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  2. Guide to the NQF
  3. Section 3: National Quality Standard and Assessment and Rating
  4. Quality Area 3: Physical environment
  5. Standard 3.2: Use
  6. Element 3.2.3: Environmentally responsible

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Element 3.2.3: Environmentally responsible

The service cares for the environment and supports children to become environmentally responsible.

What Element 3.2.3 aims to achieve

Education and care settings are places where children learn and young people about self, others and the world, including environmental responsibility and sustainability. Educators provide opportunities for children and young people to learn about the interconnected dimensions of sustainability, including environmental sustainability, which focuses on caring for our natural world and protecting, preserving and improving the environment (Early Years Learning Framework; Framework for School Age Care). Educators encourage children and young people to develop appreciation of the natural world, understand our impact on the natural world, and the interdependence between people, animals, plants, lands and waters. (Early Years Learning Framework; Framework for School Age Care). 

Children and young people develop positive attitudes and values by engaging in sustainable practices, watching adults around them model sustainable practices, and working together with educators to show care and appreciation for the natural environment (Hughes, 2007). Educators support children and young people to take an active role in caring for the environment and to think about ways they can contribute to a sustainable future. This includes recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have looked after Country for the past 60,000 years and providing opportunities for educators and children to learn on and from Country. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their spirituality is strongly connected to Country. It is in their relationships and how they communicate with their ancestors, families, kinship systems and communities, and is in their connection to the land (Early Years Learning Framework; Framework for School Age Care). 

This element aligns sustainable operations within the service and children’s learning about environmental responsibility and sustainability. Environments and resources can emphasise accountability and advocacy for a sustainable future and promote children’s understanding about their responsibility to care for the environment on a day to day and long-term basis (Framework for School Age Care). This is particularly relevant for school age care environments as children’s depth of understanding of these concepts develops.

Assessment guide for meeting Element 3.2.3 (for all services)

Supporting environmental responsibility

Assessors may observe:

 

  • children:
    • being supported to appreciate and care for natural and constructed environments
    • interacting with vegetation and natural materials in the environment
    • exploring insects and animals in their habitats to develop their understanding of biodiversity
    • participating in environmentally sustainable practices that:
      • support their engagement with and respect for the natural environment
      • increase their awareness of the impact of human activity
      • build a sense of responsibility for caring for the environment
      • are meaningful, relevant to the service context and community, and connect service operations with the educational program and practice
    • being given opportunities to increase their:
      • knowledge of and respect for natural and constructed environments
      • awareness of the interdependence of living things
  • educators:
    • developing environmental awareness and programs as a platform for ongoing environmental education
    • using different ways to incorporate animals and plants into the program to support children’s understanding of ecology and the environment
    • fostering children’s capacity to understand and respect the natural environment and the interdependence between people, animals, plants, land and waters
    • sharing information and supporting children to access resources about the environment and the impact of human activities on environments
  • spaces that promote the development of life skills, such as growing and preparing food, waste reduction and recycling, and children being actively engaged in these experiences
  • the service’s environmental strategy being implemented.

Assessors may discuss:

 

  • the development and implementation of strategies to support children to be environmentally responsible and to show respect for the environment
  • how the educational program fosters wonder and knowledge about the natural world
  • strategies used to support every child to engage in quality experiences in the natural environment.
  • how educators create opportunities for all children and young people to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and rich sustainable practices
  • how educators create opportunities for all children and young people to learn on and from Country
  • environments.

Assessors may sight:

 

  • documentation of children’s learning about environmental and sustainability issues
  • policies that promote children’s understanding about their responsibility to care for the environment and the development of life skills (such as growing and preparing food, waste reduction and recycling)
  • planning documents that support children’s learning through investigation and exploration of the natural environment
  • photographs and displays highlighting children’s understanding and learning of the natural environment, including their contributions.