Barayip Kindergarten

At Barayip Kindergarten, Nominated Supervisor and Early Childhood Teacher Poonam Walia and the team are committed to embedding First Nations pedagogies in a meaningful and authentic way, through an anti-bias approach.

As part of this commitment, Poonam conducted an action research project in collaboration with the Victorian Educational Leadership Programs (VELP), taking inspiration from the work of Dr. Red Ruby Scarlet, who has helped ECMS understand and embody anti-bias in our practice. As a result of Poonam’s research, the team at Barayip is actively working together to integrate these values into their kindergarten practices.

Poonam’s learning journey came from a need she had recognised for a long time:

“I’d been working in early childhood education for 18 years but never felt confident to share the truth of First Nations history and colonisation. I can say the same thing for other educators as well. There are lots of new educators in our profession and they don't have the knowledge, they’re not confident to share those histories with families and children.”

The key to developing that confidence was connecting with Elders in the local community:

“We invited Kristine Williams from One Tree Community Service to a presentation night for Reconciliation in Action, so our educators could reflect on their current practices and organise more meaningful experiences to share First Nations history with children and families.” 

Kristine provided an opening door to greater understanding for Poonam and the team. They worked with Kristine on a vision and goals for the service in developing their Reconciliation Action Plan, and the discussion that came from this collaboration led Poonam to consider the all-important question: whose country are we on?

There’s a series of beautiful paintings at Barayip, and Kristine asked Poonam if she knew who painted them. Poonam didn’t, and the act of finding out led her to an ongoing connection with local Indigenous artist Kobi. Kobi has been invited to Barayip in recognition of his artwork and will work with the team and children to create a book about Acknowledgement of Country, as well as providing guidance for the establishment of more culture symbols in the outdoor areas of the kindergarten.

Poonam also engaged with local community members to organise visits to the kindergarten. These visits provoked reflection on the team’s current practices and provided valuable feedback to deepen cultural responsiveness and the authenticity of their approach.

The Barayip team attended workshops with local Elders and invited them to the service to share presentations. Staff from neighbouring kindergartens, teachers from Barayip Primary School, ECMS Practice Coach Louise Vuk and Area Manager Carmen Esposito were also invited to share in this journey. By connecting with the community and sharing knowledge, the Barayip team strengthened their collective understanding and developed confidence in their ability to share Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island stories with children and families.

Working together with Barayip Primary School, the team at Barayip Kindergarten are building a strong, critically inclusive community, one that actively promotes the anti-bias approach and embeds cultural responsiveness in respectful and purposeful ways.

It’s a work in progress and Poonam understands the need to avoid a tokenistic approach when it comes to incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island pedagogies.

“Consider deeply what you’re sharing with the families and children. So, for example, if you take the story of the rainbow serpent, you need to find out who is the author, which Country they’re on, why they wrote the story and what's the meaning behind it. Whenever you do something, do it in depth.”