Education and Care Newsletter | Autumn 2025

Family Reminders

EASTER CLOSURE

A reminder that all Lady Gowrie Tasmania services, programs and offices will close for the Easter break at the usual time on Thursday 17th April, 2025 and will re-open at the usual time on Tuesday 22nd April, 2025. We will also be closed for the ANZAC Day public holiday on Friday 25th April, 2025. Wishing everyone in our community a safe, happy and restful Easter break.

STORYPARK

Storypark allows educators to communicate your child’s learning as it happens by sharing photos, videos, audio, observations and routines within a secure online environment. For more information about Storypark and staying connected with your child’s learning please speak with your Service Manager or visit: https://au.storypark.com/families

CCS REMINDERS

A reminder to all families to please sign your children in and out of the service every day. Please also inform your Service Manager if your child is/will be absent for any reason. Your cooperation is much appreciated as we strive to keep children safe at all times through accurate record keeping and maintaining appropriate child:staff ratios.

New Compliments & Complaints System

At Lady Gowrie Tasmania we believe that an accessible feedback system is vital to enable us to provide high quality, inclusive and safe education and care services and support programs. To this end, we are pleased to announce the introduction of a new compliments and complaints system.

We believe that this new system will improve the currnet way that we manage compliments and complaints and will:

Provide another avenue for recognising the great work of our educators and support staff
Help us to investigate complaints in a timely, confidential, thorough and fair manner
Help us to ensure that complainants receive regular progress and outcome updates
Help complainants to exercise their right to appeal an investigation outcome
Help us to identify strengths, trends, and issues that offer opportunities to improve our services and programs

Families can raise compliments or complaints in a range of ways including:

Verbally in person or via phone to your Service Manager
In writing via the designated email address feedback@gowrie-tas.com.au
Via the webform https://gowrie-tas.com.au/compliments-complaints/

Posters and postcards will also soon be available in services with easy access QR codes for your convenience.

For more information about our new compliments and complaints system please contact your Service Manager or visit our website: https://gowrie-tas.com.au/compliments-complaints/

Your feedback enhances our work under the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)’s National Quality Framework (NQF) and supports our response to the Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards in the Child and Youth Safe Organisation Act, 2023.

Family Resources-The Basics

Lady Gowrie Tasmania (LGT) is delighted to announce that we have partnered with The Basics Tasmania to support our families and educators in helping children from birth to three years of age to thrive and reach their full potential.

We understand the importance of working in partnerships with families to ensure the best outcomes for children and we believe The Basics provides practical tools and strategies for our educators to help strengthen these partnerships.

The guiding principles of The Basics closely align with LGT’s values and our purpose of ‘Children First’, so we look forward to seeing the outcomes of this program in our pilot education and care services. These pilot services are Pedder, Kingston and the Integrated Centre for Children and Families in South Hobart.

To learn more about The Basics program and to access the fabulous family resources to help children from birth to three years of age to thrive, please visit:

https://www.thebasicstasmania.com/

Online Safety Basics

Keeping children safe online can seem like an overwhelming task. Families can help children safely navigate the online world by taking some basic steps to reduce the risks.

The eSafety Commissioner website provides guidance to give children the knowledge they need to make sound decisions online and the confidence to ask for help when they need it.

For the very latest advice, resources and online safety basics for children please visit:

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents

Child & Family Wellbeing

A Focus on Self-Care

As we leave Summer behind and head into the colder months of the year, we are presented with an opportunity to remind ourselves of just how important self-care is.

This can be difficult at times, as parents we are often prioritising the needs of those we love and care for, if we are working, studying or navigating daily life we can often find that our own needs only get attention if there is any time or energy left.

Sometimes self-care activities don’t require much time or much thought. Other times self-care activities are more deliberate and do require thought, planning and time. Making time for self-care can feel hard at times.

The goal is to make time to do things that help us to feel happy and healthy. This can look different for each of us and as little as 10 minutes a day doing something that fills your ‘wellbeing’ cup can make a huge difference.

It is good to remind ourselves that self-care isn’t being selfish, rather taking care of ourselves is not only good for our own wellbeing but also for the wellbeing for those we love and care for.

