NAIDOC week is an ideal time to critically reflect on how First Nations perspectives are included in your early learning service and how embedded these perspectives are and how they remain well beyond NAIDOC week. The 2024 theme is "Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud" and offers an opportunity to explore perspectives and experiences within your team and with your children and families.
It can be easily overlooked in services who feel that they don’t have First Nations representation within their families attending their service, but I invite you to be curious and consider is your representation, or lack of, supporting reconciliation and healing for your whole community? In considering this I offer you some wisdom from Cindy Anne Mathers about having cultural humility, “cultural humility is being aware that I don’t know what I don’t know, and having the humility and courage to ask for help when I need it from First nations people”. This is reinforced in the Early Years Learning Framework that encourages us to,
“think deeply and seek assistance where possible through engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait people about how to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the philosophy of the setting, their planning and implementation of curriculum”
There are many resources available to support your continued exploration and understanding. I encourage you to access books and resources to deepen your understanding of history and culture as well as books and resources to use with children that are empowering and meaningful. Here are some resources that you might use to inform your reflection and support respectful and meaningful team and community discussion to address historic disruption to cultural wellbeing.
Resources and Training Opportunities
Embedding Aboriginal Perspectives: A Guide for Early Childcare Services | Good for Kids, Good for Life (nsw.gov.au)
Promoting, exploring and sharing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures: EYLF Outcome 1 - Children have a strong sense of identity (acecqa.gov.au)
Curriculum resources
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