Interactions with Children
Quality interactions develop children's knowledge and understanding of themselves, others and the environment they interact in. Viewbank Early Childhood Centre educators will collaboratively engage in open and warm interactions with children to build trusting and effective relationships, ensuring the interests, abilities and culture of every child is understood, valued and respected.
The Educational Leader (in collaboration with the Operations Manager) will actively:
- Guide and monitor educator's professional development and practices to promote interactions with children that are positive, meaningful, effective and respectful, and ensure that interactions are guided by the Centre's interaction policy and philosophy
Educators and staff will collaboratively work towards:
- Extending and supporting children's learning through active engagement, at their level, in their indoor and outdoor play and being involved in meaningful and shared interactions with all children that support the acquisition of skills for life and learning
- Building on children's abilities, interests, experiences, cultures, and families, supporting their needs and assisting them to initiate activities, make choices, and to become increasingly independent and responsible
- Promoting each child's identity, community, wellbeing, learning and communication through a play based and interest driven program and will actively encourage children to explore their environment and experiment and interact with others
- Using open-ended questions to capture children's curiosity and engaging children in sustained, meaningful conversations to enhance their interests and learning
- Encouraging children to become socially responsible, supporting them to find positive ways to express themselves and their feelings, and to learn socially acceptable behaviours, problem solving and interactions with others, whilst respecting the views, dignity, rights and opinions of all children at all times
- Listening thoughtfully to children when they express their emotions and reassuring children it is normal to experience a range of emotions at times, and supporting children to remove themselves from situations where they are experiencing frustration, anger or fear
- Role modelling socially appropriate behaviours, interactions, communication, play, social skills and listening skills consistently for children to learn from
- Supporting the maintenance of children's home languages and the inclusion of children with additional needs through the use of visual aids, sign language and other resources and tools
- Providing groups of varied sizes and compositions (mixed age Family Grouping) and maintaining appropriate staffing levels that support the establishment and continuation of warm, trusting, reciprocal and secure relationships between educators and children, and amongst each other
- Encouraging children of all ages and abilities to support, help and learn from each other, and to relate positively and effectively with each other through the provision of our mixed age Family Grouping structure
- Promoting the development of each child's self-reliance and self-esteem by encouraging children's independence, opportunity for choice and decision making
- Giving children feedback, acknowledging their efforts, recognising positive choices, celebrating their progress and achievements, involving children in developing behaviour limits and helping them to appreciate and learn from setbacks and challenges
- Reflecting, assessing and evaluating their practices and interactions with children to ensure they are supporting and extending children's learning, development and wellbeing to achieve best possible outcomes for every child.
Sources:
- Guide to the National Quality Standard- ACECQA 2011
- Education and Care Services National Regulations
- Viewbank Early Childhood Centre Philosophy
- Viewbank Early Childhood Centre team members
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