When the Council of Australian Governments (COAG ) decided state, territory and federal Governments all needed to work

together to improve outcomes for little kids, one of the outcomes was the development of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). This new framework, or way of understanding and working with children, is called Being, Belonging & Becoming. Eventually it will help guide everyone in Australia who works in early childhood education and care.

The EYLF has a big vision: to extend and enrich childrens learning from birth to five years so that all children have the best start in life to create a better future for themselves and for the nation.
The Indigenous Professional Support Units (IPSUs) are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services and Programs, to help them get to know about, and learn to use the EYLF. The IPSUs know these services want the very best start for their children and the EYLF will be a great tool to do this. The Early Years Framework (EYLF) sees relationships as the basis for learning. Relationships with family (the childs first and most important teachers), community, culture and land, are all important for learning. Children are active learners too. When they play and wonder, explore the world and come up with new ideas they are actively learning. This is why the EYLF talks about childrens lives as characterized by belonging, being and becoming.

Belonging
Belonging is important for children. Its about knowing who you belong with and where. Coolabaroo MACS uses many strategies to give a lovely sense of belonging for children. They welcome in families and community members; children learn Noongar language with Aunty Aileen; and they have many resources, like this book, which reflect their Indigenous heritage. What are some ways you help children and families Belong? What else could you do?

Being
Being is about the joy of children being children. Its about valuing their interests, their play and their relationships right now, not just in terms of their future development. Playing with sand, water and mud is a delicious and soothing experience for young children. The Wangkatjungka Playgroup staff knew their kids were also interested in cooking so they added some pots and pans, spoons and shapes. The kids loved it! How do you give children the time, space and experiences that allow them to Be? What else could you do?

Becoming
Children are always Becoming. Early Childhood is a time of change: bodies grow, brains develop, friendships form, new experi-

of it affects how and who children become. Learning to be a part of the community, helping and being involved is important for becoming. Warmun Early Learning Centre encourages children to be fully involved in the real work of keeping their play areas tidily packed away after activities. These children arebecoming active contributors to the whole program, which in turn helps them to become strong and positive in themselves. Think about your program, how does it support children to grow and develop? What else could you do?
This Resource Sheet has been prepared by the Yorganop Indigenous Professional Support Unit WA. Yorganop The Yorganop Indigenous Professional Support Unit is an initiative of the Inclusion and Professional Support Programme, funded by the Australian Government.

Weaving Principles and Practice to Produce Outcomes

The Early Years Learning Framework has three Elements; Principles, Practice and Outcomes. They help us think about our work with children, to plan our programs for children and guide how we work with kids, families and communities. Principles are about beliefs and values. The things we believe, our ideas and attitudes are important because what we believe affects what we do. The EYLF gives us principles to guide us in our work. They talk about how children need to have strong positive relationships with carers, about respecting and working with families and cultures and giving all kids a chance to do well. We need to keep learning , thinking and talking to each other about what works and what we can do better for
We can choose different wools and natural materials to make baskets. We also choose different ideas, or PRINCIPLES to guide our work with children.

Principles

When we make baskets we put basket making skills or PRACTICE to work. When we work with children we use our Early Childhood teaching skills.

Practice is how we put our Principles into action. Its about how we work with kids, families and communities. The EYLF talks about our repertoire of pedagogical practices. This another way of saying that we all have our teaching toolkit, our skills and knowledge, that we use to help kids learn. Some of the important Practices in the EYLF include; understanding, valuing and working with kids interests, their skills and their culture. These practices our help kids want to learn because they feel strong and able to do so.

The EYLF Outcomes in Action

The Vision we have for children is a tool which guides all our work. The Learning Outcomes help us understand what will happen if we put the Vision to work. They are the good things we want for kids, like feeling strong in themselves, being good learners, and being able to share and care for each other. Each of the five Learning Outcomes in the EYLF, have extra points with more detailed outcomes Here is a brief introduction to the 5 Learning Outcomes. For more detail check the EYLF Book.

The Outcomes
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

OUTCOME 1: Children have a strong sense of identity

Strong and secure relationships with caregivers help children feel safe, secure and supported. When children trust the world and feel safe to explore, they learn more about the world and themselves. This stretchy red tunnel in the safe hands of a caregiver from the West Pilbara Mobile Playgroup gives small children the opportunity to test their courage in a controlled way. Think about how your program builds strong trusting relationships between carers and children; families and your service; children and children. What more could you do?

