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Goodstart is proud to recognise teams that go above and beyond, achieving excellence in all that they do. A fantastic example of this is ‘Exceeding’ team at Goodstart Port Macquarie – the winners of two 2022 Goodies awards including our most prestigious Centre Team of the Year award.
The Goodstart Port Macquarie centre, located on the mid North Coast of NSW, holds a philosophy that ensures everyone’s voices are heard, and focus is given to what matters to the team most – paving the way for the best outcomes for children and their learning and development.
In 2020, the team identified an opportunity to strengthen their centre culture, following a change of leadership, and recognised how that could be vital in their journey to delivering excellent early learning outcomes each and every day.
Centre Director Rebecca Webb attributed their success in being Centre Team of the Year to an unrelenting focus on team.
“As part of journey we collaborated on what was most important to us as a team, so that everyone in the centre felt included, heard and on board with our new ways of working,” Rebecca said.
“Centre culture is incredibly important to us and ensuring team members at all times are fully supported and valued is our highest priority. We all enjoy coming to work each day because we’ve become a community that embraces each other and full of support, collaboration and mutual respect.”
“Creating a strong centre culture has undeniably been the platform to which we were able to work towards an Exceeding rating.”
Excitingly, through their hard work, the team reached the Exceeding National Quality Standard rating across all 7 Quality Areas in 2022.
Their work on improving culture has enabled them to achieve a high standard of safety, quality educational programs and practices as well as developing amazing relationships with children, families, and communities.
The team were also proud to receive a KindiCare Excellence award as joint NSW winners, receiving a KindiCare rating of 9.9
Education Leader Kylie Smith said that it was important to share responsibility at the centre for continuous improvement.
“A big thing for us was finding a ‘champion’ in each room.”
“It’s important to have that so everyone has a responsibility in helping to improve our centre.”
“We’re become a strong team, a place where children thrive and where our educators and teachers are acknowledged and celebrated for their individual and team efforts to deliver the very best outcomes for children, families and our community.”
Rebecca said one of her personal favourite additions to keep her team’s spirit alive and people recognised, is the team’s ‘You’ve Been Caught (Doing Something Awesome)’ Box introduced by Chloe Engley the Centre’s Assistant Director.
“Everyone adds a note when they see some amazing practice, are proud of someone's achievements or just want to say how awesome someone is,” Rebecca said.
“Our educators and teachers are shaping children’s lives every day. This recognition process of “you’ve been caught” is such a great addition to our centre because it’s a great reminder, particularly in more challenging times, that each of us are valued and recognised for the role we play, and that we’re on a journey. This recognition practice is helping us capture the special moments along the way.”
At the end of last year, the team joined a panel of our 2022 Goodies winners and Sir Kevan Collins to share insights and learnings.
You can watch a 2-minute snippet of their conversation here.
The National Goodies Program is a reward and recognition program to celebrate the Goodstart’s focus on shaping young lives and enriching the communities in which we live and work.