About this course

Transitions aren't just logistics - they're where belonging begins.

Transitions are some of the most frequent - and formative - moments in School Age Care. From arrival to departure, from play to pick-up, these everyday shifts shape how children and young people feel, connect, and belong.

This is a reflective, practice-focused course that supports educators to move beyond managing transitions and toward designing them intentionally, relationally, and responsively. Grounded in regulatory requirements, contemporary research, and the Phoenix Cups® Framework, it explores how transitions can become moments of safety, agency, co-regulation, and trust - not just logistical necessities.

Rather than a list of strategies to implement overnight, this course offers something more sustaining - an invitation to slow down, notice more deeply, and embed reflective practice that strengthens both quality evidence and genuine care. It supports services to practise and document quality in ways that are meaningful, child-centred, and aligned with the National Quality Standard and My Time, Our Place (Version 2.0).

Who is this course for?

This course is for educators, coordinators, and leaders working in School Age Care, including both Early Learning and Family Day Care services that also support school-aged children. It's suited to both new and experienced educators who want to slow down, look more closely at transitions, and strengthen how children and young people are welcomed, supported, and walked alongside throughout the day.

Whether you're supporting children new to OSHC, those navigating the demands of the school day, or young people preparing for greater independence, this course invites you to reflect on everyday practice and build transitions that feel calmer, more connected, and more responsive - for children, young people, and educators alike.

Educator Room Leader Coordinator Educational Leader Nominated Supervisor Director Approved Provider
In this course, you'll explore how to:
Understand transitions as emotional, social, and cognitive experiences - not just movement between spaces
Coach and mentor your team using needs-based, guidance-aligned approaches to transition behaviour
Apply active supervision as a relational, responsive practice - including ACECQA's six elements and Phoenix Support's seventh
Build shared language and shared practice around supervision, space, and co-regulation
Transform waiting and "holding patterns" into moments of connection and belonging
Use reflective tools to review, evidence, and improve transition practices over time
Why this course

How this course benefits you


🧭

Deepen Your Transition Practice

Develop a clear, reflective understanding of what transitions demand of children - and how your design choices shape their experience of safety and belonging.

🤝

Strengthen Your Team's Approach

Build shared language and shared practice around supervision, space, and co-regulation - so your whole team is working from the same values.

📋

Evidence Quality With Confidence

Embed reflective practice that strengthens your quality documentation and connects meaningfully to the NQS and My Time, Our Place.

Ready to get started? Self-paced access - begin whenever you're ready.
Enrol Now →

Course curriculum

    1. Welcome and how to use this course

    2. Student walk through video

    3. Agreement

    4. FAQ

    5. A Little About You

    6. About your facilitator - Annette Johnson

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. Welcome to the Course

    1. Why Transitions Matter

    2. Settling In

    3. Reflect: The Weight of the Day

    4. Transitions Through the Phoenix Cups Lens

    5. Explore: Transitions Through Another Lens

    6. When it All Works

    1. Safe by Design

    2. Settling In

    3. Anchoring in the Non-Negotiables

    4. From Risk Assessment to Risk-Benefit Thinking

    5. Mapping Your Arrival

    6. Who Notices Ava?

    1. Active Supervision as Relational Practice

    2. Rethinking a Tricky Transition

    3. Supervision as a Living Framework

    4. Settling In

    5. Active Supervision: six + one

    6. Supervision as Presence, Not Surveillance

    7. Teo's Story

    1. Waiting and Holding Patterns

    2. Time as a Resource

    3. Preparing for Presence

    4. Whose Transitions Are These?

    5. Landing Zones

    6. Responsive, Co-Created Transitions

    7. Grounded Growth

About this course

  • $48.00
  • 39 lessons
  • 1 hour of video content

Course content

What this course looks like


We'll explore together
  • Why transitions are among the most formative moments in School Age Care - and what's happening beneath the surface during moments of change
  • How unmet needs shape transition behaviour, using the Phoenix Cups® Framework as your lens
  • The difference between holding patterns and landing zones - and how to design environments that welcome children in
  • Risk-benefit thinking and how it opens space for children's agency during transitions
  • Active supervision as relational practice, including ACECQA's six elements and Phoenix Support's seventh - movement
  • Co-creating transitions with children and young people, and embedding shared reflective practice in your service
You'll walk away with
  • A clear understanding of what children and young people need during moments of transition - and why the OSHC context is unique
  • Confidence to lead your team through a shared, values-aligned approach to supervision and space
  • Practical frameworks for designing transitions that prioritise safety, belonging, and agency
  • Skills to respond to transition behaviour from a needs-based, humanistic lens
  • A working understanding of the Phoenix Cups® Framework as a tool for transitions
  • A completed Reflective Workbook to anchor your learning and support quality improvement planning

Instructor(s)

Education Facilitator and Mentor Annette Johnson

Annette brings over 20 years of experience across early childhood, school-aged care, and education settings to her work as a facilitator. Having worked in a wide range of roles; she understands the sector from the inside out, grounded in real practice, real relationships, and real environments. Her facilitation draws on this depth of experience to explore what practice truly looks and feels like for children, young people, and educators. Annette supports participants to move beyond theory, engaging in learning that is reflective, practical, and deeply connected to everyday realities. Her approach is grounded in children’s rights, developmentally responsive practice, and a strong belief in the influence educators have on shaping meaningful experiences and environments. She creates spaces where educators feel seen, supported, and challenged to think differently about their role. As a Dominant Freedom and Connection Cup, Annette brings warmth, authenticity, and a genuine love of connection to her facilitation. Participants can expect practical strategies, honest reflection, and a learning experience that meets them where they are - while gently supporting growth and possibility.


