With so much happening in a child’s first five years, a career in early learning provides educators, teachers and centre directors with an opportunity to make a genuine difference in the lives of young children.
This opportunity is something we take very seriously, as positive early education outcomes not only provide a lasting impact for children but also benefit the nation, too.
Having great people who share our vision and purpose and are deeply engaged in their profession is critical to our impact as an organisation.
We attract talented, passionate people who want real professional development, career opportunities and the resources they need to be the best they can be.
We make sure our people have the environments, resources, support and development opportunities they need to make the most positive impact on children’s lives.
In the last financial year alone, we’ve reinvested:
Nationally, more than 92% of our centres assessed in 2016/17 rated as meeting the national quality standard and 43% rated as exceeding, well ahead of the industry average.
At the heart of our quality improvement is our people and their professional development.
We’ve invested heavily in professional development, with over $18 million in training, professional development, early learning support and research in the last financial year and $89 million since 2011.
Our professional development offers include a range of early learning, people management, family and community connections and business skills courses, study tours, webinars, workshops and online forums.
In addition, we’ve sponsored over 120 educators who are studying to become teachers with dedicated study leave and practical time, and teachers and centre directors are also supported with networking and professional development opportunities.
The impact high quality early learning has on outcomes for children is clear. The challenge for educators is translating evidence into practice, and it’s for this reason we developed the Goodstart Practice Guide and the 3-5 Years Guide.
The Practice Guide and 3-5 Years Guide gives our teachers and educators a guide to implementing the Early Years Learning Framework in their centres, while still offering flexibility to adapt and implement learning experiences in ways that suit their children, families and community.
They were developed in conjunction with international experts, reviewing the evidence of what works best for children, and blending it with the on-the-ground experience of Goodstart educators and teachers.
We also seek the advice of a Thought Leaders Advisory Group comprised of international early learning experts. This group meets regularly with Goodstart to provide us with advice and share best practice from around the world. The development of the Practice Guide and 3-5 Years Guide are just some of the outcomes we’ve seen so far from these workshops.
Goodstart was formed when a group of leading community sector organisations and social investors came together with the goal of addressing one of the key sources of many future problems – poor early childhood experiences.
As a not for profit social enterprise, we exist purely to improve the lives of Australia’s children and their families. Our social purpose extends to all children, especially the hard to reach, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
We also advocate strongly for the sector and played a leading role in the passage of the new $2.6 billion Child Care Subsidy, which from July 2018 will make child care more affordable for most families.
Children thrive in quality early learning environments with highly skilled teachers. It’s why Goodstart is committed to attracting more great teachers to join our purpose-driven organisation to help us create confident, curious and capable life-long learners.
If you share our vision for early learning and want to make a real difference to children’s lives, we’d love to hear from you. Find out more about working for Goodstart here.
This opportunity is something we take very seriously, as positive early education outcomes not only provide a lasting impact for children but also benefit the nation, too.
Having great people who share our vision and purpose and are deeply engaged in their profession is critical to our impact as an organisation.
We attract talented, passionate people who want real professional development, career opportunities and the resources they need to be the best they can be.
High quality learning environments
We make sure our people have the environments, resources, support and development opportunities they need to make the most positive impact on children’s lives.In the last financial year alone, we’ve reinvested:
- $41 million to upgrade 174 of our centres, bringing the total number upgraded to over 400
- $21 million in our social purpose, which includes better resourcing and training for centres supporting disadvantaged children
- $6.2 million in social inclusion, helping more disadvantaged and vulnerable children to access high quality early learning and care
Nationally, more than 92% of our centres assessed in 2016/17 rated as meeting the national quality standard and 43% rated as exceeding, well ahead of the industry average.
Investing in our people
At the heart of our quality improvement is our people and their professional development.We’ve invested heavily in professional development, with over $18 million in training, professional development, early learning support and research in the last financial year and $89 million since 2011.
Our professional development offers include a range of early learning, people management, family and community connections and business skills courses, study tours, webinars, workshops and online forums.
In addition, we’ve sponsored over 120 educators who are studying to become teachers with dedicated study leave and practical time, and teachers and centre directors are also supported with networking and professional development opportunities.
At the leading edge of pedagogy research and practice
The impact high quality early learning has on outcomes for children is clear. The challenge for educators is translating evidence into practice, and it’s for this reason we developed the Goodstart Practice Guide and the 3-5 Years Guide.The Practice Guide and 3-5 Years Guide gives our teachers and educators a guide to implementing the Early Years Learning Framework in their centres, while still offering flexibility to adapt and implement learning experiences in ways that suit their children, families and community.
They were developed in conjunction with international experts, reviewing the evidence of what works best for children, and blending it with the on-the-ground experience of Goodstart educators and teachers.
We also seek the advice of a Thought Leaders Advisory Group comprised of international early learning experts. This group meets regularly with Goodstart to provide us with advice and share best practice from around the world. The development of the Practice Guide and 3-5 Years Guide are just some of the outcomes we’ve seen so far from these workshops.
A strong and inclusive purpose
Goodstart was formed when a group of leading community sector organisations and social investors came together with the goal of addressing one of the key sources of many future problems – poor early childhood experiences.As a not for profit social enterprise, we exist purely to improve the lives of Australia’s children and their families. Our social purpose extends to all children, especially the hard to reach, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
We also advocate strongly for the sector and played a leading role in the passage of the new $2.6 billion Child Care Subsidy, which from July 2018 will make child care more affordable for most families.
Want a rewarding teaching career?
Children thrive in quality early learning environments with highly skilled teachers. It’s why Goodstart is committed to attracting more great teachers to join our purpose-driven organisation to help us create confident, curious and capable life-long learners.If you share our vision for early learning and want to make a real difference to children’s lives, we’d love to hear from you. Find out more about working for Goodstart here.