I find that when wrapping up the year, I often spend time in quiet reflection on
my practice during the past year, what I learnt, what I struggled with and take
time to celebrate the successes achieved.
I wonder if this is something that others do, and how they use the outcome of the reflection for further growth? I am a list maker personality, that findswriting goals and updating progress notes to be an effective way to visually
view my year. When having the past role of educational leader, manager and even a focus teacher, I created a vision statement that outlines where I want to go, what I need to do to achieve it and then a timeline to have it done by. It is one way that I hold myself accountable.
What do you focus on? If this isthe first time you’ve done this, take small steps and do only a few areas.
Is it on yourintentional teaching and how you have used goals to support children’s development?
Is it on how youmanaged your time to keep your programming up to date?
Is it on how youmanaged your own mental well-being?
Is it onsupporting the service to reach and grow in areas they have identified?
Leading by example: A simple exampleof my own reflection for 2022
For 2022, like many, it was a yearthat I had to look at making changes to ensure that my mental well-being was supported. I also had many projects that I wanted to implement and so I reflected on these two topics. However, in true Janine fashion, it snowballed.
For my mental well-being, I made sure that I kept up with my out-of-work activities to ensure that I had down time. I also used my love for Pilates to inspire other educators and the children to ensure they had time to reconnect and find a sense of balance. This saw me supporting the team through a wellness-workout challenge,bringing in mindfulness and gratitude to the children and in my office having essential oils and a wellness station for educators.
I feel that whilst some of my strategies worked well some did not, and it assisted me in learning more about my team and their interests. It led us to many conversations about howthey use their downtime and this lead us to some meaningful team bonding.
Anotherarea that I worked on this year was to support my team’s mental well-being and feel that I was successful in this. Itsaw me collaborating with the leadership team in June 2022 to reflect on how we
were programming and what was required due to regulations.
I felt that by bringing the leadership intothe conversation it allowed their voice to be heard and the management team was able to then make effective adjustments to reduce the workload but ensure that the children’s learning was meaningful and embraced my values and that of the service. I feel that this will besomething that will carry forward into the new year, and the importance of children’s documentation will continue but it can continue in a different way. It was definitely an area of growth formyself. The children became more grounding as the year went on and they become confident and were seen taking ownership of doing yoga and meaningfulness throughout moments of spontaneous play. I feel that it branched out into areas of positive behaviour guidance,involving the leadership team in taking more ownership of the collaborative approach to reflection within the service. This then made another positive impact to not only the team’s well-beingbut also that of the children and the service too. I feel that the children could see the teamworking co-hessively and becoming less stressed and preoccupied by “needed to get an observation done”. They were morefocused and in the moment with the children. I feel that this played a huge part in why the children reached moregoals and achieved higher learning outcomes by the end of the year.
Another big project was researching andstarting a Reconciliation Action Plan. This lead me on a journey of reflecting how, as the leader of theservice, I needed to understand more about RAP’s and how to gather outside support
from others that have been on this journey. This is a big vision so I used my tracker and found it allowed me tostay on point and keep moving forward, even when barriers arose. Whilst I missed every deadline set, I still feelthat the service has taken positive steps forward and feel that if the service
continues along the journey, that they will create an environment that shows
their respect and care for the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. I did feel it was important to show the team thatthe work they had currently done since the start of 2022. As a leader, I wanted to make sure that theycould see that their hard work was acknowledged and recognised. I felt that this would be a great motivator, whilstalso celebrating their hard work. I reviewedpast documentation and learning that had taken place and created books for the
children, team and families, highlighting the work the service and educators
had already done to embed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders culture in
the service. It was a great way to seethe quality of work the team had been doing and it creating a wave of
momentum. I feel that it these twoaccomplishments were huge for the service and it has begun the journey of a RAP
in the right direction. I want tocontinue to reach out to others in order to network and support the service in
the next step.
Conclusion:
Reflection is a build part to professionalgrown.
I find that when Iengage in meaningful reflection on the past year, it helps me focus and re-aim
for the coming year. What drives you toreflect on your past year as a quality early childhood educator?