Our Staff

Kristy-Lea Hall

Director

Qualification: Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

Cheryl-Ann Noonan

Teacher

Qualification: Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

Philosophy

In early childhood education, I believe the core principles of equity, child protection, safe environments and the UN children’s rights are fundamental to foster inclusive and nurturing learning environments. By prioritising equity, educators ensure that all children have equal access to opportunities regardless of their background or circumstances.

Upholding child protection measures is essential for safeguarding children’s well-being and promoting a safe and secure learning environment free from harm or exploitation. Environments that are safe provide children with the ability to enhance emotional and psychological well-being, allowing children to thrive and reach their full potential and provides a foundation for life long learning.

Cheryl-Ann Noonan

Teacher

Qualification: Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

Philosophy

In early childhood education, I believe the core principles of equity, child protection, safe environments and the UN children’s rights are fundamental to foster inclusive and nurturing learning environments. By prioritising equity, educators ensure that all children have equal access to opportunities regardless of their background or circumstances.

Upholding child protection measures is essential for safeguarding children’s well-being and promoting a safe and secure learning environment free from harm or exploitation. Environments that are safe provide children with the ability to enhance emotional and psychological well-being, allowing children to thrive and reach their full potential and provides a foundation for life long learning.

Kate Heffernan

Educator

Qualification: Diploma of Children’s Services

Philosophy

“Our highest endeavours must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility – these three forces are the very nerve of education” (Rudolf Steiner).

As an educator I believe that play makes us happier, healthier and smarter. I believe that children need security to explore and test themselves and their experiences in a dress free and innovative environment with trusting relationships. They need to know they can rely on the adults in their lives to provide a sanctuary for them, both while exploring and when the exploring has finished.

Theoretical Underpinnings

“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange teaching can strengthen learning how to learn.” (Loris Malaguzzi)

Teagan Nicholson

Educator

Qualification: Diploma of early Childhood Education and Care

Philosophy

As an early childhood educator I believe that each child is an individual and as an educator, I will value and develop each child's strengths, interests, skills, abilities and knowledge to extend within their learning. I believe the most important way for children to learn is through play which provides a way for children to explore, discover, create and imagine.

I believe that as an early childhood educator I am responsible for providing young children with positive learning experiences. I strive to model respect, patience, and care for children and adults I come in contact with.

My goal as an educator is to provide children with an environment where they feel safe to explore, initiate learning, and feel free to express themselves.

Kellie Winter

Educator

Qualification: Certificate 3 in Children’s Services

Philosophy

In order to recognise how children learn we need to notice, recognise and respond to children’s individual needs. We need to provide a safe, caring, happy place where children can laugh, play, have fun and where children are free to be children. We need to offer opportunities (community circles) for children to explore, investigate, create, experiment and participate in learning, and enable children to learn to respect and care for living things.

Theoretical Underpinnings

“Children’s learning occurs through scaffolding.” (Lev Vygotsky)
“Children learn through their senses; tasting, touching, seeing, hearing and smelling.” (Maria Montessori)
“Children learn by watching and copying people; they learn language and behaviour.” (Albert Bandura)

Isabella (Izzy) Holdsworth

Educator

Qualification: Certificate 3 in Early Childhood and Care

Philosophy

I have been working within early learning services with children since late 2016. I chose the childcare industry because I adore the way children are able to approach experiences and social groups with such wonder and curiosity. They teach us as educators to approach everything with an open mind and a willingness to try anything.

As an Educator I know each child is unique with their own friendships, support groups, interests, ideas and beliefs. My role is to encourage their ideas, growth and support them to engage in experiences that are of interest to them. I will create environments for the children related to their current interests, learning about them through daily play and conversation.

"The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover." Jean Piaget.

"If you follow the child, you can find out something new." Jean Piaget.

I believe each child is able to reach their own individual goals with support, trust, friendship, love and confidence from their primary carers/parents, educators and most importantly themselves. With positive social and physical learning experiences children can become the best version of themselves.

Children’s first 5 years are the most important years of their lives, their brain development is continually expanding reaching 90% developed by age 5. I agree with the hypothesis of Jerome Bruner that learning needs to be repeated and sourced in different ways (visually,physically,auditorily,socially,verbally) to achieve the best learning outcome.

Jerome Bruner (1966) ‘Bruner identified that learning occurs through enactive means (doing, which is action based), iconic means (seeing, which is visual) and symbolic means (abstract, which is in the form of ‘codes’ or symbols i.e. language).’

Janet Linee

Educator

Qualification: Certificate 3 in Early Childhood Education and Care

Philosophy

I think children are amazing and powerful.

Each child is at the centre of a unique and complex set of relationships, environments, social, cultural and political contexts. Understanding this can help us to recognize, honour and value this unique child, their relationships, ideas, interests, strengths, abilities, knowledge and skills. Building new positive relationships are key to helping create an environment where each child can feel safe, secure, be themselves, as well as have opportunities for growth, exploration and transformation.

Children want to play. The best way for children to learn is through play. Play is a process and a context for learning that is filled with meaningful, authentic experiences that contribute to their development and skills. My role is to be both advocate for children’s right to play and as facilitator in helping to create play spaces that invite exploration, risk taking, discovery and connection.

The drivers underpinning my work are the themes and discourses of equity and social justice. I believe that we should not only just reflect to inform our understandings of children and pedagogical practices but that we should also critically reflect on the politics and power of language and knowledge. It is here that we can be activists contributing to an organic, evolving educational framework that leaves nobody behind and is rich and full of transformational possibilities for children.

Stand aside for a while and leave room for learning, observe carefully what children do, and then, if you have understood well, perhaps teaching will be different from before.

- Loris Malaguzzi

Maddy McMartin

Educator

Qualification: Certificate 3 in Early Childhood Education and Care