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Child Sexual Abuse.

Richard Weston is the first Deputy Children’s Guardian for Aboriginal Children and Young People in New South Wales, bringing more than 25 years of experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to the role. The 20 years prior to this role he has held a number of CEO positions in First Nations peak bodies focused on health, healing and children. He is an experienced leader who has worked in very challenging social and political environments and delivered measurable social, health and economic outcomes. He has also been part of a number of advisory groups and committees working on national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy matters. Most recently has been appointed to the Federal Governments Referendum Engagement Group to support Constitutional Recognition of a First Nations Voice to Parliament.

Karen Jones is the Chief Executive of the NSW Office of Sport, leading 400 employees across 18 locations, to set the state sport policy agenda and provide direct service delivery to communities throughout NSW. Karen’s role is to work with government, the sport sector and key partners to create healthier people, connect communities and make a stronger NSW through the power of sport and recreation. Despite significant challenges in recent years, Karen is proud to have continued serving communities and supporting the sport sector. Throughout various adverse weather events, including bushfire, flood and drought, the Office of Sport has operated its sport and recreation centres as evacuation centres to provide displaced community members with accommodation and assist emergency services workers. In addition, the Office of Sport has offered relief programs for youth who were directly impacted during these difficult times and administered grant programs to support the repair and restoration of vital sport infrastructure.

Support and Resources:

Find out more about the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses into Sexual Abuse - https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/

Office of the Children’s Guardian resources - https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/our-resources

Office of Sport - https://www.sport.nsw.gov.au/

Play by the Rules resources - https://www.playbytherules.net.au/

Looking for support from an OCG Child Safe Officer specific to your sector, or book a training webinar for your staff - childsafe@ocg.nsw.gov.au