St Nick’s strong commitment to its educators enables it to provide a high standard of early education which focuses on the child as an active participant in their learning journey.
She went on to say: “We support our educators by providing infrastructure for them to grow professionally and to give each member of our team the opportunity to develop the skills they require to do their job to the best of their ability.
“We provide plenty of opportunities for educators to undergo professional development,” Ms Armstrong said.
Educators recently took part in a professional development day in which they learned about the Reggio Emilia inspired approach to early education which underpins St Nicholas’ own play-based and child-led curriculum.
All 120 educators also learned Cup Theory, a framework developed by Sandi Phoenix which helps educators support children in developing a strong sense of wellbeing.
“We provide plenty of opportunity for all educators to have release time from their duties in classrooms. This provides time for educators to undertake research and to do the important documentation of learning stories about the children in their care,” Mrs Armstrong said.
Speaking of the support she receives, Leanne Boughton, the Centre Director at St Nick’s Singleton, said: “At St Nicholas we’re really fortunate to be well supported by the management team.
“We have the autonomy at the centre to be able to take our role on independently, but we’ve always got that support around us when needed.
“We meet together regularly as directors at director's meetings and that’s another good support. You always know you’ve got another director you can phone if you need them any time,” Ms Boughton said.
By supporting their educators, St Nicholas Early Education is able to provide your child with individualised, child-led, play-based early education as well as consistent care provided by an educator who transitions from room-to-room along with your child.
This means you, as a parent, will always know who to talk to about your child and your child will form a bond with an educator who is familiar to them and understands their unique needs.
To experience St Nick’s for yourself contact us at enquiries@stnicholasmn.org.au to schedule a tour of your local centre or call (02) 4979 1110 for more information.
