M Bulletin 02 2014

Issue 02 17 February 2014

Contributors to this Bulletin: Monique Beange, Jacinta Barnes, Nicholas Blackwell, Kim Bertino, Julie Gaul, Jane Robinson, Lyndal Haire, Haydn Murray

Editor: Haydn MurrayLayout: Haydn Murray

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Artwork by Joshua, 5 years – KU Fox Valley Preschool

KU Leave Without Pay Policy requirements KU Annual Conference – Save the date

KU Service’s Supervision Plan – 2014Staff Engagement Survey

www.ku.com.auIssue 2 17 February 2014 Page 2

Posted on the Staff Intranet

ECE Forms ECE112 Supporting Children with Anaphylaxis/Allergies in a KU Service ECE Forms ECE113 Allergy and Anaphylaxis Communican Strategy ECE Forms ECE114 Allergy/Anaphylaxis Risk Minimisation Plan ECE Forms ECE115 ECE Forms ECE116 ECE Forms ECE117 ECE Forms ECE118 ECE Forms ECE119 ECE P&P 2a. Medical Conditions – Allergy and Anaphylaxis Risk Minimisation Plan Practice

Guide ECE P&P

Action Items

All States ECE Send Annual Review of Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) to your Area Manager by Monday 7 April.

All States ECE Send 2014 Service Supervision Plan to your Area Manager by Monday 24 Feruary.

All States ECE Apply for McArthur Scholarships before Sunday 30 March.

All States ECE Nominate educators for the HESTA Awards before Friday 20 June.

NSW ESFS Attachment B and reports due to CO by Monday 17 February.

NSW ESFS Send ELIT23A Support Staff Recommendations to [email protected].

NSW PS&L Book now for Professional Learning experiences.

All States CS Refer all property lease or major repairs and maintenance queries to Central Office for action.

Attachments

2014 General Ledger Accounts for Invoice Coding

Inside

Message from the CEO 2Early Childhood Education 3Child Wellbeing 7Professional Services and Learning 7Corporate Services 8People Services 9Public Affairs and Development 9


Happy New Year and welcome to our first Bulletin for 2014!

As we commence the new year, I would like to warmly welcome all new staff to our “KU Family” I hope that your time with us will be enjoyable and rewarding. I look forward to meeting you at our Orientation sessions.

Our fortnightly Bulletin is our main vehicle for conveying to you the important information that you need to be aware of, to keep you up to date with organisational and sector developments or issues. Please take the time to read the Bulletin and discuss issues with your colleagues.

During January, KU has been involved in two major sector-wide issues:

1. Productivity Commission Inquiry into Childcare and Early Childhood LearningThe Australian Government has requested that the Productivity Commission examine childcare and early childhood education in Australia and recommend options for improving current arrangements. A Childcare and Early Childhood Learning Productivity Commission Issues Paper was released in December 2013 and interested parties invited to submit a response by Monday 3 February 2014.

In late December 2013, we were interviewed by the Commissioners and will be interviewed for a second time early this week. Over the last few weeks, we have been preparing KU’s response to the issues paper and as soon as it is completed, it will be posted on our intranet for you to access. If you would like to read the Productivity Commission Issues Paper or find out more about the Inquiry, go the following website: www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/childcare

2. Consultation on redirection of remaining Early Years Quality Fund to a new long day care professional development programOn 10 December 2013, the Assistant Minister for Education, the Hon. Sussan Ley MP, announced that the Government would redirect all funds remaining from the Early Years Quality Fund (EYQF) towards a professional development program (PDP), to assist all long day care educators meet the qualification requirements under the National Quality Framework (NQF), and to improve outcomes for children.

The new PDP will have sufficient flexibility to meet educator needs, as well as targeting known workforce shortages, such as early childhood teachers and educators in rural and remote areas.

KU, along with other representatives from the sector, was invited to attend a consultation session on the new program with the Australian Department of Education (formerly DEEWR) in Canberra on 21 January 2014.Generally, participants at the consultation meeting supported the following objectives and principles:

PD to be provided to all LDC educators on an equitable basis with fairness and transparency;

Sufficient flexibility to meet individual service’s needs; and

Ensuring the delivery of quality PD that provides the best outcomes for educators, services and more importantly, for children.

The new PD program will:

Be the single largest investment of Government funds in professional development for educators in LDC services;

Provide opportunities for services to identify gaps in professional skills and practices by looking at their Quality Improvement Plan and Workforce Development Plan; and

Address these gaps through targeted PD over the next two to three years.

