Kindy Uplift Programs


Kindy Uplift Program


Course Menu | Coaching & Mentoring | Live Events | Evidence Based | References


Kindy uplift provides the opportunity for services to fund programs, resources, supports and professional development to build teacher and educator capability, strengthen the cultural responsiveness of services and improve children’s learning and development in kindergarten, in one or more of the key priority areas:  

Courses Available

Many of our programs can be delivered online or in-service with one of our experienced facilitators.


Take Action No​​​​w, Don't Miss Out!

​Join Briana Thorne in exploring the legislative requirements, exceeding practices and real-world strategies, this presentation explores the practical implications and requirements around reflective practice.


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This program, facilitated by Briana Thorne, dives deep into the cognitive processes pivotal to building foundations for mathematical understanding in the early years. 


Priority area: Mathematics and numeracy.

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Through engaging discussions and practical exercises, educators will be better equipped to nurture meaningful interactions, supporting a child's holistic development in a secure and responsive environment. 


Priority area: Social and emotional learning.


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Security, Self-worth, autonomy, self-competence, and joy in early childhood. Theory, research, and practical strategies for meeting children's needs and fostering their wellbeing.


Priority area: Social and emotional learning.

Register for the Online Course Here​​​​

Educator Toolkit for Behaviour

This program can be delivered as an in-service workshop 
OR as an online self-paced program.


Priority area: Social and emotional learning.


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Join Dr Louise Porter & Sandi Phoenix for a powerful class to re-think and re-frame the role of teachers and educators in supporting children’s emerging social and emotional competence.

Priority area: Social and emotional learning.


Register for​​​​ the Online Course Here

Imagine a team building session that gets your whole team thinking clearer, feeling happier, more motivated, and productive. This workshop is run by Christopher Phoenix who discusses wellbeing concepts through various modes of entertainment, including poignant games and demonstrations.

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Learn how to provide a therapeutic response with Trent Savill from Complex Care. This training has been designed for educators supporting vulnerable children and families who have been exposed to trauma.

Register for the Online Course Here​​​​ 

This is an online program consisting of 6 chapters. Each chapter will have an accompanying webinar (live option as well as recorded playback), Q&A webinar, Discussions, Chapter resource PDF download, and activities.

​​Register for t​​​​​​he Online Course Here

Have you received your Kindy Uplift Funding?

 Great News! We have a range of programs, resources, support and professional learning available which are focused on the key priority areas.

Social and Emotional learning

Social learning involves the development of children’s communication skills, social skills, social regulation skills and awareness of others. Emotional learning is focused on identifying and regulating emotions and understanding the emotions of others.  

Physicality

The skills and abilities that support children to learn to move with stability, control and awareness of their environment and to manage the control of objects. Physicality core skills include gross motor development, fine motor development and integrates consideration of sensory learning.

Executive Function

A set of skills that enable children to control impulses, sustain focus and achieve goals. These skills are important for learning. They develop during early childhood and include working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility.

Complete this quick survey and we'll send you a comprehensive quote to meet your Kindy Uplift needs.

Coaching and Mentoring Packages

Our coaches are trained in solution focused, strength based coaching methods. We have a collective 147 years experience in the education and care sector.

Our packages are designed especially for educators within Queensland to foster outcomes necessary for school readiness in Kindergartens.

We'll shape a package to work towards outcomes that your service needs.

The best part? We come to you and walk alongside educators during your service operational hours.

The below prices are excluding GST and excluding travel.

Coaching & Mentoring   (C&M)

One 3 hour visit during service operational hours

  •  We come to you
  •  No need to work after hours
  •  Our facilitators walk alongside educators throughout the day
  •  Learning environment observations within the moment 1:1 coaching & mentoring
  • Leadership coaching
  •  Staff meetings
  • Quality improvement recommendations
Professional Conversation (PC)

A staff team meeting for up to 2.5 hours 

  • We come to you            
  • Delivered out of hours (evenings or weekend)
  • We will facilitate a strength-based solution-focused meeting
  • Coaching and mentoring delivered in a group format
  •  This is group c&m, it is not a training workshop
  •  Leadership coaching
  •  Learning environment observations
  •  Quality improvement recommendations
C&M + PC

3 hours of coaching & mentoring, followed by a staff meeting

  •  We come to you
  •  A combination of during & after operational hours 
  •  Our facilitators walk alongside educators throughout the day
  •  Learning environment observations with 1:1 coaching & mentoring
  •  We will facilitate a strength based, solution focused meeting 
  •  The PC is group c&m, it is not a training workshop
  •  Leadership coaching 
  •  Quality Improvement recommendations
Intensive Day

3 hours of coaching & mentoring followed by a training workshop

  •  We come to you
  •  A combination of during & after operational hours 
  •  Our facilitators walk alongside educators throughout the day
  •  Learning environment observations with 1:1 coaching & mentoring
  •  We will facilitate a training session based on themes of Educator wellbeing, Educator Toolkit for Behaviour, or My Cups are full and I'm ready for school.
  •  Leadership coaching
  •  Quality Improvement recommendations

Additional C​osts

TRAVEL

A travel fee of $89.40 per hour will be charged from the nearest capital city CBD. We have local facilitators based in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. You can opt to choose an interstate facilitator, which may incur flight costs.

ACCOMMODATION

If you require a facilitator to stay over night, we love to support rural and regional communities. Our overnight fee is quoted upon request.

UPFRONT QUOTE

For an all inclusive upfront quote, complete this form and we'll work out the best bundle for you, add a bundle discount, and calculate any potential travel fees or additional charges. All fees on this page are GST exclusive.

