Goodstart Early Learning Red Hill

“Learning is not the transmission of a defined body of knowledge, what Malaguzzi refers to as a ‘small’ pedagogy. It is constructive, the subject constructing her or his own knowledge but always in democratic relationships with others and being open to different ways of seeing…Teachers as well as children are constantly learning. Learning itself is a subject for constant research, and as such must be made visible.”

Carla Rinaldi and Peter Moss

We were recently interviewed by our friends at Community Early Learning Australia about our practice of Safe Pedagogical Photography. We are happy to see this professional language being shared and adopted within the sector as more and more early learning professionals begin to reflect on children's rights in digital spaces, and what our ethical responsibilities are in this space.

Beyond happy snaps: Developing a framework for safe pedagogical photography Child safety reforms are prompting many services to rethink how they use photography to document and communicate children@s learning.In this article we share how Goodstart Red Hill uses safe pedagogical photography for meaningful stories of learning, while protecting children@s rights.

We’ve been engaging in some purposeful purchasing after reflecting on the impact visually busy rugs can have on a learning environment. We found that removing patterned rugs helped the space feel calmer, less cluttered, and more inviting for children’s play and engagement.

We are curious to see if we notice a difference in the children’s play and focus following this change.

"Children are the first great researchers. If we are capable of listening to them, children can give us back our pleasure in wonder, in marveling, in doubt." – Carla Rinaldi

We are currently seeking a passionate Early Childhood Teacher to join our team in a part-time role, supporting programming across our two 3–5 year old kindergarten rooms.

This position will initially be 2 days per week, with the opportunity to increase to 3 days by the end of the year.

We are looking for a confident and experienced educator with strong leadership capabilities and a commitment to practices that uphold and advocate for the rights of the child.

If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you! Apply via the link below 👇

Its been a while since we have added to our series.... We have decided that will be bringing this back as our Sunday afternoon post, hoping to inspire you for the week ahead.

Our Foundation team have been deep in a project supporting the emotional regulation of our youngest jarjum. As part of this they took delivery of some new resources that will help us teach Jarjum ways to regulate energy and emotions. Our library space now has a designated "calm cubby" that children can use one at a time. This cubby is a tool Jarjum can use if they "need space" or if they are overstimulated or overwhelmed. This soft and inviting space has a little privacy and also has a few other tools Jarjum can use to support regulation and teach techniques that can be used to reach a regulated and calm state again.

The team have also created a book for Jarjum to read as a prompt for this space including different choices Jarjum can make to help them regulate. The options include talking to a trusted educator, asking for a cuddle, doing deep breathing, exploring sensory tools, reading a book or doing a puzzle . This space is not just for children who may feel disregulated, but can also provide a calm and quiet space for Jarjum who are looking for a calm space where they can have a moment to themselves.

Our educators will support moments of disregulation through staying calm, showing empathy, help them become self-aware(naming emotions), and guiding Jarjum through sensory experiences and calming strategies. Our educators stay supportive and encouraging, helping children feel cared for, valued, and understood as they learn to regulate.

There is also a new 'squeezy chair' resource which children sit on, rock in, and receive the sensory input of a squeeze as their body weight shifts the spongy shape, which is a great (big) addition to our growing sensory toolkits, resources that we support children to access when they need to regulate.

Last week, our Educational Leader was inspired to reimagine one of our play spaces, transforming a tired and neglected mud kitchen into a vibrant construction zone.

The children have eagerly embraced the “new” space, engaging in rich experimental play with pipes, cars, and loose parts, while weaving imaginative role play into their explorations. It has been wonderful to watch the area come alive again through the children’s curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.

May is a special month on our Red Hill calendar, as it brings reconciliation into the spotlight, for National Reconciliation Week. While NRW isn’t until the end of May, now is the time to be preparing for it. We love being art of the Sea of Hearts movement, in collaboration with Connecting the Dots through Culture. This project came to life 6 years ago as we reflected with our mentor Jackie Bennett about what reconciliation means to us, and what our role is as leaders in reconciliation as early learning professionals nurturing the next generation.

Here’s a little trip down memory lane to show how our installation has grown. Now is the time to be reaching out to your community to invite them to participate. Prepare the hearts, invite them to take one home and decorate, and write their pledge to reconciliation.

Will you join the movement this year? We are all in!