Guide for Service Assessment - Standard 5
(Adapted with permission from a document developed by Louise Hanrahan, Director Maitland Pre-school and her team)
Questions for reflective practice
Standard 5.1

How do we build close, secure relationships with children of all ages, abilities, genders & backgrounds?

How do we help children to feel that they belong in the service?

How do we learn about individual children’s non-verbal cues & communication strategies, & the specific communication requirements of children who have additional needs?
How do we cater for them?

How do we engage in children’s play? What roles do we play?

How do we interact with children to engage them in learning?

What strategies & techniques do we use to extend & build on children’s comments & conversations?

How do we use conversations & interactions with children to make routine times enjoyable & meaningful learning opportunities?
BABIES AND TODDLERS

How do we respond to the distress some babies & toddlers experience when they have to adapt to unfamiliar routines, new people & new places?
Observe
5.1.1

An atmosphere that is generally relaxed
& happy

Relaxed, unhurried meal times during
which educators sit, & talk with children

Children initiating conversations with
educators about their experiences inside
& outside the service

Children expressing ideas & feelings &
sharing humour with educators
Educators:

Responding sensitively & appropriately
to all children’s efforts to communicate

Engaging children in many
conversations throughout the day or
session

Engaging in sustained conversations
with individual children about things
that interest the child
Document1
Sight
Discuss


How:

The service’s Statement of
philosophy guides interactions with
children

Experiences & routines are
organised to maximise
opportunities for meaningful
conversations between children &
educators

The service ensures that all
children have equal opportunities
to engage in one-to-one & small
group conversations with
educators

The Statement of philosophy
The service’s policy on interactions
with children
Evidence that planned &
spontaneous experiences &
routines provide opportunities for
children to engage in meaningful
conversations with educators
Reflections
Page 1 of 9

Consistently responding positively to all
children who require their attention
Babies and Toddlers

Predictable personal-care routines that
are rich & enjoyable experiences for
babies & toddlers

Educators responding to babies &
toddlers when they practice & play with
language, by repeating the words,
sounds & gestures that children use


School Age Children

Children initiating conversations with
the educators about their experiences
inside & outside the service

Children expressing ideas & feelings &
sharing humour with educators

Educators engaging in sustained
conversations with individual children
about things that interest them (the
child)

Educators encouraging children to
communicate their own ideas & express
an opinion about matters that affect
them
Observe
5.1.2
Children:

Engaging in spontaneous, two-way
conversations & interactions with
educators about what is happening
around them, why things happened &
what can be learnt from these
experiences

Asking educators for assistance as they
try new things, take on new challenges
& try to do things for themselves
Document1
How educators learn about babies’
& toddlers’ non verbal cues &
communication strategies
How daily tasks & routines are
managed to maximise
opportunities to build trusting
relationships between educators &
children
How:

Educators learn out about babies &
toddlers nonverbal cues &
communication strategies

Staffing & grouping arrangements
within a centre-based service
support the development of
trusting relationships between
educators & babies & toddlers
Sight
Discuss



Plans for the inclusion of children
with additional needs
Evidence of planned &
spontaneous experiences &
routines that support the
engagement of individual children
& groups of children in experiences
of their own choosing with the
support & guidance of educators


Reflections
The ways in which children’s cues
are used to guide the level & type
of adult involvement in children’s
play
How children are encouraged to
share their stories & ideas
How routines & everyday
experiences are used to support
children’s learning
Page 2 of 9
Educators:

Participating in children’s play & using
children’s cues to guide their level &
type of involvement

Responding positively & respectfully to
children’s comments, questions &
requests for assistance

Modelling reasoning, predicting &
reflective processes & language

Collaborating with children about
routines & experiences

Using techniques, such as sign language
& other resources & tools, to support
the inclusion of children with additional
needs

Documentation of children’s
learning that shows evidence that
educators interactions with children
are used to support the children’s
developing ideas, skills &
relationships


The ways in which educators use
information from their observations
of & interactions with children to
extend children’s thinking &
learning
How educators use their
interactions with children to
support the maintenance of home
languages & learning English as an
additional language
Babies and Toddlers

Educators describing objects & events &
talking about routine activities with
babies & toddlers

Educators encouraging give-and-take
communication by adding to
interactions initiated by babies &
toddlers
Observe
5.1.3
Children:
 Demonstrating a sense of
belonging & comfort in the
environment
 Communicating their need for
comfort & assistance
 Engaging in helping activities, &
showing kindness & compassion to
their peers

An environment that reflects the lives of
the children, their families & the local
Document1
Sight
Discuss


