“It’s our polite nudge in the ribs to help you and your team stay organised and on task.”
This week’s subject is: Reflective practice
Element 4.2.1: Professional Collaboration
Management, educators, and staff work with mutual respect and collaboratively, and challenge and learn from each other, recognising each other’s strengths and skills.
Reflective practice involves a continuous process of critically analysing your professional practice and the practices of your team as a whole. Management and educators formally and informally engage in professional discussions where they reflect on any professional practice associated with the delivery of the Service. Services document their collaboration and reflections during team meetings and reflective journals.
Reflective practice is a critical step in a Service’s continual improvement. By effectively engaging in reflective practice:
- educators create an opportunity for the improvement of their professional practice and Service delivery
- collaboration between professionals from diverse professional backgrounds and settings is promoted
- educators are better equipped to make informed, justifiable decisions
- educators become increasingly conscious of their own and their colleague’s professional beliefs and values and assists them to develop a repertoire of relevant and context specific strategies and practices that foster continuous improvement
- educators are challenged to question their values and beliefs and how they influence their professional practice
- educators can share their beliefs & experience and make decisions based on shared evidence, experience and knowledge
Reflective practice occurs at staff meetings, often unconsciously and unintentionally. Provided your staff meeting minutes are thorough and include valuable detail about discussions and the reasoning leading to team decisions your teams’ reflective practice will be documented in your meeting minutes. Additionally, allocate some time during each meeting for reflecting on one aspect of practice and planning to assist in developing a culture of inquiry.
Reflection topics could include:
- the effectiveness of specific routines and practices
- unpacking your service philosophy and identifying how it’s reflected in everyday practice and service delivery
- identifying and implementing opportunities to strengthen ethical practice
- the theories that underpin quality practice
- identifying and addressing any gaps in their professional knowledge
- unpacking the Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics (2016)
- the role and application of professional ethics and standards across the service
- unpacking the relevance of the service’s Code of Conduct
- understanding data from Australian Early Development Census (AEDC)
Resources:
Uncovering the layers of reflective practice: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Living the Early Years Learning Framework everyday- Team Meeting Package
My Time Our Place- Team Meeting Package
Within System7 go to Quality Area 4/ Modules 4 & 6 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 staff meeting minutes template that services can use to effectively document team meetings as well as evidencing reflective practice.
Resources, NQS Element, Regulation and System7 links:
National Quality Standard – QA 4/ 4.2.1- Professional collaboration
National Regulations – 168, 169
System7 Module – QA 4/ Modules 4 & 6
If you have any questions send us a note via the Contact page here!
