Author Archives: Jennifer Scafidas

Childcare Compliance

Embedding Child Safety: National Early Childhood Worker Register Begins 27 February 

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

There are moments in our profession where reform reminds us why our work matters so deeply.

Every day, families entrust services with what matters most in their lives — their children. They trust that the adults working with their children are safe, suitable, qualified, and supported. They trust that the systems behind the service are strong.

From 27 February 2026, one of the most significant national child safety reforms in early childhood education and care will take effect — the National Early Childhood Worker Register

The National Early Childhood Worker Register, developed by ACECQA, represents one of the most significant child safety reforms in early childhood education and care in recent years. It is designed to support regulatory authorities to monitor the workforce, identify risks earlier, and ensure safer environments for children across Australia.

This reform is not simply about administration. It is about visibility, accountability, and protection.

It recognises that safeguarding children is not just about policies — it is about knowing who is working with children, ensuring their suitability, and maintaining accurate records that follow

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Showcasing Exceeding Practices by Embedding Sustainability with Sea Week

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

The ocean is one of Earth’s greatest gifts to humanity — it gives us oxygen, regulates our climate, feeds communities, and connects life across the planet. For young children, water is often their first source of wonder: the sound of waves, the feel of rain, the mystery of creatures beneath the surface. These early moments of curiosity lay the foundation for lifelong respect and care for our natural world.

Sea Week Australia 2026 invites early childhood education and care services to slow down, look deeper, and help children understand their relationship with Planet Water. Under the theme “Caring for Planet Water”, Sea Week is not about teaching children facts alone — it is about nurturing empathy, responsibility, and connection. It is about helping children recognise that even small actions, taken every day, can protect the oceans that sustain all life.

When Sea Week is embedded thoughtfully into everyday practice — through play, inquiry, relationships, and sustainable routines — it becomes far more than a calendar event. It becomes a living example of Exceeding practice: intentional teaching, strong environmental stewardship, and children empowered as capable, caring global citizens.

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Childcare Compliance

Medical Conditions Risk Management and Communication Plan Template Update on 27 January 2026 

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

n early childhood education and care, nothing matters more than the safety and wellbeing of the children entrusted to us. When a child lives with asthma, anaphylaxis, diabetes, epilepsy, or another diagnosed medical condition, families place an even deeper level of trust in educators and service leaders. They trust that every risk has been anticipated. They trust that every educator knows what to do. They trust that systems are strong, clear, and consistently followed.

On 27 January 2026, ACECQA released an updated template that strengthens how services plan, communicate and manage medical conditions. While this update does not change the law itself, it significantly improves how services demonstrate compliance, governance, and Exceeding-level practice.

This article explains what changed, what stayed the same, and what BEST recommends services do next.

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Childcare Compliance

More Than Compliance: Embedding ASCIA Action Plans to Achieve Exceeding Practice and Protect Every Child (2026 Update)

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Every morning, families place their children into our arms with complete trust. They trust that we will notice the small things. They trust that we will act quickly if something is wrong. And for children living with allergies and anaphylaxis, that trust carries life-saving weight. In early childhood education and care, an ASCIA Action Plan is not just a document — it is a child’s safety, a family’s reassurance, and an educator’s guide in moments where every second matters.

With ASCIA releasing updated Action Plans, introducing new devices such as Jext and Neffy, and confirming important changes around review requirements, it is essential that services understand exactly what this means for their practice, their compliance, and their responsibility to children.

This article provides a complete guide for Western Australian childcare services, including:

What ASCIA is and why its Action Plans are critical in childcare

What has changed in the latest ASCIA updates

The legal requirements under the National Quality Framework and ECRU

What paperwork is required, where to access official templates, and how often they must be reviewed

Staff training requirements and where to access approved training and trainer devices

Incident notification requirements and decision-making guidance

What families must provide, including medication and action plans

Other medical action plans childcare services may need, including asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, and eczema

Guidance on stock adrenaline and new device availability in Australia

Most importantly, this article explains how to ensure your service is not only compliant — but prepared, confident, and ready to protect every child in your care.

Because when it comes to anaphylaxis, preparation is not paperwork.

It is protection.

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Epilepsy Awareness in Action: Embedding Inclusive Medical Practice in ECEC

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Some children arrive at our services carrying more than backpacks. They carry medical plans. Emergency medication. Parent anxieties. Quiet hopes that their child will be safe, included, and understood.

For families of children living with epilepsy, every day requires trust. Trust that educators will recognise a seizure. Trust that supervision is vigilant. Trust that systems are strong. Trust that their child will belong — not be defined by a diagnosis.