Issues considered included:

What PD activities could be funded

The application and assessment process

Timeframe for expenditure of funds

Accountability and reporting requirements

The Department is now developing funding guidelines for the new program and we will keep you informed as information comes to hand.

Kind regards

Chris Legg, CEO

Message from the CEO


Children’s Services

Voices of Children – Why is it important to give children a voice and what does this look like in your service?The Early Years Learning Framework and the Framework for School Age Care guide educators to capture the integrated and complex wellbeing, development and learning of all children in Australia, and set the principles that underpin the practice that supports children’s learning through a number of pathways.

More and more we are reflecting on why it is important to view children as active participants and decision makers in the construction of curriculum and learning experiences, and how this facilitates educators intentional planning and practice.

KU believes there are many examples of children’s voices being captured in our services that we would like to know about and highlight at various opportunities, such as regionals, conferences, on our Facebook page or maybe even in KU publications. We would, therefore, love to hear from you on how the children’s voices are being heard, how children’s intelligences and theorising is being gathered, and how shared learning and thinking is being articulated in your service. Another perspective may be to engage parents to reflect on what they are observing and hearing from their children.

Please send your audio, visual or other inspired documentation and examples to us via your Area Manager, or send them directly to Central Office addressed to Monique Beange, General Manager Early Childhood Education.

Please note: We are particularly interested in children’s reactions, comments and experiences when assessors from DEC come to the service during your Assessment and Rating visits.

Risk Minimisation Plans – KU Health PolicyKU has a number of specific health policies and procedures, which staff are expected to have read, understood and follow. In particular there are policies and procedures relating to:

Anaphylaxis Diabetes Asthma Management

There have been a number of situations over the past 12 months that have shown that the associated Risk Management/Minimisation Plan has not been completed by services, or that these plans are out of date. As children’s lives may be at risk in these situations, this is totally unacceptable.

All policy information, procedures and relevant forms required for your Risk Management/Minimisation Plan are available for you to access from the ECE section of the Staff Intranet site.

Please note: The current KU Health Policy Statement is under review and will be circulated for feedback shortly. Until that time, the current version of this policy is still to be used to guide you through Risk Minimisation for children with allergies. All staff also need to take responsibility and have an awareness and understanding of how to minimise and manage allergies that range from mild to potentially anaphylactic. Further information is outlined in the KU Health Policy Statement, and a template for a Risk Minimisation Plan is included as an appendix to this policy.

Please ensure ALL children who are notified to you as having any level of allergy, are documented through your service’s Risk Minimisation Plan.

Expressions of Interest – Director of new centre (Victoria)KU will be opening a new work-based centre in Docklands, Melbourne on October 7 2013. This will be a 60-place long day care centre for employees of NAB (National Australia Bank), and has been built within NAB’s newest office building at 700 Bourke Street, Docklands.

The appointment will commence on August 12, providing the successful candidate the opportunity to work with Business Development and the Area Manager in setting up the centre. If you are interested in being considered for a transfer for this exciting opportunity, please contact Jacinta Barnes, State Manager Victoria, on 03 9811 9911 or 0400 513 156.

Early Childhood Education


Emergency Site Plan Instructions – DelayIn Bulletin 6 (29 April 2013) you were informed of the KU Emergency Site Plan available on the Staff Intranet, which would be required to be customised for your service. Instructions were to follow.

The Manager Employee Wellness, Nicholas Blackwell, is working to ensure as many services as possible have a current floor plan of the service, which will make the customising of the Emergency Site Plan much easier. The instructions have therefore, not been posted at this time. We will let services know when their floor plan is available and the instructions will then be made available.

For those services undergoing the Assessment and Rating process, Nicholas will ensure your Emergency Site Plan has been completed and signed off.

If you have any queries around the Emergency Site Plan, please contact Nicholas Blackwell by email at [email protected].

Early Childhood Education

Artwork by Lara, 5 years – KU AMEP Fairfield Children’s Centre


Sustainability

NSW OnlyThe Sustainable Projects Recognising Outstanding Practice (SPRouts) AwardsHave you got an inspirational story to share around the sustainable practices at your service? Enter the SPROuts Practice Awards for your chance to win $500 towards your ‘eco’ initiatives and the added bonus of positive publicity for your efforts.

The Sustainable Practice Recognising Outstanding Practice Awards are open to members of NSW ECEEN to showcase the projects which demonstrate their commitment to embedding sustainability. There are three categories for the awards:

Energy Connecting to Nature Other – this includes wellbeing and environmental health; water; waste; transport; procurement etc

The application requires a short story of what your services is doing, along with four relevant photos. Further guidelines and information about the applications can be found at http://www.eceen.org.au/news.htm.