Lady Gowrie Tasmania recognises the importance of wellbeing and are proud to share that we have developed an Employee Wellbeing Strategy to support the health and wellbeing of our people.

We know the Strategy will have many benefits for our employees and importantly that it will support the work they do every day in educating, nurturing and caring for the safety, health and wellbeing of children.

Safe & Healthy Use of Technology

Exposure to technology and the online world occurs from a young age and with advances in technology and online platforms seemingly occurring all the time, for some it can feel overwhelming and almost impossible to keep on top of it all.

We all have a role to play in helping to keep children and young people safe including in the ‘online world’. A way we can do this is to stay informed and to introduce safe and healthy use of technology and eSafety habits.

This sounds sensible and somewhat easy, yet as many parents of young people would agree it can be much harder to do, and many ask where do I start and where do I go to get safe, reliable, accurate information and to stay up-to-date?

If you are looking for information around eSafety and the use of technology to assist you in establishing healthy habits, the eSafety Commissioner website is an excellent source of reliable and accurate information and has amazing resources for all ages.

The website states: “eSafety is Australia’s independent regulator for online safety. We educate Australians about online safety risks and help to remove harmful content such as cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse and intimate images or videos shared without consent.” It aims to help Australians have safer experiences online.

The website is user friendly and is designed for all ages, for example, having sections for parents, children, young people, seniors, educators, key topics and more. It provides current, up to date and accurate information to assist in keeping all of us safe.

The content includes a very broad range of information, tools and online webinars from cyberbullying, an under 5s section, creating a family tech agreement, are they old enough, hard to have conversations, how much time should they be spending using technology and so, so much more.

The website is a safe, valuable, accurate, and helpful source of information to support and guide parents in establishing safe and healthy use of technology and eSafety habits for the entire family.

www.esafety.com.au

Another helpful strategy is to establish safe and healthy technology and eSafety habits right from the very get go, not waiting until children get their first device or until they are teenagers or starting to explore social media platforms. For these ‘habits’ to be most effective they need to be adopted and modelled by all family members, including parents.

When our children are young and perhaps, they don’t have their own device or they might have a play on our mobile phone or device every now and again, understandably we may not give safe and healthy use of technology and eSafety habits much consideration at all.

In fact, we may believe we have plenty of time before we need to be thinking or doing anything about this. Remember one of the main ways children learn healthy habits is by watching the habits we as parents, other members of the household and any other trusted adult/s practice.

Although not impossible, it can be so much harder to review or strengthen, let alone introduce, control measures (even if they are around safety) to an older child or young person if they have never existed nor been modelled by parents and wider family members previously.

Where there have been safe and healthy use of technology and eSafety habits that have been demonstrated and modelled by parents and all family members from the very beginning, there is a sound foundation and expectation of use to build upon.

Cindy Woolley
EMPLOYEE WELLBEING MANAGER

Play and Learning Stories

NEW PLAY & LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS AT BOWEN ROAD OSHC

Our Bowen Road Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) service started 2025 with an exciting new play and learning space within the school.

Returning OSHC children were thrilled to reunite with old friends, excitedly sharing stories about their school holidays. Meanwhile, new children were warmly welcomed into the space and are settling in nicely, forming new friendships.

In response to children’s voices and interests, the educators excitedly set up the new space to incorporate a permanent Dungeons & Dragons corner, an arts and crafts self-selection area and a construction corner. The children have eagerly explored these new additions, making the space their own.

During group time, educators introduced an engaging icebreaker activity to encourage children to get to know one another through fun and games. Using a spinning board from ‘Twister,’ educators and children labelled each colour with a number between one and four.

Children took turn spinning the board, introducing themselves, and announcing their unique number. Each number corresponded to a mystery question:

What do you like to do for fun?
What is one thing that always makes you happy?
If you could be any animal, what would you be?
If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

This activity introduced concepts of chance and unpredictability while providing an engaging way for children to learn about their peers and share their own interests. Through laughter and connection, this game fostered relationships and a sense of belonging within our OSHC community.

As the year unfolds, the educators look forward to witnessing these bonds as they continue to grow, strengthening the children’s sense of belonging within our OSHC community.