OUTCOME 2: Children are connected

with and contribute to their world

The Outcomes continued

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children need to feel connected to the world of their families and communities when they are in our services. It helps them to develop a sense of belonging and comfort in their environments. Learning to dig a traditional well to get water is one way this Kimberley playgroup offers children the opportunity to connect with their culture and along the way they are learning about the importance of water and how to help others to get it too. What do you do in your service to help children connect to their world and to help others?

OUTCOME 3: Children have a Children need lots of help and encouragement to learn the skills to look strong sense of wellbeing after themselves. Simple things like learning about the importance of hand washing, how to do it well and at the right times, helps children take control of their own health and wellbeing. Fitzroy Valley Early Learning Centre have made their own hand washing posters to show the important skills of hand washing. They used photos of children from their own service because it is much more motivating than pictures of people they dont know.
What do you do to help children develop a strong sense of well being? What more could your do?

OUTCOME 4: Children are

confident and involved learners

Confident and involved learners get very busy with their own work, they concentrate hard and dont think about other things. This young child from Coolabaroo MACS is totally involved in creating a motorbike out of playdough! Open ended resources, like playdough, let children explore their interests and ideas and solve problems. Add shells, nuts, small animals, blocks or other things to extend childrens play and challenge them to develop new ideas. How is your program helping children explore, develop ideas, be creative and involved in learning? What else could you do?

Children communicate in lots of ways, not just with words. Babies cant talk but they are great communicators! They use their body, face and voice to communicate. Older children can use dance, music, words, art and much more to tell us what they think and feel, to plan and to play. These children from a Playgroup in Kalgoorlie are communicating well to work together on a big puzzle. They are talking and listening, using their home language to decide who does what and what goes where. Children need adults to respect their efforts to communicate and offer them many opportunities to build their communication. What is your service doing to support childrens communication skills? What more could you do?

OUTCOME 5: Children are

effective communicators

More EYLF in Action: Growing and Learning

Children love learning, they are born ready to grow and learn. There is never a time when they are not learning: they are always Becoming! This is why we need to be careful how we work with kids, how we treat them, what we expect from them and what we put into our programs. All of that is our Pedagogy, our teaching toolkit. To do our job well we need to know what kids can do at different stages, so we know what they need from us to help them on their journey of becoming.
Angela de Wahl from Yaandina MACS understands her little son has skills and needs. She supports him, but leaves him free to move his neck to turn and look at (or away from) the world. She holds him close, understanding his need to feel safe while a stranger takes his photo. He is already an Effective Communicator (Learning Outcome 5, EYLF) and Angela is supporting him to become more effective. Think about your Babies Program. Are you helping babies to become more Effective Communicators? What else could you do?

These children are working hard, exploring experiences Educators and parents from the West Pilbara Mobile have set up for them. They are both involved in their play but because of their ages they are interested in, and able to do, different things. The baby has a pot, she is developing big muscles to shift it . The toddler is using a knife to cut playdough. This is a complex skill and she is practicing hard to build up her skills. They are both Confident and Involved Learners (Learning Outcome 4, EYLF). Think about your Toddler program. Are there experiences to interest and challenge children, but not too much? What else could you do to help them feel confident and involved in their play? These children from a Kimberley OSHC program are using real knives for a real task. Educators have shown respect for the childrens skills by giving them this job. When we notice and respond to childrens real skills and abilities we help them to Develop a Strong Sense of Identity (Learning Outcome 1, EYLF). They are contributing to a meal for the all the children and adults in the program so they are also Connecting with and Contributing to Their World (Learning Outcome 2, EYLF). Think about your Kindy Program. Are you asking kids for help with real tasks? (Dont forget safety and support) What else could you do?
YIPSU WA hopes this small introduction helps you in the journey of learning about and using the Early Years Learning Framework. We would encourage you to read the EYLF book and log on to the DEEWR website to have a look at, and comment on the draft Early Years Learning Framework Educators Guide Using Belonging, Being and Becoming in Early Childhood Services: A Guide for Educators: https://projects.deewr.gov.au/Registration/Pages/Register.aspx?ProjectCode=eyc
A big THANK YOU to SNAICC for all the effort they have put into advising COAG about ways that the Framework needs to reflect and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities . And THANK YOU too to all the generous s Early Childhood Programs from WA who gave Yorganop IPSU permission to use their images and information to compile this learning sheet.