FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESS
GUIDELINE FOR EXTENDING AND ENRICHING LEARNING FOR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER CHILDREN IN THE KINDERGARTEN YEAR

Overview
Introduction
1. Guiding principles
2. Building learning bridges
3. Exploring the decision-making process
3.1 Children, families and communities
3.2 Planned learning
3.3 Pedagogy
3.4 Documenting and reflecting for children’s learning
3.5 Supporting the transition to school
4. Planning and reflecting on a holistic kindergarten program
4.1 Being proud and strong
4.2 Being an active participant
4.3 Being healthy and safe
4.4 Being a learner
4.5 Being a communicator
Appendices
References

Notice to readers
The Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment respects the cultural issues inherent in the recording and publication of photographs.

The photographs featured in these guidelines are from early learning programs in the communities of Thursday Island, Woorabinda, Napranum and Yarrabah and have been used with permission. If someone shown in these guidelines has passed away, these images may cause distress to some readers.

Where the term ‘Indigenous’ is used in these guidelines it refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. ‘Indigenous Australia’ is a term used to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. ‘Indigenous’ means ‘first’, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia.

Photographs: Brian Cassey and Tony Phillips.

Revised 2013

FOREWORD

Engaging children in quality kindergarten education is a high priority for our government.
Research clearly shows that early childhood is a vital time in a child’s development. By actively involving children in educational programs from an early age, we can set them on a pathway for lifelong learning.

This landmark document, first published in 2008, has been revised to align with Belonging, Being and Becoming — Australia’s first national Early Years Learning Framework. It has been developed in collaboration with Indigenous education experts and educators to ensure kindergarten is a welcoming environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Family members are a child’s first and most influential teachers. Successful early learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children relies on strong relationships and connections among educators, families and communities. A quality kindergarten program recognises, values and builds on the cultures, languages and practices children bring from their families and communities. The children have a sense of belonging and feel culturally secure. This will lay the foundations for successful learning.

The Foundations for Success guideline draws on the Early Years Learning Framework to convey the highest expectations for children’s learning. It places Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities at the core of the teaching and learning process.
I encourage early years educators to use this unique resource to support the delivery of quality kindergarten programs for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

THE HON. JOHN-PAUL LANGBROEK MP
Minister for Education, Training and Employment

OVERVIEW

The Foundations for Success guideline has been organised to reflect the holistic nature of children’s learning. It describes five learning areas that lead to achievement of the outcomes of the national Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF):

1. Children have a strong sense of identity.
2. Children are connected with and contribute to their world.
3. Children have a strong sense of wellbeing.
4. Children are confident and involved learners.
5. Children are effective communicators.

Each section builds on and complements the other to guide the professional practice of educators in extending and enriching learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their Kindergarten Year. In Queensland the Kindergarten Year is the year before the Preparatory Year of schooling.

Sections 1 and 2 of the guideline set out the principles and perspectives that underpin a culturally secure kindergarten program.

Educators can use these sections to consider the key principles that will underpin their practice; the significance of belonging, being and becoming in children’s lives and learning; the language, literacy and numeracy capabilities that children bring to a kindergarten program; and how they will build bridges to new learning.

Section 3 introduces a decision-making process which educators will use to make intentional, purposeful and thoughtful decisions that guide their planning for children’s learning.

Educators can use this section to consider the expected knowledge, skills and dispositions for children across the Kindergarten Year; what pedagogical practices will promote this learning; what they will use to make informed and consistent assessments about children’s learning; and what they will use to communicate children’s learning as they make the transition to school.

Section 4 explores how educators use the decision-making process described in Section 3 to extend and enrich children’s learning. It provides an overview of each of the five learning areas linked clearly to the outcomes of the EYLF.

Educators can use this section to consider the aspects of children’s learning that will guide planned and spontaneous learning directions; the pedagogical practices they will use to intentionally promote this learning, the ways children will demonstrate their learning, and how this will inform new learning; and the effectiveness of their practice in extending and enriching children’s learning.

INTRODUCTION

A major feature that distinguishes Australia from all other countries in the world is the ancestral relatedness of Indigenous people. This relatedness forms the world’s oldest living culture … acknowledgment of Indigenous ancestral relatedness, its values, and how these are realised is distinctly Australian (Department of Education and Early Development 2008, p. 2).

In Australia, Belonging, Being and Becoming — the Early Years Learning Framework is fundamental for ensuring that children in all early childhood education and care settings experience quality teaching and learning. It is an essential resource for implementing the National Quality Standard, which sets a national benchmark for the quality of education and care services (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 20112).

The aim of the EYLF is to extend and enrich children’s learning from birth to five years, and through the transition to school. It assists educators to provide young children with opportunities to maximise their potential and develop a foundation for future success in learning.

The Foundations for Success guideline builds on the principles, practices and outcomes outlined in the EYLF, to uphold its vision: 'all children experience learning that is engaging and builds success for life' (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 7).

Used alongside the EYLF, Foundations for Success provides educators with additional guidance to implement a holistic program that extends and enriches learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their Kindergarten Year. A holistic program is one that reinforces personal and cultural identities, connects with families and communities and provides the foundations for children’s successful learning.

There is a strong emphasis on ‘relationships’ and the wider context of family and community.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are born connected to the ancestral relatedness of their culture. This knowledge empowers them with ‘who they are’ and ‘where they belong’.
This guideline outlines strategies educators can use to support children become two-way strong. Being two-way strong means children build deep and strong foundations in both the traditional and contemporary cultures and languages of their families and community, and those of the broader world, allowing them to move fluently across cultures without compromising their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities.

Clancy et al. agree: '… we use ... a term "fire-stick period" (a fire stick is a stick that is kept alight to ensure the availability of fire). This term highlights that culture is something that should not be left behind, but rather kept as an integral part of their lives' (2001, p. 57).

All children have the right to an education that values and respects their social and cultural heritage, and supports them to become successful learners and confident and creative individuals (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs 2008).

1. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Quality environments are those where children are encouraged to explore — where they have the opportunity to encounter rich learning experiences that nurture and expand their thinking, language, and physical and social development, and where their cultural identity development is supported (Priest 2005, p. 41).

The Foundations for Success guiding principles complement the five principles of the EYLF to support:

1. secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships
2. partnerships
3. high expectations and equity
4. respect for diversity
5. ongoing learning and reflective practice (see Appendix 1).

Educators use the guiding principles to extend and enrich learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their kindergarten year in the following ways.

1.1. ‘Knowing who you are’ and having a positive sense of cultural identity is central to children’s social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual wellbeing.

A kindergarten program is culturally strong and socially and emotionally, safe when relationships honour children’s traditional and contemporary cultures and languages, while at the same time building bridges that allow children to move fluently across diverse cultures. Children should experience many opportunities for their developing identities to be a source of individual strength, confidence, pride, belonging and security.

Educators recognise that there are many ways of living, being and knowing, and that diversity contributes to the richness of our society. They create connected learning environments that value, respect and build on children’s cultures and broaden their understandings of the world in ways that make them two-way strong.

1.2. Children learn best through responsive and reciprocal relationships that connect with their world.

Responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, times, experiences, ideas and things support children’s strong sense of wellbeing. Through secure relationships and consistent emotional support children feel valued and respected. They develop confidence and learn to appreciate their connectedness and interdependence as learners.

Educators nurture positive interactions that are responsive to children’s ways of knowing and learning. They implement culturally and linguistically sensitive and respectful interactions, in partnership with families and communities, that assist children to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions to interact positively and collaborate with others.

1.3. Strong family and community engagement enables children’s health, learning and wellbeing.

Families are children’s first and most influential educators, and their engagement is central to creating a holistic kindergarten program. Respectful interactions with families and communities facilitate the sharing of culturally specific knowledge and information about children and their learning that builds involvement, collaboration and negotiation.

Educators nurture trusting relationships and partnerships that evolve over time. They are learners, collaborating with co-workers, families, Elders and community members to reinforce and promote for children the continuity and richness of their cultures and languages, and help children feel secure, confident and included.

1.4. First languages define every child — their knowledge, identity and relationships.

First languages (FLs) are primarily acquired from families, and have been developing from birth, shaping the way children see and describe the world. Language is a powerful communicative tool, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are generally competent users of their developing FLs when they come to kindergarten.

Educators are aware of, recognise and value children’s FLs. They support children’s continuous development and use of their FLs, and work with adults who speak the same languages as the children to plan and deliver the kindergarten program wherever possible. The program includes a range of strategies and resources to support children to use and strengthen their FLs; and for children who are learning Standard Australian English (SAE) as an additional language, to also use and strengthen their proficiency in SAE.

1.5. Children are competent and capable and have been learning since birth.

Recognising children as competent learners means knowing their capabilities and using these as a starting point for new learning. Every child has unique aptitudes and abilities that must be valued and maximised.

Educators believe in the competence and capability of children. They have high expectations and value, respect and accommodate the diverse experiences, languages and capabilities of all children. They make decisions that are genuinely inclusive, and carefully adjust their interactions and the environment to support every child’s equal access to learning and participation.

1.6. Children’s positive attitudes to learning are essential for success.

Children’s early learning influences their life chances. Valuing children’s sense of wonder and capturing their enthusiasm towards learning encourages them to engage with learning, to persevere, to take risks and to negotiate with others. Children grow these attitudes in culturally safe environments where they are treated with trust and respect.

Educators support learning through active involvement in children’s play — modelling curiosity, demonstrating a love of learning and implementing intentional teaching strategies to promote learning. They view themselves together with children as participants within a community of learners, in which all members share in learning.

1.7. Children are entitled to a voice of their own and to having their rights valued.

The Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNICEF 1990) states that all children have the right to an education that lays the foundations for the rest of their lives, maximises their ability, and respects their family, cultural and other identities and languages. The Convention also recognises children’s right to play, and their right to participate in decisions and actions that affect them.

Educators engage children as active participants and contributors in a play-based learning environment. They respect their independence and interdependence within the context of family and community, listen to their ideas, and engage with them in planning, sharing and reflecting on the learning process.

1.8. Ongoing learning and reflective practice underpin a quality kindergarten program.

Children represent their knowledge and understanding of the world in many ways (C&K Pre-schooling Professionals 2006, p. 126), and everyday play experiences offer rich opportunities for gathering evidence about their learning. Purposeful and systematic observation and documentation support educator judgments about a child’s developing capabilities, inform new learning and enable ongoing reflection on the effectiveness of teaching practices.

Educators seek new insights and perspectives that support, inform and enrich decision-making about children’s learning. They implement an ongoing cycle that includes planning, documenting and reflecting for children’s learning, and the information gathered is shared with families. They engage in reflective practice and professional enquiry alongside children, families and community.

2. BUILDING LEARNING BRIDGES

Every aspect of caring for and educating children is culturally determined … it determines how and when babies are fed, as well as where and with whom they will sleep. It affects the customary response to an infant’s crying and a toddler’s temper tantrums. It sets the rules for discipline and expectations for developmental attainments. It affects what parents worry about and when they begin to become concerned. It influences how illness is treated and disability is perceived … In short, culture provides a virtual how-to manual for rearing children and establishes the role expectations for mothers, fathers, grandparents, older siblings, extended family members and friends (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000, p.5).

Fundamental to the EYLF is a view of children’s lives as characterised by belonging, being and becoming (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p.7).

Belonging acknowledges the importance of relationships and children’s interdependence with others. It recognises that ‘knowing where and with whom you belong’ is integral in shaping who children are and who they can become.

Becoming acknowledges that identities, knowledge, understandings, capacities, skills and relationships change during childhood. It recognises the rapid and significant change that occurs as children learn to participate fully and actively in society.

Being acknowledges the significance of the ‘here and now’ in children’s lives. It recognises that childhood is not solely about a preparation for the future, but also a time to be, to seek and to make meaning of the world.

Culture plays a complex role in shaping children’s belonging, being and becoming. From birth, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are connected to family, community, culture and place. Their earliest development and learning takes place through these relationships. Karen Martin explains: '… our world is always about being related … it is about being related to people, to the sky, the salt water, the animals, the plants, the land ... that is how we hold who we are … it is that we are related to everything else' (2005, p. 12)

When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families encounter a kindergarten program for the first time, they will generally experience a contemporary Western world view of childhood, learning and development. A world view forms the cultural fabric of every program, from how the environment looks and feels, to the nature of relationships within it — the languages used and the ways in which families are engaged in a program.

The Foundations for Success guideline embraces the understanding that there are many valid world views of childhood and learning and development. Drawing on socio-cultural theories, learning is viewed as a social process; participatory, building on what children already know; and cultural in nature. This perspective challenges educators to question their practices as they respond to the diverse ways children experience belonging, being and becoming (Kennedy, Ridgeway & Surman 2006, p. 20).

By acknowledging children’s deep sense of cultural connectedness, and the many ways children experience belonging, being and becoming, educators can begin to build learning bridges. A learning bridge is a means to build valued, respected and safe relationships for learning and living. It enables children, families and community members to move to and from home and other social contexts to the contexts of a kindergarten program and schooling.

A learning bridge is not just for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families. It requires a collaborative, two-way process that enables educators to build on culturally valued approaches to learning for children and their families. As Terry Cross, Director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association of the First Nations, Canada, advises: 'a bridge is only any good if there are strong foundations on both sides' (2007).

Effective educators understand that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families may share ways of belonging, being and becoming in relation to young children that differ from those of non-Indigenous cultures. Their professional judgments will integrate an awareness of their own world view with their knowledge of the culturally valued approaches to childhood, children and learning embedded within the community.

Educators build successful learning bridges when they nurture strong and respectful family and community partnerships and engagement; critically reflect on their own values, views and understandings of childhood, children and learning; value and utilise the culturally valued knowledge about children’s learning and development held within the community; demonstrate an ongoing commitment to developing their own as well as children’s cultural competence; and build their own awareness and understanding about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, history and contemporary societies (adapted from Ball & Simpkins 2004).

