Welcome to fka Children’s Services eNewsletter for Term 1, 2021!

We have transitioned into 2021 with a vigor and speed none of us are used to after our long lockdown of 2020. It is a very enjoyable hive of activity back in the office with the team at fkaCS, and we are pleased to announce our Multicultural Resource Centre is back up and running and ready for visitors.

In this issue we are delighted to include a feature article by Dr Red Ruby Scarlet, offering insight into the concept of ‘Anti-Bias Approach’ in early childhood. Her article includes a series of practical actions we can easily incorporate into our own practice. Dr Scarlett is an activist, early childhood teacher-researcher, consultant, speaker, artist and academic with a passion for creative, imaginative, inclusive practices – especially those that promote anti-bias, high quality art practices, respect for Aboriginal cultures and social justice. Dr Scarlet is the editor of The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood, now in its 4th Edition. This important piece of work continues to build momentum for centering equity, tackling bias and creating ethical learning experiences and environments with and for children in the early years.

We also reflect on how our environment can expose bias and techniques we can employ to support children to experience feelings of belonging, value and equity. We hear a story from Blake Street Kindergarten around the deliberate curriculum decisions they made, including changes in their environment to “guide young children’s thinking about diversity, ensuring that children receive positive messages about the many social groups in their worlds and that any negative messages are countered” (Glover, 2020. The Anti-Bias Approach in Early Childhood 4th Ed. pg. 18).

Our Multicultural Resource Centre is full of resources designed to increase understanding of differences, to actively challenge bias, stereotyping and all forms of discrimination and most importantly foster cultural inclusion. Our pedagogy and practice consultants are always on hand to help members find resources to borrow that support your goals.

Our Sector Updates include important information on the National Quality Framework review and we encourage everyone to have their say! We also look at the new Kinder Tick and some valuable free webinars coming up.

We hope this newsletter inspires you to think deeply about bias and how using the ‘anti-bias approach’ as an underpinning perspective can help children ‘develop a confident sense of identity without needing to feel superior to others; an ease with human diversity; a sense of fairness and justice; the skills of empowerment; and the ability to stand up for themselves or for others’ (Sparks and Edwards, 2019).