At Starfish Early Learning Centre, we believe that every child deserves a nurturing environment where they can explore, learn, and grow. As the founder and Chief Visionary Officer, my journey into the early learning sector was born from a desire to create meaningful experiences for young children, inspired by my own children’s early learning experiences and my strong family work ethic
What led you to work in the early learning sector?
I have worked in banking since I graduated university, for over seven years and wanted a career change after having children. I loved hearing about my children’s time in their early learning centres and wanted a career change that was more meaningful and enjoyable. I also grew up in a family business and I was already exposed to a strong and sound work ethic.
How long have you owned your service(s), and how many services do you own/operate?
I have operated my own service for the last 15 years and currently have 6 centres. I opened my first centre at Blackburn South and they are the originals.
How has your early learning service(s) progressed over the years?
I have evolved over the last 15 years, and as such my services have evolved too. We initially began with a traditional format focusing on the developmental domains of learning and have transformed over time to being inspired by the Reggio Emilia Educational Approach with insights from various theorists and other pedagogical approaches to learning.
We work closely with the architects to design amazing facilities that give warmth to the atmosphere. We thrive on feedback and continually reflect to improve what we offer. I am a better leader because of this trait, and rely on my executive leadership team and educators to work in collegiality to meet the vision of Starfish.
What is the most rewarding component of owning & operating your own ECEC service?
The people – the children, the families, the educators, the community. The interdependency between all of us allows us to work together to champion children to be thinkers and life-long learners. I love building collegiality with my team and finding the potential in others. Having dialogue with them to understand better and to innovate better. Knowing that our work is important in the lives of young children gives me purpose.
What do you enjoy about providing quality care for young children?
Watching the extraordinary in the ordinary and the learning that takes place over time. They may only be small moments to us, but they could be huge milestones for the children.
Does your early learning service have a unique selling point?
Our Starfish vision and culture of belonging, collaboration, leadership, learning and joy surrounds our environment/service. These provide our service a sense of welcome and warmth that standouts from others.
Our continuity of longstanding staff members is great for families and children. We have educators who have been with me from the start and many who have and about to have long service leave. This is a testament to our vision and our values.
Our inspirations from the Reggio Emilia Educational Approach also give us a pronounced identity for the importance of education and care for our youngest citizens.
Our project work and celebrations are the best experiences to showcase the children’s learning and give the families an inside view of our work with their children.
Our diverse staffing team. We provide a place of cultural safety for all to thrive and we encourage them to speak in their home country to help children settle and learn.
Lastly but not least, the leadership team works together in collegiality to always improve and innovate. We are continuously learning together and often have debates which allows us to see things from a different perspective.
What is the most rewarding part about leading your team?
Watching them shine, seeing the growth in their own leadership and capabilities. I absolutely love these moments.
Where do you see new opportunities for the sector? Why is it so important?
COVID really has taught us to care more about our teams, to focus on their wellbeing and mindfulness. Therefore, there is opportunity for the teams to strategise more about mindfulness in their daily work with children and with each other. Because when the wellbeing of the team is in a good state then the culture of the service will provide good outcomes for all.
There are also opportunities for educators to do further studies, whether that’s Diploma or the Bachelor qualifications. The better the education of our staff the better the education of our children.
The opportunities for better Industrial Relations reform is great too, because this will improve or create better benefits for our educators and highlight their importance in our sector.
There are so many opportunities out there for professional learning and we need to embrace this. Continued professional learning for our sector is important for continued improvement and innovations.
Embracing the Future: Growing Together at Starfish
My journey from banking to early childhood education has been incredibly rewarding. What began as a quest for a more meaningful career has grown into a vibrant community at Starfish Early Learning Centre, where children, families, and educators thrive together.
Our commitment to the Reggio Emilia approach, along with our focus on belonging, collaboration, and continuous learning, truly sets us apart. Watching children reach their milestones and seeing our team grow brings immense joy and purpose.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead this incredible community and excited about the future possibilities. Thank you for being part of the Starfish journey—I look forward to continuing to nurture the potential in every child and team member.