2.1 Building language learning bridges

Language is the medium by which children have been communicating and understanding since birth. It shapes a child’s everyday experiences and is strongly linked to culture, country and identity. Through language, relationships are developed, culture is taught, information is transmitted, knowledge is learned and stories are told. Within traditional languages, stories of communities, connections to country, seas, waterways and sky, spiritual beliefs and cultural practices are passed down from generation to generation. These knowledges are uniquely Australian, developed from and within local Australian environments (Department of Education and Training 2011b).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children come from rich and diverse family, cultural and language backgrounds. The language/s they acquire will be dependent on the language/s spoken by their primary caregivers when they are very young. Some children will acquire SAE as a first language. However, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are likely to have first languages that are traditional languages (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages that originated prior to European colonisation and which continue to be spoken by children today in a few areas of Queensland) and contact languages (new languages that have formed since colonisation. These include several creole languages which are spoken in Queensland).

Contact languages such as creoles may superficially resemble SAE. This can result in educators mistakenly assuming that these languages are not real languages, or that children who speak these languages will automatically learn to switch to using SAE. It can result in children who speak these languages not having their languages valued or their English language learning needs recognised and addressed.

Language is integral to a child’s sense of identity and wellbeing. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, this means recognising and valuing their developing first language, and having an awareness that children may also identify with languages that are part of their heritage but that they may not speak.

Educators build successful language learning bridges when they 	know about, recognise and value the languages spoken by the children in their kindergarten. In Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, children are likely to have a creole or related language variety as their first language. There are places in Queensland where children will have a traditional language as their first language.

They also build successful language learning bridges when they implement a kindergarten program that supports children to use and strengthen their first languages; supports children who are learning SAE as an additional language to use and strengthen their proficiency in SAE as well as their first language; and involves adults who speak the same language/s as the children.

They should develop respectful, reciprocal cross-cultural relationships that encourage families, community and co-workers to play an active role in children’s language learning, and recognise that, although children may not be proficient in a traditional language, they may strongly identify with one or more languages that are part of their heritage.

When Indigenous children come to preschool they can already talk and listen. Many know how to read the land. They come with understanding of links between land, people and learning … These children already know how to look to nature – nature is the writer, creating shapes and renewing the environment (Fleer & Williams-Kennedy 2002, p. 23).

2.2 Building literacy and numeracy learning bridges

Literacy and numeracy refer to the multiple, interrelated ways that children create and make meaning within the cultural and social contexts of their community (Kennedy, Ridgeway & Surman 2006, p. 15). From birth, children begin to acquire understanding about literacy and numeracy through their everyday family and community relationships and experiences. By the time Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enter a kindergarten program, they will have attained a rich variety of socially and culturally valued literacies, including oral literacies, and numeracies.

For some children, however, a discontinuity may exist between their experience of literacies and numeracies in the context of family and community and the literacy and numeracy practices required when they reach school. Lessons from the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study for Indigenous Students (LLANS) reports that: 'In Indigenous cultures, young children are surrounded by a rich and linguistically complex environment that provides experiences that support both literacy and numeracy development; however, the intricacies of early childhood experiences in Indigenous communities are often misunderstood or marginalised by educators' (Purdie et al. 2011, p. 14).

Effective educators acknowledge that Western literacy and numeracy is only one form of literacy and numeracy, and develop a kindergarten program which values and builds on what children know and can do. They respect that learning to use and understand non-verbal body language may be a key aspect of literacy development for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, along with understanding of the natural environment and the complex relationships in their extended family networks. From an early age, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are encouraged to communicate using a variety of signs and gestures. In addition, although their linguistic systems for representing number may differ from the English language system, many children will have a rich foundation of numerical and other mathematical understanding on which to build (Purdie et al. 2011, p. 15).

Educators build successful literacy and numeracy learning bridges when they educate themselves about the culturally valued conceptual skills children have already acquired; and implement purposeful and meaningful learning opportunities that incorporate and build on the oral traditions and stories, songs, dance, music, symbols, environmental patterns and relationships, and material art and cultures of the community.

They also build successful literacy and numeracy learning bridges when they make intentional connections for children that broaden their experiences with the texts, letter–sound relationships, symbols, pattern systems and mathematical concepts of the broader world; saturate the learning environment with Western and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sounds, signs and symbols, oral and written texts, visual and creative arts, technologies and media; and facilitate partnerships with families that connect the literacy and numeracy experiences of the kindergarten program with children’s experiences in the home.

Educators should refer to the Learning Area Being a Communicator in Section 4 of this guideline for practices that intentionally build successful language, literacy and numeracy learning bridges with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

3. EXPLORING THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

'... there is no written curriculum for Indigenous learning. Rather this is set by philosophies … handed down from generation to generation … the child lets the adult know what they need to learn … time is of no consequence, gaining the skill, knowledge and understanding is. Special knowledge is given at the right time for the child to know' (Coleman-Sleep 2005, p. 31).

The decision-making process described in Foundations for Success supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s learning through connected processes and relationships. Central to the process are children, families and communities, and the knowledge, languages, and ways of learning they bring as active participants in a kindergarten program.

Underpinned by the principles and perspectives outlined earlier in this document, educators support children’s belonging, being and becoming. They make intentional, purposeful and thoughtful decisions that draw on their professional knowledge, including their in-depth knowledge of each child, in partnership with families, to guide planning for children’s learning.

The model of curriculum decision-making is depicted as an ongoing cycle. It is dynamic and aligns planned learning (the expected knowledge, skills and dispositions for children across the kindergarten year), pedagogy (the practices that promote this learning) and documenting and reflecting for children’s learning (making informed assessments to inform new learning).

The decision-making process can be described as everything educators do, in partnership with families and communities, to maximise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s wellbeing and successful learning and development. It also involves educators in critically thinking about what is offered and why.

All aspects of the process are interconnected, and collectively contribute to children’s engagement with, and success in, learning as represented in the diagram opposite.

Each component of the process is explored in the following section.

3.1 Children, families and communities

Family is the cornerstone of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, spirituality and identity. As an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child grows up, maintaining their connections to family and community forms the basis of the development of the child’s identity as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person, their cultural connectedness and their emerging spirituality (SNAICC 2010, p. 19).

Educators implementing Foundations for Success understand that the active engagement of children, families and communities will be central to the teaching–learning process. Children thrive when families and educators work together in partnership to support young children’s learning (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 9).

Each kindergarten program will emerge as children and families discuss and contribute to rules, boundaries and the conventions of everyday living, and policies are negotiated and considered side-by-side with families, Elders and community members.

Strong relationships among and between educators, children, families and communities will be critical to understanding and sharing each other’s expectations and attitudes, and subsequently in building on the strength of each other’s knowledge. When educators respect the diversity of families and communities, and the aspirations they hold for children, they are able to foster children’s motivation to learn and reinforce their sense of themselves as competent learners. They will make curriculum decisions that uphold all children’s rights to have their cultures, identities, abilities and strengths acknowledged and valued (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 13).

The attitude of the educator in this process is crucial, and their effectiveness will depend on an understanding that their practices and the relationships they form with children and families have a significant effect on children’s involvement and success in learning (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 10). It will also depend on their willingness to share the learning and teaching process with children, their families and the community, while at the same time maintaining a clear learning focus, and the recognition that their commitment to ongoing learning and reflection is critical to children’s learning.

3.2 Planned learning

What knowledge, skills and dispositions will children be learning?

The planned learning of Foundations for Success is communicated across five learning areas that lead to achievement of the outcomes of the national EYLF:

1. The learning area Being Proud and Strong leads to the EYLF outcome ' Children have a strong sense of identity'.
2. The learning area Being an Active Participant leads to the EYLF outcome ' Children connect with and contribute to their world'.
3. The learning area Being Healthy and Safe leads to the EYLF outcome 'Children have a strong sense of wellbeing '.
4. The learning area Being a Learner leads to the EYLF outcome Children are confident and involved learners'.
5. The learning area Being a Communicator leads to the EYLF outcome Children are effective communicators'.

The EYLF outcomes represent a national set of priorities for young children’s learning. They draw on conclusive international evidence to provide broad direction for children’s learning and development from birth to five years. They cover the most crucial aspects of learning relevant to the early childhood phase of life, and are known to significantly influence later learning and life chances (Early Childhood Australia 2011, p. 4).

The planned learning in Foundations for Success specifically describes the expected knowledge, skills and dispositions for children across their Kindergarten Year.

Key components of this learning are expressed through 11 learning statements — the sub-elements of which are drawn from the sub-elements of the EYLF outcomes (see Appendix 2), and are described in detail in Section 4 of this guideline.

The planned learning reflects the holistic nature of young children’s learning. The knowledge, skills and dispositions developed in one learning area will often be used by children as they learn across the others. While described separately in this guideline, most learning experiences will integrate all five learning areas as demonstrated in the example Bringing it all Together in this guideline.

It is also made clear in the following statement from the EYLF: '… educators … see children’s learning as integrated and interconnected. They recognize the connections between children, families and communities and the importance of reciprocal relationships and partnerships for learning. They see learning as a social activity and value collaborative learning and community participation (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 14).

Educators use their knowledge of the planned learning to guide intentional and spontaneous curriculum decisions that build on the rich cultural, linguistic and conceptual skills that children bring to their Kindergarten Year.

3.2.1 Being proud and strong

In this learning area, a kindergarten child builds a knowledgeable and confident identity, and a sense of belief and confidence in themselves.

Being proud and strong supports the achievement of a child’s strong sense of identity. Having security of personal and cultural identity provides children with an understanding of the world, a sense of where they belong and who they are, as well as shaping how they think and communicate. The development of a strong cultural identity is increasingly recognised as being important for health, development and wellbeing in childhood, adolescence and adult life (Family Law Council 2004; National Health and Medical Research Council 2004; Terrini & McCullum 2003, p. 9).

Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children enter a kindergarten program with a strong sense of belonging to family and community. They learn and experience their culture and spirituality through their families — whether through knowledge, stories and songs from parents, grandparents, Elders or uncles and aunts; or through the everyday lived experience of shared values, meaning, language, custom, behaviour and ceremonies (Larkins 2011).

Children’s sense of belief in themselves is enhanced when educators understand that children may already be active members of the community, who are entitled to make decisions on their own behalf. Experiences in this learning area will involve children in developing pride and confidence in their cultural and social heritage. Teaching strategies will support the notion of the strong child who is an equal member of society with the right to act autonomously and make his or her own decisions (Warrki Jarrinjaku ACRS Project Team 2002).

By ensuring children experience many opportunities for success, educators help children to feel confident, build resilience in approaching new situations and cope with frustrations. This will ensure their healthy development and contribute to their success in life and learning.

3.2.2 Being an active participant

In this learning area, a kindergarten child broadens their sense of belonging to groups and communities and becomes increasingly independent and interdependent.

Being an active participant promotes the achievement of a child’s connection with and contribution to their world.

A significant feature shared by many Indigenous cultures is the belief that it is important, for the health of the entire community, to place children at the centre of decision-making within the family and wider community (Warrki Jarrinjaku ACRS Project Team 2002, p. 20). Emphasis is placed on children learning to share and have compassion for others; generosity and selflessness are seen as desirable behaviours (Priest 2005, p. 31).

As children move into a kindergarten program, the experiences and relationships they encounter will broaden their sense of belonging to many groups and communities. Over time, and with opportunity and support, the ways in which children connect, contribute and participate with others increase. Through a widening network of secure relationships, they become increasingly able to recognise and respect the feelings of others and interact positively with them. Educators assist children to learn about their responsibilities to others, to appreciate their connectedness and interdependence as learners, and to value collaboration and teamwork (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 12).

In broadening children’s understanding of their world, educators provide opportunities for children to learn about similarities and differences, to respond to diversity with respect, and to learn about interdependence and learning to live together. An integrated, holistic approach to teaching and learning also focuses on connections to the natural world. Educators foster children’s respect for the natural environment and the interdependence between people, plants, animals and the land (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 14).

3.2.3 Being healthy and safe

In this learning area, a kindergarten child becomes strong in their emotional and physical wellbeing.

Being healthy and safe contributes to a child’s strong sense of wellbeing. Sound wellbeing results from the satisfaction of basic needs — the need for tenderness, affection and security. It includes happiness, effective social functioning, and the dispositions of optimism, openness, curiosity and resilience (Commonwealth of Australia 2010a, p. 30). A strong sense of wellbeing provides children with confidence and optimism, which maximises their learning potential.

For young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families, a positive sense of wellbeing is promoted in emotionally fulfilling environments, where responsive and respectful relationships and community connections are nurtured and valued. A culturally safe and caring environment will support children’s health, wellbeing, and sense of belonging and security.

Experiences in this learning area promote good health, nutrition and physical activity as integral to children’s participation and engagement in learning. Time, space and encouragement is required for children to practice personal care skills, and to develop and challenge their physical capacities. Attention to fine and gross motor skills will provide children with the foundations for their growing independence and satisfaction at being able to do things for themselves (Commonwealth of Australia 2010a, p. 30).

3.2.4 Being a learner

In this learning area, a kindergarten child becomes a confident and involved knower and learner, and explores, investigates and connects with people, land, place, time and technology.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are expected to learn through observation and participation in daily extended family activities (Williams-Kennedy 2004, p. 80). In addition, they may have experienced learning situations that are free from adult–child hierarchy (MCEETYA Taskforce on Indigenous Education 2001a, p. 25). It is through these eyes that they see and interpret their world.

Being a learner contributes to a child’s confidence and involvement in learning. Educators value and support the diverse ways children represent their learning and thinking. Experiences harness their curiosity and provide many opportunities to express ideas creatively through dance, music, movement, drama, the visual arts, and information and communication technologies.