NEW OUTDOOR PLAY & LEARNING OPPORTUNITES AT NORWOOD LDC

Our Norwood Education and Care Service were fortunate to be the recipient of a Tasmanian Government grant to re-develop the birth to 2.5-year-old outdoor play and learning space. When the building works began, the children and educators thoroughly enjoyed watching the digger and various other large trucks at work. This became a source of comfort for the children and following morning drop-offs, they were excited to see what developments had occurred overnight. The children talked about what they saw, heard, and particularly enjoyed having conversations with their educators about when they would be able to go outside and play in their new play space.

One of the main attractions of the new outdoor space has been the sandpit. The children enjoy using diggers and trucks to engage in play and often mimic what they saw with the real machinery. They have been using rocks, transporting them around the sand pit, and placing them into circles (like our real sandpit), using the diggers to dig holes and filling their dump trucks with sand.

Sand play not only encourages creativity but also fosters social interactions, allowing children to recreate real-world experiences through play. It supports the development of both fine and gross motor skills while strengthening friendships and collaborative play. This new outdoor play and learning environment also supports the Early Years Learning Framework:

Outcome 2: Show appreciation and growing appreciation and care for natural and constructed environments.

Outcome 5: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, clarify and challenge thinking, negotiate and share new understandings.

Harmony Week 2025

Harmony Week is the celebration that recognises our diversity and brings everyone together from all different backgrounds. It’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Lady Gowrie Tasmania honours and celebrates the cultural diversity of our community not only during Harmony Week, but through our everyday practice and the provision of safe and inclusive programs for our children, families, staff and learners.

Special activities and events took place across all our services and programs to celebrate the diversity in our community. From ‘Taste of Harmony’ gatherings, to ‘Festival of Colour’ Holi celebrations, to designing a Harmony Tree, to creating Harmony Week team mentimeters, to sharing family stories and traditions – we certainly embraced and celebrated the theme of ‘Everyone Belongs’!

‘EVERYONE BELONGS’ AT NORWOOD AND UNI SOUTH

Our Uni South and Norwood Education and Care Services recognised Holi and Harmony Week by engaging in conversations about diversity, culture, unity and of course, dousing each other in colour to celebrate the ‘Festival of Colours’!

Holi is one of the most vibrant and joyous celebrations in Hindu tradition. It marks the arrival of spring in India and the victory of good over evil. Celebrated primarily in India, Nepal and Pakistan, Holi brings people together in unity, laughter and festive spirit.

At Uni South, children, educators, staff and families gathered together in the playground to celebrate by throwing coloured powders over each other. This year, many more families attended the celebration which made it even more meaningful.

At Norwood, the children and educators used spray bottles and threw handfuls of bright colours over one another with smiles on their faces and laughter in the air. Archie, an educator at Norwood, also shared her traditional music as the children copied some of her traditional dance moves.

What wonderful, fun opportunities for the children to deepen their understanding of cultural diversity and the world around them!

From Miffy

Miffy Wedd – General Manager Education and Care

Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2025 Autumn Education and Care Newsletter and my first as General Manager of Education and Care for Lady Gowrie Tasmania. I am delighted to introduce myself and share some exciting updates with you.

Having been a part of Lady Gowrie Tasmania for nearly nine years, I have had the privilege of working across various services in Southern Tasmania, including Long Day Care, Family Day Care and Outside School Hours Care. My journey in the education and care sector spans over two decades, beginning in Launceston before moving to Hobart. My career started with a traineeship through Lady Gowrie Tasmania Training while working at a small rural service in Launceston. Outside of work, I cherish time with my husband and our 11-year-old daughter.

I am grateful to step into this role and am eager to visit our services, engage with children, families, managers, educators, and support staff. Witnessing the exceptional programs offered in our services for children is truly inspiring.

My passion lies in fostering continuous improvement and learning. To provide the highest quality care and the best outcomes for children, we must remain committed to growth, extending our knowledge, and reflecting on our practices. It was heartwarming to attend the graduation ceremony last December, where many learners completed their formal studies. Notably, several Certificate III graduates have chosen to pursue their Diplomas this year, furthering their learning journey and enriching the knowledge they share with educators and children.

