Preventing Practice Complaints Before They Arise
While the College has a thorough process for addressing complaints against RECEs that come in from the public, employers or other sources, the College is equally committed to supporting members in their practice well before complaints even arise. All professionals need and deserve ongoing guidance, support and education to maintain high standard of practice.
For the small number of RECEs whose practice or conduct falls out of line with the standards of the profession, the three most common concerns we heard about in 2023 involved:
- Inappropriate Supervision (40%): This is typically seen during transitions from one area or activity to another and often caused by lack of communication during staffing changes and a lack of awareness of the number of children in the RECE’s care.
- Inappropriate Guidance (32%): This is typically seen in RECEs not knowing how to deal with difficult behaviours, exhibiting frustration and forcefully redirecting children’s behaviour.
- Unprofessionalism (17%): This typically involves failing to maintain confidentiality, failing to report or disclose past incidents that impact practise, practising while the RECE’s registration is suspended and engaging in inappropriate interactions with children, parents and colleagues.
This information allows the College to see trends in issues and challenges in practice as they emerge. Many complaints can become opportunities for the College to engage with individual RECEs who are facing practice challenges, to give them resources and advice. But complaints can also be used to inform guidance to the profession as a whole; guidance to employers on how to better support their RECEs; or feedback to government to inform changes to licensing regulations.
Here are some of the College resources you can use to support your practice approach and promote positive outcomes for children:
Practice Guidelines and Notes
These touch upon each of the practice issues we saw in 2023:
Practice Guidelines
- Supporting Positive Interactions with Children
- Professionalism
- Communication and Collaboration
- Inclusion of Children with Disabilities
- Dual Relationships
Practice Notes
- Child Development
- Professional Supervision of Children
- Professional Judgment
- Ethical Decision-Making
Other useful resources
- Case Studies and Scenarios to help you reflect on practice
- College Talk, our official blog, which includes articles on a variety of topics.
Participate in ongoing learning
By actively engaging in the Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) Program you increase your knowledge and skills and improve your professional judgment, all of which strengthens your practice.
We have a variety of resources to support completion of your CPL requirements. To make the most of your CPL time, get tips on developing your CPL goals including ideas for how to align it with other goals at work or in your education path.