Griffith Central Preschool Opening and Farewell

Aunty Gloria, John and Adrian, family and friends, thank you and I apologise for the next few minutes as I share what the last 30 plus years was like and what it has given me.  I also apologise at the start for the tears, those that know me understand that I'm a sook when I stand in front of crowds and even gatherings of friends is no better.

On January 13th 1986, I walked through the doors of Griffith Child Care Centre,  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, was 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. 

Child care, when I started was equated to babysitting and seen by many as poor relation to the more established preschool model, that was understandable because we were all lead to believe that education started when children commenced formal school and that learning took place in formal lessons with the teacher out the front and holder all the knowledge and power.   

Research though, by David Weikart, Edward Meluish, Iram Siraj and a host of others were presenting us with a very different picture of how learning happens and the critical stages that impact on an individuals outcomes over the rest of their life. 

The best outcomes for children and families, they were finding, was when they, children and families,  were supported in those early and most vulnerable years, before they actually commence school.  Supporting the parents through those first nine months before the child is born and then the family in the first five years that follow.  This is working with and supporting the family and the child, and the quality of the early childhood programmes that might participate in, sets the scene for how that child will grow, develop and contribute to rest of their life.  

This may have appeared to be new for some people, but for me, growing up in the bush, surrounded by a small but very connected group of families it seemed normal.  If something happened or needed to be done, then you always had neighbours and family who were there to help. 

It seemed only natural that if we were to do our job it had be more than just the babysitting the government might expect it to be and that many in the community thought it was.  Our belief was our if service ws to make a difference it was only natural that its focus would not only be on delivering excellent outcomes for children, but also 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, it was about a deeper more involved connection between our team and the families. 

Prior to the Gardens being planted out, late summer 2015.

Hillary Clinton in her book “It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us” published in 1996, highlighted the significant impact that family and community have in raising children, and that we don’t raise children successfully in isolation nor wrapped in cotton wool.  While the book title is attributed to an African Proverb, I think in our context we need look no further than the traditional family models and educational pedagogies that were strong elements of the Aboriginal nations prior to the arrival of the Europeans.   The focus was not on families raising children in isolation, but with the support of the whole community and this is how we also saw our role, a partnership between the team and the family and in many instances the extended family. 

Relationships are at the very heart of what I believe is a successful model for service delivery in any sector - whether its serving a meal to a table at the local cafe, or supplying spare parts for a grape harvester or caring for and educating young children. Knowledge and practice is shared between parent, educator, children and in a broader context the community, that is used to build a relationship and from that an experience that is tailored to that child and family. 

When I started on the Mobile in 1981 and again at the child care centre in 1986,  I don’t think I had any idea what I was going to do, I think I stepped into the space and hoped that some idea of what it would look like would arrive in a book or fall from the sky.  It didn’t, instead it evolved, and that evolution of thought and practice, involved watching, thinking, talking with colleagues and being prepared to change, constantly I think the team would agree.  The one constant was to focus on the best outcome for child and family and ultimately the community.  This was about creating confident, inquisitive, adventurous and risk taking children, who would continue to be like that through to adult hood.  It was also about enhancing parents and family knowledge of how important they were to the child in those early years and also that there was no magic remedy to stop kids asking all those questions at 2 years of age!

At a time when society is so 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 play spaces 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. 

This new service,  Griffith Central Preschool, in its new home an which we formally open today has at its very core an outstanding team, they deliver and extend on what we learnt at DWC.  

The fact that we are in this building can be attributed to Grant and Jasmine’s birthday party held here in 2006.  Sherene and I wandered around the building, which, even though mostly vacant since 1982, was in outstanding condition and no vandalism and we talked about its repurposing as a children's centre, even down to its second and third stages.  

Fortuitously it came up for tender not long after and we quickly put a proposal together and presented this to a Council Meeting held at the Kidman Way Inn. We were granted the license to take over the site and with this in place we started to chance the funds. It took a few years to get from idea to completion, and that was more to do with red tape than anything else, but we got here.  Its a result of the considerable efforts of Sherene Blumer and Troy Patten who co-designed and managed the project from beginning to end, and to our building team, Mark Tyndall and Jim Shannon and the local contractors and suppliers who supported them.  With government funds, granted over a 10 year period, and with funds of our own, this remarkable building with two distinct histories, is re-birthed.  Its original purpose was to create opportunities to play and build relationships, one for adults in a developing town and became a hub for a community of growing sophistication and wealth, and in its second coming the aim and purpose is the same but with a group who are much much younger.

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 months that much of this has been driven by my vision for Early Childhood practise 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 practise 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. 

Photos: Anthony Stipo, Area News, Fairfax Regional Media

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 the organisation and its mission to deliver the best experience for children and families. 

I could list many people who to me, mean the world, but I would like to mention just a couple who stand out.  Grace, who has been with me on this journey for most of my life with this organisation, is now leading the amazing educator team (who are an extraordinarily generous and caring team to work with and have been my rock) 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.   

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 the two Judy’s (Judy Kynaston and Judy Radich, Tracy Simpson, Jim Craddock,  Anthony Body, Meg Mendham and Suzy Tucker.  Not only are they wonderful and generous colleagues, but have become part of a close group of families (Blumer's, Piccolo’s, The Cat's, Tuckers and Couch's) and friends 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 you also get a special nod, because you, 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.   

You made the decision 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.  Over the past couple of years you lead the reform of the funding for Preschools and this has meant that preschool fees have dropped across NSW.   

You care most and fight hardest for those that sit well beyond our view, the most marginalised, that is rare,  its not going to get you votes all the time or obviously 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 practise.  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 CCSA and its work with community based management and MacKillop Rural Community Services and the communities it serves in far west NSW continues.

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 they are now 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, that's 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 practise. 

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 and thank you mate, your were the best anyone could have in their life xx

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

Neville Dwyer

This speech is a variation of a post I placed 4 weeks ago.  Special Thanks to Grace and the team for the considerable work that was put into getting the event ready, Auntie (Mrs) Gloria Goolagong OAM for the Welcome to Country, Tye Powell for the Didgeridoo playing, Jomandie for MC'ing, Lisa. Kylie and Tahnee for the work on catering,  Hon Adrian Piccoli, and Mayor John Dal Broi  both for your kind and generous words, Leeanne, Grace, Alison, Cath, Judy, Maydina and Naomi (via Lisa) for all those words and thank you Area News and Anthony Stipo for the collection of photos.