ECEEN has an independent committee to review and select the winners, with the awards to be presented at the ECEEN Conference on July 27 at Naamaroo Convention Centre, Lady Game Drive, Chatswood.

Professional Services and Learning

• Professional Services • Professional Learning • Sustainability

Artwork by Myla, 3 years – KU Lance Children’s Centre


• Human Resources • Payroll • Employee Wellness & Safety

People Services

Human Resources

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)KU strives to provide a supportive and collaborative working environment. We recognise that as employees we all spend many hours at work and that work contributes significantly to our health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally.

Sometimes things don’t go as well as we would like either at work, at home, or in our personal lives and we may need some help to deal with the issues. It’s not always easy to ask for help, however through the “Access” Employee Assistance Program (Access EAP) you can access professional and confidential support.

As a KU employee, you can contact Access directly on 1800 818 728 to make a convenient time to see a qualified counsellor, free of charge.

As work colleagues we also have an important role to play in looking after each other. If you have noticed a colleague is not quite acting their usual self, or seems out of sorts, it can be difficult to know what to say. You might not feel it’s your place to say anything at all, but if you are concerned about someone, it’s best not to ignore the situation.

Reaching out and being supportive is a good way of looking out for your colleagues – it’s not your role to diagnose or provide counselling, but it is your role to assist the person to get help if they need it. Each situation will be different but it is important to remember, you can be critical in assisting that person to get the help they need – this might be as simple as reminding them about the availability of the Access Employee Assistance Program.

For more information, check out the following websites www.accesseap.com.au or www.beyondblue.org.

Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) ReportThe Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (EOWW Act) has been renamed the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (WGE Act), to put a focus on promoting and improving gender equality and outcomes for both women and men in Australian workplaces.

All non-public sector employers with 100 or more employees are required to report annually under the WGE Act. The WGE Act is administered by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) and allows allows for employers like KU to make a staged transition to the new reporting format before it comes into full effect in the 2013-14 reporting period. The preparation of this report supports KU by ensuring that we are consistently focused and proactive with respect to workplace gender issues.

For reporting in 2013, the format is briefer and limited to the provision of important workplace statistics reflecting the gender balance of KU, by various positions and employment status, e.g. full-time, part-time and casual. You can view a copy of the KU 2012-2013 Report on the Staff Intranet at www.ku.com.au/ku-intranet/people-services/workplace-gender-equality-agency-wgea-report.aspx.

In the 2013-14 reporting period, requirements will change and KU will be required to report against a set of standardised gender equality indicators.

For more information on the new requirements, or to provide feedback on KU’s 2012-2013 Report, please refer any questions and comments to Lyndal Haire, Human Resources Manager, on 02 9268 3988 or by email to [email protected]. Further information is also available on the WGEA website www.wgea.gov.au.


Marketing and Communications

Campaigns in support of KU servicesAs outlined in the CEO Report in Bulletin 6, KU has been notified of a potential change to the lease arrangements of 7 preschools on Sydney’s North Shore, along with KU Laurel Tree House Children’s Centre in the Sydney CBD. We have also been given notice about the potential sale of the land that KU Bradfield Park Children’s Centre currently occupies in West Lindfield.

To support the long-term future of these services, supporters and friends from these centres are currently undertaking campaigns aimed at gathering community support and influencing the decisions being made by our landlords in each of these situations.

North Shore Preschools and KU Bradfield Park CampaignThe first campaign is being undertaken by the friends and supporters of the 7 KU preschools and KU Bradfield Park Children’s Centre.

The campaign is calling on Ku-ring-gai Council to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to community-based, not for profit early childhood education services in the Ku-ring-gai Municipality, by entering into long-term, affordable leasing arrangements with KU for:

KU Fox Valley Preschool KU Killara Park Preschool KU South Turramurra Preschool KU St Ives Barra Brui Preschool KU The Chase Preschool KU Wahroonga Preschool KU West Pymble Preschool

Additionally, the campaign is requesting that Council work with all stakeholders to ensure that KU Bradfield Park can continue to be operated by KU in its current location.

We encourage you to show your support for this campaign by signing the online petition by Friday 31 May at: www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/ku-ring-gai-council-secure-the-future-of-local-ku-preschools-and-long-day-care

Alternatively, if you have a close relationship with any of these services, or are a local Ku-ring-gai resident, you are welcome to write a letter of support for these services and either email it to [email protected] or mail it to:

Marketing and Communications c/- KU Children’s Services Box Q132, QVB Post Office, NSW 1230

The deadline for these letters of support is Friday 31 May.

