Family and Community Partnerships

E-Portfolio
Amy Shortland (20084597) and Allison Renton (20112002)

Effective ways of supporting culturally diverse families in EC settings
with a focus on urban NSW


Statistics of Urban NSW

Migration is an important contributor to Australias growing population and has had a key role in
shaping Australia. It is vital that early childhood educators undertake research into their community
area, to meet the needs of all CALD families in Urban NSW, as explored in the articles, websites
and videos that have put together within this e-portfolio.


ABS Sydney
This article uses data from the ABS 2011 Census of Population and Housing to look at where
migrants in Australia live. This article focuses particularly on migrants living in Sydney, Melbourne
and Perth, as these cities host three in five of Australia's migrants, and particularly relevant for early
childhood staff for building partnerships and culturally inclusive strategies for migrant families living
in NSW urban areas, including Sydney city.
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0main+features102014#SYDNEY

Profile ID
This page provides access for educators to demographic information such as cultural population
(eg. place of birth) and ethnicity statistics within urban NSW that will help them to effectively support
the families in their EC setting.
http://profile.id.com.au/sydney/

City of Sydney - City at a glance
ity of Sydney provides statistics of families who come from cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
The site details the population, language spoken, median age, and living arrangements. This
information is essential for EC Educators to understand, in order to effectively program and plan, as
well as making connections to culturally diverse families living in the wider community (i.e. Urban
NSW).
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/learn/research-and-statistics/the-city-at-a-glance







Resources for educators providing strategies to support
culturally diverse families in EC settings
(including building partnerships)


Articles and Booklets

Care For Kids - Encouraging cultural and linguistic diversity in your service
CareforKids aims at supporting and informing educators in early childhood settings. This article
details topics such as developing a culturally inclusive program, communicating with parents, as
well as additional resources and support links.
http://www.careforkids.com.au/childcarenews/june08/story6.html

Child Australia - Cultural Connections Complete Booklet for EC Settings
All educators want to ensure that families who attend their services feel welcome, enriched and
settled. This booklet is a resource for all educators. It provides practical examples, stories, reflective
questions, and staff exercises to ensure cultural competency, respect and a continuous learning
progress is provided to all families and children, and strategically incorporated within EC settings.
https://childaustralia.org.au/Documents/IPSP-Section/Resource-Centre-Docs/cultural-book-
complete-WEB.aspx

Early Childhood Australia - Respectfully exploring Indigenous Culture
This article focuses on how educators can work inclusively with Indigenous children and their
families, such as involving families in connecting and sharing real issues (including Close the Gap,
and Sorry Day) and incorporating Indigenous storytelling through experience, language, traditions,
different knowledge and the connectedness that comes through storytelling. This is of particular
importance in the area of Sydney city and urban NSW, due to the high Australian Indigenous
community.
http://www.earlychildhoodvictoria.org.au/edit/Indigenous_project/WALKING%20RESPECTFULLY%
20EXPLORING%20INDIGENOUS%20CULTURE%20AND%20RECONCILIATION%20IN%20EAR
LY%20CHILDHOOD%20PRACTICE.PDF

Early Childhood Australia - Including Aboriginal Australia
The ECA believe that EC educators play an important role in helping children, families and staff
members to break down stereotypes and develop an understanding and appreciation of Australias
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage. This article lists strategies such as inviting Aboriginal
elders from the community to take part in centres celebrations and events, and planting a tree or
plant in centre to acknowledge a significant date of the Indigenous calendar. The strategies
described should always correspond with the individual families beliefs and values.
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/wp-
content/uploads/2012/05/including_aboriginal_australia.pdf



FWTDP - Diversity in Practice
This resource kit is useful for educators working in early childhood settings. It contains fact sheets
and tips for educators and staff to refer to. It also contains several additional resources and support
services for families.
http://fwtdp.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/diversity-in-practice.pdf

HIMH - Communicating with children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds
This link details ways to effectively support CALD families for when a child enrols in the centre who
come from a CALD background. It is useful for urban NSW centres, as it does not focus on culture,
but diversity as a whole. Example: researching different cultures can be useful but dont assume;
ask individuals what is relevant to them and their family.
http://www.himh.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/2482/7-Children-and-Families-from-Culturally-
and-Linguistically-Diverse-Backgrounds.pdf

Kids Matter - Why culture matters for childrens development and wellbeing
This article explores the background and concept of diversity in Australia, and how ECEC services
can play a critical role in supporting and engaging children and families from diverse cultural
backgrounds by promoting the understanding of diversity, developing a sense of belonging and
building relationships through open communication.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/KM%20C1_Cultural%20Diversity_Culture%2
0Matters%20for%20Development.pdf

Kids Matter - Building Relationships with Families
When families and EC settings build positive working relationships, it shows children that their
cultural background and language are accepted and valued. Kids Matter- Building Relationships
with families details why building relationships with families and the community is important,
benefits to families, and key ideas to consider when building partnerships with culturally diverse
families.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/information-sheets/information-sheet-index/building-
relationships-families

Kids Matter - Diversity and Childrens Mental Health
This article discusses how, when working together, families and Early Childhood Education and
Care (ECEC) services can create supportive environments for children from majority and minority
racial and ethnic groups.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/KM%20C1_Cultural%20Diversity_Diversity%
20and%20Children%27s%20Mental%20Health.pdf

National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC) - Diversity in programming
The NCAC explore a great number of strategies that can be used by educators to ensure that they
offer a culturally diverse program and support families, such as involving the family, community,
modelling inclusive language to the children, helping children to recognise and challenge
stereotypes, and reflecting on their own values and practices. Educators must ensure they link to
current EYLF.
http://ncac.acecqa.gov.au/educator-resources/factsheets/factsheet4.pdf


