Cultures and histories of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people should be embeded into your everyday practices and children’s learning experiences. It’s about exploring Aboriginal culture and learning about ways of belonging, being and becoming. Educators’ practice should be reflective and inclusive so that children are not disadvantaged by an educator’s bias or views. (ACECQA, National Quality Standard - Information Sheet, Quallity Area 1  - Be part of Reconciliation)
 

  A little about our Hub...

   The NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Inclusion Hub is managed by Wiradjuri woman and qualified 
    early childhood educator Michelle  Hamilton. Her role is to directly mentor, support and guide all NSW/ACT Inclusion Professionals
    as they support you as educators  to embed Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures into your program.

    This Webpage is designed to help enhance your understanding of Aboriginal history, cultural inclusive practices and provide you with   
    access to a range of valuable resources to support inclusive practice.

  Ready to access support ?  

   To access inclusion support, educators with the assistance of an Inclusion Professional,  must be committed to both developing and
   implementing a Strategic Inclusion Plan. Click here to find out more about Strategic Inclusion Plans.

  Click here to contact the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency or feel free to contact your Inclusion Professional directly
                                    
To access additional information       NSW ACT Inclusion Agency-Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Inclusion Hub


Resources to Support Inclusion                  

Resources can be accessed by clicking on the titles below:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dates of Significance
                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

      Collaborative artwork by children
from KU Chatswood Community Preschool

Useful Links For Educators

Click on the red titles below to access information from a range of sources that may support inclusive practice:

A NSW Aboriginal Education Timeline
This timeline briefly outlines some turning points and events in NSW Aboriginal education from 1788-2007.

Aboriginal Australia Map
This website is where you can purchase the Aboriginal Australia – a breakdown of Aboriginal people countries/boundaries across Australia.

Aboriginal Land Council
As the state’s peak representative body in Aboriginal Affairs, the NSW Aboriginal Land Council aims to protect the interests and further the aspirations of its members and the broader Aboriginal community.
 

Care for Kids' Ears
The Care for Kids' Ears campaign has been designed and produced by the Australian Government to increase awareness of ear disease and hearing loss in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities.

Culturally Inclusive Service Assessment Tool for Early Childhood Services - Tip Sheet 1
This tool helps services determine how inclusive their service is for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Celebrating Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood Services - Tip Sheet 2
This tip sheet encourages educators to learn more about diverse cultural practices and develop skills for communication and interactions across cultures in line with the Early Years Learning Framework.

Cultural Connections Booklet
The Cultural Connections Booklet was created by Child Australia to help teams engage in some of the key topics surrounding respecting diversity and cultural competency in the early childhood education and care sector.

Deadly Tots
These resources were developed as part of the 2011 Deadly Tots project, a communication strategy to share evidence based information.

Including Aboriginal Australia in your Service

This resource encourages educators to expand their knowlege about Aboriginal Australia,  in order to embrace and acknowledge Aboriginal Australia in a meaningful, respectful way.

Reconciliation Australia
Reconciliation is about building better relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Narragunnawali can be found on the Reconciliation Australia and is where you can find out about developing your own Reconciliation Action Plan – a format specifically developed for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services and schools.

Narragunnawali's online platform provides practical ways to introduce meaningful reconciliation initiatives, resources, and professional learning to support Early Childhood Education and Care services to develop a Reconciliation Action Plan.

Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) Resources
Resources to support inclusive practice.

Welcome to Country and Acknowledgment of Country
NSW Public School teachers prompted the development of the Federation’s ‘Welcome to Country'/ 'Acknowledgement of Country’ information brochure.

Smarter Stronger Institute
The Smarter Stronger Institiure wants to see Stronger Smarter communities across Australia, where people are strong in culture, strong in identity and are able to enjoy prosperous, safe and healthy lives. Their aim is to directly improve the educational outcomes for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children.

  Links to Torres Strait Islander Resources & Information


The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA)
The TSRA has the responsibility to:
  •  Formulate, coordinate and implement programs for Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people living within the region;
  • Monitor the effectiveness of these programs, including programs conducted by other bodies;
  • Advise the Minister for Indigenous Affairs on matters relating to Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Affairs in the Torres Strait;
  • Recognise and maintain the special and unique Ailan Kastom of the Torres Strait Islander people living in the Torres Strait Region; and
  • Undertake activities necessary to perform its function as defined by the ATSI Act 2005
The Torres Strait Islander Collection
Learn more about the five major island clusters in the Torres Straits Region


Link to the The Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC)  to learn more about:


Torres Strait Islander Culture
What exactly are the differences between Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal peoples? Learn about Torres Strait history, who the Islanders are, their languages and about some famous but little-known Islanders.


Source: Torres Strait Islander culture - Creative Spirits, retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/torres-strait-islander-culture

Disclaimer
This page provides a listing of resources relating to inclusion which may be of interest to educators. The NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency aims to list inclusion-related, high quality resources from reputable sources on this page, however the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency cannot regulate or guarantee the quality or accuracy of details, and relevance of resources listed and is not responsible for any errors or omissions. All content on this page is shared here for information purposes only and the NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency does not endorse or promote any specific resource listed on this page. Early Childhood and Child Care services should use their own professional judgements when deciding what resources will best suit their needs.