Programme

Navigating your way through employment issues can often be challenging as there are a variety of processes, which need to be followed to address these issues. Being able to recognise, understand and appropriately address these issues is key to fostering and maintaining a safe, productive, and cohesive working environment. 

This interactive workshop will give you the confidence and knowledge to identify and address employment issues appropriately. This workshop will cover: 

• some of the issues that commonly arise within the workplace, such as misconduct/serious misconduct, poor performance, long term and ongoing illness, excessive absenteeism and relational issues; 

• common employment issues we are seeing in the sector including: 

  • misconduct/serious misconduct 

  • relational issues 

  • performance concerns 

  • absence and long term or ongoing illness and injury 

• how to identify employment issues appropriately; and 

• the different processes available to address these issues including informal processes and formal processes. 

This interactive workshop will support you to address concerns in the workplace.

An interactive workshop consisting of three components; 

1. Infectious diseases; what might be seen in an Early Childhood Education setting and how to manage these with support from the Public Health Service 

2. Immunisation and its role in preventing spread of disease in whānau and tamariki as well as kaimahi. 

3. Early Childhood Education staff and their role in supporting access to trusted sources of health information.

Regulation is all about:

• setting clear standards;

• supporting them to be achieved; and

• enforcing sanctions for significant non-compliance

In the context of the Early Childhood Education Regulatory Sector Review, ECC’s Simon Laube and Sue Kurtovich will examine some of the top areas where regulation could be improved.

We will look at:

• the objectives of current regulation and how they remain relevant today

• the challenges of measuring/evidencing compliance with regulatory standards

• the contribution a regulation makes to achieving a regulatory objective and consider the      regulatory burdens associated with regulation

• how you can make your own submissions, with workable suggestions, to the Ministry for Regulation to contribute to the review

A range of common challenging areas (like Pay Parity and the teacher shortage) will be examined from their regulatory perspectives.

This workshop would suit all conference participants especially people who want to refine or refresh their understanding of regulation.

Participants can expect to be better able to identify the difference between regulation, subjective interpretation, and mere guidance.

This session explores the work that Oranga Tamariki and partner agencies undertake to promote tamariki wellbeing and safety.

This information will be presented against the wider backdrop of recent changes to the children’s system and the implications of recent inquiries and reports (Dame Karen Poutasi and the Royal Commission of Inquiry).

The Oranga Tamariki Practice Approach, and new assessment practices will be explored.

The presentation will also cover:

• working together to promote tamariki safety,

• when to make a Report of Concern to Oranga Tamariki,

• the response the notifier can expect,

• the supports and services tamariki and whānau receive,

• the future devolution of some services to the community and the implications for the Early Childhood sector.

ENGAGE is an evidence-based approach that supports the development of children’s self-regulation skills through intentional play. ENGAGE was developed by Associate Professor Dione Healey (University of Otago), and has been widely researched in Aotearoa. Now, in collaboration with Methodist Mission Southern and with funding from the Ministry of Education, the programme is now being delivered across Aotearoa in hundreds of early learning services. The widespread roll-out of ENGAGE will have positive outcomes for a huge number of tamariki, equipping them with vital self-regulation skills that are essential to successfully navigating through school and into adulthood. 

In this workshop we will take you through some of the background research and evidence base that has got ENGAGE to where it is today. We will also demonstrate some of the ENGAGE strategies and techniques, how these are delivered in centres, and the benefits we have seen for kaiako and tamariki.

The Early Childhood Education Regulatory Review is looking at the regulatory systems for education, health, safety, child protection, food safety, buildings, and workplaces as they apply to the ECE sector. This review is not looking at funding. It will help make sure that the rules are good for everyone and make economic sense, saving time and improving outcomes for children. We will be asking about your experiences of working in the sector and explore your ideas for improvements.

The workshop will cover the three key areas of the review:

• How well is the regulatory system designed?

• How effectively do the different parts of government work together?

• How do the regulations work in practice?

In a competitive marketplace where resources are continually being stretched but quality increasingly expected, what can be done to address the challenges of both? The workshop will address these challenges by understanding how branding works and by providing easy and simple ways in which it can be used to identify and emphasise your strengths and better position your Centre in the marketplace. It will also look at how you can develop these strengths and communicate them effectively.