It is only a couple of weeks before the school holidays - do you believe it?!  The year seems to be whizzing by so fast.  On Monday Christchurch still had lovely thick snow in some parts after the city received a downfall last week and there is no mistaking it is winter now.  So this week's edition of Being Informed brings you reading to do indoors and keep the brain stimulated along with a selection of information for planning what to do next whether it be attending a forum, replenishing your children's books, or assessing if you could be providing children with more or better learning support through technology and recognition of their talents.

In this Week's Newsletter:

1. New Article Series on Inspiring People and their Career Paths 
2. Conference Calendar
3. Help For ECE Services When the Ministry Docks Or Withholds Your Usual Payment or It is Less than Expected
4. Children's Book Promotion and Discount
5. How the iPad and other Tablets can be Useful for Children’s Learning
6. Reminder - next week is Gifted Awareness Week
7. When a Child is Sick and Parents Need Childcare What Should You Do? 
8. For Parents - a Video on Transitioning Children and Starting at an ECE Service
9. In the News - Sacked Porse Worker Awarded $30,000 and Ministry of Education Deducts $1.6 million from Kidicorp Funding Payment
10. What's Happening In Regard to ECE in Other Countries that May Give Us Interesting Food For Thought  

1. Inspiring People and their Career Paths

ChildForum is bringing you the stories of people who are inspirational in many ways – some are leading distinguished careers while others are contributing and working for the benefit of children, families and communities in their own quiet, unrecognised but constructive way – the unsung heroes. They talk - each in their own separate, distinct and compelling manner - of their early struggles, perseverance, joys, passionate commitment and dogged goals for the education and welfare of our young children. Their extraordinary lives, we hope, will give encouragement to others taking a similar path or considering what career path to follow.

Click on the links below to read the first two stories to be published in this significant series of articles on inspiring people and diverse careers.

• Sue Cherrington - Teacher Educator and ECE Programme Director at VUW
• Robin Christie - EC Centre Environmental Designer, Centre Owner and Professional Development Provider at Childspace

2. Conference Calendar

For your planning the conferences and forums which are coming up include:

Thursday 12th July, 2012, in Wellington  - Every Child Counts and Business NZ discussion Series.  The topic is  "What role can the Business Community Play in Ensuring Children Can Participate in the Economy?" 

* READ MORE:   Conference Calendar Information Page

3. Help For ECE Services When the Ministry Docks Or Withholds Your Usual Payment or It is Less than Expected

New Zealand Childcare Finance offers its services to ChildForum members who are operating a licensed ECE service (centre or home-based).  It provides short-term finance to help ease and smooth your cashflow by bringing forward your next bulk funding payment.

The process to get funding is simple, easy and fast. 

• 24 hour approval process – guaranteed
• Money into your account within 24 hours of approval – guaranteed
• Does not affect existing bank arrangements
• No property security
• No financial accounts
• No fixed term contracts – you choose when to use NZ Childcare Finance

For a pre-approved loan card giving you at least $10,000 when you need it click here.  And for priority and quick attention tell NZ Childcare Finance that you are a member of the ChildForum Early Childhood Network. 

* READ MORE: Quick Access to Short-Term Finance for ECE Services

4. Children's Book Promotion 

Stock up on children's books now for mid-winter Christmas presents, to replenish your centre's library, and update your children's books at home.  Barefoot Books NZ is running a special promotion from June 12 to July 11th - giving ChildForum members 15% discount on all children's books, puzzles, etc (the usual discount is 10%).

*  BOOK VOUCHER CODE FOR 15% DISCOUNT:   Click here for Member Discounts and Codes

5. How the iPad and other Tablets can be Useful for Children’s Learning

6. Transitioning Children to an ECE Service

A member wrote to us to say that she thought the video interview with Jan Gaffney from Montessori regarding transitioning children to a Centre was a really good conversation and useful to share with parents. This video clip is now available to non-members on YouTube.

* SHARE THE LINK FOR CHILDFORUM'S YOUTUBE PAGE:  http://www.youtube.com/ChildForum

7. Reminder - Next Week is Gifted Awareness Week 

To help you or your organisation plan for marking Gifted Awareness week and if you would like to learn more about giftedness in young children we have a section on the ChildForum wesbite with articles that may interest you.  Click on any of the titles below to be taken to the particular article.  

• Gifted Children in the Early Years: Feedback on a Survey of the Education of Gifted Children Under 8 Years of Age.  By Valerie Margrain and Sarah Farquhar.  
• Gifted in Reading? How to Identify the Gifted Young Reader and Provide a Responsive Learning Environment. By Melanie Wong
• Responding to Gifted Children: Information from Workshop Presentations.  Workshop presentation slides and notes by Sue Breen and Valerie Margrain, and reported by Sarah Farquhar
• The Joy of Having a Young Gifted Child - A Parent's Experience.  By Melanie Wong

8. Childcare and Sick Children 

Calling parents to pick up a sick child is one of the most challenging tasks kindergarten, childcare, and home-based educators can face.  Sometimes a parent may insist on an unwell child attending, other times a parent may not realise how sick their child is.   

* READ MORE and ADD TO THE DISCUSSION: The Issue of Sick Children Attending and Parents Needing Childcare

9.  In the News:  ECE Employment and Funding Claim Issues

ERA Member Mike Loftus awarded a Porse employee $30,00 after ruling she was unjustifiably dismissed and there had been a ''concerted and on-going course of action designed to remove Ms Kennedy".  ''I conclude that Ms Kennedy had concerns and raised them. Her managers/coaches did not respond adequately. Instead they appear to have sought refuge in Porse's 'unique management style' which emphasised a requirement that staff learn self responsibility."   

* READ MORE:  Press article

Kidicorp has had $1.6 million deducted by the Ministry of Education for reportedly over-claiming for qualified teacher hours. The Ministry says that it has stepped up with auditing ECE services and is now doing audits in a more systematic way.  Kidicorp says it has addressed the problem in conjunction with the Ministry.

* READ MORE:   NZ Herald article

10. What's Happening In Regard to ECE in Other Countries that May Give Us Interesting Food For Thought

Most weeks we publish a small selection of international news story headlines on our ChildForum website.  This week we would like to draw your attention to two new stories in particular:

• Early Childhood Teachers to be Paid Bonuses on Completing Further Qualifications in an Effort to Keep Highly Qualified Teachers
• Tobacco Tax Revenue to Fund Raising the Status and Earnings of Childcare Teachers - an example of Public-Private Partnership

and to date here are the articles that have been the most popular ones (received the greatest number of online hits)

• ABC Childcare Chain in Australia Breaks with its Controversial Past and Undergoes Transformation as Community Service
• The Value of Camera Surveillance in Early Childhood Education Centres For Revealing If Staff Respond to Children in a Timely and Appropriate Manner and Report Accidents and Injuiries to Parents Honestly
• Why Chores and Being a Helper is Good For Children in Early Childhood Education Centres and at Home
• The Situation for ECE Teachers: Low Pay, Longer Hours, Working Over Holiday Breaks, and Employers Hiring for Non-Regular Employees
• Is it Better to Start School at Age 6 than Age 5? It is if you are a Bright Child

See our website at www.childforum.com for information on childcare, teaching, ECE management, research and education policy.  Members of our early childhood network can also add comments, ask questions and access a great range of resources and help.

No responsibility is taken for any errors. If you spot an error please inform us so that it can be corrected.
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