What to E​xpect During Coaching & Mentoring

 
During these visits, your facilitator will customise support according to needs of the service. They will: 

Spend time coaching & mentoring all educators;

Visit learning environments to observe environment, program, and curriculum decisions and discuss concerns with key staff in learning environment;

Tailor advice according to observations as well as questions from educators to increase the services capacity to support the school readiness of all children;

Educators have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss school readiness in a one on one coaching conversation with facilitator at any time during this day.

Intensive Day packages:

Spend time either providing verbal advice to leadership staff based on observations OR writing of coaching and mentoring notes to leave with leadership staff;

Provide written resources and information for services to discuss and utilise in their daily practice to support the sustainability of the advice provided and recommendations made. 

Optional: We recommend planning for an additional staff member to be available on the day to maximise the time that the facilitator is visiting the learning environments. This allows for the lead educator or other staff to have focused conversations with facilitator.

Design your package​​​​​​​​

Need a hand picking out the package that will suit your team the best?

We offer FREE needs assessment meetings, with one of our amazing team.

Live Event: Empowered Educators

Are you ready to transform your team's approach to children's behaviour and wellbeing? Join us for a full day of two engaging workshops with Chris and Sandi Phoenix! This event is tailor-made for educators who are passionate about enhancing their skills and fostering a positive learning environment.

Empowered Educators Toowoomba

Date: Saturday 17th August 2024

Place: Oaks Conference Centre Toowoomba

Empowered Educators Cairns

Date: Saturday 7th September 2024 

Place: Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort

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Evidence Based

Our programs consider educators approaches to children’s behavioural and social learning via the lens of various paradigms of education. Our facilitators will draw on The Phoenix Cups framework and Behaviour Guidance approach that encourages educators to shift from a paradigm influenced by Behaviourism toward one of humanism building on the works of Rogers and Maslow, Choice theory, guidance practitioners, and positive psychology. 

Our principal facilitator is Sandi Phoenix B.Psych.Sc, and our psychologist in residence is Dr Louise Porter PhD, MA(Hons), MGiftedEd, DipEd, BA, BIntStuds, Child Psychologist. The primary research basis of the course is Louise’s doctoral studies (University of South Australia 2000). The research was a qualitative study of caregivers’ behaviour management practices with young children. More about Louise’s research can be found here. 

Coaching can be used to support educators to understand emotional maturity, anxious & fearful behaviour, hyperactive & inattentive behaviour, social competence, responsibility & respect, physical health & wellbeing, and physical independence. 

OUTCOMES

Our Programs consider the fact that every child takes a unique path toward achieving the five outcomes, and that children will require different levels of support. The packages support the implementation of quality play-based kindergartens.

CHILDREN AS CITIZENS

Our facilitators draw upon the UN convention
on the  rights of the child, and the rights of persons
with a disability
. They recognise all children as rights
holders, capable of participating in their social worlds
through their relationship with others.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Participants engage in reflective practice throughout the program and are encouraged to collaborate with other professionals via discussion forums.

PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES

By developing respectful relationships and strong partnership with colleagues, family members and professionals will enable all parties to work towards a shared goal and vision to support child’s learning, development and positive outcomes towards transitions from home to the service and from the service to school.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR 

EVERY CHILD

Educators will be encouraged to reflect and
evaluate current professional beliefs, values and
 practices and exploring the potential of having
behaviour guidance principles which promote high
expectations for children (regardless of their
personal judgement and opinion of the child
and their family background). 

EQUITY AND DIVERSITY

Educators will be encouraged to view responses to children’s behaviour as equitable versus equal. Fairness, equity, and inclusion themes are evident throughout our packages. This program considers the unique familial and community context of all children, as well as the individual capabilities and needs of children and families.

RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS AND 

RESPONSIVE ENGAGEMENT

By building strong connection with children and their families, educators will be able to develop behavioural expectations that are fair and respectful to each child.

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
AND DEVELOPMENT

Assessment tools in the packages encourage
educators to gather information about the child’s
wellbeing, strengths and interests and relationships
and also to capture and gather documentation around
a child’s behaviour, paying particular attention to
any learning needs the student may have which
is associated to an underlying and unmet need. 

INTERGRATED TEACHING AND 

LEARNING APPROACHES

The tools within this package will ensure that educators are integrating teaching and learning approaches to support the inclusion and access for children at their service.

References Informing Our Programs

Athey, C. (2007) Extending Thought in Young Children (2nd Ed) London: PCP

Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority. (2018). National Quality Standard.

Australian Children's Education & Care Quality Authority. (2018). Relationships with Children. In.

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment.

Bretherton, I. (1999). Updating the ‘internal working model’ construct: Some reflections. Attachment & Human Development, 1(3), 343-357. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616739900134191

Care for Kids. (2019). Why Risky Play.

Csikszentmihályi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Perennial.

Department of Education and Training. (2019). Early Years Learning Framework

Dragon Box. (2017). 5 Core Benefits of Learning Through Discovery.

Early Childhood Australia. (2019). Code of Ethics. In.

Glasser, W. (1998). Choice theory: A new psychology of personal freedom. New York: Harper Collins.

Livingstone, R. (2019). Agency in Practice.

Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being. (2nd ed.) Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.

Phoenix Cups Framework (2019)

Porter, L. (2016a). Young children’s behaviour: Guidance approaches for early childhood educators. (4th ed.) Sydney: Routledge.

Queensland kindergarten learning guideline (QKLG). (2021)

Ralphs, A. (2021). A guide to schema play in toddlers.

United Nations 1989, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN, Geneva

Give us a call  1300 361 243

Or complete a quick survey to tell us all about your needs and we'll send you more information and a quote.