Save KU Laurel Tree House CampaignThe second campaign is being undertaken by the friends and supporters of KU Laurel Tree House, and is targeted at the NSW Land and Housing Commission and NSW Department of Finance.

The campaign is aimed at ensuring that the land the centre is located on is not sold, and that instead the State Government commit to keeping the asset in public ownership and to renewing the lease on the land with KU.

To support the ‘Save Laurel Tree House’ campaign, you can download and sign the hard copy petition from http://freepdfhosting.com/b5aa3e334b.pdf, or follow the campaign on Twitter #SaveLaurelTreeHouse or Facebook at www.facebook.com/SaveLaurelTreeHouse.

Further information and updates about both of these campaigns are also available on the KU Facebook page www.facebook.com/KUChildrensServices.

Public Affairs and Development


Reminder: KU Values SurveyAs outlined in previous editions of the Bulletin, we are currently undertaking a KU Values Survey to gather feedback from staff and key stakeholders about KU’s values as an organisation.

An interactive portal has been set up on the Staff Intranet and enables you as an individual, or your staff as a team, to contribute your ‘Values’ and feedback to the survey.

The portal is available under the Governance section of the Staff Intranet at: www.ku.com.au/ku-intranet/governance/ku-values-survey.aspx

To contribute your ‘Values’ to the KU Values Tree, follow the steps outlined on the following page.

1. Click on the image of the tree.

2. Enter your name (optional).

3. Enter your Centre or Office name, e.g. KU Eastwood Preschool, Barwon ISA.

4. Enter your first ‘Value’ in the ‘Share your Values’ field.

5. Click ‘Add my Value’. 6. If you would like to add multiple ‘Values’, type each of your values into the ‘Share your Values’ field, and click the ‘Add my Values’ button after each entry.

7. Once you have finished entering all of your ‘Values’, click on the ‘Submit and Close’ button. Each of your values will then be added as a leaf on the tree, and be added to the ‘Values’ list appearing under the tree.

Please note: The portal is designed to automatically remember your computer each time someone logs into the KU Values Survey page, and will automatically pre-fill the ‘Centre name’ field. This is designed to enable multiple staff at your centre to contribute their values into a single values list for your service. Once all of your staff have finished contributing their values to the survey, you can then go to the ‘Save and Print’ button, and a PDF version of your service’s Value Tree will be created. This PDF can be saved onto your computer or printed ready for sharing with your families or to use as a discussion point at upcoming staff meetings.

The Values Survey is due to close on Friday 31 May, and we encourage all staff to take this opportunity to contribute to the overall values of KU as an organisation.

If you have any questions about the KU Values Survey, or any problems submitting your ‘Values’ to the Values Tree, please contact Haydn Murray, Manager Marketing and Communications, at [email protected].



Updated version of ‘Understanding Quality’ booklet now availableThis time last year we launched the ‘Understanding Quality in Early Childhood Education’ booklets, and each centre was sent an initial allocation of 150 copies. These booklets have proven to be extremely popular and we have now distributed over 80,000 copies of the first edition.

To help ensure new and potential families are well informed about the National Quality Standards, we have updated and reprinted a further 20,000 copies of the booklet. The updates to the booklet are minor; simply reflecting the current status of NQF implementation. The booklets still provide an overview of each of the seven Quality Areas, and include a checklist of some of the things that parents should be looking for, and asking, when they are choosing a quality early childhood education provider for their children.

If you would like to place an order for more hard copy versions of the ‘Understanding Quality in ECE’ booklet, please email [email protected] with the quantity of booklets you require.

Alternatively, if you would prefer to send the booklet out to prospective families electronically, or as part of your centre newsletter, a copy is available via the KU website. To access the booklet, either:

Download a copy of the booklet and attach it to your emails, or Include a link to the following URL in your emails or centre newsletters: www.ku.com.au/why-choose-ku/understanding-quality-in-early-childhood-education.aspx

If you have any problems accessing the electronic version of the booklet, please contact [email protected].

Please note: It is important that all staff are aware of the content of this booklet, so that they are able to answer any questions that new families may have. Please ensure that all staff have been given a copy of the booklet to read, or are made aware of the location of the booklet on the KU website, so they can access a copy for themselves.


Artwork by Hannah 5 years – KU Kookaburra Preschool

Documents

M Bulletin 02 2014