Elements and Performance Criteria
- Elements define the essential outcomes.
- Communicate positively with children
- Respond sensitively and appropriately to all children’s efforts to communicate
- Engage in sustained conversations with individual children about things that interest the child
- Consistently respond positively to all children who require attention
- Sit and talk with children at mealtimes and help create a relaxed and unhurried routine
- Interact positively with children
- Participate in children’s play and using children’s cues to guide the level and type of involvement
- Respond positively and respectfully to children’s comments, questions and requests for assistance
- Role-model positive interactions with others
- Encourage children to share their stories and ideas
- Support and respect children
- Assist to create an environment that reflects the lives of the children, their families and the local community
- Support implementation of practices and routines that honour children, their family and the community context
- Show genuine interest in, understanding of and respect for all children
- Comfort children who cry or show signs of distress
- Respond positively to the varying abilities and confidence of all children
- Acknowledge children’s efforts and achievements
- Maintain the dignity and rights of children
- Assist in organising spaces, resources and routines to minimise times when children are likely to experience stress or frustration
- Allow children to make choices and to experience natural consequences of these where there is no risk of physical or emotional harm to the child or another being
- Monitor and respond to children’s play and support interactions where there is conflict
- Acknowledge children when they make positive choices in managing their own behaviour
- Use positive language, gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice when redirecting or discussing children’s behaviour with them
- Be gentle, calm and reassuring even when children strongly express distress, frustration or anger
- Consistently guide all children’s behaviour in ways that are focused on supporting children to develop skills to self-regulate and preserve and promote children’s self-esteem
- Involve children in developing limits and consequences for inappropriate behaviours