Raising the quality of our centres in all seven quality areas has a direct and positive influence on our vision of providing Australia’s children with the best possible start in life.
Our quality journey since 2010 has seen us come a long way and, thanks to ongoing and strategic reinvestment of funds, the quality of our centres is now on average ahead of the sector.
This is a great result and strengthens our resolve to continue raising quality across our network. As part of this continued effort, we’ve recently been focussing on the role of educational leaders in centres and the impact they can have on overall quality.
Educational leaders are responsible for leading the development of the curriculum in centres and for ensuring teachers and educators have clear goals and professional development pathways.
Essentially, they help to ensure the quality of service offered to families is on a trajectory of continuous improvement by adding crucial leadership support in coaching, modelling, listening and encouraging.
“We knew Centre Directors were already consumed with the mammoth task of running the day to day operations of the centre, as well as working hard to build strong community partnerships,” says Lisa Palethorpe, Goodstart’s national manager for early learning capability.
“I believe educational leaders are one of the most important roles in centre - it’s about sharing leaderships, helping people to take their next professional step, to build knowledge and improve practice.
“It enables us to really think about what we are doing and how we are embedding the Early Years Learning Framework and of course the Goodstart Practice Guide which will inevitably lead to better learning, development and wellbeing outcomes.”
Christy Sinclair, centre director at Goodstart Gatton, says the educational leader at her centre has been a central figure in building the confidence and capability of educators and has helped to improve the service delivered to families and children.
“Our educational leader, Erin Walk, has had a profound impact on our centre,” Christy said.
“Erin has created a learning journal for each educator and through that she helps them set goals, source articles and professional development opportunities, and documents their developmental progress.
“She also spends a lot of time with educators and coaches them on building relationships with children and families, which are foundational to child outcomes.”
Importantly, the extra leadership resource has also given Christy more time to focus on team management and being available for families.
“Having Erin has been amazing for me, as it allows me more time to be with families during orientation and transition in particular, and more availability for parents to call in and ask questions about the centre or their child.
“Between myself, Erin, my 2IC and my early childhood teacher we have a really strong leadership team at the centre and it ensures we’re able to have a holistic view of the seven quality areas and provide really strong outcomes for children and families.”
Our quality journey since 2010 has seen us come a long way and, thanks to ongoing and strategic reinvestment of funds, the quality of our centres is now on average ahead of the sector.
This is a great result and strengthens our resolve to continue raising quality across our network. As part of this continued effort, we’ve recently been focussing on the role of educational leaders in centres and the impact they can have on overall quality.
Educational leaders are responsible for leading the development of the curriculum in centres and for ensuring teachers and educators have clear goals and professional development pathways.
Essentially, they help to ensure the quality of service offered to families is on a trajectory of continuous improvement by adding crucial leadership support in coaching, modelling, listening and encouraging.
“We knew Centre Directors were already consumed with the mammoth task of running the day to day operations of the centre, as well as working hard to build strong community partnerships,” says Lisa Palethorpe, Goodstart’s national manager for early learning capability.
“I believe educational leaders are one of the most important roles in centre - it’s about sharing leaderships, helping people to take their next professional step, to build knowledge and improve practice.
“It enables us to really think about what we are doing and how we are embedding the Early Years Learning Framework and of course the Goodstart Practice Guide which will inevitably lead to better learning, development and wellbeing outcomes.”
Christy Sinclair, centre director at Goodstart Gatton, says the educational leader at her centre has been a central figure in building the confidence and capability of educators and has helped to improve the service delivered to families and children.
“Our educational leader, Erin Walk, has had a profound impact on our centre,” Christy said.
“Erin has created a learning journal for each educator and through that she helps them set goals, source articles and professional development opportunities, and documents their developmental progress.
“She also spends a lot of time with educators and coaches them on building relationships with children and families, which are foundational to child outcomes.”
Importantly, the extra leadership resource has also given Christy more time to focus on team management and being available for families.
“Having Erin has been amazing for me, as it allows me more time to be with families during orientation and transition in particular, and more availability for parents to call in and ask questions about the centre or their child.
“Between myself, Erin, my 2IC and my early childhood teacher we have a really strong leadership team at the centre and it ensures we’re able to have a holistic view of the seven quality areas and provide really strong outcomes for children and families.”