“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is Dignity and rights of the child.
Element 5.1.2: The dignity and rights of every child are maintained.
Have you and your team recently reflected on Element 5.1.2 and considered the ways in which the dignity and rights of every child are upheld, embedded, and consistently demonstrated across all aspects of your service? This includes daily programming and curriculum decision-making, operational routines, behaviour guidance practices, resource selection and environment setup, policy development, and everyday interactions. Services can demonstrate, through practice and documentation, how children and young people’s rights are genuinely prioritised and embedded in decision-making processes, rather than being acknowledged in principle alone.
In ECEC settings, children and young people’s rights (as articulated in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and the ECA Code of Ethics) are central to quality practice under the National Quality Framework (NQF). These rights underpin respectful and responsive relationships and emphasise children’s entitlement to protection, recognition of family, cultural and linguistic identities, and opportunities for play, rest, leisure, and meaningful participation. Consistent with the approved learning frameworks, children are recognised as active participants in their learning and community contexts, rather than passive recipients of care.
Services embed these principles through practices that foster a strong sense of belonging, support children’s voice and agency, promote equity and inclusion, and maintain culturally safe environments. In practice, educators engage in ongoing critical reflection to identify and challenge bias, work in partnership with families to respect diverse perspectives, and intentionally support children to recognise unfairness, develop empathy, and contribute to fair and inclusive communities.
Reflect with your team to consider embedded quality practices that uphold and prioritise the dignity and rights of children and young people within your Service:
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- Information about each family’s diverse views, backgrounds, values and identities is regularly collected and used to guide programming and planning for children and young people’s individual needs.
- Educators engage in regular, documented critical reflection (team meetings, supervision, QIP reflections) on how children’s dignity, rights, and agency are upheld across all service practices.
- The Service displays and promotes (the awareness and understanding of) the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child with families and children.
- Educators participate in professional learning to unpack the UNCRC and reflect on how the articles are upheld in all service operations.
- Educators receive a copy of the ECA Code of ethics as part of their induction package, review and reflect on it periodically and use it to guide their professional practice.
- Educators guide children’s behaviour positively, including encouraging them to reflect on and consider the impact of their behaviour.
- Educators promote children’s rights through initiation of regular open-ended discussions with children, taking advantage teachable moments to ensure children are aware of their rights and the rights of others.
- Educators intentionally scaffold children’s understanding of fairness, empathy, and respect, supporting them to resolve conflict, express emotions appropriately, and advocate for themselves and others.
- Educators celebrate diversity, encourage identity development, and use inclusive practices and resources to explore cultures.
- Educators identify and challenge discrimination, address bullying promptly, and model fairness and support children and young people to do the same.
- The service and educators consistently promote cultural safety, inclusion, and children’s agency in decision-making.
- Strategies are implemented to maintain children’s dignity during personal care routines such as toileting, nappy changing and changing clothes.
- Children and young people’s privacy is respected during toileting and changing clothing.
- The service works in partnership with families to support child-safe pedagogical practices, including teaching children about protective behaviours, consent, and body safety. Consistent approaches between home and the service are encouraged to strengthen children’s understanding of their bodies, personal boundaries, and the right to feel safe and respected.
- Educators intentionally create and arrange learning spaces, routines and manage the use of resources that minimise times when children are likely to experience stress or frustration or made to wait unnecessarily and for extended periods of time.
- Children and young people are supported to make informed decisions and choices that allow them to experience consequence of actions in a safe and controlled way.
- The dignity and rights of children is promoted through the service’s relevant policies/procedures i.e., Safe sleep and Rest, Toileting, Behaviour Guidance Policies, Educational Program, Celebrations/Social Events etc.
- The policies and procedures are regularly reviewed in collaboration with educators and families to ensure alignment with children’s rights, cultural safety, and inclusive practice.
- Educators monitor play to pre-empt conflicts and support positive interactions.
- Educators consistently respond to each other and to children respectfully, positively and sensitively through their language, tone, body language and facial expressions.
- The service makes adjustments/accommodations to the program, resources and physical environment to ensure the inclusion of all children and young people. i.e., use of ramps, left-handed scissors, supported swings, large print books, visual aids, sensory aids.
- Educators provide children and young people with opportunities for rest and relaxation based on their individual needs. Educators are responsive to children’s cues to meet their individual needs for sleep.
- The service environment is warm, welcoming and fosters each child’s sense of identity and belonging.
- Educators’ interactions with children and young people are genuine and foster a sense of identity and belonging; building secure attachments, nurturing relationships, active listening, valuing and encouraging children’s input and opinions, promoting agency and family involvement.
- The Service actively and consistently invites and encourages families to share their knowledge of their culture, customs, traditions and values and promotes these with children and families across the Service.
- Children’s voices are documented and reviewed (e.g. through learning stories, group discussions, visual planning tools, or feedback mechanisms) and meaningfully inform curriculum decisions, environment design, and routine review.
- Feedback from children, families, and educators is actively sought and used to inform the service’s Quality Improvement Plan.
- Inclusive practices are embedded in risk assessment and supervision planning, ensuring children’s rights to safety, participation, and autonomy are balanced and upheld.
- The Service uses multiple communication methods (visuals, translated materials, digital platforms, verbal communication) to ensure all families can access information and participate meaningfully.
- Leadership actively promotes a culture of rights-based practice, ensuring consistent expectations across educators, casual/relief staff, students, and volunteers.
- The Service consults with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, to develop strategies to promote cultural competency and inclusion within the service.
Upholding the dignity and rights of every child is not a single practice or policy, but a shared, ongoing responsibility that is embedded in the culture, relationships, and decision-making of the service. When educators critically reflect on practice, listen to and act on children’s voices, and work together with families to create safe, respectful, and inclusive learning environments, children are supported to develop a strong sense of identity, wellbeing, and agency. Through intentional, rights-based practice that is regularly reviewed and strengthened, services can confidently demonstrate alignment with the NQS and the approved learning frameworks, ensuring that children’s dignity and rights are not only acknowledged, but actively lived and embedded in all aspects of service delivery.
Resources:
Guide to the NQF: Element 5.1.2: Dignity and rights of the child
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
UNICEF- Children’s version of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Spoke- Consent, body safety and the rights of the child
Amplify- What are children’s rights and how do they apply in early education and care?
Within System7 go to Quality Area 5/Modules 3 & 4 to submit self-assessment notes and if required, open a QIP issue if you identify any areas of improvement.
The Childcare Centre Desktop has a range of resources to assist services with element 5.1.2. These include Anti-bias and Inclusion Policy, Gender Equity Policy, Interactions with Children, Staff and Families Policy, Educational Program and Practice Procedure, Toileting Policy, Behaviour Guidance Policy, Critical Reflection Template, Meeting Minutes Template and much more.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
Childcare Centre Desktop – Childcare Centre Desktop
National Quality Standard – QA 5/ 5.1.2- Dignity and rights of the child
National Regulations – 73, 115, 155, 156, 168
System7 Module – QA 5/ Modules 3 & 4
If you have any questions, send us a note via the Contact page here!