Purple Day (26 March) is not simply about wearing purple. It is about honouring that trust. For early childhood services, this day provides a meaningful opportunity to strengthen inclusive practice in alignment with the Education and Care Services National Law, the Education and Care Services National Regulations, and the vision of the Early Years Learning Framework — that every child is safe, supported and able to participate fully.

When approached intentionally, Purple Day becomes powerful evidence of Exceeding practice — not because of decorations, but because of strengthened systems, deeper reflection and genuine collaboration.

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Embedding Safe Sleep Culture in Early Childhood Education and Care

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Perfect for Red Nose Safe Sleeping week 9 -15 March 2026 By BEST Childcare Consultancy  Every day, families place their babies into our arms with complete trust. They trust that we will notice the small things. They trust that we will follow the safest advice. They trust that when their child closes their eyes to

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Disaster Resilience Learning in Early Childhood: Calm, Child-Led and Trauma-Aware

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

ood education and care services are uniquely positioned to support children not only to be safe, but to feel safe, confident and supported. As extreme weather events, natural disasters and community emergencies become part of children’s lived experiences, high-quality services respond not by increasing fear, but by strengthening emotional literacy, environmental awareness, trust in helpers and a sense of belonging.

Disaster resilience learning in early childhood is not about drills or frightening information. Instead, it is built through ongoing exploration of weather and environmental change, learning about community helpers, embedding emotional regulation skills, and creating space for children’s voices about what helps them feel safe when things feel uncertain.

Two complementary Australian resources support this approach:

The Helping Hands Disaster Resilience Toolkit from ABC Kids Early Education, which supports educators to plan age-appropriate learning about weather, safety, helpers and preparedness

Birdie’s Tree Natural Disaster Recovery resources from Children’s Health Queensland, which use story, play and calming strategies to help children process big feelings safely

When embedded intentionally into everyday practice, these resources support services to demonstrate Exceeding practice across all Quality Areas, while keeping children emotionally protected, empowered and calm.

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Managing Extreme Heat in Early Childhood Education and Care

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Extreme heat is no longer an occasional challenge for early childhood education and care services — it is a predictable and increasing risk that directly impacts children’s health, wellbeing, emotional regulation, sleep, and capacity to learn. For educators, extreme heat also affects physical wellbeing, decision-making, and the ability to provide responsive, high-quality care.

High-quality services recognise that managing heat is not simply about comfort. It is a child safety obligation, a workplace health responsibility, and a clear indicator of responsive, intentional practice under the National Quality Framework.

Services demonstrating Exceeding practice moved beyond reactive responses to hot days. Instead, they embedded heat-responsive planning, flexible pedagogy, strong communication and continuous improvement into everyday operations — ensuring children remained safe, regulated and supported, even when temperatures soared.

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Love, Belonging and Excellence: Valentine’s Day in Exceeding Services

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Valentine’s Day in early childhood is a gentle reminder of what matters most — love shown through safety, kindness, listening and care. For young children, love isn’t about cards or gifts; it’s about feeling secure, valued and deeply understood.

When approached with intention, Valentine’s Day becomes a meaningful opportunity to nurture friendships, express gratitude and strengthen the relationships at the heart of quality early learning — between children, educators and families. These practices align deeply with the Early Years Learning Framework, the National Quality Standard, and the everyday actions that underpin Exceeding-level services.

Rather than being a one-off event, Valentine’s Day serves as a quiet prompt to reflect on how love, care and respect are intentionally embedded into daily practice, all year round.

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Exceeding the NQS BEST tips

Embedding Social Justice for Exceeding Practice in Early Childhood Education

Posted on by Jennifer Scafidas

Social justice is not a standalone concept taught on a single day — it is a lived experience for children, shaped by how they are treated, included, listened to, and valued every day within early learning environments. The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF v2.0) places strong emphasis on equity, inclusion, and children’s rights, recognising that early childhood settings play a critical role in shaping children’s sense of fairness, belonging, and agency.

World Day of Social Justice, led by the United Nations, provides early childhood education and care services with a timely opportunity to critically reflect on practice. The 2026 theme, “Empowering Inclusion: Bridging Gaps for Social Justice,” aligns closely with Exceeding-level practice under the National Quality Standard by challenging services to move beyond symbolic activities and demonstrate how inclusion, anti-bias practice, and advocacy are intentionally embedded, thoughtfully reflected upon, and continuously strengthened.

When social justice is embedded into everyday interactions, environments, policies, and leadership decisions, children learn that fairness is not abstract — it is something they experience, practise, and contribute to. This article explores how services demonstrated Exceeding practice through World Day of Social Justice, with practical programming ideas and Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) examples across all seven Quality Areas.

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