the best start in life - SDN Children's Services

Children’s services are valued & well resourced
SDN’s Centre Support Managers as
‘critical friends’
1,134 individual early childhood services received
support from SDN in the year to June 30, 2008.
Of this 1,134 the contribution of different programs
is as follows:
822 Inclusion Support Agencies
63 Cumberland Resource Project
28 Early Learning Program
2 Northern Sydney Aboriginal Families Project
107 Supporting Children with Additional Needs (SCAN)
112 Brighter Futures Child Care Resource Officers
The importance of the ‘critical friend’
With both our centre work and our programs we value the
role of a ‘critical friend’. This is a professional relationship
that is essential in supporting leadership, reciprocal and
collaborative learning and putting our vision into practice.
In some instances this may be mentoring (as with the
following case study). Elsewhere, it takes a more distant
but still supportive role through providing advice or
connections. This is a role fulfilled by our Centre Support
Managers but also, in varying guises in our programs, by
the Inclusion Support Facilitators, the Child Care Resource
Officers and the SCAN educators. We believe such a role is
critical to service quality.
Centre Support Manager Michelle Richardson and Centre
Manager Ursula Druery met 10 years ago at SDN. For most
of that time Michelle has been a mentor to Ursula, initially
as her Centre Manager when Ursula was a new teacher.
Now in more senior roles, they reflect on the role of mentor
and how it has benefited not just themselves but also their
peers, staff and the centre children.
Soon after her return from maternity leave, Ursula
considered how each of the centre’s rooms was functioning.
After initial feedback from staff, they decided to focus on
their work with infants and toddlers. ‘Our 0-3 room was
challenging staff and children. It’s a wide age range for one
room, despite being a large space. I consulted Michelle and
also talked about it more with staff.’
As Michelle adds: ‘The staff were asking questions about
why things weren’t working in the way they had hoped and
planned. Ursula, myself, and the staff critically reviewed the
way the environment was set up. What was it offering
children, did it invite children to explore and play? Further,
we examined our attitudes and expectations of the
children. Did we support their independence? What
were their interests?’
Says Ursula: ‘It was about engaging with even the youngest
children as individuals and really knowing them, as well as
their families, and feeding that level of detail into the room
environment and the program. I asked each staff member to
contact one or two families to gain that knowledge and to
write about it. Interestingly, one staff member was initially
hesitant about this process because she found the child
challenging, but as she found out more about the family her
relationship changed with the child as well as with the family.’
‘As Ursula had just returned from 18 months maternity leave
I encouraged her to visit SDN Riverwood to experience and
discuss further possibilities with the Riverwood team.’
As Ursula notes: ‘As a result of physically reorganising the
0-3s’ room, as well as the professional development journey
the staff have undergone, there’s a renewed sense of
purpose and calm in the room.’
18 the best start in life