Examples of the information
gathered from:
 Families to support their child
during the settling-in process
 Other professionals or support
agencies that work with
children, including children
who have additional needs &
those from culturally &
linguistically diverse
backgrounds

Reflections
Ways in which educators learn
more about the histories, cultures,
languages, traditions, child-rearing
practices & lifestyle choices of
families using the service
Strategies used to assist all
children to develop a sense of
belonging & confidence in the
service
Page 3 of 9
community
Practices & routines that honour
children & their family & community
contexts
Group sizes & staffing practices that:

Support the establishment of secure
relationships between educators &
children

Support children settling into the service
each day

Facilitate effective daily communication
with families
Educators:

Showing genuine interest in,
understanding of & respect for all
children

Comforting children who cry or show
other signs of distress

Responding positively to the varying
abilities & confidence of all children

Acknowledging children’s efforts &
achievements

Actively supporting the maintenance of
the child’s home language

Babies and Toddlers
Children:

Being supported to build secure
attachments with one & then more
familiar educators

Using a favourite toy or comfort item
brought from home to help them settle
& feel secure in the service

Many opportunities for babies &
toddlers to experience relaxed physical
contact & one-to-one interactions with
familiar educators
Document1


The service’s approach to equity &
inclusion, documented in the
statement of philosophy
Evidence that educators draw on
the diverse knowledge,
experiences & views of their
colleagues in reviewing the
experiences planned for children &
their teaching strategies to ensure
that all children have opportunities
to achieve learning outcomes

How staffing & grouping
arrangements within a centrebased service support babies &
toddlers to feel secure in the
service
Centre Based Services

How rosters are planned to
promote continuity for children
Page 4 of 9
Questions for reflective practice
Standard 5.2

How do we enable children to form & maintain positive relationships with others?

How is a culture of respect, equity & fairness encouraged in the service? How is this communicated to educators, children & families?

How are the program & routines arranged to ensure adequate time for children to engage in projects & play experiences of their own choosing, with a variety of peers &
adults?

How do we model positive, respectful relationships with others to children?

How do we ensure that the physical environment, program & routines are conductive to the development & maintenance of children’s interpersonal relationships?

How do we promote a sense of community within the service?

How do we ensure that our policy on interactions with children reflects current information about child development & best practice in guiding your children’s behaviour?

How do our own beliefs & attitudes & experiences as children influence the way in which we guide children’s behaviour?

What opportunities do children have to make decisions about rules, expectations & outcomes in relation to their own & other’s behaviour?

How do we manage situations where we experience challenges in relation to guiding the behaviour of a child or a group of children?

How do we work with families & other professionals & resource agencies to ensure that behaviour guidance strategies are tailored for individual children? How are
difference expectations managed?
School Age Children

How do we meet older children’s needs for independence & greater freedom?

How do we ensure some consistency between school & the service in the approach taken to guiding children’s behaviour?
Observe
5.2.1
Children

Participating in play experiences &
developing friendships as part of a
small group

Engaging in enjoyable interactions
with their peers, contributing to
shared play experiences &
responding positively to ideas &
suggestions from others

Negotiating roles & relationships in
play & leisure experiences

Engaged in ongoing collaborative
projects they have initiated that
involve research, planning, problem
Document1
Sight
Discuss


The service’s policy on interactions
with children
Evidence that:

The program & routines include
regular opportunities for children to
engage in social play & collaborative
experiences

Educators regularly identify children’s
shared interests & uses this
information to plan further
collaborative learning opportunities



Reflections
How staffing & grouping
arrangements within a centre-based
service support positive relationships
between children
How educators support & promote
children’s interpersonal relationships
The ways in which educators support
inclusion of children from diverse
backgrounds & capabilities in
collaborative play, projects &
experiences with others
How educators learn about children’s
shared interests & use how they use
this information to plan further
Page 5 of 9
solving & shared decision making
Educators:

Modelling for children explicit
strategies to initiate interactions &
join in play & social experiences with
other children

Engaging in children’s group play &
projects

Assisting & supporting children when
they are having difficulty
understanding or communicating
with each other

Creating opportunities for peer
scaffolding

Promoting a sense of community in
the service
learning opportunities
School Age Children

Children spending a large proportion
of their time with peers
Educators:

acknowledging older children’s
complex relationships & sensitively
intervening in ways that promote
social inclusion

Providing opportunities for children
to assume leadership roles & direct
play experiences with their peers
Observe
5.2.2
Children:

