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| Child care person in the spotlight
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| Nina Taylor
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What is your full name?
My full name is Nina Taylor and I have just recently joined the thirties club.
Which service do you work in? How many staff and children are in your service?
Currently I am working at Little Kingdom Childcare, Georges Hall. I will be transitioning over to Little Kingdom's latest child care centre at The Rocks, Sydney when the new service opens in May.
Little Kingdom Georges Hall is licensed to have 34 children a day and we have a team of 8 including myself. Our new centre in the heart of Sydney will have 90 children and approximately 22 staff so I am looking forward to the new challenge of providing for a greater number of families and staff and providing an outstanding experience for all.
What is your professional background and career experience?
Having so many wonderful teachers throughout my schooling career has pushed me to want to be an educator myself. I have always loved younger children so I decided to obtain my Diploma in Children's Services, from there I went straight to University and completed my Bachelor of Early Childhood and then my Masters of Teaching.
Having completed all my formal training, I then decided I wanted to venture out. I headed to the UK and took on a Primary school teaching position. It was there that I realised that my true passion was educating the younger children so I came back to Australia ready to jump head first in an early childhood setting. I started as an ECT room leader and from there I have never looked back. I have now been a Director for 7 years and I have loved every moment of it!
What attracted you to a career in the early childhood sector?
As I mentioned previously, what drew me to the education sector was having wonderful role models and teachers throughout my schooling career. What drew me to the early childhood sector in particular was a wonderful and fantastic opportunity to educate, love and care for children during their most important time - their foundation years.
The look of pure happiness, pride and joy on a child's face when they learn something for the first time is priceless and I just love it! It makes all us as early childhood educators feel like we are making a real difference in every child's life.
What does a 'normal' day look like for you?
I don't think there is ever a normal day in my position as the director of a service! Every day comes with new challenges and new learning opportunities. But if I have to say anything, a normal day would be coming into the service, greeting parents, staff and children.
An important part of being a director and leader of the service is being on the floor so most mornings, I will spend time on the floor mentoring and assisting staff in all aspects of the daily running of the service. Just before the children are about to have lunch, I will jump into the office and do some paperwork, reply to emails, send emails and then back onto the floor to help educators with lunch breaks.
If I get a chance, I will quickly eat my lunch after staff have finished theirs then back into the office for an hour or so and before you know it, it's the pick up time for children, so back on the floor greeting parents and making them feel welcome at our service. You honestly need to have amazing time management skills and multi tasking skills to be a director!
What makes your service unique?
One thing that jumps to my mind straight away when thinking about why our service is unique is the educators. We see ourselves as family and we are always here to support, grow and learn together. We always celebrate our achievements and always share the common goal of continuous improvement for our service. We have the utmost respect for each other and this is filtered through to our quality programs and practices that we deliver daily.
What are some of the advantages of working in early childhood education and care?
My husband always tells me he loves me working in the early childhood sector as it will prepare me to become the best parent for when we have children. Through all my years or working with children I have met some wonderful families, parents and children. It has taught me a lot in becoming the educator that I am today and the parent that I want to be. I love being able to watch first hand all our children grow into amazing little human beings!
What are some of the biggest challenges facing the sector?
I think through my years of being in early childhood education, the biggest challenge that we are facing is recruiting and retaining high quality, qualified educators. I believe that by providing a strong and supportive working environment through mentoring and providing opportunities for growth educators will value their centre and remain with that centre and the children for a long time.
How has your service changed to deal with these challenges?
I and my fellow team members are fortunate enough to be working in a company where the owner recognises these challenges that we are facing in our industry. Fatima (the approved provider) has recognised that all educators in the sector can be at times overworked and underpaid, which is why all educators in Little Kingdom are very well supported, and have paid monthly RDOs to assist educators in having a work/life balance. We are also fortunate enough to have yearly salary increases based on our performance and meeting our personal KPI's.
How does the early childhood industry need to change to adapt to these challenges?
The low pay in the sector is making educators feel undervalued which is why they are being driven away from the industry. The early childhood industry needs to stand united and work to a common goal and fight for the recognition that we deserve.
What advice would you offer someone thinking about a career or looking for a promotion in early childhood education and care?
If someone is passionate in supporting the development of all young children, I say go for it! There is a lot of hard work, time and effort (even after hours) that goes into all the wonderful things that educators provide and do for children. Early childhood educators are a crucial part of our society. We allow parents to go back to work and support their families – all which providing peace of mind knowing that someone is able to love and teach their children. It is a rewarding career and watching the children grow and develop daily is something that has never ceased to amaze me!
As early childhood professionals, I want to reiterate the importance of our jobs. This job that we are doing on a daily basis is not for the weak or faint hearted. We are the ones that are teaching and enabling children to empower their own learning for years to come. They are our future and our role in educating them in their early years is vital to set up their foundations as a global citizen.
At times it can be a stressful job, but the rewards far outweigh the challenges. We must take ownership of our profession and all the challenges that we may face. I have been in the industry for over 10 years now and I have never looked back and know that the future holds many more rewarding opportunities for me.
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