Educators inspire a passion for lifelong learning

With new early learning centres opening their doors across Sydney each week, it’s important for families to find a quality service they can trust to ensure their child flourishes and grows.

It can be an exciting and emotional time when children begin attending care and it is essential families think about the quality of the service when making this decision.

A quality service can be recognised by the strong relationships educators develop with children and their families, says Jodie Teran, Active Kids Group manager of children’s services. Relationships have been key to the group’s mission for 25 years.

‘‘Our educators are committed, passionate and knowledgeable. They provide children with a learning environment where they feel happy, safe and encouraged to engage in a wide range of playbased learning experiences,’’ Teran says.

‘‘Our educators listen and respond sensitively to children’s voices, so their ideas are captured and implemented in planned experiences.’’

‘‘Learn and grow’’ is an innovative program model exclusive to Active Kids Group.

‘‘Professionally trained teachers deliver a variety of sessions that combine multi-sport activities, diverse dance genres and drama games. French lessons are offered to enhance the holistic development of our children,’’ says Teran.

‘‘Our group has been operating in Sydney for 25 years and we feel fortunate to have many long-term staff members working in our organisation.

‘‘Continuity of educators in our services ensures we are maintaining relationships for our children and families within our community and this plays a significant role in promoting children’s learning and development. The National Quality Framework measures our service performance against minimum standards set by government. Our services have been rated as exceeding national standards. We document our children’s educational journey by conducting regular observations and this information is shared with parents via our customised smartphone app.

‘‘We meet the educational and developmental needs of each child, while at the same time providing for the needs of our families. Parents feel comfortable approaching our educators and confident that their child’s wellbeing is our priority.’’

Early childhood education is about adopting a holistic approach to children’s physical, personal, social, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as well as cognitive aspects of learning.

‘‘I understand the myriad considerations for a parent in choosing an early learning centre, having worked in the sector for more than 25 years,’’ she says.

‘‘Research confirms the first five years of a child’s life are fundamentally important. The foundation of skills children build sets the foundations for lifelong learners.

‘‘We strive to ensure that everything we do is high quality and demonstrates commitment to our families and children. Our vision is ‘Inspiring a passion for learning; for today and tomorrow’.’’

‘The love and care the team provide is second to none. It is beautiful watching how all the educators interact with the children, providing love, support, cuddles and laughter. It doesn’t feel like a daycare centre but a second home and that helps foster my child’s development.’

- Melanie Duffy, parent.