It's Time

On January 13th 1986, I walked through the doors of Griffith Child Care Centre as its new Manager, previously I had worked on a Mobile Children's Service and at TAFE Griffith Campus teaching the first intake of Child Care Students and on February 13th 2017, will be the final day of continuous service with what became Griffith Child Care Centre Inc and its two EC services - Dorothy Waide Centre for Early Learning and Griffith Central Preschool and the family support program Griffith Connections.


Dorothy Waide Centre for Early Learning was one of the first child care centres in the country to deliberately reframe how community perceived early childhood services and use the term Early Learning, because at the time child care was equated to babysitting, when we knew then and now that the first five years is the key learning period, and how Early Childhood educators work with family and the child, and the quality of that experience, sets the scene for how that child will grow, develop and contribute to rest of their life. Our goal was to support families and build their capacity to contribute to the lives of their children, through increased awareness of how children learn and the critical role they play in how they engage in the community and learning into the future.

At a time when society is determined to wrap children in cotton wool and remove risk, we extolled the value of risky play in developing children who are resilient and who are prepared to engage with the world with independence, optimism and drive. We created a playspace that valued tree climbing, mud and indeed let children fall in love with the natural world.

I have been part of an organisation that has embraced moving beyond minimum standards, aiming instead to deliver at Worlds Best Practice, using research and new knowledge to drive change and deliver the best experience for family, child and ultimately community.

Our newest service, Griffith Central Preschool, in its new home and with its hand picked team, also delivers and extends on what we learnt at DWC. It delivers in ways that even I could not have envisaged. Each day is like a gathering of the United Nations, but without the inbuilt bias adults often carry around with them of superiority of race or ethnicity, but instead its about equality and opportunity. Its team of educators are a family, (without the bickering,) and they wrap each other up with support, friendship and encouragement. This is also at the heart of their work with children, giving them the ability to see success in what they do, even through failure, without the need for constant praise or reward. They take time to connect with families and know that it will bring about the best outcome for children. 

I have been told over the past few weeks that much of this has been driven by my vision for Early Childhood practice and service delivery, and people have been a little surprised at my response.

It has never been "my vision", what I believe sits at the core of my work is a desire to bring to realisation the dreams and aspirations families have for the children they place into our care each and every day. I don't have any children of my own, but I believe that I understand the complexity of family and that vulnerability can be experienced at any time by anyone. I try to look at my practice with the eyes of a parent and what you expect of me when you pass the child to me, and I also look and experience the world through the eyes of a child, without the years of experience I might have behind me, so moments of “awe and wonder” are just as powerful to me as they are to the child.

So "this vision" of service and delivery, is not about what skill and knowledge set I bring to the table, but more about being open to bringing the knowledge families and parents have about their child and family to the fore in my thinking and blending this with what I know and creating an experience that is as close as possible to what they want, so close that you cannot see the lines between my knowledge and theirs.

I want to at this point highlight the support of the current Board and in particular the Chair. To say the past 18 months has been a challenge is an understatement, it has been the most difficult of times for many, yet in the past few months and with the leadership of Naomi Brugger, the Board have come together and refocused on organisation and its mission to deliver the best experience for children and families. Naomi has been a tremendous support to me throughout this process and while I'm sad as I step away, I'm heartened to know that the values and attitudes that I believe underpin this organisation and its delivery will still influence the services.

In addition, two people in the team take on new roles of leadership, Grace who has been with me on this journey for most of my life with this service, is leading the amazing educator team at Central Preschool, and Glenn who will lead the team at Dorothy Waide Centre, both understand the value of deep connection with family and also the complexity and value of play and how it underpins learning.

Exies Bowling Club in the late stages of conversion to Children's centre.

Along with people inside the service I have had giants in my life who have enabled me think about this journey I have been on. My parents and family (and extended family) are foremost in this, their commitment to community has always meant getting involved is crucial, they set the example of why being part of a community is more that just being in the audience, but about being on the stage or being backstage. Professionally I struggle to look further than Suzy Tucker, not only a wonderful and generous colleague, but she and her family have become part of a close group of families (Blumer's, Piccolo's and Couch's) who surround me and provide the support when life overwhelms me. Indeed the care and love that this community and those further away have shown towards me is beyond belief .

Adrian Piccoli also gets a special nod, because he, more than any other politician, understands the value of early childhood education and especially the difference it can make when we invest in enabling all families to access the services. When he took on the portfolio of Education, one of his first tasks was to move children’s services from a social welfare focused department of DoCS and bring them under a newly created Directorate of Early Childhood Education and Care, within the Dept of Education. This shift was recognition of the critical importance the early years have in individuals lives and that a significant amount of learning has already occurred before the child starts school, Over the past couple of years he has lead a reform of the funding for Preschools and this has meant that preschool fees have dropped across NSW. 

I have a high regard for Adrian, he understands the value of education and how it will make a difference into the future, but what really makes me proud to have had his counsel from time to time, is that he cares most and fights hardest for those that sit well beyond our view, the most marginalised. that is rare, its not going to get you votes or win favour when jobs are handed out, but it changes life outcomes and that has greater value to me than anything else. It’s a great privilege to have worked in the sector for the period of time that I have and in the last eight years seen the greatest leaps forward in a range of national and state reforms that embed early childhood investment as the key to a nations success into the future, and one of it greatest champions is the local member.

Rarely do people say that they enjoy their work, but to me it has been the greatest privilege to have had the opportunity to work in this organisation, in this community and to lead practice. It has given me opportunities that I would never have thought of when I first joined, the opportunity to speak at World Forums, International and national Conferences, to influence the development of National Regulations, Curriculum Frameworks and Government Policy. My involvement with other agencies like NSW Mobiles Assoc, CCSA and its work with community based management, Early Childhood Australia, Contact and those remote services and MacKillop Rural Community Services and the communities it serves in far west NSW. To me it has been a love affair with a vocation and community, and its given me far more than most can imagine.

The greatest gift though has been the unending connection I have with families across this community and friendships that started with children when they were just babies and and are young adults. Some of these families were with me in those first days at GCCC and they are still with me today. Some of my staff, I first met as preschoolers in my days roaming the region in the Griffith Mobile Resource Unit as I delivered a mobile preschool program, and today they work along side me.

The future will look a lot different for me, I have always been surrounded by people and children and now it will be just me, thats a challenge I suppose to overcome, but the aim is to take what I have learnt over the past 39 years of service in Early Childhood and to share that with communities of educators across the Nation, hopefully they will like the message and stories I have to tell, and find it enjoyable enough to pay for the experience. What ever I do and which ever story I tell, will always have at its heart this community and my experiences at both DWC and GCP and the educators, families, children and friends who influenced my thinking and how I see early childhood practice.

It was never going to be easy to leave a role that that has nurtured me for 31 years, a good friend told me it would take a nuclear bomb to extract me, and he also said just recently that my view on family and childhood needs to be heard and experienced by more, and he was thinking global scale. This departure is not easy because in my mind it will also carry with it the unexpected passing of another individual who had captured my heart and in many ways had become my greatest fan. The reinvention of me, will now be in honour and recognition of a gentle, kind and beautiful person who has held me up so I wouldn’t drown and reminded me of what I still have to do. Farewell my knight in shining armour and thank you,  your were the best anyone could have in their life, I will miss you forever and look forward to day we are reunited xx

So to Griffith, and indeed the communities of Rankins’ Springs, Goolgowi, Hillston, Weethalle, Darlington Point and especially Pioneer Estate, thank you.