Engaging in cooperative, helping
behaviour

Exploring different identities & points
of view in dramatic play

Challenging other children’s
behaviour with it is disrespectful or
Document1


The opportunities provided for
children to take on leadership roles
within the service
How educators broaden children’s
perspectives & encourage an
appreciation of diversity & difference
within the group
Sight
Discuss

How educators:
 Learn about & respond to
individual children’s relationships
with others, & the relationship
preferences they may have
 Use knowledge of individual
children’s personalities &
The service’s policies & procedures
on interactions with children
Evidence of:
 Planned & spontaneous
experiences that support
children to develop & practice
the skills required to participate
Reflections
Page 6 of 9
unfair
Expressing their feelings & responses
to others’ behaviours confidently &
constructively

Being supported to communicate
effectively to resolve disagreements
with others
Educators:

Discussing emotions, feelings &
issues of inclusion & exclusion, fair &
unfair behaviour, bias & prejudice

Encouraging children to listen to
other children’s ideas, consider
alternative behaviours & solve
problems together

Talking with children about the
outcomes of their actions, & the
rules & reasons for these

Prompting & supporting children to
remove themselves from situations
where they are experiencing
frustration, anger or fear

Listening empathetically to children
when they express their emotions &
reassuring children that it is normal
to experience positive & negative
emotions at times

Supporting children to negotiate their
rights in relation to the rights of
others & intervening sensitively when
children experience difficulty in
resolving a disagreement

Document1


in group discussions & shared
decision making with their peers
 Collaboration with schools, other
professionals or support
agencies that work with children
who have diagnosed behavioural
or social difficulties
Examples of the information
gathered from families about their
children’s social skills & relationship
preferences
Plans for the inclusion of children
who have specifically diagnosed
behaviour or social difficulties


friendship preferences to
support children to manage their
own behaviour & develop an
understanding of others’ feelings
 Support children when they are
trying to negotiate & resolve
conflicts with others
 Support children who are
subject to aggressive or bullying
behaviour, including social
isolation &, where applicable,
cyber bullying
Children who have specifically
diagnosed behavioural or social
difficulties are genuinely & sensitively
supported to understand how their
actions affect others
Educators work with each child’s
family &, where applicable, their
school, to ensure that a consistent
approach is used to support children
who have specifically diagnosed
behavioural or social difficulties
Page 7 of 9
Observe
5.2.3
Children:
 Being allowed to make choices & to
experience the consequences of
these where there is no risk of
physical or emotional harm to the
child or another being
 Being acknowledged when they
make positive choices in managing
their own behaviour
 Who are not isolated for any reason
other than illness, accident or a
prearranged appointment with
parental consent

Spaces, resources & routines arranged
to minimise times when children are
likely to experience stress or frustration
Educators:

Pre-empting potential conflicts or
challenging behaviours by monitoring
children’s play & supporting interactions
where there is conflict

Using positive language, gestures, facial
expressions & tone of voice when
redirecting or discussing children’s
behaviour with them

Responding promptly to children’s
aggressive or bullying behaviour

Being patient, gentle, calm & reassuring
even when children strongly express
distress, frustration or anger

Clearly reflecting the information
received from families, other
professionals & resource agencies

Consistently guiding all children’s
behaviour in ways that:
 Are focussed on supporting children
to develop the skills to self regulate
Document1
Sight
Discuss



The service’s policy on interactions
with children that outlines a clear
process for guiding children’s
behaviour positively, based on
what is currently understood to be
best practice in early childhood
education & care
Examples of individual behaviour
guidance plans for children with
diagnosed behavioural difficulties
that have been developed in
consultation with families, other
professionals & support agencies



Reflections
The strategies used by educators
to encourage children’s positive
behaviour & minimise negative
behaviour
How educators involve children in
developing behaviour limits & the
consequences for inappropriate
behaviours
How educators manage situations
in which:
 Families have different
expectations from the service
in relation to guiding children’s
behaviour
 A child’s behaviour is
particularly challenging
How the service supports
educators to enhance their skills &
knowledge in relation to guiding
children’s behaviour
Page 8 of 9



Preserve & promote children’s selfesteem
That corporal punishment is not used at
the service
That food is being used appropriately &
not as reward or punishment
Babies and Toddlers
Educators:

Speaking in comforting tones & holding
babies to soothe them when they are
crying

Responding positively to babies’ &
toddlers’ exploratory behaviour
School Age Children

Older children having some privileges &
increased freedom in recognition of
their growing maturity & ability to take
responsibility for their own behaviour
Document1

How the service manages
situations where babies & toddlers
bite

How educators ensure there is
some consistency between school
& the service in the approach
taken to guide children’s behaviour
Page 9 of 9