Week 2 (Day 3)
This was my third day of week 2 at the childcare centre, I arrived at 8am at the centre and entered in the classroom at 8:02 am and some of the children were just arriving at the centre. The centre had small number of children, so I began to remember children’s names. Today I was going to look after understanding of national regulatory considerations and their practical applications in a childcare setting. The morning began with morning tea, where I assisted the children in washing their hands and helped set up healthy snacks, following hygiene standards as outlined by the National Quality Standard (NQS) (ACECQA, 2022). This practice aligns with Quality Area 2, which prioritizes children’s health and safety by promoting sanitary practices.
We gathered all the children on a carpet for a song session after morning tea, which I had to put on for my assessments. It helped them to promote social interaction, which will help guide future planning and guarantee that activity meets each child's unique needs, as advised by the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010(Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2011).
I continued to set an example of safe eating practices at lunch, instructing children to eat calmly and to use utensils appropriately. This is in line with NQS Quality Area 2, which places a strong emphasis on secure protocols to avoid incidents and assure that mealtime routines are safe and healthy. To comply with National Regulations that mandate that services have policies in place for managing allergies and food restrictions, my supervising educator and I also talked about allergy management techniques (ACECQA, 2022).
We spent the afternoon playing outside at the playground, where I watched the children as they focused on many sand play areas, slides, and climbing frames. As stated in NQS Quality Area 3, which places an emphasis on physical safety and the maintenance of materials and equipment, ensuring their safety while playing outside is in accordance with regulatory criteria for safe surroundings (ACECQA, 2022). I stayed attentive and urged children to share, as part of our responsibilities of care, which reinforced good social skills and adherence to safety regulations.
As my shift came to an end, I thought back on the events of the day and realised how crucial it was to follow national laws and quality standards to give children a secure, caring, and instructive atmosphere. I am becoming more confident in my job and responsibility as an early childhood educator dedicated to maintaining high standards of care by continuously incorporating these requirements into everyday routines and activities