Open-ended learning opportunities will support children to resource their own learning, find their own solutions, and transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another. Problem-solving, exploration and investigation are embedded within the environment, providing opportunities for children to invent their own cultural forms and symbols and explore unique and innovative approaches to understanding their worlds.

3.2.5 Being a communicator

In this learning area, a kindergarten child explores and expands ways to use language, engages with multiple forms of literacy that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning, and engages with numeracy concepts that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning.

Being a communicator embraces the diversity of languages, literacies and numeracies that a child brings to a kindergarten program to support their effective communication.

Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are generally proficient communicators who draw on various verbal and non-verbal expressions to convey their feelings and thoughts, and to be understood. These rich spoken languages, as well as their gestures and actions, underpin the development of literacy and numeracy concepts.

Experiences in this learning area build on the range of experiences with language, literacy and numeracy that children have with their families and communities. There are many opportunities to interact verbally and non-verbally with others, to engage with a range of texts, to explore and make meaning, and to begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work.

By interpreting the visual cues and symbols their cultural group has framed for them and expects them to know, children will be constantly ‘reading’ their world. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, children may be expected to ‘communicate appropriately within kinship systems, as well as being able to read and interpret local symbols of nature, in order to sustain and maintain family and culture’ (Williams-Kennedy 2004, p. 87). Visual cues may include the natural environment, seasonal cycles, stars and constellations, animals and their tracks, art, material culture and technology, dance and ritual. These early understandings will be closely tied to children’s developing literacy concepts.

Pattern, too, plays an important role in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, many of which make sense and order of their world through kinship patterns and relationships. Since mathematics is the science of pattern (Steen 1988, p. 616), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who are taught sophisticated kinship patterns from very early ages are well-placed to be able to generalise about numbers and operations that form the basis for Western mathematics and numeracy. Similarly, in learning to read and interpret the land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children develop an acute sense of spatial awareness; they have an intuitive feel for their surroundings and the objects in them. These skills can be highly developed.

By building on these experiences, educators support children’s awareness of the relationships between oral and visual representations, and ability to recognise patterns and relationships and the connection between them.

A summary of the planned learning is provided on pp. 38–39. More detailed information about the specific knowledge, skills and dispositions for each learning area is provided in Section 4 of this guideline.

Indigenous children usually like to feel in control of their choices, decisions and learning so they can explore, discover, practise and solve problems in their own way and time without adult interference unless needed. They usually watch very closely. Children’s learning … is individualised with encouragement, guidance, modelling and, at times, step-by-step teaching. The learners are decision-makers about what they want to learn and are given plenty of time, space, learning moments and modelling to do so (Coleman-Sleep 2005, p. 32).

3.3 Pedagogy

Pedagogy refers to the practice of educators intended to promote children’s learning and expand their understanding of the world. It is described in the EYLF as the: 'holistic nature of early childhood educators’ professional practice, especially those aspects that involve building and nurturing relationships, curriculum decision-making, teaching and learning' (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 13).

Pedagogy also involves educators continually reflecting on their practices to inform culturally and linguistically responsive interactions and relevant learning experiences for children.

This guideline identifies four contexts that educators will use to extend and enrich children’s learning, development and wellbeing — play, intentional teaching, investigations and extended projects, and shared rituals.

With the support of the practices outlined in the EYLF, educators ensure they integrate a rich repertoire of teaching and learning strategies across all four contexts, in both the inside and outside environments, at all times and with all children. They continually strive to find equitable and effective ways to ensure that all children have opportunities to achieve learning outcomes (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 13).

3.3.1 Play

Play is a child’s natural learning strategy. It is a context for learning that allows for the expression of personality and uniqueness and enhances dispositions such as curiosity and creativity. It enables children to make connections between prior experiences and new learning, assists them to develop relationships and concepts, and stimulates a sense of wellbeing (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 9).

As children experience a kindergarten program rich in play, they are practising the knowledge, skills and dispositions they require to be successful in life and learning. Play empowers them with the ability to be decision makers, communicators, thinkers, negotiators and collaborators. Through play, children develop thinking and problem-solving strategies. They extend their capabilities in oral languages, literacies and numeracies, and explore diverse ways to develop their imagination and creativity and symbolise their experiences. 

Children use play to: '… participate in their culture, to develop the literacy of their culture, to order the events in their lives and to share those events with others. Through play, children develop an understanding of their social worlds. They learn to trust, form attachments, share, negotiate, take turns and resolve conflict' (Commonwealth of Australia 2010a, p. 30).

Educators promote learning through play when they provide multiple opportunities for children to discover, create, improvise and imagine, and pay attention to children’s physical, personal, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual wellbeing, as well as cognitive aspects of learning. They also promote learning when they create welcoming and flexible physical and social learning environments and respectfully enter children’s play to stimulate their thinking and enrich their learning. They should engage children in decision-making about their play and the resources, materials and spaces they use, respect differences in play styles and guidance practices, and actively support the inclusion of all children, helping children to recognise when play is unfair, and offering constructive ways to build a caring, fair and inclusive learning community.

3.3.2 Intentional teaching

Educators are crucial to children’s success as learners, and their engagement in children’s play will often turn a spontaneous moment into a learning opportunity. While children’s everyday play experiences provide a fertile ground for learning, it is the engagement of active and responsive educators that supports children’s deep and lasting understanding. Effective educators skilfully weave intentional teaching as they engage with children in their play to extend their ideas, ask questions and encourage complex thinking. They watch for what is unfolding and determine the support and challenge, both verbal and non-verbal, required to invite children into deeper learning, while at all times remaining clear about the intent of the learning.

It is important educators understand that a focus on intentional teaching does not preclude children’s active involvement in the learning process, rather: '… educators plan for a balance of types of experiences including child-initiated, child-guided and adult-guided ... Educators take on intentional roles in child-guided experiences and children play active and important roles in adult-guided experiences. Each takes advantage of planned or spontaneous, unexpected learning opportunities' (Epstein 2007, p. 3).

Effective educators plan opportunities for intentional teaching as they move flexibly in and out of different roles, and draw on different strategies as the context changes.

For children learning SAE as an additional language, intentional teaching may require visual prompts and access to FL-speaking adults.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander educators are ideally placed to use their languages and cultural understanding to provide appropriate support and scaffolding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (Perry 2011, p. 23).

Educators promote learning through intentional teaching when they make deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful curriculum decisions, foster high-level thinking through worthwhile and challenging experiences and interactions, and use strategies such as modelling and demonstrating, open questioning, explaining and problem-solving to extend children’s thinking and learning (see Appendix 3). They also promote learning when they provide opportunities for children to complete tasks independently and interdependently with a degree of autonomy, and provide a balance between child-led, child-initiated and educator-supported learning.

3.3.3 Investigations and extended projects

Investigations and extended projects provide opportunities for children to be competent and capable participants in their own learning. A quality kindergarten program provides many opportunities for children to generate and discuss ideas, make plans, research, brainstorm solutions to problems, and share reasons for their choices. Educators contribute to children’s investigations and projects by asking questions, posing problems, developing ideas, challenging thinking, suggesting alternatives and involving children in decision-making. They help children to plan and follow through and to draw conclusions.

Children should be given significant time to pursue their ideas in increasingly complex ways with both peers and adults across all areas of a kindergarten program. The flexible arrangement of furniture and equipment together with open-ended materials encourage children to become flexible thinkers and investigators (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority 2011, p. 98). As projects evolve, educators can look for opportunities to extend them beyond the program by involving other children, families or the community.

Educators promote learning through investigations and extended projects when they respond to children’s expertise, cultural traditions and ways of knowing; provide for long periods of uninterrupted play, and space for works-in-progress to be left out and revisited over days and even weeks; and introduce new and familiar materials, including digital technologies, to provoke interest and more complex and increasing abstract thinking. They also promote learning when they invite children and families to contribute ideas, interests and questions to the learning environment; foster an appreciation of the natural environment and develop environmental awareness; and find opportunities for children to go into and contribute to their local community.

3.3.4 Shared rituals

Shared rituals are those moments throughout the day when adults and children share warm and responsive interactions. A shared ritual could be the sharing of a book, an arrival or departure ritual, a sleep-time ritual, toileting times, or a meal. Shared rituals might involve an individual child, a small group of children or sometimes the whole group. Each shared ritual provides an opportunity to develop trusting relationships, and engage children in warm and responsive interactions with adults and other children. Shared rituals also provide opportunities for educators to foster relationships with families, particularly during arrival and departure times, to build bridges for children between the routines of home and a kindergarten program.

When incorporating shared rituals into a program, educators need to consider that children may have never slept on their own or been left to cry, or may, when not in a kindergarten program, choose when and where they can fall asleep (Priest 2005, p. 23). Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are taught to be independent and self-sufficient from an early age. Some children are also responsible for other family members, including babies, siblings and cousins. This knowledge should determine approaches within a kindergarten program to the pace of the day and the expectations of children’s competency in caring for themselves.

The concept of time in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures may be very different from Western experience. Educators should consider the significance of the ‘right time’ to do something. For example, the ‘right time’ for a child to sleep may be when they fall asleep. This differs from mainstream Western practices where adults usually establish routines for sleeping, eating and activity (Priest 2005, p. 52). Additionally, in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, being safe may mean a person having time to make decisions when they are ready to do so, not when someone else says so (Coleman-Sleep 2005, p. 52).

Shared rituals in a kindergarten program become valuable opportunities for learning through sustained interactions, conversations and yarns. Yarning, in both FLs and SAE, will provide many opportunities for children to organise their thoughts into stories, as well as to listen to the stories of others. In addition, learning will be enhanced when culturally valued songs, music, dance, movement and physical activity are embedded within shared rituals. Through negotiation with children and their families, shared rituals will enhance children’s learning by providing predictability and security to the day, while remaining flexible to diverse needs and contexts.

Educators promote learning though shared rituals when they implement culturally sensitive and responsive routines and transitions that value and build on children’s ways of being, belonging and becoming; and recognise the connections between children, families and communities and the importance of reciprocal relationships and cross-cultural partnerships for learning. They also promote learning when they empower children with choices about when and how they engage in particular experiences or interactions; and create fluid and peaceful transitions between experiences, for instance, from play to a shared meal time, in ways that are sensitive to cultures and respectful of children.

3.4 Documenting and reflecting for children’s learning

Documenting and reflecting refers to the ways educators gather evidence about children’s learning. It is part of the process described in the EYLF as Assessment for Learning. When evidence of children’s learning is documented, it forms the basis for individual records and planning, and can provide rich information about learning and teaching (Gowrie Australia 2010, p. 3).

To document and reflect for children’s learning effectively, all members of the teaching team observe and listen to children to learn more about what children know, can do and understand. They gather rich and meaningful information that depicts children’s learning in context, describes their progress, and identifies their strengths, skills and understandings (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 17).

The planned learning outlined in Section 4 of this guideline provides key reference points about the expected knowledge, skills and dispositions for children across their Kindergarten Year against which evidence can be gathered. Learning is not designed to be taught or ticked off one by one. Instead, educators gather rich pictures of children’s learning as they participate in a kindergarten program.

Educators implementing the Foundations for Success guideline will create individual folios to record each child’s learning journey. This will make the process of learning visible to children and their families, educators and other professionals. Each folio will be unique and reflect the process of learning that is particular to each child as they participate in a kindergarten program.
A folio might contain observations and stories of children’s learning; photographic images, drawings or recordings; samples or artifacts of children’s ongoing projects, investigations and representations; individual and collaborative works; and contributions from families.

A folio can take many shapes and forms and could be a display folder, loose-leaf folder or digital record. Regardless of its form, it is important that children maintain ownership of their own folio. This means that they contribute their ideas about what is to be included and have access to their folio at all times. Families may, from time to time, take the folio home to read or contribute comments and new information.

Over time, a folio will include a range of evidence of children’s learning from which assessments can be made about their learning.

3.4.1 Making informed and consistent assessments

At particular points in time, educators will be making assessments about individual children’s developing knowledge, skills and dispositions to communicate and share with families and colleagues. These assessments focus on the ‘distance travelled’ by children across their Kindergarten Year. 

The EYLF advises: '… such processes do not focus exclusively on the end points of children’s learning; they give equal consideration to the ‘distance-travelled’ by individual children and recognize and celebrate not only the giant leaps that children take in their learning but the small steps as well' (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 17).

In making assessments about children’s learning, educators refer to Documenting and Reflecting in Section 4 of this guideline.

For each learning area, examples of children’s learning behaviour are provided across three contexts.

In the familiar contexts of family and community — learning should reflect the rich cultural, linguistic and conceptual skills children may bring to their Kindergarten Year.

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten — learning children may demonstrate as they respond to new and unfamiliar situations across their Kindergarten Year.

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten — learning children may demonstrate as they become confident and active participants across their Kindergarten Year.

Educators use this information to validate what children know and can do; look for and see children’s learning in new ways; 	build learning bridges from what children know and can do to new learning; determine the level of individual support required to progress children’s learning; and engage families and other educators in conversations about children’s learning.

Each child’s learning journey may start at different points and continue along different pathways. Their learning is not always predictable and linear. At the end of the Kindergarten Year, individual children may demonstrate learning described in any of the contexts as described in the following exemplar.

3.4.2 Following learning over time
To support their assessments educators focus on documenting significant aspects of learning gathered over time. This will provide the basis for making decisions about each child’s future learning, and for sharing information with families about their child’s progress. In the following exemplar, educators follow aspects of a child’s confidence and resilience from the learning area Being proud and strong (confidence and resilience).

10 May

Braiden watched and listened attentively to a traditional story being told by an Elder. He mimicked the actions modelled by the Elder, who was pointing to each body part using traditional language names. He later participated in doing the actions of songs using traditional language, and attempted to sing the unfamiliar traditional words to the song. When asked to do corroboree, Braiden was reluctant to participate, however he followed instructions modelled using a combination of Yarrie Lingo and traditional language by the Elder, and watched quietly as the other children did the corroboree.