What's Included

Approximately 1 hour of recorded video content Across 5 chapters, facilitated by Annette Johnson - available to watch at your own pace.
Reflective lesson pages Woven throughout each chapter to help you pause, process, and connect ideas to your own practice.
Downloadable Reflective Workbook Your companion for deeper thinking - during the course and beyond.
Guided application and reflection activities Structured prompts and activities to help you connect the learning to your own setting and embed new practices with your team.
Quality alignment

Mapping to the NQS and My Time, Our Place


Mapping this course to the NQS and My Time, Our Place. This course supports educators and leaders to strengthen their practice across key National Quality Standard Quality Areas and the My Time, Our Place framework. Select each item below to see how the course content connects to your service's quality improvement journey.
National Quality Standard
Transitions are approached as intentional pedagogical moments - educators learn to plan responsive transition practices, including landing zones, rituals, and relational language, that promote regulation, agency, and belonging (1.1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.3)
Active supervision as a relational and responsive practice, directly addressed through ACECQA's six elements and Phoenix Support's seventh - movement. Transitions are reframed as key moments that impact nervous system regulation, emotional wellbeing, and comfort (2.1.1, 2.2.1, 2.2.2)
The course supports shared understanding, common language, and coordinated team responses during transitions, strengthening consistency, collaboration, and evidence-informed professional practice (4.2.1, 4.2.2)
Transitions are positioned as prime opportunities to build trust, connection, and relational safety through attuned presence, language, and responsiveness - and to invite children and young people's voice and co-design (5.1.1, 5.2.1)
Shared planning and co-created transition practices that engage families, communities, and schools (6.1.2)
Transitions are identified as a meaningful focus area for Quality Improvement Planning, with critical reflection embedded as a practical tool for continuous improvement (7.1.2, 7.2.1)
My Time, Our Place (Version 2.0) — Principles
Transitions as opportunities to build and sustain the trusting, safe relationships that underpin children and young people's wellbeing and sense of belonging
Designing transitions that honour every child and young person's agency, capability, and right to participate and belong - regardless of their circumstances
Using reflective tools and structured inquiry to continuously examine and improve how transitions are experienced across the service
Building shared language and shared practice around transitions so the whole team is working from the same values and understanding
My Time, Our Place (Version 2.0) — Practices
Directly addressed throughout the course: intentional planning for daily transitions that support continuity, familiarity, and a sense of security for children and young people
Co-creating transitions with children and young people - not just designing them for them - to honour agency and build ownership of daily rhythms
Recognising the importance of both active and passive leisure during transitions - supporting regulation through movement, rest, social connection, and choice
Designing physical and temporal spaces - landing zones, shared zones, active environments - that support regulation, agency, and calm at transition points
Understanding transitions as social, emotional, physical, and cognitive experiences - not just logistical ones - and responding to the whole child
Using the Reflective Workbook and critical reflection tools to document, evaluate, and evidence quality transition practice in ways that are meaningful and aligned with the NQS
My Time, Our Place (Version 2.0) — Outcomes
Transitions support children and young people to feel capable, respected, and confident - using effective routines and familiar rhythms to make predicted transitions with confidence
Predictable, inclusive transitions strengthen a sense of belonging and connection within the service community
Intentional transitions support emotional regulation, reduce stress, and promote wellbeing - particularly for children and young people who are tired, hungry, new to the service, or navigating change
When transitions honour agency and choice, children and young people engage more confidently in play, leisure, and learning

National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

This course supports child safe practice by strengthening both procedural and relational safety during transitions. Select each principle below to see how the course content connects.
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
Transitions are treated as critical moments where safety, dignity, and wellbeing are actively upheld - not as logistical necessities, but as relational and rights-based practice
Educators learn how to include children and young people's voices in shaping transitions that affect them - moving from designing transitions for children to co-creating them with children
The course supports differentiated, inclusive transition practices that recognise age, ability, culture, and individual needs - ensuring every child and young person can participate with dignity
Educators build confidence, shared language, and reflective capacity to respond safely and relationally during transitions - strengthening both individual practice and whole-team consistency
Transitions across shared spaces, entry points, and environments are intentionally planned to minimise risk and promote felt safety - including through space design, active supervision, and predictable rhythms

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need prior experience with transitions content to do this course?
No. This course is suitable for educators at all stages of their practice. Whether you're new to School Age Care or an experienced professional, the content invites reflection, deepens understanding, and offers practical strategies you can apply straight away.
Does this course cover child wellbeing and nervous system regulation?
Yes. The course uses a needs-based, trauma-informed lens that considers nervous system shifts, emotional regulation, and the impact of transitions on children and young people's wellbeing.
Will I walk away with practical strategies I can use straight away?
Absolutely. You'll explore real-world examples, reflective tools, and practical strategies - including landing zones, co-created rhythms, active supervision, and relational approaches - that can be applied immediately in your setting.
Is this course relevant if my service also includes Long Day Care or Family Day Care?
This course is designed with School Age Care at its heart, but the frameworks explored - including the Phoenix Cups® Framework, active supervision, and needs-based approaches - are relevant across all ECEC contexts. The examples and language are intentionally OSHC-focused.
From movement to meaning

Learn how to turn everyday transitions into moments of connection, safety, and belonging.

Self-paced. Practical. Built for the School Age Care sector.

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