NCAC - Including cultural experiences in the program
This article explains how EC services provide experiences and celebrations that reflect the interests
of children and their families in their service and/or the local community, and how to ensure that
they are culturally respective and inclusive to all (eg. eliminating tokenism and appreciating
diversity) to help support CALD families. Educators must ensure they link to current EYLF.
http://ncac.acecqa.gov.au/educator-resources/pcf-
articles/genuine_celebrations_cultural_experiences_mar10%20.pdf


Webpages

Cultural Safety
This link incorporates an Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander perspective within Child care
Centres. It discusses cultural safety, and why this is important to be embedded in EC settings.
There is also a link with activities to encourage a child's connection to their culture, and ways to
involve Indigenous families in EC settings.
http://www.supportingcarers.snaicc.org.au/3.3a.html

Ethnic Child Care, Family and Community Services Cooperative
The ECCFCSC is a state-wide, not-for-profit organisation in NSW that bases its programs on CALD
issues in EC childrens services. The website facilitates access to culturally and linguistically
appropriate services for families and EC educators in urban NSW.
http://eccfcsc.org/

Quality Trading
The Quality Trading website provides and sells multicultural and Aboriginal resources by
international talented artists! Educators can purchase and share the books (including bilingual
books), cultural materials, and musical instruments from the website with children and their families.
http://www.gofairtrading.com.au

IPSP - Inclusion Professional Support Practices
Inclusion Support aims to remove the barriers to access for children with high support needs,
including children from CALD backgrounds. This is achieved NATIONALLY through the use of
Inclusion Support Agencies and Inclusion Support Subsidy, funded by the Australian Federal
Government through the IPSP. Educators can find all the information they need here to apply for
ISA or ISS as an effective way to support families from culturally diverse backgrounds.
https://education.gov.au/inclusion-and-professional-support-program




Videos (including interviews and webinars)

Cultural Competency in EC Education (Part One)
Part 1 of a sequence of videos put together by the ECA Learning Hub explores the concept of
culture, what CALD families bring with them into each centre, and how educators can support their
needs. This involves providing a cultural consistency to ALL families - listening to families and what
they want for their own families, challenging bias, establishing relationships and appreciating the
diversity in values and beliefs. A focus is also to NOT pass any judgement cross-culturally, and this
video highlights how this can be most appropriately be done. For example: understanding the
difference in concept of time for Indigenous Australians and the modern Australian culture, and
respecting this difference. A must watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wgwEt5pV8k

Engaging and supporting culturally diverse families with young children
This webinar is designed for early childhood care and education providers, early intervention and
early childhood special education professionals or anyone who wants to increase their effectiveness
in working with families from diverse cultures, especially those who have a young child with
developmental concerns or delays.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qayF0qCn3wY

Supporting Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the Classroom
By watching this video, one can go inside an inclusive, culturally diverse early childhood centre and
watch the educators work together to embed children's home culture and languages in everyday
routines to support CALD families and the community.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWg-ZrV3wPk
















Resources for culturally diverse families
& the Urban NSW community
(effectively building partnerships, trust and cultural understandings)

Articles

Inclusion Now & Inclusion Support Subsidy Information for families
Inclusion Now is an accessible online resource where parents, EC professionals and the community
can access support and information on Inclusion in early childcare and the IPSP. Resources include
personal family interviews, enabling families to connect with stories that may be similar to their own.
Whilst this is a VIC document, it is relevant for all Australians, including Urban NSW residents. A
particular video of cultural interest is Abdullahs Story.
http://www.inclusionnow.org.au &
https://www.ku.com.au/resources/other/NISSP%20Brochure_Families.pdf

Kids Matter - Cultural Diversity; Resources for Families and Educators
This PDF provides families (and educators) with useful links and resources regarding inclusion in
early childhood contexts and extra support for those migrating into and living in urban NSW. There
are several websites (for example: Foundation House which supports refugee and CALD migrant
families), along with articles and children's literature that support children and their families from
various cultural backgrounds.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/KM%20C1_Cultural%20Diversity_Resource
s%20for%20Families%20and%20Educators.pdf

Kids Matter - Suggestions for families and educators
In this PDF, families from CALD backgrounds will find suggestions (including links and resources) in
how to develop a greater sense of belonging within their childs EC setting; such as, by helping their
child to connect with their heritage and sharing cultural stories and practices. Educators are also
provided with effective ways to build important connections with families of CALD backgrounds.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/KM%20C1_Cultural%20Diversity_Suggestio
ns%20for%20Families%20and%20Educators.pdf

Multicultural Resource Guide - Urban NSW
This is a fantastic resource for educators to provide to families living in Urban NSW that provides
contacts and services within their local area including cultural community and recreational services,
interpretive service agencies and translated material.
http://www.eccfcsc.org/bspresources/NSW%20Multicultural%20Resource%20Guide.pdf




Webpages

City of Sydney - Multicultural Communities
This is a significant page that can be utilised in EC settings in Urban NSW to provide families with
notice of events and festivals, and specific multicultural programs and services for all to attend. This
is a great way for educators to value families diverse cultures and foster a vibrant, diverse and
inclusive community.
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/community/community-support/multicultural-communities

Videos

Raising Children Network
Attached to this website, are various videos of parents who come from different culture
backgrounds. They share their experiences of parenting and raising children in Australia. Issues
such as adjusting to a new country, speaking two languages at home, and being parents from a
different culture are discussed.
http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/different_cultures.html/context/490


Cultural diversity and childrens well being - other resources
CALD families in urban NSW will particularly benefit from this PDF document. A list of useful
resources and support services are compiled detailing for families carers and teaching staff who
may be seeking further information about families from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds.
https://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/sites/default/files/public/KMPC1_201205_cultural-diversity-
resources.pdf