Assessment — Braiden is demonstrating his interest in, and understanding of, traditional aspects of his culture. He chooses to respond to directions non-verbally, following directions in both Yarrie Lingo and traditional language. He shows caution in tackling new tasks and watches carefully before imitating their actions.

Focus for new learning (confidence to try new and challenging tasks) — provide Braiden with time and space to tackle new tasks. Build on Braiden’s interest in mimicking and modelling actions through action rhymes and songs in Yarrie Lingo and SAE. Continue to provide Braiden with opportunities to interact with Elders and community members.

17 July

Braiden has been absent from kindergarten for a few days, and today he was asked which experience he would like to do after the group session had ended. He appeared undecided as he quickly glanced around at what the other children were doing and pointed to the blocks. He was asked if he wanted to play with the blocks with his cousin who was already in the block play area, and he nodded. Braiden was reluctant to talk about what he was going to make when asked. He nodded and went to collect some of the play wooden furniture near the block shelves.

Assessment — Braiden demonstrates that in unfamiliar situations he requires adult direction and support in approaching tasks and exploring the kindergarten environment.

Focus for new learning (confidence in approaching tasks, people and situations) — continue to support Braiden in his play by making suggestions that build on his ideas and interests, e.g. adding new resources to the block corner. Seek opportunities to build Braiden’s confidence in approaching tasks, people and situations through his friendship with his cousin. Use the support of Indigenous educators to assist Braiden’s attempts to become part of the group.

21 September

Braiden played at the play dough with a small group of children. He appeared happy as he laughed at jokes with his peers and said that he was ‘Dad’ and the others were the ‘sister’ or ‘brother’. Braiden decided he wanted to make a birthday cake as part of the negotiated play planning for the ‘class party’, so he collected a plate and some craft sticks for the cake. He molded the dough onto the plate and stuck the sticks into it. Using a combination of gesture and SAE he said to the educator ‘I made it for you. A birthday cake. Look all a candle on. I go roll it an’ put it on ‘ere an’ den I go put all dem candle on.’

Assessment — Braiden shows he is confidently exploring the environment and engaging with others across a range of learning contexts. He initiates and contributes to play experiences, sharing with others how he completes tasks in Yarrie Lingo.

Focus for new learning (enjoyment in sharing successes and achievements) — provide opportunities for Braiden to share his successes with others, e.g. finding a place to display his creations or asking Braiden if he would like to take a photo using the digital camera to display or put into his folio. Scribe Braiden’s words. Continue to strengthen Braiden’s use of FL and support his awareness of SAE as an additional language.

From this exemplar, it is possible to see how educators use the example learning behaviours to analyse their observations and make assessments about Braiden’s learning.

In further reflecting on Braiden’s learning, educators refer to the planned learning to identify focuses for new learning, and the intentional strategies that best build on and extend aspects of his confidence and resilience. At the same time, families and SAE- and FL-speaking adults can work together to plan opportunities that support his first language, as well as his awareness about and use of SAE.

When educators view learning in this way, children are supported to become two-way strong. Their learning in the context of family and community is not left behind or replaced, but built on in ways that do not compromise their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities.

There will be many other ways children demonstrate their learning. Educators will make provision for learning that is relevant to each child, their family and community.

For all children, educators make intentional, purposeful and thoughtful decisions that extend and enrich learning in relation to each learning area.

3.5 Supporting the transition to school

Transition as children move into the first year of school is a dynamic process of continuity and change. The process of transition occurs over time, beginning well before children start school, and extending to the point where children and families feel a sense of belonging at school and where educators recognise this sense of belonging (Educational Transitions and Change (ETC) research group 2011, p. 1).

The transition to school is a time of opportunity, aspiration, expectation and entitlement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and their educators. As children start school, they are enthusiastic learners, keen to build on and extend their learning. They hope that school will be an enjoyable place which supports their developing autonomy and their active engagement in learning (Educational Transitions and Change (ETC) research group 2011, p. 2). Families, too, will aspire for their children to be happy and successful in school. They will have expectations that they are respected as partners in their children’s education.

An effective transition will occur over time. It is a time when the roles of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will expand to include, not be replaced by, their journey beyond a kindergarten program and across school. This also means their identities will change.

Children will need to feel secure and confident that school is a place where people care about them and where they can succeed (Department of Education and Early Childhood Education 2009, p. 33). It is important to listen to their perspectives. They and their families will require support to manage changes in their physical surroundings, changes in social interactions and expectations, changes in the type and structure of learning environments, and changes in how they feel about themselves as learners.

By building relationships through conversations over time and planning collaboratively with others, educators support children to gradually understand expectations, interactions, routines and practices associated with new social and physical learning environments. They attend to the wellbeing of all involved, and support children, as well as their families and communities, to feel secure, valued and successful in school.

Planning for positive transitions involves collaboration. When educators and professionals across early childhood settings and schools work collaboratively with each other and with children, families and communities, everyone will develop a sense of belonging at school and a positive transition will be ensured.

A successful transition will support children in continuing to shape their identities, while at the same time expanding their experiences as participants in different relationships and communities. It will acknowledge and value children’s entitlement to be actively involved in decisions and actions that affect them, and be respectful of, and responsive to, children’s existing competencies, cultural heritage and histories (Educational Transitions and Change (ETC) research group 2011, p. 3). It will involve respectful relationships and partnerships between families and educators that strengthen and support children’s learning and development; promote continuity of learning through connected curriculum, purposeful pedagogies and meaningful learning environments; and reflect policies and practices that are strength-based, inclusive and equitable.

3.5.1 Transition statement

As part of the transition process, educators from kindergarten settings and schools commit to sharing information about each child’s knowledge, skills and dispositions so learning can build on foundations of earlier learning (Commonwealth of Australia 2009a, p. 16). Towards the end of the year before the child starts school, a transition statement is created.

A transition statement is a summary of each child’s learning across their Kindergarten Year with contributions from the kindergarten teacher, parents and child.

Based on information gathered throughout the year, each statement will identify the child’s developing knowledge, skills and dispositions in relation to each learning outcome; summarise the ‘distance travelled’ across the Kindergarten Year; and describe the level of support required in new and unfamiliar situations. It will communicate a family’s knowledge about their child and use positive plain language. It will include information contributed by the child, and information about the kindergarten service and relevant contact information (see example formats in Appendix 4).

Completing the transition statement in collaboration with others will provide an opportunity for children, families and educators to reflect on children’s attainments and share responsibilities for future achievements. With the support of FL-speaking adults, information, concerns, expectations and aspirations can be shared both ways between educators and families.

A printed copy of the transition statement is to be made available to each child’s family. Families are encouraged to pass a copy of the transition statement on to the school on entry into their child’s Prep Year. For this reason, it may be necessary to provide families with two copies.

It is important that the statement supplement, not replace, the wide range of strategies educators implement in partnership with families and children to support the transition process.

All children will benefit from thoughtfully planned transitions to school which respond to their differences, similarities, strengths, interests and skills. Educators across different contexts bring professional knowledge and experience about children’s learning and development. When this information is valued and shared, in collaboration with children and families, specific ways to support positive transitions for all children can be identified.

Successful transitions require collaboration from and with everyone involved. The aim is for all involved to feel that they belong to the process and belong in the school.

3.6 Bringing it all together

Children’s learning is integrated and interconnected — the knowledge, skills and dispositions developed in one learning area will often be used by children as they learn across the others. Using the decision-making process outlined in this guideline, educators make intentional, purposeful and thoughtful decisions that draw on their professional knowledge, including their in-depth knowledge of each child, in partnership with families, to guide planning for children’s learning as demonstrated in the following example.

3.6.1 Story of learning: Wednesday 3 April – Badu Island

Allan chooses to spend most of his time in the sandpit during outside play. He has learnt how to use the digger to move sand around and make roads. He has been doing this most of the term. He seems interested in discovering how he can use sand in different ways. Miss Julia was visiting pre-Prep today and decided to model other ways you can manipulate sand.

A small group of children, including Allan, began helping Miss Julia make turtles and shark sculptures out of the sand. Later, during outdoor play, Mr Michael noticed Allan sitting on a digger truck in the sandpit. Mr Michael approached the sandpit and began playing in the sand. He asked Alan if he could tell him what an elephant looked like so that he could make one out of sand.

Allan said ‘elephant e big’. Michael responded ‘Yes elephants are very big so I will need to make a big body with the sand … what else do elephants have ...’. ‘em got long nose’… Michael talked with Allan about how an elephant has a trunk and that it is long and what an elephant uses a trunk for. Allan said ‘em got big thangela’. Michael said ‘Wow! You do know a lot about elephants. I wonder why they have got such big ears’. Allan stated that ‘em too fat … I cant carry m’. During this conversation, Jaynard came over and watched and listened.

Michael asked Allan if he had seen elephants on Badu and Allan said ‘no but I bin see m on tv and I bin look m in book’. He then made a noise like an elephant and Jaynard began doing this as well. They ran off together pretending to be elephants.

Being proud and strong (confidence and resilience) means confidence to share experiences.

Being a learner (involvement in learning) means 	making simple comparisons (‘em too fat … I can’t carry m’) and experimenting with ways to represent ideas in imaginative play. Investigating environments includes labelling natural phenomena and living things in FL and SAE (‘elephant e big’).

Being a communicator (oral language) includes responding verbally in FL to simple questions. 
Literacy includes demonstrating interest in familiar texts (‘no but I bin see m on tv and I bin look m in book’). Numeracy includes recognising some comparative language (i.e. ‘elephant e big’, ‘em got long nose’).

Being healthy and safe (safety and security) includes participating happily and confidently within the environment. Physical activity includes demonstrating agility, strength, flexibility, control, balance and coordination of their body in space.

Being an active participant (listening and negotiation) includes respecting the ideas of others. Positive relationships includes taking turns, waiting, listening and joining in with others

3.6.2 Planning for children’s learning

Suggestions for extending and enriching learning include, for example:

1. spontaneous songs and rhymes, e.g. ‘Five grey elephants balancing’. (numeracy – number concepts)
2. translation through FL-speaking educators or family and community members. (language – awareness of SAE)
3. providing props or making with children, e.g. trunks out of stockings, big paper ears stapled to elastic to wear on heads. Asking children for their ideas – I wonder what we need to make a trunk? (involvement in learning) Do all children know about elephants?
4. revisiting the question Are there elephants on Badu? with all children — what animals do we have? Label in SAE and FL (with FL-speaking adult) (oral language). Using visuals to support understanding. Ask children how we can find out more — research using computers (investigating environments)
5. contextualising songs to include Badu animal names — ‘Five green turtles swimming’ — include children’s ideas. (literacy) Invite families to contribute local knowledge (identity and belonging).
6. revisiting Allan’s idea about noises animals make with all children, e.g. ‘Remember when ... (involvement in learning)
7. including books, pictures or models of elephants next to painting easels or clay table — provide children with repeated opportunities to revisit and refine their artistic representations (investigating environments)
8. drawing children’s attention to the shape of digger truck and shape of elephant’s trunk. Could the digger become an elephant? (numeracy — measurement concepts long, longer, bigger, heavy) Educators add complexity to children’s thinking
9. extending interest in sand play by incorporating sand sculpting. Mixing plaster with sand allows it to be molded and set and then it can be carved. Make moulds in the sandpit and fill them with plaster, like the elephant’s footprint or their own
10. do the children know that elephants can swim? What other animals swim? (investigating environments)
11. do the children know about the story – Horton Hears a Who! What other stories about elephants/other animals could we share? What are the children’s ideas? (literacy).

4. PLANNING AND REFLECTING ON A HOLISTIC KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM

This section explores how educators use the decision-making process described in Section 3 to extend and enrich children’s learning. It has been organised according to the five learning areas:

1. Being proud and strong
2. Being an active participant
3. Being healthy and safe
4. Being a learner
5. Being a communicator.

Links to the outcomes of the EYLF are clearly stated.

Each learning area describes the expected knowledge, skills and dispositions for children across their Kindergarten Year (planned learning); the intentional teaching practices that promote this learning (pedagogy); and the ways children can demonstrate their learning across their Kindergarten Year (documenting and reflecting).

Educators use this information to plan for learning that is responsive to individual children, the group and the community context. Educators will select, modify and create other opportunities for learning and teaching as they remain open to the spontaneous experiences that emerge as the children, their families and the community, contribute to the program.

Planning for learning

Planning, including documentation and reflection, is ever present in a kindergarten program. It should be viewed as a collaborative process in which educators, children and families are active participants.

In beginning to plan for children’s learning educators, observe and listen to what is evolving in the kindergarten program at any one moment in time to learn about and from the children. This will inform relationships and the preparation of environments, experiences and interactions that engage children in meaningful ways.

A planning format is required that allows all members of the teaching team to make progressive contributions. Written plans underpin practice with children and families, and enhance the accountability and professionalism of a kindergarten program. Your planning will be a work-in-progress. It should be visible and accessible to all members of the teaching team, as well as children and families, at all times.

Educators will ensure that they maintain a balance of experiences across all learning areas, using all learning environments, including the inside and outside physical environment, the relationships of the social environment, and the full range of pedagogical contexts identified in Section 3. The value placed on play, relationships and collaborative decision-making will be reflected in the learning opportunities provided.

In considering planned and spontaneous learning directions for both individual children and groups of children, educators will refer to the planned learning (knowledge, skills and dispositions) outlined for each area.

In considering the intentional teaching practices that best support children’s learning and the participation of families and community, educators will refer to the pedagogy outlined for each area of learning.

In making assessments about children’s learning and considering the support required for individual children, educators will refer to the section documenting and reflecting.

