Goodstart Early Learning Port Kennedy has joined the growing number of services achieving an overall exceeding rating for their early learning and care centre under the national accreditation scheme.
The rating is part of Australia’s National Quality Framework assessment process.
Port Kennedy centre director Triona Mahon said she was overjoyed with the result, crediting her team for their dedication to providing high quality learning and care.
“When I arrived at the centre, it was absolutely my desire to ensure we got an exceeding rating,” Ms Mahon said. “I totally believe that every child deserves the best quality care that they can access and I’m dedicated to offering the best service I can.
“Our parents have been fantastic in achieving our goals, and with quality and safety at the optimum level, everything else falls into place,” Ms Mahon said.
The team at Port Kennedy took on a number of new initiatives at the centre in the past year, including implementing The Goodstart Practice Guide’s iSTEP program.
They sought feedback from parents and researched community needs, drew up a business plan and focused on areas in the community where help was needed.
“We put a vegetable patch at the front of our centre so that parents could take fresh produce home with them daily. We have tomatoes and herbs in there and have planted citrus trees as well.
“We help families access their benefits and have worked on partnerships with government departments and the Shire of Rockingham to ensure people know we are a safe, secure centre,” Ms Mahon said.
The team have devised two community boards, and made links with a mother and toddler group at a local community hall on Thursdays which caters to families are not experiencing any other form of early learning.
Educator Jessica Reed has been appointed in the role of health and safety officer while Bianca Taylor is the sustainability officer.
“Our philosophy says we mirror the home environment and so we work with the parents to ensure we are all on the same page,” Ms Mahon said.
“We make sure we talk to our parents every day and make them feel comfortable and happy to be here. We only send out purposeful emails to parents asking for feedback when necessary. I believe talking to people is much more effective for gathering input and enjoying personal relationships.”
Ms Mahon has big plans for the future, including increasing children’s access to their natural environment, building more purposeful relationships with schools and the community, and furthering the skills of educators.
“We have great educators working with our community who ensure we have happy, healthy, passionate children.”
The rating is part of Australia’s National Quality Framework assessment process.
Port Kennedy centre director Triona Mahon said she was overjoyed with the result, crediting her team for their dedication to providing high quality learning and care.
“When I arrived at the centre, it was absolutely my desire to ensure we got an exceeding rating,” Ms Mahon said. “I totally believe that every child deserves the best quality care that they can access and I’m dedicated to offering the best service I can.
“Our parents have been fantastic in achieving our goals, and with quality and safety at the optimum level, everything else falls into place,” Ms Mahon said.
The team at Port Kennedy took on a number of new initiatives at the centre in the past year, including implementing The Goodstart Practice Guide’s iSTEP program.
They sought feedback from parents and researched community needs, drew up a business plan and focused on areas in the community where help was needed.
“We put a vegetable patch at the front of our centre so that parents could take fresh produce home with them daily. We have tomatoes and herbs in there and have planted citrus trees as well.
“We help families access their benefits and have worked on partnerships with government departments and the Shire of Rockingham to ensure people know we are a safe, secure centre,” Ms Mahon said.
The team have devised two community boards, and made links with a mother and toddler group at a local community hall on Thursdays which caters to families are not experiencing any other form of early learning.
Educator Jessica Reed has been appointed in the role of health and safety officer while Bianca Taylor is the sustainability officer.
“Our philosophy says we mirror the home environment and so we work with the parents to ensure we are all on the same page,” Ms Mahon said.
“We make sure we talk to our parents every day and make them feel comfortable and happy to be here. We only send out purposeful emails to parents asking for feedback when necessary. I believe talking to people is much more effective for gathering input and enjoying personal relationships.”
Ms Mahon has big plans for the future, including increasing children’s access to their natural environment, building more purposeful relationships with schools and the community, and furthering the skills of educators.
“We have great educators working with our community who ensure we have happy, healthy, passionate children.”