Guidance to flourish in your role

Gain fresh ideas and skills to lead your team in QA1 Educational program and practice, with:

  • 10 Videos to learn from the best

    We've filmed at centres rated 'Excellent' by ACECQA to share their educational program and practice with you. Join Andrea Isitt in conversations with: Sandi Phoenix, Narelle Dawson and Stephen Gallen.

  • 15 Video tutorials for fresh thinking

    You have freedom to work at your own pace and revisit the key learning in the three video tutorials, inside each course topic. Our learning checks at the end of each topic helps you to reflect on your learning, and think about your next steps to improve practice.

  • Printable resources, with 5 workbooks and workplace projects

    Deepen your professional knowledge as you reflect and take notes in your workbook for each topic. Use the workplace projects to take action, using: your new ideas and the provided resources/tools for on-the-job inspiration and guidance.

What will you learn?

Access these 5 essential topics to help you grow as an educational leader

  • 1. Educational Leader essentials - role, qualities and goals

    Gain role clarity with a clearer focus in your role as an Educational Leader: Consider leadership qualities, and ways to become growth focused. Set meaningful goals and steps to develop as an Educational Leader. Explore legislative requirements, and the myths and facts around documentation.

  • 2. Inspiring and leading the direction of the curriculum: current trends

    Share fresh and inspiring trends and information with your team, about: Reggio Emilia/Malaguzzi approach – 100 languages and project-based learning. Schema, loose parts, bush kindy and natural environments, challenge and risky play. The documentation cycle and summative assessment.

  • 3. Build a team culture of enquiry and quality improvement

    Explore ways to open up a culture of reflective practice and enquiry, for your team to work collaboratively towards quality improvement. Learn how to: Be comfortable with giving and receiving feedback, and to empower others to as well. Critically reflect from multiple viewpoints on requirements/best practice in QA1. Use a team approach on the Quality Improvement Plan.

  • 4. Step up in leadership: use and develop emotional intelligence

    Understand how connection, with positive attitudes and emotional intelligence, is a requirement for successful leadership and teams. Explore and identify: The state and size of your own needs, using the Phoenix Cups framework ©. Your emotional responses, triggers and reactions; and discover the impact of our emotions on others. Ways to develop and use emotional intelligence personally, and within your team.

  • 5. Create a workplace learning community: being a coach and mentor

    Focus on your role to lead others in their learning, to transform pedagogy and practice. Be guided on ways to: Identify and use people’s strengths in your team. Share knowledge more effectively to suit people’s different learning styles. Facilitate a mentoring relationship, and develop skills for effective coaching and mentoring.

Get ongoing access to all course resources & tools

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Course curriculum

    1. Meet Chrissy, your course facilitator

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Video: About First Door and why we do, what we do (2 minutes)

    3. Guide to how this online course works

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. What's in this Flourish as an Educational Leader course for you?

    5. Before you begin - a short survey

    6. Online course AGREEMENT OF USE

    1. PRINTABLE to use: Ideas, mindmap, notes and doodle pages

    2. ‘The Educational Leader Resource’ by ACECQA

    3. Guide to the National Quality Standard Assessment and rating process, by ACECQA

    4. Belonging Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2 2022

    5. My Time, Our Place: Framework for school age care

    6. ECEC National Regulations 2018

    7. WEBSITE LINKS: Educational Leader resources

    1. Chapter 1 WORKBOOK: downloadable to print and write your notes in

    2. CHAPTER 1 TUTORIAL PART 1: Role of the Educational Leader

    3. QA7 The Role of the Educational Leader by ACECQA: links to NQS & legislation

    4. Organising the role and workload: ACECQA Educational Leader resource

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Role description sample: ACECQA Educational Leader resource