Reflective practice and ongoing learning

The EYLF defines reflective practice as a form of ongoing learning that involves engaging with questions of philosophy, ethics and practice. Its intention is to gather information and gain insights that support, inform and enrich decision-making about children’s learning. As professionals, educators examine what happens in their kindergarten programs and reflect on what they might change. They regularly assess themselves, their attitudes, their interactions and the learning environment for cultural competence as defined by Elders and community members.

Since every community and every kindergarten program will be different, educators need to determine the appropriate ‘fit’ between their context and the practices outlined in this guideline.

Educators should refer to the following overarching questions from the EYLF to guide their reflection: What are my understandings of each child? What theories, philosophies and understandings shape and assist my work? Who is advantaged when I work in this way? Who is disadvantaged? What questions do I have about my work? What am I challenged by? What am I curious about? What am I confronted by? What aspects of my work are not helped by theories and guidance that I usually draw on to make sense of what I do? Are there theories or knowledge that could help me to understand better what I have observed or experienced? What are they? How might those theories and that knowledge affect my practice?

In addition, a series of questions — As you reflect on your practices ask yourself — is provided for each learning area to ensure educators continually engage in the process of reflecting on the ‘cultural fit’ of their decision-making in responding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and the community.

Being proud and strong has a specific focus on identity and belonging, and confidence and resilience. Kindergarten children build a knowledgeable and confident identity. They develop pride and strength in personal and cultural identity and share a sense of belonging and connectedness. They build a sense of belief and confidence in themselves, delight in making decisions and choices, and develop courage and resilience to persevere and manage change and challenge. The EYLF outcome is that children have a strong sense of identity.

Being an active participant has a specific focus on listening and negotiation, and positive relationships. Kindergarten children broaden their sense of belonging to groups and communities. They become aware of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation, and explore their own and others’ cultures and the similarities and differences among people. They become aware of bias and stereotyping, respond to diversity with respect, and become aware of fairness. They become increasingly independent and interdependent. They interact in relation to others with care empathy and respect, and explore ways to understand and regulate their emotions. They become socially responsible and show respect for environments, ad explore interactions between people and environments. The EYLF outcome is that children connect with and contribute to their world.

Being healthy and safe has a specific focus on safety and security, and physical activity. Kindergarten children become strong in their emotional wellbeing. They feel safe, secure and supported, and take increasing responsibility for their own health and safety. They become strong in their physical wellbeing. They gain control and strength for manipulating objects, tools and equipment with increasing complexity, and develop confidence, coordination and strength in large movement skills and challenges. The EYLF outcome is that children have a strong sense of wellbeing.

Being a learner has a specific focus on involvement in learning, and investigating environments. Kindergarten children become confident and involved knowers and learners. They build dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity, and apply a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating. They explore, investigate and connect with people, land, place, time and technology. They transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another and from one time to another. They resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials, and use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking. The EYLF outcome is that children are confident and involved learners.

Being a communicator has a specific focus on oral language/s, literacy and numeracy. Kindergarten children explore and expand ways to use language. They interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes. They engage with multiple forms of literacy, and with numeracy concepts, that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from them, express ideas and make meaning using a range of media. They explore symbols and patterns, and build confidence and interest in exploring reading and writing behaviours. They begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work. They build confidence and Interest in counting, and explore mathematical thinking, concepts and language. The EYLF outcome is that children are effective communicators.

4.1 Being proud and strong (EYLF Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity)

4.1.1 Identity and belonging

A kindergarten child builds a knowledgeable and confident identity. They develop pride and strength in personal and cultural identity, and share a sense of belonging and connectedness.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — pride and confidence in knowing ‘who they are’ and ‘where they come from’; understanding of themselves as significant and respected; a sense of belonging to their family, community and the kindergarten program community; a feeling of acceptance for ‘who they are’ and ‘where they come from’; pride and connection to the language/s, culture and traditions of their family and community; awareness of the traditional and contemporary aspects of their personal and cultural identity; and knowledge of their place within family, community and kinship systems as shared by Elders and community members.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What does being proud and strong mean in this context?
How do children become competent in their own culture if they are immersed in someone else’s?
How are families viewed in a kindergarten program?
Do I engage in family and community partnerships to facilitate the exchange of ideas?
Do my interactions with children and their families reflect culturally specific knowledge?
Have I consulted with Elders in supporting children to develop strong cultural identities?
Does the environment reflect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities, beliefs and values?
Are children and families happy to come to this environment?
Am I critically reflecting on my own cultural competence, and am I consulting with the community when assessing the cultural appropriateness of the program?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they promote in all children a strong sense of who they are and their connectedness to others, and show genuine respect for all children and their ways of belonging, being and becoming. They also promote this learning when they listen to and learn about children’s understanding of themselves, provide many opportunities for children to interact with the culturally valued skills, languages, stories, music, dance, ritual, food and crafts of their families and community, and furnish the learning environment with resources and artifacts that show and celebrate the culture, values and beliefs of the children’s family and community, e.g. family trees, photographs of community events, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. 

They should involve family and community in gatherings and yarning sessions, morning teas, BBQs, shared lunches and celebrations, and invite Elders to share aspects of children’s traditional heritage and cultural roots, e.g. through storytelling or traditional music and dance.
They further promote this learning when they model language to describe and celebrate the culture of the community in FLs and SAE; provide many opportunities for children to explore different aspects of their identities through their everyday play, conversations and relationships, e.g. knowledge about the sea, bush, hunting, fishing, swimming, horse riding, camping or sport; and organise opportunities for children to participate in community events, e.g. Blessing Ceremonies, NAIDOC Week, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (NAICD), Mabo Day, Corroboree and Nulpa.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children show pride in knowing that they are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, and confidently talk about or show they know who they are and who they are related to, and distinguish between family and non-family members. They readily respond to a ‘nickname’ that has special meaning within the community, show understanding of their special place within family and community. They respond to rules about interacting with family and community, Elders, Uncles and Aunties, and show pride as they actively participate in community events and cultural ceremonies. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children prefer the assistance or closeness of Indigenous educators, prefer to observe and listen to others share information about family and community, and approach experiences, people and situations with encouragement from familiar adults. They share information about themselves or their family with the support of FL-speaking adults, talk about things of personal interest with some prompting, and experiment with languages, creole and SAE in play with familiar peers, and like-language speaking adults. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children enthusiastically share information about family and community, ask questions about others’ family and friends, and talk about or draw and label siblings, Uncles and Aunties and extended family members, pets and community heroes. They share aspects of their cultural heritage, and name family and community members during play. They share or model their skills in making or contributing to traditional crafts and artifacts, e.g. weaving, spear making, traditional cookery, express ideas about their connection to country/homelands e.g. Dis my ‘ome ere-where Yarrabah, Dis bla my island dis one ‘ere, Nanna and Poppi live oba dere la. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.1.2 Confidence and resilience

A kindergarten child builds a sense of belief and confidence in themselves. They delight in making decisions and choices, and develop courage and resilience to persevere and manage change and challenge.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — pride and confidence in their competence and capability; confidence in making choices and decisions; confidence to share experiences, feelings and ideas; confidence in approaching tasks, people and situations; courage and resilience to cope with challenge and manage change; confidence to try new and challenging tasks; motivation and readiness to persevere when faced with the new and unfamiliar; and enjoyment in sharing successes and achievements.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

In what ways do I demonstrate high expectations of the learning capabilities of all children within the program?
Do my interactions build each child’s self-belief and validate who they are, what they know, what they can do and what they can be?
In what ways do the children experience success on a daily basis?
How can I involve families and community in supporting children to be confident and resilient?
Do I listen to the ideas of children, families and communities and build on the knowledge that they bring?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they engage actively with children in their play, allowing the time and space to complete tasks, and supporting and extending their attempts to make choices. They should acknowledge children’s achievements and make suggestions that build on their ideas, ensure all children experience daily and frequent opportunities for success, and encourage children to persevere at challenging tasks, e.g. ‘Let’s try it this way’, ‘’We can do it together’, ‘Would you like me to help?’, ‘Let’s see if we can find someone to help’. They further promote this learning when they model strategies for success, e.g. how to plan tasks to completion or how to seek assistance from others and make connections with prior, present and future learning, e.g. ‘Can you remember when …?’, ‘We could finish this tomorrow’, ‘I wonder if we could do this in another way?’. They should share the decision-making process with children, e.g. ‘Can you think of another way?’ ‘That’s a great idea’ ‘How would you like me to help?’, and value each child’s attempts at personal decision-making, e.g. ‘Wow, look how hard you tried’. Confidence and resilience are also promoted when educators celebrate and share children’s successes with peers and families, e.g. respectful display of children’s artwork and constructions, respond sensitively to children’s emotional states, e.g. ‘It’s OK we can try again later’, ‘Let’s go slowly’, ‘Would you like me to hold your hand while you try?’, and design an environment that enables children to make choices and decisions about their play and resources.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children show self-reliance and the ability to make decisions for themselves. They regulate certain aspects of their own lives — including when to eat, what to wear, and about when and where to sleep. They show that they are naturally observant and practically competent, adapt readily to new circumstances, and seek help from peers as much as from adults. They show caution in tackling new tasks, and confidently explore their environment, take considered risks and accept challenges. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children seek close proximity to parent and familiar educators. They spend a long time on activities that relate to prior knowledge, prefer to watch before gradually having a go in own time, and prefer to remain in familiar play areas, to be by themselves or play with familiar equipment and resources. They locate, select and manage resources for play with assistance, appear cautious when the room is rearranged or unfamiliar adults are in the room, and seek reassurance and support from a familiar adult when entering or leaving the kindergarten environment. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children confidently explore the environment and engage with others across a range of learning contexts. They approach tasks with curiosity, confidence and motivation, and carry out tasks, or help others to do so, by planning, gathering resources and persevering. They repeat, revisit and add to projects or experiences they have initiated, persist when faced with a challenge, and manage change and cope with frustrations and the unexpected. They attempt to complete new or challenging experiences before seeking help, and share with others how they completed tasks and respond positively to encouragement from others. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.2 Being an active participant (EYLF Outcome 2: Children connect with and contribute to their world)

4.2.1 Listening and negotiation

A kindergarten child broadens their sense of belonging to groups and communities. They become aware of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. They explore their own and others’ cultures and the similarities and differences among people. They become aware of bias and stereotyping and respond to diversity with respect, and become aware of fairness.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — ways to respond positively and show respect for the connections, similarities and differences among people; awareness of their own and other cultures, including their right to belong to many communities; an understanding of the diversity of cultures, heritages, family structures, capabilities, backgrounds and traditions of the world they live in; respect and value for the ideas, feelings, needs and opinions of others; active engagement with a range of people, groups and communities; an ability to recognise fairness and the capacity to show concern for others; and awareness of bias and stereotypes and the ways in which people are included or excluded.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

Have I considered which rules and expectations of the program the children may find unfamiliar?
Have I allowed enough time for the children to familiarise themselves with the program?
In what ways do I allow children to be participants within the program?
Have I involved the children and their families in planning the look and feel of the environment?
How do I build on the contributions of children and families to the learning environment?
What do I know about the responsibilities, roles and obligations that children may have in the home?
Have I considered the relationships of power that are reflected within the program?
How do these complement an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander world view of childhood?
In what ways do I listen to and act on children’s ideas?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they use conversation, role play, puppets, music, dance and stories to explore feelings and different perspectives and ideas with children. They should encourage children to listen to others and to respect diverse perspectives, e.g. when engaging children in planning and decision-making about group experiences and their learning environment, and plan for enjoyable small group experiences and supporting children when they work together, e.g ‘Let’s pack this up together’. Listening and negotiation are also promoted when educators model language to support children’s attempts at listening and negotiating, e.g. ‘It’s time to listen now’, provide many opportunities for children to assume different social roles in group activities, e.g. as initiators, facilitators, negotiators, organisers, observers and listeners, and investigate different communities and cultural groups using books, stories, music, special events and technology as stimulation. They should expose children to resources that broaden their appreciation of diversity, e.g. artefacts, dance, music, languages and dialects, stories, art and craft of other cultures. They should also initiate discussions with children about being fair and equitable, model ways to challenge representations of people in stereotypical ways, and draw children’s attention to diverse ways of doing and being, including family structures, roles in communities, religions, practices, capabilities and talents.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children spend significant amounts of time with a range of people other than the immediate family, and show they have a strong sense of community and understanding of extended family. They willingly share food, toys and other possessions and demonstrate a strong understanding of togetherness and a sense of fairness. They implement some gender-specific roles and show awareness that there are cultural differences in activities according to sex, and provide assistance to peers and affection and nurturing to those younger than themselves. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence Is seen when children prefer to take on the role of observer and listener. They watch and listen as others share examples of different communities and cultural groups, e.g. music, dance, stories, languages, and as educators use conversation, puppets, music, dance and stories to explore feelings and different perspectives. They seek encouragement to engage with the artefacts, arts and crafts, languages, stories, dance, food of their own and other cultures, and prefer to listen in group discussions about ‘being fair’. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children cooperate and negotiate with others during play and group experiences. They notice and respond positively to similarities and differences among people, e.g. family structures, gender, talents and abilities, and demonstrate a broadening understanding of the diversity of culture, heritage, background and tradition. They listen to others’ ideas and respect different viewpoints, and demonstrate an awareness of inclusiveness by supporting others to participate in play and group experiences. They express their own ideas and opinions about ‘being fair’, and notice and respond to unfairness and bias in positive ways, e.g. ‘We can all play here’. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.2.2 Positive relationships

A kindergarten child becomes increasingly independent and interdependent. They interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect, are socially responsible and show respect for environments, and explore interactions between people and environments.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — abilities for connecting and interacting with peers and people, things, belongings and the environment; enjoyment and ability to have fun with others; ability to cooperate with others, respond to their feelings and negotiate roles and relationships (including sharing and turn-taking); ability to reflect on their actions and consider consequences for themselves, others and the environment; skills for resolving conflict and contributing to problem-solving in peaceful ways; ability to care for others, to join in, help and be part of the learning community; respect and care for the people, objects and spaces in their home, community and the learning environment; respect and appreciation for environments and the interdependence of living things; and awareness about helping to sustain familiar environments.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What do I know about the behaviour guidance strategies of the families and community?
Is responsibility for guiding children’s behaviour a shared process?
Have Elders contributed to the development of guidance policies and the introduction of new social skills?
What do I know about the play of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children?
Have I considered the full range of relationships that each child has experienced?
Have I considered ways in which the children demonstrate their independence and interdependence within community contexts?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they plan for experiences that encourage group discussions and shared decision-making, and provide culturally sensitive choices and alternatives for children to regulate their behaviour. They should model strategies for children that support them to initiate interactions, seek assistance and join in play and social experiences, e.g. ‘Perhaps we can ask …?’ or ‘I wonder who could help us?’ Positive relationships are further promoted when educators encourage children to think about the feelings of others by labelling emotions in both SAE and FL with photographs or visual symbols, and encourage children’s peer relationships and their attempts at working independently and interdependently, e.g. ‘Wow — look at how fast we can go when we do it together’. They should support children to find peaceful solutions for conflicts and frustrations, e.g. ‘Perhaps you could try it this way …?’, ‘Let’s get another one together’, ‘Would you like to do it by yourself?’

