There is increasing evidence that national and world events are having a negative impact on children’s life experiences and development, with some children experiencing trauma as a result.
Over the past few years, Australian communities have been impacted by a range of natural disasters coupled with a global pandemic.
To support early childhood educators to include all children while responding to and supporting recovery from these major events and challenges, the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency developed a new online resource titled ‘Big Situations’ in 2022.
The resource focuses on five ‘big situations’: Critical Incidents; Epidemics and Pandemics; Family Violence; Loss and Grief; and Natural Disasters.
The resource was designed to be a starting point for educators to quickly connect with targeted support and resources to enable them to enhance everyone’s understanding, wellbeing and resilience when responding to these situations. It includes information relating to:
- Safety
- Tips for responding straightaway
- Things to consider when responding to, or preparing for, a big situation
- Resources for preparing and responding
- Being prepared for unexpected incidents
- Stories for reflection
The resource is not about educators needing to know everything or feeling pressured to resolve or fix big situations. It empowers them by providing access to the supports and resources they need to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence to continue their important work with children, families and communities when big situations happen.
As the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency provides inclusion support to around 5,500 early childhood education and care services across NSW and the ACT, the resource is available to support educators to provide a positive impact on the wellbeing of thousands of children and families as they experience these challenging events.
The response to the Big Situations resource has been very positive from educators in the sector, with the Australian Government Department of Education also recognising the value of the resource by sharing an article about in within their national News Wrap.