    6. CHAPTER 1 TUTORIAL PART 2: Working with strengths and weaknesses

    7. CHAPTER 1 TUTORIAL PART 3: Myths and facts in ECEC

    8. Printable: ACECQA Information sheet QA1 Educational program documentation for educators and teachers

    9. Printable: 5 Myths reflection questions and worksheet

    10. 5 Myths INTRO - Myth 1: Linking activities to Learning outcomes

    11. Myth 2: Paparazzi documentation - taking & sharing of photos

    12. Myth 3: Required quantity of documentation

    13. Myth 4: Assumption assessment - from single moment & single view

    14. Myth 5: Overuse of learning stories

    15. Deeper learning for Transforming documentation: for children's learning and development

    16. Supporting the assessment and planning cycle: ACECQA Educational Leader resource

    17. Sample template: Summative asessment for planning

    18. Reflect on your learning for Chapter 1: essentials: role, qualities and goals

    1. Chapter 2 WORKBOOK: downloadable to print and write your notes in

    2. RESOURCES - Chapter 2: website links, documents and videos

    3. CHAPTER 2 TUTORIAL PART 1: Belonging via a 'living curriculum'

    4. Video at Cawongla Playhouse: Belonging, Being and Becoming - authentic learning in every day

    5. NQS PLP video at Mt Gravatt kindergarten: Embedding sustainable practices - for inspiration and workbook questions

    6. CHAPTER 2 TUTORIAL PART 2: Unpacking how the EYLF REALLY guides documentation

    7. Video at Cawongla Playhouse: The rainbow project

    8. Video: Thinking about schema and Paiget's influence to practice

    9. Schematic play poster (Printable)

    10. Printable template: Our emerging image of the child (as foundation of the program)

    11. CHAPTER 2 TUTORIAL PART 3: Current trends to inspire children's 'becoming'

    12. Video: 100 languages - a poem by Loris Malaguzzi

      FREE PREVIEW

    13. Video at Cawongla Playhouse: Inspired by Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia approach

      FREE PREVIEW

    14. Video: A living curriculum & agency - Breaking down the barriers of being in one room at Rothwell Kids ELC

    15. Video: Keeping it real and promoting a 'natural childhood' for children at Bribie Island Community Kindergarten

    16. Video at Everton Park Childcare & Development Centre: What does quality ECEC look, feel and sound like?

      FREE PREVIEW

    17. Reflect on your learning for Chapter 2: Inspiring and leading the direction of the curriculum

    18. Deeper learning for Transforming QA1: Transforming pedagogy, documentation & planning cycle

    1. Chapter 3 WORKBOOK: downloadable to print and write your notes in

    2. RESOURCES - Chapter 3: website links, documents and videos

    3. CHAPTER 3 TUTORIAL PART 1: Focus on Reflective Practice

    4. Reflective journal template

    5. CHAPTER 3 TUTORIAL PART 2: Building a collaborative culture of enquiry

    6. CHAPTER 3 TUTORIAL PART 3: Using critical reflection for the QIP

    7. Video: Reflecting and improving practice at Bribie Island Community Kindergarten

    8. Critical reflection process template: ASK- Reflect, LOOK & THINK - Reframe, DO/ACT - Actions

    9. Research projects: 7 examples in ECEC services

    10. Video: Research project - 'Standing up for a natural childhood' involving partnership with community

    11. Check your learning for Chapter 3: Building a culture of enquiry and quality improvement

    1. Chapter 4 WORKBOOK: downloadable to print and write your notes in

    2. RESOURCES - Chapter 4: website links, documents and videos

    3. CHAPTER 4, TUTORIAL PART 1: The impact of emotional intelligence

    4. Take the Phoenix Cups Quiz: find out your unique needs profile (the different sizes of your Cups)

    5. Your Cup filling plan: Phoenix Cups Framework ©

    6. Understanding mental health: Meet the animals that live in your brain

    7. An overview: Emotional intelligence and the brain, by Andrea Isitt

    8. Take 5 calming technique (outdoors if you can), by Holly Allen

    9. Printable: Do you Magnify = CHAOS or Meet = CALM Behaviour?

    10. CHAPTER 4, TUTORIAL PART 2: Recognising the emotional intelligence in others

    11. CHAPTER 4, TUTORIAL PART 3: Promoting emotional intelligence in teams

    12. Check your learning for Chapter 4: Use and develop emotional intelligence in your team

About this course

  • $275.00
  • 82 lessons
  • 6 hours of video content

What others are saying about the course:

  • Renae Auslebrook - Educational Leader

    "The Flourish as an Educational Leader eLearning course gave me lots of new ideas and inspiration on how to build relationships within my team, and strategies on how to guide, support and mentor them in the workplace. The course also provided lots of helpful resources and templates that I have already begun using in my role as Educational Leader."

  • Felicity MacKenzie - Educational Leader

    "This has been an inspiring and easy to follow course. I am very excited also about the many resources I gained throughout this course. I am keen to implement all I have learned here as I feel it is going to highly benefit my team going forward. Thank you!"

  • Sarah Beaver - Educational Leader

    "The Flourish as an Educational Leader eLearning course has provided me with a greater understanding and knowledge of what is required to become a successful and knowledgeable Educational Leader. I was able to use this course to secure a job as Educational Leader in a new centre."

  • Bronwyn White - Educational Leader

    "I gained a lot of valuable lessons in this course. I would recommend to any Educational Leader wanting guidance on creating a positive and reflective culture within their service."

  • Jess Pepyat - Educational Leader

    "I found this course inspiring and informative. I would highly recommend this course to anyone starting out as an Education leader or mentor."

  • Lisa Mosely - Educational Leader

    "I found the Flourish course to be excellent — it has a holistic approach to life, leadership and school. I cannot wait to inspire my team with what I have learnt and have them inspired to step outside of what has become familiar and safe. Let’s mix it up with a splash of creativity and a heaping dose of healthy wellbeing."

Get ongoing access to all course resources & tools

Choose your preferred payment method:

Course Facilitator and Contributors

Course Co-Creator and Facilitator Chrissy Foreman

Chrissy is a passionate, qualified Early Childhood educator with over 20 years of experience working with children, educators and families. Having worked across the array of roles in Early Childhood services including educational leadership and service management, Chrissy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience. Working for many years as an Educational Leader, Chrissy often experienced lack of clarity and support in the role, and this motivated her to co-create and facilitate a course for Educational Leaders to fill that gap. Chrissy has a strong focus on the educational program, developing enriching environments, and inspiring collaborative change with a strengths-based approach in teams.

Course creator and facilitator Andrea Isitt

Andrea commenced studying early childhood development over 30 years ago, and this started a career focused on achieving best outcomes for children in Early Childhood. After several years working as a qualified educator and leader, Andrea co-founded First Door in 2012. Her passion as Company Director is driven by her desire to promote exceptional education and care for children.

Andrea promotes respectful practice that nurtures emotional security and a natural childhood. She is an avid researcher and shares views from Dr. Emmi Pikler and many leading Early Childhood theorists, play and learning ambassadors, and from current neuroscience research. Andrea has been influenced by her experience of Early Childhood Education in New Zealand, and by visiting Bush Kindys and Forest Kindergartens in Norway, California and Australia.

Grow. Develop. Flourish.

Tools and guidance to flourish as an educational leader

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