Does This Child Need Help?
How to handle difficult conversations with parents.
When I first heard about this course, I thought ‘this is perfect’. The ‘Does this child need help?’ course was developed to help childcare and preschool teachers talk to parents when there are concerns about a child’s development or behaviour. It can also help when parents come to teachers asking for advice.
ECIA (Early Childhood Intervention Australia NSW/ACT) developed ‘Does this child need help?’ in response to teachers asking for training so that they could feel more confident supporting families. The course also helps educators know
- How to identify a child who is having difficulties with development or learning,
- What steps to take next
- What services are available to support both the centre and the family
It can be confronting to raise issues about a child’s development. In this course participants have the opportunity to discuss issues and practice strategies. Teachers who have completed this course are better equipped when they need to raise a concern about a child’s development.
As a special educator for EarlyEd, I have spent many years visiting lots of early childhood centres, supporting childcare staff who want to not only do their best to help children but want to also offer families the support they need. Recently ECIA reviewed and updated the ‘Does this child need help?’ course and when they offered training, being passionate about helping teachers support children with disabilities in early childhood settings, I undertook the training.
At the courses I have been able to run for EarlyEd, it is wonderful seeing both young and more experienced teachers learning together and keen to find out more to improve their practices. The teachers feel empowered to know how to better support the families in their care. An additional benefit is the building of partnerships with early intervention services like EarlyEd. This makes it easier to offer follow-up support and answer questions over the phone and offer ongoing training.
Workshops at your centre
Would this course be something you might find useful? Contact us to find out the costs of having a ‘Does this child need help?’ course delivered at your centre or find out more by visiting ECIA. This course would also be relevant for early childhood nurses and general practitioners.
Before running a course, EarlyEd spends time with you finding out what your key concerns are. Using our ‘more than just a workshop’ approach, all training is designed to help support the inclusion of children with a disability or delay in a centre but is also about good practices that support all children. Families are welcome to come along too. Training is offered at a time that suits the centre so that all staff can attend or in split sessions.
EarlyEd staff are very experienced in the training of supporting inclusion. EarlyEd’s ‘ready to learn’ strategies help to identify what support a child might need to be able to learn in an early childhood environment. We do this by building the capacity of your staff and helping you individualise and consolidate what you have learned.
If you are interested in attending a ‘Does this child need help?’ course or would like to have another workshop at your centre, contact us.
EarlyEd can also offer centres training in other areas as well such as
- Making Sense of Sensory
- Teaching Through Play
- Behaviour: It Isn’t Always What You See
- Learning, Language & Literacy
‘Does This Child Need Help?’ courses made possible by Auburn Clubgrants
EarlyEd would like to thank Auburn Clubgrants for their generous donation to run the ‘Does This Child Need Help?’ courses and cover the cost to centres. 25 people were able to attend the courses from this grant and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Contact us today to find out more!
Written by Kylie Holding, EarlyEd Special Educator