We have now successfully implemented the curriculum and planning model across all services. The curriculum statements created by our teams reflect our shared values and vision. Our Practice and Pedagogy Manager, along with Educational Leaders, have dedicated the past eight months to working with a pilot group of services to ensure the model supports all children’s learning and engagement. Educators document each child’s progress and group activities to enhance their roles and deepen their understanding of how children learn. This model empowers all educators to contribute to planning and learning, focusing on children’s strengths, ideas, knowledge, culture, abilities, and interests.

We aim to work in partnership with families and greatly value the information you share about your children. This collaboration helps us support their learning and needs during their time at Lady Gowrie Tasmania.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to Practice and Pedagogy Manager Shannon Gall, Educational Leaders, Service Managers, and educators for their pivotal roles in making the planning model a visible and engaging part of our programs.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter which provides just a snapshot of the many exciting play and learning opportunities for children across our education and care services.

Miffy Wedd
GENERAL MANAGER EDUCATION AND CARE

From Suzie

Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2025 Autumn Education and Care Newsletter.

The beginning of the year at Lady Gowrie Tasmania (LGT) was a busy time as we welcomed all new children, families and educators into our community. Our dedicated teams worked tirelessly getting to know the children and their families so they can support children’s ongoing learning, development and wellbeing.

Working in partnerships with families is essential to achieving our vision of providing high quality, inclusive and safe education and care services for children across Tasmania. I take this opportunity to thank our families and everyone in our teams for working together to provide the foundations for such a positive start to 2025!

FEDERAL BUDGET & ELECTION ANNOUNCEMENTS

It was pleasing to see the government’s commitment to the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector was reinforced in the recent 2025-26 Federal Budget announcement. The focus was firmly on investing in every stage of education with the Treasurer stating, ‘this all starts with early childhood education and care’.

LGT fully supports the Government’s commitment to building a universal early childhood education and care system where every child is eligible for at least 3 days per week of subsidised early education and care and where early education and care is simple, affordable and accessible for every family.

The Board and Senior Leadership Team look forward to unpacking what the 2025-26 Federal Budget means for LGT and our children and families. For more information about the budget announcement please visit:

https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/MR_Federal-Budget-2025.pdf

The recent federal government election announcement provides LGT with the opportunity to actively seek opportunities for federal government grants and funding to continue to support quality outcomes for children, our people and our sector.

On behalf of LGT and our sector, I will continue to advocate through representation on peak bodies to ensure high quality, safe and inclusive education and care remains firmly on both state and federal government agendas.

COMMITMENT TO OUR PEOPLE

Our vision of providing high quality, inclusive and safe education and care for children can only be achieved by focusing on the capability, development and wellbeing of our people. In December 2024, LGT passed on the 10% Worker Retention Grant and a 2.5% Enterprise Agreement wage increase to all eligible employees, reflecting LGT’s commitment to recognising and rewarding the collective and individual contribution of our valued people. LGT’s Wellbeing Strategy will also be rolled out this year to further support our people in their valuable work with children and families.

NEW MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE – XAP

Over the coming weeks we will be replacing Qikkids with Xap – a new, all-in-one education and care management software package. This new software will simplify many of our current enrolment, account, data management and waiting list processes. Xap also has many benefits for families including managing family details, receiving communications, accessing online invoices & statements, and much more.

Families will receive regular communication via email over the coming weeks about this transition phase. The first step for families will be to activate your account with Xap and detailed instructions about how to do this will be emailed soon. This is a significant project for our education and care teams, so I thank all families in advance for their patience as our teams carefully work through this transition phase.

NEW PLANNING MODEL FOR PLAY-BASED LEARNING

Families have now received detailed information about the implementation of the new planning model within our education and care services which has seen changes to the way our educators plan and document children’s play-based learning.

The new planning model aims to support all educators to have a voice in planning for learning and aims to put children’s strengths, ideas, knowledge, culture, abilities and interests at the centre of all they do. The success of this new planning model depends on continuing strong partnerships with families and information sharing to ensure children’s learning and other needs are being met.

I would like to thank families for their patience and understanding while our teams have been carefully implementing these changes to establish a planning model that benefits everyone involved. Your feedback at this stage is very welcome so please feel free to speak with your Service Manager or educators if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement.

On behalf of our amazing team at LGT, we take this opportunity to wish all our children and families a safe and happy Easter. We hope you find time to rest, recharge and make some great memories together.

Until next time,
Suzie Jones
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER