Child care professionals share a commitment to improving society by creating dynamic and nurturing care environments for Australia's youngest learners.
In this month's Child Care People we speak to Alicia Estrella Director of Kindy4Kids Long Day Care Centre located in Penrith, NSW.
Alicia Estrella
Director of Kindy4Kids Long Day Care Centre
Penrith, NSW
C4K: What is your name?
AE: My name is Mrs Alicia Estrella or as the children call me Teacher Alicia and Alicia and I am in my early 40s!
C4K: Which centre do you work in?
AE: I am Director of Kindy4Kids Long Day Care Centre located in Penrith, NSW.
C4K: How many staff and children are in the centre?
AE: The centre is licensed to 39 places currently we have 35 children. The centre is divided into three rooms: Joey's Room catering to children aged four months to 24 months, Kangaroo's Room catering to children aged two to three years old and Wombat's Room catering for children three to five years old. The centre has a baby's room, a toddler's room and pre schooler's room all separated or divided by gates. The total staff currently employed is eight working shifts to maintain high quality care.
C4K: What is your professional background and career experience?
AE: I was born in the Philippines (Bataan) and migrated to Australia in 2008 with my family. I was a teacher in the Philippines for nearly twenty years and started teaching way back 1985. I graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with Mathematics as my major field of concentration. I was on my way to finishing my Doctoral Degree and had my dissertation on-going when we migrated to Australia. I was awarded an Australian Bachelor degree after being assessed by the National Overseas Recognition Authority and was conditionally accredited by the NSW Institute of Teachers pending completion of my subject course requirements. I recently finished my Certificate II in Children Services and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from TAFE and am currently doing Diploma Courses in Children Services and Library Information Services.
C4K: What attracted you to a career in child care?
AE: It's my passion to teach and care for children and I knew I could make a big impact and mark in the child care industry by sharing my expertise and knowledge with other staff, children and families.
C4K: What does a 'normal' day look like for you?
AE: A normal day begins at 5:00am when my alarm goes off. I get up and get ready for work. I usually arrive at the centre around 6:50 – 7:00am and begin setting up the toys, learning materials and equipment for the day. Every day I make sure that everything is set up according to the children's needs and interests and ensure the food prepared is well-balanced, nutritious and plentiful. The centre opens for business at 7:00 am with children arriving nice and early needing breakfast and cuddles. The day usually goes to the centre's routine but can adjust to the children's routine. Everyday there is a different task for me, sometimes I have to find time to help do the paperwork required for CCMS and prepare the roles and sign on sheets including any changes to days, holidays etc for the next week and also attend to staff needs including policy making, marketing and supervision around the centre.
C4K: What makes your centre unique?
AE: Being family oriented and culturally diverse makes our centre unique. We make sure that families are involved in our activities and we gather their feedback, opinion or input with regards to our programming and activities for their children. We make it a point to integrate diversity in our activities. Recently we held a Cultural Day and invited local community members and officials who joined us in our festivities with the children whereby the children learned and had fun at the same time.
C4K: What are some of the advantages of working in the child care sector?
AE: Working in the child care sector makes you young and vibrant as you are surrounded by young, beautiful, talented children. Words are not enough to explain how it feels when your name is being called by an under one year old baby saying "Alicia", it's like music to my ears. It's amazing that you can make an impact on children's lives as they grow older. That's why I always apply the adage: "train your child the way they should go so that when they are old they will not depart from it." I make sure that staff interact with children warmly so that children have positive experience in their early life.
C4K: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the child care sector?
AE: I think it's the changes in the pay, particularly the modern award structure wherein the pay scale for child care workers is not that high. The child care industry is stressful and the government has to support child care workers by looking into their working conditions and pay to ensure employers are really providing the correct benefits. Government should also help the child care centre owners to boost their business and cope with rising cost of the business.
C4K: How has your centre changed to deal with these challenges?
AE: We are still waiting for the changes, however, at least the government is doing something, maybe they noted the discrepancies, but more effort must be made and employers must be considerate as well. Likewise staff must take every effort to keep up with the regulations and requirements of the industry.
C4K: How does the industry need to change to adapt to these challenges?
AE: I think the foremost concern of the industry must be the children, most of the time attention is focused on paperwork, rules and regulations, income and profit. We must remember that the early learning years of children is vital to their growth and development and how they become in the future. Children are our future. We have to guide, lead and train them so that they can be the best of themselves.
C4K: What advice would you offer someone thinking about a career or looking for a promotion in child care?
AE: You must have heart, a passion for caring for children, commitment, dedication and most of all patience and a love for dealing with children. Once you work with children you'll have an experience which money can't buy.
CareforKids.com.au®
Care For Kids Internet Services Pty Ltd
ABN 55 104 145 735
PO Box 543 Balmain NSW 2041
privacy policy contact us