Positive relationships are promoted when educators create environments that facilitate children’s relationships with peers, educators, families, community and the environment, e.g. spaces for yarning and sharing books together in both the indoor and outdoor environment. They should engage children in planning learning experiences and in decision-making about the organisation of the learning environment both inside and outside, model respect, care and appreciation for environments, and find ways for children to share their knowledge about caring for and learning from the land and sea. They should embed sustainable practices in daily routines and practices, involve children in making and maintaining aesthetically pleasing environments, and invite Elders and community members to share aspects of the children’s relationship to the physical world — land, water, air, bush, sky, rocks, weather patterns — through songs, dance and storytelling.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children 	make decisions and take responsibility for their own actions. They play and spend time with groups of children — brothers, sisters, cousins and friends of mixed ages, and sort out conflicts and problems in play with little adult intervention. They show generosity, unselfishness and compassion as modelled by family, Elders and community members. They show they know they have a particular association with and responsibility toward a certain animal or plant, and demonstrate an integrated understanding of the environment — people, animals, land and family. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children remain at activities they are confident with or with friends they are secure with, and enjoy helping adults pack up, put away, clean and care for the environment. They seek support to play with and work alongside others, e.g. wait for a turn, join in, help others, and to respond to expectations and rules. They require visual prompts to communicate emotions, seek assistance, and manage unexpected situations. They join in small group experiences with the support of an adult or peer, and resolve conflicts and frustrations with support from like-language speaking adults. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children act independently of others and express an understanding of independence, e.g. ‘I do it’, ‘I help’ or interdependence ‘We do it’. They demonstrate self-confidence when managing and negotiating relationships, resources and spaces within the program. They take turns, wait, listen, offer ideas and join in with others to complete tasks, and help others to complete tasks, e.g. work together on projects, clean up and pack away. They develop friendships and express what it means to be a friend. They independently initiate care for the environment, and contribute to the program’s shared rules, rituals and boundaries and to the look and feel of the environment. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.3 Being healthy and safe (EYLF Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing)

4.3.1 Safety and security

A kindergarten child becomes strong in their social and emotional wellbeing. They feel safe, secure and supported, and take increasing responsibility for their own health and safety.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — sense of emotional safety in familiar environments; enjoyment and satisfaction in exploring the indoor and outdoor play environments, healthy risk-taking and engaging in play and learning; confidence to communicate their needs for comfort and assistance; confidence that familiar people will provide support in times of need or change; strategies for understanding, expressing and self-regulating feelings and emotions; ability to keep themselves and others healthy and safe; capacity and competence in personal care and safety for themselves and others; and enjoyment of solitude, quietness, reflection and relaxation.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

Have I created an environment that is responsive to children’s understanding of time within family and community contexts? How can I accommodate children’s need for routines at the ‘right time’?
In what ways do the children demonstrate awareness of healthy and safe practices within family and community contexts? How can I build on this knowledge?
Do I allow the children to be self-sufficient in routines?
How do I involve families and community in sharing information about the children’s shared rituals and routines within the program?
Where can I access expert advice on specific health issues? How can I connect families with these services?
Are there times for reflection, relaxation and silence?
How do I show respect for children’s particular rituals or ways of doing things?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they create an environment where children can be self-sufficient in eating, drinking, sleeping and toileting, e.g. a small table or island mat under a tree set with morning tea available for children to access when hungry, cosy spaces available for rest and sleep, using photo sequences of the children to prompt safety and good nutrition practices. They should take time to engage in enjoyable and trusting conversations with children and their families, and notice and respond sensitively to children’s emotional signals and cues. Safety and security are promoted when educators allow children to complete routines at their own pace, and seek their permission before assisting with personal health routines. They should discuss and reinforce safe and unsafe situations both in the kindergarten and in the community, and involve children in developing rules to keep the environment safe for all, and provide verbal and non-verbal direction in situations where children require support to remain safe. They should model and reinforce personal practices with children, e.g. eating healthy foods, blowing their nose, covering sneezes, washing hands, brushing teeth.

Safety and security are further promoted when educators invite Elders and community to share stories with health and safety messages, and incorporate songs, games, rhymes, stories, puppets, music and dance, or use a range of texts, songs, games and ICTs, in SAE and FLs, that support safe and healthy lifestyles and good nutrition. They should involve children in investigating or visiting services and individuals within the community that promote health and safety, and in preparing and sharing healthy foods with peers, family and community members. They should implement specific health and safety programs for children in collaboration with families and communities, e.g. The Breathing, Blowing, Coughing routine for Otitis media.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children demonstrate emotional closeness to multiple caregivers and to the community at large. They prefer to make their own decisions about the right time for familiar routines. They care for younger siblings and cousins, and seek emotional support and companionship from their peer group. They demonstrate well established self-help skills and choose when to eat, sleep and play, and show awareness of safety and healthy risk-taking, e.g. through swimming, fishing, hunting, community sport and recreation. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children prefer closeness with familiar adults and peers when sharing a story, yarning together, listening to music or resting. They explore the indoor and outdoor environments with the support of familiar adults. They rely on support and visual prompts to become self-sufficient in eating, drinking, sleeping and toileting, and follow health and safety routines with support and modelling e.g. blowing noses, covering sneezes, washing hands, brushing teeth. They prefer to watch and listen to songs, games and stories that reinforce healthy and safe practices. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children participate happily and confidently within the environment. They contribute to shared rules about safe practices in the learning environment, and encourage others to be aware of healthy and safe practices. They show interest in familiar community members or services that promote health and safety, and imitate health and safety practices through songs, games, books, stories and role play. They indicate an awareness of changes in their bodies, e.g. growing taller, and identifying differences in their peers, e.g. eye colour, hair colour. They show enjoyment in moments of quietness, reflection and relaxation. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.3.2 Physical activity

A kindergarten child is strong in their physical wellbeing. They gain control and strength for manipulating objects, tools and equipment with increasing complexity, and develop confidence, coordination and strength in large movement skills and challenges.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — enthusiasm and enjoyment for physical play and activity; skills for visual tracking and coordinating hands, eyes and feet to achieve physical movements and actions; fundamental movement skills, including balancing, running, jumping, catching, hopping, skipping and kicking; skills for demonstrating spatial awareness and orienting themselves and moving around and through their environments safely; capabilities for exploring and responding to the environment with increasing integration and refinement; and delight in experimenting with space, balance, direction, form, rhythm and energy using music, dance and movement.

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they build on the physical skills children have developed within the context of family and community, e.g. expertise in community sport, traditional games, hunting, fishing, swimming, dance and crafts. They should provide many opportunities for children to safely run, jump, climb, throw, kick, catch, bounce, dig, balance, swing, push, bend, stretch, roll, change direction, and free access to a large range of manipulative tools, mediums and materials (man-made and natural), on a daily basis, to cut, construct, sculpt, build, weave, hammer, carve, sew, thread, staple, fold, tear, draw, paint, and approximate symbols. 

Physical activity is promoted when educators model and demonstrate techniques for using tools, materials and equipment, e.g. scissors, brushes, staplers. They should label children’s movements, in SAE and FLs, e.g. ‘That was a deadly kick’, ‘Look how far you can run’, ‘What a big stretch’, ‘How can we move this block?’, and create challenge in children’s physical activity, e.g. ‘How can you get up there?’, ‘I wonder how high you can go?’, ‘That’s a small space, I wonder if you can fit?’. They should encourage children to explore, share and model alternative ways to manipulate objects and move their body in space.

Physical activity is also promoted when educators invite community experts and Elders to share culturally specific knowledge and skills that integrate and extend children’s physical capabilities. They should design an environment that incorporates both quiet, private spaces and open, active spaces to develop children’s diverse physical competencies, and consult with families and communities to ensure that experiences incorporate local knowledge and skills, both contemporary and traditional, e.g. traditional cookery, weaving, spear making. They should provide many opportunities for children to use their hands to create and manipulate, e.g. natural materials, blocks, puzzles, construction sets, and incorporate contemporary and traditional action rhymes, songs, finger plays and games, in SAE and FLs, that develop fine motor control and hand-eye coordination.

Educators should provide games or adapted sports, e.g. soccer, rugby league, that develop whole body coordination, integrate planned and spontaneous movement, dance and physical activity across all areas of the program both inside and outside, and provide props to support movement and creative expression — feathers, ribbons, bells, masks, materials, face paint, and contemporary and traditional musical instruments.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What do I know about the physical competencies that the children bring with them to a kindergarten program? How can I build on these to introduce new skills?
Do the children bring skills that are new to me? Can I learn from them?
How could I incorporate opportunities for fishing, hunting, swimming, sport, gathering food, craft making and taking part in community events into the program?
Is the kindergarten program physically based?
Do I integrate spontaneous opportunities for music, dance, physical activity and movement across the whole program?
Do I balance physical activity with quiet activity?

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children 	climb adeptly, skilfully run, throw, and swim, and feel entirely at home in their environment. They demonstrate keen visual and spatial skills. They enthusiastically participate in community sport and recreation, e.g. soccer, football, fishing, hunting, gathering, riding bareback, games, diving and swimming, and take considered risks and make their own decisions about safe physical play. They wait silently. They enjoy active involvement in the physical actions of songs, dances and games of the local community, enthusiastically experiment using their bodies in space, and willingly try out new climbing, movement and balancing challenges. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children manage outdoor play spaces and equipment with prompts and visual cues. They manipulate cutting and drawing tools with encouragement, modelling and support, e.g. use scissors, cut dough, use paint brushes. They participate and engage in sensory experiences with adult support and encouragement, e.g. water and sand play, and experiment with construction and manipulation materials to put together and take apart. They respond to familiar language related to movements with the support of like-language speaking adults. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children show agility, strength, flexibility, control, balance and coordination of their body in space. They safely run, jump, climb, throw, kick, catch, bounce, dig, balance, swing, push, bend, stretch, roll. They implement increased control of the fine movements of their hands, e.g. while drawing, painting, cutting, weaving, sculpting, and begin to demonstrate hand preference and to use a particular grip to manipulate equipment and manage tools. They visually track objects to hit a ball with a bat, or catch a ball or beanbag. They respond to familiar language related to movements, e.g. ‘This foot first’, ‘Can you bend this way?’, ‘Let’s run fast’, ‘Which block will you carry?’ ‘I wonder if it will fit here?’, ‘What happens if we turn it around?’ (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.4 Being a learner

4.4.1 Involvement in learning

A kindergarten child is a confident and involved knower and learner. They build dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity. They apply a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — delight and wonder in the environment and world around them; curiosity, motivation and enthusiasm for learning; the ability to sustain involvement and concentration in play and learning; awareness of useful strategies and skills for learning; desire to find out, research, discover, test, solve problems and consider possibilities; confidence to become involved in and contribute to learning conversations; willingness to pursue interests, carry out plans and participate in ongoing investigations; creativity and imagination in representing thoughts and ideas; ability to generate ideas and solutions, to innovate and invent; and ability to revisit and reflect on the learning process.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What do I know about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and learning and how are these incorporated within the program?
Do I model curiosity and wonder in my interactions with children?
Am I listening to and extending on the children’s ideas?
How can I organise the day to incorporate long periods of uninterrupted play?
Do I allow time and space for projects and works-in-progress to evolve over a number of days or weeks?
How could families contribute their ideas?
How could I extend children’s interests and ongoing projects into the community?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they build on culturally valued ways of knowing and learning, e.g. through storytelling, visual and kinesthetic learning, relationships and connections. They should provide multiple opportunities for children to creatively represent their thoughts and ideas through the visual arts, music, dance, performance, imaginative play, puppetry and storytelling, and encourage experimentation by adding complexity to children’s thinking and ideas — ‘Perhaps we could try this way?’, ‘Can you think of another way?’, ‘I wonder what happens if we try it this way?’. 

Involvement in learning is promoted when educators make connections to past, present and future learning — ‘Can you remember how you did it before?’, and use explicit language to describe thinking processes — ‘That’s a good idea’, ‘Let’s think about that a bit more’, ‘We could solve this together’. They should question children about their thinking — ‘How do you know?’, ‘Can you show me how to do it?’, ‘How could we find out?’ They should celebrate new ideas and creative ways of doing things, and create environments that encourage collaborative and independent learning. 

