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Kindy Uplift Funding

Thank you for considering Early Childhood Outreach for your Kindy Uplift Funding.  We look forward to working with you.

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Here is some information about us, and what we do, to help you decide on what you would like to include in your plan. There is more detail on our website https://earlychildhoodoutreach.com

 

Our Team

Andrea Broughton is the Founder, Director and Senior Inclusion Consultant at Early Childhood Outreach. Her credentials include Early Childhood and Primary teaching qualifications, extensive experience as an Early Intervention professional, specialised training in Sensory Processing, Autism, Communication and Behaviour Support; and over 4 years as an Inclusion Consultant providing Inclusion training, coaching and mentoring in Early Childhood settings.

Other coaches may complete training or coaching bookings on behalf of Early Childhood Outreach at different times. Their qualifications and experience will be detailed before a booking is confirmed.

 

Our Services

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Training

As at Nov 2023, there are 6 core Inclusion training presentations.   Full details are at https://www.earlychildhoodoutreach.com/services, but an overview is given below.

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All our presentations include practical strategies and case studies to help educators embed the learning into their practice immediately.

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Discounts are available if two presentations are booked for the same day.

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(Timings are given for face to face or live online training. Pre-recorded content is slightly shorter)

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‘Sensory Processing and the A SECRET framework’- 2.5 hours (Menu item- A SECRET)

All of us use information from our senses to regulate or calm ourselves. Some people with neurodivergence, sensory processing differences, or who have suffered trauma, need support to avoid being overwhelmed by everyday environments. This presentation builds the capacity of educators to reflect on the environments they provide, and understand how to offer sensory supports which match the group’s needs. It is suitable for all settings and all age groups.

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‘Difficult Conversations – finding ways to collaborate with families’ – 1.5 hours (Menu item)

Drawing on real-life conversations with families and educators, this presentation explores our different and unique perspectives, and how these impact on our interactions with each other.  We consider what may be impacting a family’s capacity to seek further support for their child, once a developmental concern has been raised.  Suitable for all Early Childhood educators – particularly those in leadership positions.

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‘Supporting Communication’ – 1 hour

Ensuring that we communicate in a way that children understand, and supporting children to communicate with us and with each other, are key to learning and engagement for all children. This presentation considers the reasons we communicate with each other, and introduces key support strategies including modelling, visuals, Key Word Sign and matching our communication style to those we are communicating with. Suitable for any educators who have children with communication delays, Autism or English as an Additional Language in their setting.

 

‘Understand the child, understand the challenging behaviour’ – 1.5 hours

Challenging behaviour is usually a sign of unmet needs, or a social or communication skill which a child has not yet learnt. Building our understanding of the child’s skills, interests and challenges is key to understanding and supporting the behaviour. A range of strategies and resources is introduced to build educators’ capacity to collaborate with each other and with family members to minimise challenging behaviour.  Suitable for all age groups who are witnessing challenging behaviour.

 

‘Autism – seeing the big picture’ – 2 hours

Once educators understand the key challenges faced by Autistic / Neurodivergent children, they are able to provide appropriate supports in a range of areas including engagement, communication, learning and sensory regulation. In this presentation we consider how Autistic children may be experiencing the Early Childhood setting from a different perspective, and how best to understand and support them.  Suitable for all ages and settings.

 

‘Observing and supporting play skills’ – 1.5 hours

Children play in many different ways from solitary to cooperative, and from sensory through to imaginative. This presentation supports educators to identify and understand these levels, and to provide starting points for those with delays, and extension opportunities for those with advanced skills,  so that every child can engage with every experience. Suitable for all Early Childhood care settings especially those with a wide range of abilities and ages.

 

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Coaching packages

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When combined with training, a coaching package promotes consistent approaches across a centre, and supports educators to build their confidence in supporting engagement, communication, emotional wellbeing and behaviour for all children.

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Each package is tailored for a specific centre, but Early Childhood Outreach recommends the following format for support, based on experience of success in the past:

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  • At least 2 hours in each Funded Kindergarten group for the initial visit. During this time, the coach will observe the current interactions between all educators and children, the layout and content of the program, any behaviour/ communication support strategies currently in place, and the routines and transitions in the setting. In multi-room settings, the coach will also meet with the centre Director/ Educational Leader to discuss the current challenges within the centre.

  • Initial reflection session for each team. Usually approximately an hour long, and held during non-contact times, this session is used to reflect on the priorities for each team and offer strategies, based on the coach’s observations and the educators’ skills and concerns.

  • Subsequent coaching visits. Time spent by the coach in the rooms with the educators and children to practise the strategies learned during training / reflection and embed them into each individual setting and group of children. Usually approximately 1.5 hours per group per visit. The number and frequency of subsequent coaching visits will depend on the level of confidence and skills of the educators at the beginning of the package, and will be agreed before a quote is provided.

  • Mentoring / reflection time. A key component of the success of the package is to allow sufficient time with educators to reflect on their new practice, how they are feeling about it, and whether they need any further information or resources in order to maximise success. At least one hour per subsequent coaching visit, for individual educators, leadership teams, care setting teams, or whole staff groups, as identified by the centre. This mentoring can take place after hours, or during the day, if there are sufficient staff to release educators. It can be completed face to face, or online via Zoom or Teams.

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Next steps

Before contacting us to request a quote, please consider the following questions:

  • Which training presentations best match the needs and skills of our team / our centre?

  • How does our team learn best – face to face live training, online via Zoom, or pre-recorded on-demand, or a combination?

  • How many educators would we like to receive the training?

  • Will we do training in the evening after the centre closes, or on a specific training day during the week or at the weekend, or in the educator’s planning time (on-demand training only)

  • How many coaching visits, and over what time span, will work best for us?

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