Early Childhood Educator

This role requires the incumbent to provide support to the Lead Educator/s of a Room. You will contribute to and support the creation and maintenance of an authentic, creative, healthy, challenging and caring learning space for children and families. You will contribute to a positive and professional team dynamic.

**Pedagogy and Curriculum**
- In support of the Lead Educator, help to develop a learning and development program for the children that is:

- Support plans and strategies designed to assist any child/ren with additional/special needs to be successful in the Early Learning experiences. Actively support the principle that inclusive practices are embedded - they’re just part of what we do here.
- Contribute to the ‘visible learning’ of the children. This will be done in consultation with the Lead Educator - all Educators are expected to learn to document learning and contribute to the visible learning displays of the children’s ‘work’.
- Work with the Lead Educator to understand the principles associated with setting up a learning environment as the ‘3rd teacher’. Support concepts such as; reuse, recycle, upcycle, loose parts, sustainability, we’re part of a larger world and environment.
- Liaise with families, care-givers and your colleagues regarding the children - seek to understand the children’s needs, interests, motivations, etc and work with the Lead Educator to accommodate for their specific needs and interests.

**Quality Care**
- Be primarily responsible for ensuring that all cleaning, hygiene and centre safety systems are followed. Complete all associated documentation.
- Role model and support children in following sun safe practices.
- Be aware of children’s wellbeing needs and follow established practices. Where necessary, seek support and guidance from the Lead Educator (other others). Practices include: illness, suspected illness, medication administration, allergy management, health condition needs, food restriction requirements etc. Complete associated documentation is completed in a professional and timely manner.
- Perform First Aid and comfort to children where necessary and complete associated documentation in a professional and timely manner.
- Advocate for the rights of the children - follow appropriate procedures if mistreatment of a child is suspected.
- Support all children in their toileting practices and follow nappy changing procedures.
- Embody the “circle of security” model for all Centre children.
- Build and maintain effective, friendly relationships with your children’s families and their caregivers.

**Team Work**
- As a team member we are responsible for creating the Centre that we work at - we want it to be one that we would want our children to attend and that we would want our community to support. Be a supportive, positive, respectful and kind member of the Centre team as a whole. Sometimes being a team member is as much about what you don’t do as what you do. Do; be open, positive, fun, encouraging, professional, helpful and supportive. Don’t; talk behind other’s backs, be negative, discouraging, disrespectful or mean. Also recognise that you and others can ‘have a bad day’- recognise when you’re wrong and apologise if necessary. Help to create an optimistic, progressive and exciting workplace where you and others can’t help but succeed.
- Contribute to the “Professional Achievement”, Performance Appraisal and Performance Improvement processes as may be necessary.
- Contribute to and participate in Team Meetings.

**Continuous Improvement**
- Build and maintain awareness of the National Quality Framework (including the National Quality Standards), your Centre’s Philosophy, Mission, Vision, Values and Quality Improvement Plan. Where possible, make contributions to achieve identified goals.
- Work with the Lead Educator (and others where appropriate) to support relationships with members of the broader community (eg local library, local fire station etc).
- Reflect, reflect, reflectwhat can you and others _do better_ to _get better_? Let someone know your ideas and seek support to make any change/s.

**Additional Functions**
- ‘Specialty Areas’ are established/being established for the Centre. The current ‘specialty areas’ include; ”Sustainability”, “Culture/ATSI Awareness”, “Workplace Health & Safety”, “Team Wellbeing” and “Emergency Responses”. Lead Educators are nominated as ‘champion’ of an area and they will seek support from team members across the centre to help ‘make things happen’. You are encouraged to offer support to a specialty area that you feel passionate about. This will allow you to develop new skills, gain exposure to new ideas and much more. Additionally, time ‘off the floor’ may be made available when necessary.
- When the Centre receives its notice of Assessment and Rating-you will be expected to ‘put your best foot forward’. As a team, we will nee