Involvement in learning is also promoted when educators map and document learning for the purposes of revisiting and reflecting with children, e.g. ‘Let’s take a photo so we can remember’, ‘We can write it down’. They should provide reference books, pictures, posters, maps and technologies to support children’s investigations, and ensure that the environment can accommodate creative experiences and ongoing investigations that continue over a number of days. They should involve children in reflecting on their own learning by revisiting documented experiences, and display delight, encouragement and enthusiasm for children’s attempts to gain new skills and knowledge.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children demonstrate curiosity, enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning. They use their skills as an observer to learn, and watch carefully what others are doing, imitate their actions and repeat ways of using objects and materials. They look to other children for support in learning, e.g. older brothers, sisters, cousins and friends, and use ‘where’ as an important and frequent question, e.g. ‘where your mob from’, and avoiding questions about ‘why’ or ‘when’. They prefer collaborating with others and achieving collectively. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children show interest by listening to or observing others engage with learning materials, and prefer to listen to or watch others discuss and solve problems. They respond to demonstration and modelled ways for exploring materials, and show caution about making mistakes. They contribute their ideas in small group situations with the support of familiar or like-speaking adults. They explore ways to use materials to represent their thoughts and ideas in creative ways with encouragement and support, and make choices about and sustain interest in learning experiences with support. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children sustain concentration to identify problems and experiment with solutions, and use novel and creative strategies to achieve tasks. They contribute ideas in group discussions, and seek out and organise new learning opportunities individually and with others. They ask questions to enquire about and extend their interests. They reflect and give reasons for their choices. They use books and technology to enquire about topics. They record ideas, share stories and make plans with others, and comment on their own learning, e.g. ‘I’ve got an idea’ ‘I think …’ (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.4.2 Investigating environments

A kindergarten child explores, investigates and connects with people, land, place, time and technology. They transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another and from one time to another. They resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials, and use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — ability to transfer and adapt knowledge and skills used in one situation to another and from one time to another; interest and engagement in finding out how things work, how things grow, how things move and how to make things happen, including cause and effect; confidence to plan, resource and organise their own learning; interest in investigating the ways ICTs can be used to access information, communicate, entertain, design, compose and create and represent; and interest in and engagement with the traditional and contemporary visual art, craft, live music and performance of the community and the wider world.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

In what ways do I use the cultural tools of the community to inspire children’s thinking?
What do I know about children’s knowledge of land, place and technology?
Have I considered the sacred nature of children’s connectedness to the land? Are there protocols that need to be investigated before discussing certain aspects of land and place?
Have I consulted with Elders and community members to learn more about land, place and technology within the context of community?
Are children able to represent their ideas in their own ways and are materials always available to support children’s creative endeavours?
Are children’s creative representations displayed respectfully?
What do I know about children’s knowledge of ICTs? Do they know how to use, and have access to, cameras, the internet, mobile phones, satellite, iPads, DVDs and CDs?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they build on children’s knowledge of people, land, place, time and technology, e.g. knowledge of local environmental cycles including seasonal change, bush food and seasonal animals, relationships, hunting, fishing, tides, heat, wind, oceans and navigation. They should invite Elders to share knowledge about local features of spiritual significance, and adapt stories, songs and games to reflect local names, places and phenomena, in FLs and SAE.

Investigating environments is also promoted when educators research and become familiar with aspects of the local community and the cultural protocols pertaining to them. They should incorporate opportunities for children to investigate the ways technology is used within the context of community, e.g. mobile phone networks, computers, radio, rock breaking, prawn farming, mining, satellite navigation. They should provide access to computers, software, projectors, lights, digital cameras, scanners, white boards, mobile phones, iPads, keyboards and other forms of digital technology to support learning, and to a wide range of natural and manufactured materials and resources — clay, rocks, pebbles, sand, water, fabrics, palm leaves, feathers, shells, drift wood, wood, fibres, natural dyes and pigments, ochre. They should provide a range of scientific resources to support investigations — hoses, pumps, magnets, funnels, scales, magnifying glasses, wheels, pulleys.

Investigating environments is also promoted when educators incorporate opportunities for children to explore culturally valued artistic representation, material culture and craft, and introduce opportunities for children to work alongside community artists, musicians, craftspeople, performers and musicians. They should provide opportunities to investigate the sounds, smells and tastes of the community and the communities of others, and to explore sound, rhythm and beat through traditional and contemporary music, movement and dance.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children 	show interest in, and ability to watch, repeat and practise, the actions of others to learn. They show an ability to orient themselves within the wider geographic area, and comment on natural phenomena, animals, birds, sea creatures, plants, landmarks, and familiar aspects of land and place. They notice and comment on changes in the environment — seasons, shadows, reflections and the passing of the day. They have experience with a range of digital technologies, e.g. satellite navigation, mobile phones, internet. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children, with the support of FL-speaking adults, share their knowledge and connection with the natural world. They show some interest in investigating how things work, and in taking photos using digital cameras, which they show to peers and adults. They follow an adult’s lead to plan, organise and resource their learning and explore ways of using materials and resources. They interact with computers to navigate games, e.g. manipulate the mouse, scroll, navigate the screen, touch the screen, with the support and encouragement of familiar adults. They show interest in engaging with the visual art, craft, music and performance of their community and others. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children confidently share their knowledge, connection and interest in the natural and technological world. They experiment and demonstrate delight in finding out how things work, cause and effect, and how to make things happen — blowing, pushing, pulling, rolling, sinking, swinging, taking apart and putting together. They apply knowledge learned in one context, time or situation to another, and experiment with ways to create music. They use websites, interactive whiteboards, books, maps and posters to access information and investigate ideas, and a digital camera to record images and voices, and reflect on their own learning. They experiment with colour, line, shape, texture, size and repetition as they paint, draw, sculpt and model using objects, tools and materials in new and novel ways. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.5 Being a communicator (EYLF Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators)

4.5.1 Language/s

A kindergarten child explores and expands ways to use language. They interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — enjoyment and engagement in communicating and interacting with peers and adults; ability to construct and clearly convey messages that exchange ideas, thoughts, questions and feelings; vocabulary for describing experiences, sharing interests and communicating knowledge and understanding; confidence to contribute ideas and experiences, share information or retell happenings; use of different sentence structures to comment, ask a question, give direction or explain a relationship; awareness that there are different ways to interact and communicate in particular social and cultural situations; skills for listening and taking turns in conversations; and ability to attend to, interpret and follow directions.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What languages do the children in the kindergarten speak? Where do I go for support to find out about the children’s first languages?
Do I work with adults who speak the same languages as the children in the kindergarten program?
What strategies and resources can I use to support children’s first language/s development?
What strategies and resources can I use to help children who speak a language other than SAE develop their awareness about and use of SAE?
What are the traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language/s associated with the area where the kindergarten is located?
Where can I go for help with developing a kindergarten program that supports children’s language learning?
N.B. children may experience delays in FL and auditory skills due to the effects of conductive hearing loss. If children appear to have delays in FL compared to their FL-speaking peers, this should be investigated.

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they know about, recognise and support the development of children’s FL as well as SAE, and work in partnership with first language speaking colleagues, families, Elders and community members to support children’s language learning and traditional language heritage. They should model language and encourage children to express themselves in their FLs and SAE, and respond sensitively to children’s efforts to communicate.

Language is promoted when educators engage in conversations and interactions with children that intentionally include open-ended questions, extension of ideas and labelling of unfamiliar concepts. They should incorporate songs, jingles and rhymes that immerse children in the sounds, structures, patterns and intonation at every opportunity. They should provide ample opportunity for children to speak and listen to first languages and SAE, e.g. during group sharing times, routines and rituals, and throughout play, and respond to children’s attempts and approximations by repeating, modelling and expanding words.

Language is also promoted when educators contextualise shared texts, songs and rhymes to reflect children’s experiences in family and community They should use puppets, familiar artefacts, photographs, pictures and visual supplements to extend vocabulary and promote understanding, and use visual cues to support children’s understanding of verbal information, e.g. stop, look , listen chart, pair of eyes or an ear. They should introduce new words during conversations, familiar routines and shared rituals, and provide games, dance and movement experiences that involve simple directions and instructions. They should make explicit the speaking and listening practices used in group and social situations, e.g. ‘Can I have a turn please?’

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children notice the existence of languages in the community and the wider world, and use or respond to several languages and varieties, e.g. traditional languages, creoles, varieties of English, e.g. Aboriginal English, SAE, American English. They confidently interact and convey meaning with peers and familiar adults in their first languages, and use non-verbal interactional skills and a variety of signs and gestures. They show understanding of the conventions of social interaction appropriate to their community and home culture. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children attend and give cues that they are listening to and understanding what is said to them, and use body language, point, look and gesture to express feelings and communicate understanding. If they are first language speakers, they respond in ways that may seem inappropriate when not able to be understood by others or in comprehending interactions. They use one-word utterances or a short series of single words to convey feelings, needs, ideas and experiences, and answer questions by pointing or using non-verbal gestures. They join in or mimic others in finger plays, songs and rhymes using some word approximations, gestures and related body movements, and take some initiative in communicating independently in conversations. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children convey and construct messages with purpose and confidence in at least one language. They verbally share ideas and engage in conversations. They listen to the ideas of others during play and small and large group experiences, and listen without prompts to stories, music, discussions. They seek assistance to learn new words, describe experiences and interests or articulate thoughts, and use an increasing vocabulary to describe what they know, think, hear, feel, see, taste and touch. They retell happenings, ask questions and follow simple instructions. They show sustained interest in conversations with others by contributing ideas or sharing information, listen to the conversation of others, and wait for a turn to speak. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.5.2 Literacy

A kindergarten child engages with multiple forms of literacy that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They engage with a range of texts and gaining meaning from these texts. They express ideas and make meaning using a range of media, and explore symbols and patterns in language. They build confidence and interest in exploring reading and writing behaviours.

A. Planned learning

Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — interest and enjoyment in engaging with multiple forms of literacy including music, movement, dance, storytelling, visual arts, media and drama, technologies and digital media; pleasure and engagement in viewing, listening to and sharing a range of texts, including the oral traditions and stories shared through Elders and community members; confidence to respond with relevant gestures, actions, comments or questions to oral, printed, visual and multimedia texts; awareness of key literacy concepts and processes, including the sounds and patterns in speech, stories and rhymes, letter–sound relationships, concepts of print and the ways texts are structured; understanding that symbols convey meaning and that ideas, thoughts and concepts can be represented through them; and awareness that texts can be viewed from a range of different perspectives.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

Is this environment saturated in the print, signs and symbols of children’s first languages and SAE?
What opportunities do I provide for children to learn through observation, participation and non-verbal communication?
Have I considered children’s full repertoire of verbal and non-verbal literacies, such as dance, music, symbols, custom, ICT, kinships systems, oral traditions and stories, material culture and art?
Do I know about the songs and rhymes that children sing in the context of family and community?
How can families and community contribute to my understanding of children’s literacy learning?
How could I extend children’s literacy learning in the home?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they learn about and build on the literacies children bring from family and community in consultation with Elders and community members. They should read and tell stories, sing and interact with children at every opportunity, and provide FL translations to stories, songs and rhymes written or spoken in SAE. They should allow ample opportunity for children to select, engage with, share and enjoy quality picture and information books, images and multimedia, and provoke children’s thinking about the features of books, stories and websites, e.g. ‘I wonder what will happen next?’, ‘Let’s turn the page’, ‘The end!’ ‘Let’s google it’ ‘I think we need to scroll down a bit further’.

Literacy is promoted when educators draw attention to using print in everyday situations, e.g. ‘Let’s write this down so that we can remember’, ‘This says …’, ‘Look, this is your name!’ They should provide intentional prompts to assist children in recalling stories, e.g. ‘Can you remember when …?’, and talk about letters and their sounds in emerging situations relevant to children’s experiences and interests. They should scribe children’s spoken words, plans and ideas in FLs and SAE and explain that spoken words can be written down and read later. They should acknowledge and value children’s effort and experimentation in their emerging literacy understandings, e.g. ‘What story will we read today?’ ‘This must be your favorite?’ ‘I bet you know what comes next’.

Literacy is also promoted when educators provide multiple materials that support children’s literacy explorations, e.g. books, writing tools and natural and man-made implements, materials, magazines, newspapers, technologies, music, charts, diagrams, maps, plans, recipes and instructions. They should provide special spaces for viewing books and reading quietly together. They should encourage and support families in contributing to their children’s literacy learning, and support children to document and share their experiences, using drawings, written comments or digital technologies.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community, evidence is seen when children confidently use and understand non-verbal body language. They read and interpret local symbols of the natural environment, e.g. seasonal cycles, stars and constellations, animals and their tracks. They possess some understanding of the complex relationships in their extended family networks and their own languages and dialects. They repeat patterns with dots, lines, circles in the dirt using sticks or fingers, and recognise familiar logos in the community. They listen attentively to the stories of communities, connections to country, seas, waterways and sky, spiritual beliefs and cultural practices as shared by Elders and community members. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children initiate reading experiences by handing a book to familiar adults. They become aware that their name can be written, and locate their name or name some letters or sounds from their names with some support. They interact with texts in a random manner, e.g. flip through the pages, point to pictures. They make personal links to familiar texts, e.g. ‘I got dog’, and make random marks to represent an image or experiment with making marks on paper. They follow sequences of photographs to complete tasks, e.g. washing hands, and enjoy looking though photo collections to recognise themselves and familiar peers and adults. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children demonstrate pleasure and interest in new and familiar texts and stories. They display reading-like behaviour, e.g. hold a book the right way, turn the pages, pretend to read. They demonstrate interest in using symbols and approximating writing messages during play and shared experiences, e.g. pretend to write emails, letters, notes or signs and contribute to group plans and lists scribed by others. They recognise and respond to print and symbols within the environment and community, notice their name or point to some familiar letters or words. They create random shapes and lines when painting or drawing, and demonstrate an understanding of the difference between writing and drawing. (Add points relevant to your context.)

