22 MayELAA CEO Update
Dear members and supporters
It was wonderful to see hundreds of ELAA members (and potential members!) at the Early Childhood Education Conference on Friday and Saturday just gone. From ELAA’s perspective the event was highly successful and we are proud to have brought such a high quality collection of speakers and trade exhibitors together for the benefit of our sector, and ultimately for the children and families we educate and care for. The two days ran very smoothly, even with the distraction of a Federal Election on the Saturday.
I was very impressed with our four keynote speakers who set the tone for an informative yet entertaining speaker program. Liana Buchanan underlined the obligations and significance of the Reportable Conduct Scheme; Dr Red Ruby Scarlet explored the impact of cultural inclusivity in the way we educate; Mark McCrindle delivered a highly entertaining ‘big picture’ perspective on the likely values, pressures and communication preferences facing Australian workforces in the coming decades; and Professor Manjula Waniganayake’s examined the significance of leadership through the lens of cultural diversity and early years practice.
The breakout sessions ranged from practice focussed and fun, such as Ben Newsome (Fizzics Education) with his simple and engaging range of demonstrations designed to spark the imagination of pre-schoolers about real world physics, to sessions focusing on staff self-care and mindfulness (Charlotte Tharup) to sessions concerned with difficult and serious subject matter such as Dr Tim Moore’s presentation on how early childhood practitioners can assist disadvantaged families beset by the compounding challenges of contemporary society.
I hope our members and supporters found the Conference valuable and we will be carefully examining all feedback forms to see how we can deliver an even better professional development event in the future.
Returning to the Federal Election, ELAA congratulates the Morrison Government on its successful return to office. Given the Liberal / National Coalition is some distance from meeting our (and the rest of the sector’s) early years policy expectations – particularly on matters such as two years of funded preschool, long-term funding of 15 hours, commitment to resourcing the National Quality Agenda, and reform of the Child Care Subsidy – there is now much more advocacy work for ELAA and our sector partners (such as the Early Learning Everyone Benefits Campaign) to do. To this end ELAA looks forward to working constructively with the new government to achieving common ground on these crucial matters of policy for our sector.
Wishing you all a fantastic week and I look forward to chatting with you again soon.
David Worland, Chief Executive Officer, ELAA
