VEYLDF Alignment
Item uses these practice principles: Reflective practice, Partnership with families, High expectations for every child, Respectful relationship and responsive engagement, Equity and diversity, Assessment for learning and development, Integrated teaching and learning approaches, Partnership with professionals.
Item responds to these sub-outcomes: Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.
Description
Bringing Learning to Life program by Nillumbik Community Health Service aims to develop educator and parent/caregivers’ knowledge and use of evidence-based techniques to help prepare children for school with a focus on language development, emergent literacy practice and fine motor skills.
The Bringing Learning to Life program incorporates a focus on educator’s emergent literacy practice, using video feedback and reflective practice sessions to promote increased use of these strategies. It is designed to be inclusive of diversity and varying abilities, ensuring every child can succeed. The program focuses on interactive shared book reading with children and utilises everyday experiences to develop language, emergent literacy skills, fine motor skills.
The Bringing Learning to Life program includes:
- three coaching sessions for educators
The program is delivered online.
Detailed Costs
Total cost of program
5 sessions (1 information session for parent/caregivers, 1 information session for educators, 3 sessions with educators): $3,285 (excl. GST)
Breakdown of costs:
- Online parent/caregiver information session with Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Psychologist (1.5hr). (Recording provided to parents unable to attend): $1215 (excl. GST)
- Online early childhood educator information session (1.5hr for maximum of 10): $610 (excl. GST)
- Coaching sessions with early childhood educators (3 x 1 hr, usually with 3-4 educators, child numbers as per session enrolments): $1080 (excl. GST)
- Preparation of resources and report (provision of tailored resources and report): $380 (excl. GST)
- After-hours information session: $300 (excl. GST)
Additional costs (optional):
- Interpreter: $100/h (excl. GST)
- Additional individual sessions for educators: $150 (excl. GST)
Parent/caregiver information session only
Online parent/caregiver information session with Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist and Psychologist can be purchased separately: $1215 (excl. GST)
Implementation Considerations
Target Population: Educators, Parents/Caregivers.
Program/practice descriptions and details: two information sessions (one for parents/caregivers and one for educators) provide an overview of current norms of emergent literacy, language and fine motor development which enable adults to target the right level for the child and extend them appropriately. The information sessions, which are conducted online, may have more than
one centre in attendance.
The program is delivered by speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and/or psychologists via dynamic co-led teaching sessions with educators, videoing of educators’ shared reading activity with children and reflective practice, evaluation reports, and additional sessions are available on request. The program uses books from within the early childhood curriculum, encourages the use of everyday activities and oral story telling with families, ensuring skills and strategies are used in all family and early childhood education contexts.
Program adaptability: the program and techniques covered can be adapted during coaching sessions to suit a range of language, learning and school readiness goals for children. The techniques learnt from coaching sessions can be generalised by educators as useful strategies across their curriculums.
Staffing: services should consider the cost of backfill in determining the cost of accessing this resource.
Supervision/coaching: coaching support for educators includes video coaching and reflective practice.
Tools and systems: computer with Internet access, webcam, teleconferencing capability required for online sessions. Device required for recording educator videos (e.g., phone, iPad).
Priority Area
Communication (language development)
Strength of Evidence
Level 3 – Promising research evidence