5 Signs Your ECEC Service is Ready to Embed Sustainability

How do you know if your service is ready to move forward with embedding sustainability?

Perhaps you’ve been trying to get traction for years, but any project you’ve implemented has been met with resistance, or fizzled out after a short period of excitement and enthusiasm.  

Maybe your team lacks confidence and isn’t sure where to start or what to do next.

Or, you’ve done the basics but know there’s more you could do, especially now the way sustainability is defined in the revised Early Years Learning Framework 2.0 has expanded - what does social and economic sustainability look like in an early childhood setting?

Here’s five things that ECEC Services effectively embedding sustainability have in common.  If you see signs of these attributes in your service, chances are, you too will be able to effectively embed sustainability.

These attributes will help you embed sustainability in your service, and reap the benefits it brings for your team, children, community and organisation:

1. Commitment to continuous improvement - sustainability is not a checklist of things that can be ticked off.  It’s a process of ongoing reflection and continuous improvement by the whole team.  This could seamlessly fit within your current planning cycle and quality improvement planning processes.
2. Interest in engaging others - your team, children, families and community.  Embedding sustainability is not something you can do alone.  Engaging others is a critical part of the process, although it’s not always easy!
3. Understanding that embedding sustainability brings many benefits - for children, your team, your community, the planet, and your organisation.  Your approach to sustainability should reflect what’s important to your people and your place.  
4. A desire to lead - Early Childhood Services are in a unique position to drive change and make a difference - recognising the important role your educators can play in shaping the way children think and feel about sustainability, the world and their place in it.  They also have close relationships with families, who are no doubt hearing all about what the children are learning and exploring in your program. Effectively embedding sustainability positions your service as a leader, for both your community and in the early childhood sector. 
5. Enthusiasm for long-term positive change - We all want to know that we’re making a difference, especially for the benefit of children - that is after all, what drives us all to do what we do. Envisioning, and in turn creating a sustainable future, and providing opportunities for children to build the foundational knowledge, skills and dispositions that will help them thrive in an increasingly uncertain times - can bring all your stakeholders together around a common purpose.

If you can identify these five (or at least a three), of these attributes in your setting CONGRATULATIONS! You’re in a great position to start your journey towards embedding sustainability.

If you’re ready to get started, let’s chat.  Schedule a Discovery Call 📞and let’s work out your best next steps!