
‘Growing Together’ NSW Family Day Care Association Members Conference 2019
NSW Family Day Care Association’s Members Conference will take place on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 September this year. The program of workshops, panels and networking opportunities supports educators, managers, coordinators, educational leaders and administration staff of our Family Day Care member services. The freshly renovated PARKROYAL Darling Harbour hotel in Sydney will be hosting our event. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided. The networking event with drinks and canapes on the Friday night is included in the Friday and 2-day ticket price.
Friday 20 September 2019, 8.30am – Saturday 21 September 4.30pm
Add to Calendar
Educator – Single day: $100
Educator – Both days: $200
Service staff – Both days: $350
Day 1:
8.30-9.00am | 9.00-9.30am | 9.30-10.30am |
Registration | Welcome to Country and official opening | Keynote: Dr. Justin Coulson |
10.30-11.00am | 11am-12.30pm | 12.30-1.30pm |
Morning tea | Breakout sessions | Lunch |
1.30-3.00pm | 3.00-3.30pm | 3.30-4.30pm |
Breakout sessions | Afternoon Tea | Exceeding services panel |
9.00-9.30am | 9.30-10.30am | 10.30-11.00am |
Registration and Welcome | Keynote: Jules Allen | Morning tea |
11.00am-12.30pm | 12.30-1.30pm | 1.30-3.00pm |
Breakout sessions | Lunch | Breakout sessions |
3.00-3.15pm | 3.15-4.15pm | 4.15-4.30pm |
Afternoon Tea | Drumming workshop | Close & lucky door prize |
Breakout sessions
Exceeding Themes
by Perry Campbell from ACECQA
This session is all about Exceeding Themes in Family Day Care with a focus on Quality Area 1. During an assessment and rating visit, authorised officers will use ‘observe, discuss and sight’ methods to collect evidence of all three exceeding themes in order to rate a standard as Exceeding NQS. The approach relies on a shared understanding of what each theme means. This is an engaging and interactive presentation with plenty of examples and opportunities to ask questions.
Embedding Culture (FULL)
by Meni Tsambouniaris from Diversity Kids
Do you work with children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds? Would you like to deliver a more culturally inclusive Family Day Care program where all your children feel included, welcome and a sense of belonging? This workshop will help you reflect on, plan and deliver culturally inclusive programs. With tips, strategies, practical ideas and resources, this workshop aims to help build your capacity to include all children in your Family Day Care environment and embed cultural inclusion in your everyday practice. Diversity Kids is a Multicultural Consultancy Program that values each child as a cultural being.
NSW Government sector update
by NSW Government ECEC representative
The NSW Government Department of Education Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate will present a current ‘hot topic’ in the Family Day Care and early childhood education and care sector. The content of this session will be confirmed at a later date, as to provide delegates with the latest relevant information.
Family Day Care Safety Guidelines
by Stacie Powell and Christine Erskine from Kidsafe NSW
For Family Day Care educators, the Kidsafe Family Day Care Safety Guidelines is an excellent resource to assist in maintaining a safe environment for children. This publication has been under review since 2017 and is now updated and available for the sector. The aim of these Guidelines is to enable home-based education and care services staff to help educators to establish a level of safety for the educator’s home, which will provide a safe environment for children. The Guidelines also identify potential hazards so that they can be managed to reduce the risk of injury to children.
Using Harmony Software to its full potential in the Family Day Care sector
by Melissa Hurley from Harmony Software
Discover how your service can maximise its use of Harmony Software to boost efficiency and simplify management of your business operations. Explore exciting new features designed to streamline your everyday tasks in one software solution. Learn tips from Harmony to assist your service to operate with greater confidence and use Harmony to its full potential.
Leading Wellbeing, Learning and Action
by Be You
Be You offers online professional learning, complemented by a range of tools and resources that turn learning into action. Meaningful and sustained change will only happen when everyone in your learning community is engaged and committed. Promoting mental health can motivate and empower others to get on board. This session will build connections with current practice, offer strategies to strengthen the whole of service quality improvement processes linked to the NQS and explore collaborative approaches to wellbeing that build mentally healthy communities for all.
Australian Government presentation
A representative from the Australian Government Department of Education and Training will speak about the Australian Government’s Child Care Subsidy and the landscape more than one year after the new child care package was implemented. Measures the department has in place to ensure the integrity of the child care subsidy payments will be further explained. This session will also touch upon how the department is working with the Family Day Care sector to support this sector to be compliant and implement best practice.
Exceeding Educators’ presentations
In the session Family Day Care educators who offer outstanding practice in language and literacy, STEM, arts and creativity and documentation of children’s programs will give short presentations with practical tips and positive solutions. This is a great opportunity to hear directly from Family Day Care educators about their Exceeding practice and take home ideas to implement in your own Family Day Care on your journey to Exceeding the National Quality Standard.
Difficult Conversations
by Seman & Slattery
Have you ever had to have a difficult conversation with someone? Could it be, a conversation with a parent about their child’s development? A conversation with a colleague? Difficult conversations can be nerve wrecking especially when the emotional stakes are high. This workshop will help you understand what makes conversations ‘difficult’ and provide you strategies to have a conversation that helps reduce the anxiety and maintain the relationship with the other person. At the end of the session you will be able to describe the three conversations inherent in a difficult conversation, understand the importance of emotions at play and craft the initial approach and script of a difficult conversation to minimise a defensive response.
Super for self-employed FDC educators
by Mike Cullen from MyLife MySuper
Has your Super been put in the ‘too hard to deal with’ basket? How can you make Super work for you when you are self-employed? Do you know about tax deductibility of Super payments, spouse contributions and tax rebates? Do you have a plan B for rainy days? Is your income protected if you’re unable to work due to illness? You work, you bring income to your family; how does that bring security as you grow older? Mike Cullen from MyLife MySuper will unveil the secrets and present you with inspiring, optimistic options to brighten up your day and see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Leadership
by Seman & Slattery
Are you in a leadership position, keen to improve your Family Day Care service, but struggle to bring educators or the team along with you to make changes? ‘But this is the way we have always done it! If it’s not broke don’t fix it!’ Do these responses sound familiar? Do you find it challenging to motivate, inspire and bring out the best in your team? This workshop will give participants the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to be an effective leader. The presenter provide you with some excellent tools and strategies that will help you to succeed and undertake your role more confidently and effectively.
Loose Parts Play
by Reverse Garbage
This workshop will cover key aspects of the theory of ‘loose parts play’. This session will explore how Family Day Care educators can apply sustainability principles through a creative reuse of loose parts and open-ended materials. The workshop will also include reflections on observations of real cases of children’s play and their relationship to the Early Years Learning Framework and My Time, Our Place
Risky Play
by Nicky Spalding, Early Childhood consultant
Let’s begin the conversation about risks in play, promoting ‘safe risks’ and ‘removing the bubble wrapping’ from children. Let’s arm ourselves with solid research that supports safe exploration of the environment vs keeping our children safe. Can we provide children with opportunities to build independence and resilience whilst experiencing a sense of freedom? This session is aimed at exploring our thinking around our role in providing children with opportunities to build independence and resilience whilst experiencing a sense of freedom. In this session we will begin the conversation about the risks in play, identify potential problems of removing risks versus possible benefits of supporting risks in play and look at how we can support risky play in Family Day Care environments.