We can work with staff and children at your centre in a variety of ways. Please see our speech pathology and occupational therapy pages for more information about the areas of child development that we can help children with.
- One-on-one therapy at childcare/kindy
- Screening and/or comprehensive assessment in order to identify children who require support with their development
- Group therapy sessions for children with similar needs
- Information sessions for families
Training Workshops for Staff
We understand that as a centre director or lead educator, it is important to ensure that your centre staff engage in ongoing professional development and are supported to engage in best practice relating to promoting child development. We are able to tailor an education package to your needs. Whether you are looking to arrange a quick, one-hour rundown on a particular topic or an extensive training package delivered over a whole day or multiple sessions, we are happy to discuss your requirements and develop an individualised training package for you.
The training that we deliver is evidence based and drawn from current research. We understand that you and your staff are experts in early childhood education and know the children that you work with best. We often learn a lot from educators at our workshops too, and we like to think that by combining our shared expertise with yours, we make a great team for supporting kids to thrive!
We can offer training for your staff relating to the following topics:
- Speech sound development: What typical speech development should look like, how to identify when a child has a speech problem, when to suggest a referral to a speech pathologist, the relationship between speech development and literacy development, how to promote children’s speech sound development.
- Early language development: Typical language development, how to identify when a child has a problem, effective strategies for promoting childhood language development.
- Using books effectively: How to use books and make them come alive in order to promote language and literacy development.
- Early literacy development: Typical early literacy development, facilitating print awareness, phonological awareness and phonics knowledge, what the latest research shows is the most effective.
- Working with children with special needs: Inclusive education practices that allow children with additional needs to engage and learn. We can discuss visual supports, using alternative communication systems/communication devices with children, strategies to assist with emotional regulation, and consideration of a child’s sensory needs.
- Fine motor skills and early writing development: Typical fine motor skill development, how to encourage drawing and pre-writing skills, preparation for school.
- Toilet Training: Tips for toilet training and how to support parents to use strategies at home.
- Screening Tools: We can train your staff in using screening tools to collect data about children’s’ development and how to identify potential problems.
Contact us to discuss your requirements and request an individualised quote.
Working Together – Examples
Below are some examples of how we’ve worked with early childhood staff before.
We were contacted by a childcare centre director who wished to up-skill staff in how children develop speech, how to identify when children have a speech sound problem, and how to help children with their speech sound development. We developed a screening tool that staff could use to collect data about children’s speech production and use this information to feed back to families and identify when children needed help. We trained staff in how to use use the screening tool and provided information about speech development within a two hour workshop.
We were approached by a community organisation to provide training for their early childhood staff in how to identify when children need help with their development. Our occupational therapist developed a helpful resource that staff could refer to and use to identify when children were having problems with their fine and gross motor development, toileting, everyday routines, sleeping, social skills and play skills. Our OT showed staff how to use the tool and provided information about the child development within a two hour training session, then later conducted a follow up information session about toilet training for families involved with the community organisation.
Helpful resources for early childhood educators:
Red flags for childhood development – useful information for identifying when children require further assessment or support with various areas of development. If you have concerns about a child’s development in any of the listed areas, we recommend that you discuss your concerns with parents and recommend that they see their child’s GP or child health nurse for further information. Alternatively, contact us and we can help you determine the most suitable health professional for helping the child. checklist
Referrals:
If you would like to refer a child to see one of our occupational therapists or speech pathologists, please get in touch. Please ensure that you discuss your concerns and seek consent from parents and caregivers before providing us with any confidential information.