4.5.2 Numeracy

A kindergarten child engages with numeracy experiences that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work. They build confidence and interest in counting, and explore mathematical thinking, concepts and language.

A. Planned learning
Educators focus on the following aspects of children’s learning — interest in exploring, recognising and making connections between patterns and relationships in everyday situations; developing awareness and understanding of the symbol systems associated with number, time and money; interest in counting, sorting, categorising, ordering and comparing collections, and in predicting sequences and events; developing ability to describe the attributes and properties of shapes, objects and materials; developing vocabulary to convey mathematical thinking and ideas; increasing understanding of mathematical concepts using vocabulary or gesture to describe size, length, volume, capacity, number, position, direction, time and money; and interest in creating and using representation to organise, record and communicate mathematical ideas and concepts.

As you reflect on your practices, ask yourself:

What everyday numeracy experiences can I use to introduce new learning?
In what ways do the children demonstrate their numeracy knowledge in the context of their family and community?
Do the learning opportunities that I plan connect with what the children know?
How can I embed opportunities for numeracy learning across all areas of the kindergarten program?
What do I know about the numeracy concepts in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures?

B. Pedagogy

Educators intentionally promote this learning, for example, when they use numbers spontaneously or in everyday conversations and interactions, e.g. during finger plays, games, songs, rhymes and chants. They should incorporate cultural events, symbols and experiences that involve patterns of repeated sequences, e.g. in movement, songs, art, games, dance, manipulative play, routines and stories. They should draw children’s attention to patterns in the environment such as leaves in sunlight, waves on sand, spider webs, bark on trees, birds in the sky, tracks in the sand, and encourage experimentation with space, measurement, position, sorting and classification.

Numeracy Is promoted when educators provide explicit prompts to help children make abstract connections, e.g. ‘Look at this one — it’s bigger than that one’, ‘Can you see a big one too?’ They should draw attention to and label concepts of difference, such as ‘more’ and ‘less’, ‘big’ and ‘small’, ‘over’ and ‘under’, and numerical symbols in the environment, e.g. calendars and clocks, page numbers in books, number plates on cars, signs and advertising, keyboards, mobile phones, GPS. They should engage children in discussions about symbol systems, such as letters, numbers, time, money and musical notation.

Numeracy is also promoted when educators model the process of counting to solve everyday problems, e.g. ‘How many do you think we need?’ ‘Let’s count together?’ They should provoke thought in children’s everyday conversations, e.g. ‘I wonder if it’s full yet?’ ‘That’s a big one!’ ‘Let’s look under the table?’ They should provide intentional prompts to assist children to recall numeracy ideas, e.g. ‘Can you remember when we counted up to 5?’, and support children’s contribution to mathematical and scientific discussions and arguments. They should acknowledge children’s effort, interest and experimentation with numeracy ideas, e.g. ‘Let’s make a list’, ‘Draw a plan’. They should provide multiple opportunities for children to experiment with the properties of sand, water, blocks and natural materials, and incorporate opportunities to make a whole, take away from, or cut in half, e.g. games, clay, play dough and cooking experiences.

C. Documenting and reflecting

Educators look for evidence of children’s learning, such as the following.

In the familiar contexts of family and community evidence is seen when children use environmental markers to determine direction and position, and make sense and order of their world through kinship patterns and relationships. They mimic counting, e.g. 1, 4, 3, and hold up fingers to indicate ‘how many’ or ‘how old they are’, e.g. ‘I dis many’. They show an acute sense of spatial awareness and an intuitive feel for the surroundings and the objects in them. They understand time in terms of, for example, night time, day time, bird hunting season, bush food picking seasons. They make designs and patterns in play, dance and art. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In new and unfamiliar contexts of kindergarten, evidence is seen when children play randomly with materials and resources. They use gesture to communicate size, e.g. use hands to indicate ‘how big’ ‘how long’, and use modelled language to talk about the properties of shapes or patterns. They experiment with combining objects and parts, e.g. a puzzle, a mobile truck, and attempt to use words to describe shapes, e.g. round, square, star. They imitate adults or other children using money in play, and begin to respond to simple one-step directions to show understanding of position, e.g. ‘Sit on the chair’, ‘Put the rubbish in the bin’. (Add points relevant to your context.)

In the familiar contexts of a culturally secure kindergarten, evidence is seen when children explore, sort and describe the attributes of objects and collections. They experiment in play with mathematical tools, such as rulers, tape measures, calculators, scales and measuring cups, and dismantle, reassemble and combine objects and parts with purpose. They recite number names in familiar songs, finger plays and games. They respond to directions involving position, e.g. ‘over’, ‘under’, ‘on’, ‘up’, ‘down’, and to concepts such as big, small, long, short, high, low, full, empty, heavy, light in play. They recognise some comparative language, e.g. ‘This one is bigger’ ‘I need more’, and use words like ‘long’ and ‘tall’ in simple sentences. They pretend to exchange money in play. They respond to ‘time’ words such as start, finish, begin and end. (Add points relevant to your context.)

APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Relationship between the principles of the Early Years Learning Framework and the guiding principles of Foundations for Success

EYLF principle – Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships
Foundations for Success Guiding principle 1 – ‘Knowing who you are’ and having a positive sense of cultural identity is central to children’s social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
Guiding principle 2 – Children learn best through responsive and reciprocal relationships that connect with their world.

EYLF principle – Partnerships
Guiding principle 3 – Strong family and community engagement enables children’s health, learning and wellbeing.
Guiding principle 4 – First languages define every child — their knowledge, identity and relationships.

EYLF principle – High expectations and equity
Guiding principle 5 – Children are competent and capable and have been learning since birth.
Guiding principle 6 – Children’s positive attitudes to learning are essential for success.

EYLF principle – Respect for diversity
Guiding principle 7: Children are entitled to a voice of their own and to having their rights valued.

EYLF principle – Ongoing learning and reflective practice
Guiding principle 8: Ongoing learning and reflective practice underpin a quality kindergarten program.

Appendix 2
Relationship between the sub-elements of the Early Years Learning Framework outcomes and the sub-elements of the Foundations for Success learning statements

EYLF outcome – Children have a strong sense of identity

EYLF sub-element
Children feel safe, secure and supported.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children become strong in their emotional wellbeing. They feel safe, secure and supported.

EYLF sub-element
Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children become increasingly independent and interdependent. They interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect.

EYLF sub-element
Children develop their emerging autonomy, interdependence, resilience and sense of agency.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children build a sense of belief and confidence in themselves. They delight in making decisions and choices, and demonstrate courage and resilience to persevere and manage change and challenge.

EYLF sub-element
Children develop knowledgeable and confident self-identities.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children build knowledgeable and confident identities. They develop pride and strength in personal and cultural identity, and share a sense of belonging and connectedness.

EYLF outcome – Children are connected with and contribute to their world

EYLF sub-element
Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children broaden their sense of belonging to groups and communities. They become aware of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. They explore their own and others’ cultures and the similarities and differences among people.

EYLF sub-element
Children respond to diversity with respect.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children broaden their sense of belonging to groups and communities. They become aware of bias and stereotyping and respond to diversity with respect.

EYLF sub-element
Children become aware of fairness.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children broaden their sense of belonging to groups and communities. They become aware of fairness.

EYLF sub-element
Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children are increasingly independent and interdependent. They 	become socially responsible and show respect for environments, and explore interactions between people and environments.

EYLF outcome – Children have a strong sense of wellbeing

EYLF sub-element
Children become strong in their social and emotional wellbeing.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children become strong in their emotional wellbeing. They feel safe, secure and supported, and take increasing responsibility for their own health and safety.

EYLF sub-element
Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children become strong in their physical wellbeing. They gain control and strength for manipulating objects, tools and equipment with increasing complexity. They develop confidence, coordination and strength in large movement skills and challenges.

EYLF outcome – Children are confident and involved learners

EYLF sub-element
Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children become confident and involved knowers and learners. They build dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity.

EYLF sub-element
Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children become confident and involved knowers and learners. They apply a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating.

EYLF sub-element
Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children explore, investigate and connect with people, land, place, time and technology. They transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another and from one time to another.

EYLF sub-element
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children explore, investigate and connect with people, land, place, time and technology. They resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials.

EYLF outcome – Children are effective communicators

EYLF sub-element
Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children explore and expand their first languages. They interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.

EYLF sub-element
Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children engage with multiple forms of literacy that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts. They explore symbols and patterns in language, and build confidence and interest in exploring reading and writing behaviours.

EYLF sub-element
Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children engage with multiple forms of literacy that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They express ideas and make meaning using a range of media.

EYLF sub-element
Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children engage with numeracy concepts that build bridges between family and community contexts and new learning. They begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work, build confidence and interest in counting, and explore mathematical thinking, concepts and language.

EYLF sub-element
Children use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking.

Foundations for Success learning statement sub-element
Children explore, investigate and connect with people, land, place, time and technology. They use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking.

Appendix 3

Strategies for extending and enriching children’s learning — the following definitions have been adapted for use in the Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline from Interpreting the Early Years Learning Framework: A guide for educators: Draft for trial (Commonwealth of Australia 2009b, pp. 35–36).

Challenging — offering children opportunities to extend their skills and ideas within the context of secure relationships. Educators gauge when to offer challenges and experiences that will expand children’s thinking through provocation and reflection.

Collaborating — enabling children to take the lead in an investigation or an idea while working alongside them to contribute to, rather than dominate, the direction of the experience. This can also include involving others, such as family members and members of the community, who may have particular expertise or knowledge that can inform the learning.

Encouraging — supporting, particularly when children are making an effort, through making comments that motivate and encourage them to persist.

Explaining — making ideas and requests clear for children. This is useful at times when children want or need to understand a concept or idea, often about their own and others’ safety or rights.

Identifying — drawing children’s attention to new ideas and topics. Pointing out things of interest may generate areas for exploration and investigation.

Imagining — creating an environment where children are encouraged to use imagination and creativity to investigate, hypothesise and express themselves. Educators plan for children to have opportunities where there is freedom to engage in experiences with no set expectations for outcomes, and where children can explore their own possibilities.

Instructing — using techniques that engage children and are respectful of children’s ideas. Teachers use direct instruction when other strategies might not be appropriate. For example, teaching children about road safety on an outing requires teachers to be clear about their expectations for children, and to identify the safe practices needed in these types of situations.

Listening — encouraging children to lead conversations through listening deeply and thoughtfully to what they are saying. Through actively responding to children’s contributions, teachers create opportunities for authentic and sustained conversational exchanges.

Making connections — assisting children to see relationships and incongruities. Teachers contribute to children’s thinking by comparing and contrasting experiences and ideas.

Modelling — demonstrating a skill or how a task is done. Modelling should always be supported with opportunities for children to have a go at practising the skill themselves.

Negotiating — enabling children to have a go at solving problems and addressing complex issues. Teachers provide ‘scaffolding’ to allow children to see multiple sides to an argument or issue, and encourage children to find reasonable solutions that can address their own and others’ perspectives. See Scaffolding.

Providing for choice — offering opportunities for children to make choices involves recognising children’s capacities to make safe choices and experience the consequences of their actions. Provisions for choice need to be well considered in the context of the relationships, and should not place children at risk or in danger. Supporting children to make choices is valuable when autonomy and independence are encouraged.

Appendix 4

Sample 1 Transition to school statement

Transition to school statement (insert photo)

My name is: 					

My date of birth is:

My kindergarten is:

When I come to school I would like you to know (his may include views about starting school, what the child would like the teacher to know about them, what the child is looking forward to at school, what concerns them):

My family would like you to know (this may include special interests, allergies, other children or friends at the school, language spoken at home, important family events, views about your child starting school, or other information that your family thinks will help your child make the transition to school):

My educators would like you to know (this may include the child’s strengths and dispositions towards learning and other information that will support continued learning. Comments from other professionals specific to supporting the child’s transition may also be included):

My learning journey at kindergarten

Being proud and strong — children have a strong sense of identity (for example, the ways I show pride in who I am and where I come from, my resilience and confidence, and my ability to make choices and decisions and cope with change)

Being an active participant — children connect with and contribute to their world (for example, the ways I show awareness of belonging to groups and communities, how I interact in relation to others, respond to diversity with respect, show awareness of fairness and respect for environments)

Being healthy and safe — children have a strong sense of wellbeing (for example, the ways I show that I feel safe, secure and supported, my ability to take responsibility for my own health and physical wellbeing and my active engagement in physical activity)

Being a learner — children are confident and involved learners (for example, the ways I show confidence in myself as a knower and learner through dispositions such as curiosity, creativity and imagination, problem-solving, experimentation and investigation of environments, and engagement with digital technologies)

Being a communicator — children are effective communicators (for example, the ways I interact verbally and non-verbally with others in FL/s or SAE, my engagement with texts and interest in exploring reading and writing behaviours, and my interest in symbols and pattern systems, counting and mathematical thinking and concepts)

Sample 2 Transition to school statement

My family and I have given permission to share this statement with the child’s school.

My name is:

I am a (girl/boy)

I am          years old. My birthday is on:

This is a picture of all the people in my family (insert photo).

At kindergarten I enjoy:

Sometimes I need help with:

My family would like to you know:

Information from the educators in kindergarten

My educator’s names and contact details were:

I attended:

My educators would like you to know:

Some suggestions that may support my transition into Prep

Learning journey

Being proud and strong
Children have a strong sense of identity (identity and belonging, and confidence and resilience)
Comment:

Being an active participant
Children connect with and contribute to their world (listening and negotiation, positive relationships)
Comment:

Being healthy and safe
Children have a strong sense of wellbeing (safety and security, and physical activity)
Comment:

Being a learner
Children are confident and involved learners (involvement in learning, and investigating environments)
Comment:

Being a communicator
Children are effective communicators
•	Oral language/s
•	Literacy
•	Numeracy
Comment:

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