Directors Diary

 

 

2024 started with somewhat of a bang.  Upon my arrival at 6.30am on February 1st, I was confronted by a carpark full of vans and cars, lots of cleaners and people milling about.  Jim from the City of Port Phillip maintenance department, approached to tell me the centre has been flooded over night and we will need to shut down for a few days to get things cleaned up and sorted out.  Not a great start to a Thursday morning.  

We closed on the Thursday, but due to the whole team pitching in to clean up and sort out what was wet from what was dry, we were able to open again on Friday. The following 3 months, however was a circus of meetings, insurance claims, damp meter readings, bacteria readings and lots of sorting out what was dry what had to be replaced and who was responsible for what.  Issues stemming from the flood led to ongoing monthly meetings with multiple executive managers at council, and these meetings have continued all year.

Significant progress has been made and as the flood uncovered many other building issues, systems are now in place and an ongoing maintenance and facilities upgrade plan developed which   will see changes to the building planned over the next 5 years.

It is expected that the building will be painted inside and out in the early part of 2025.  The kinder 3 bathroom is to be overhauled completely with a brand-new bathroom installed in the current financial year. (24/25). 

We can then expect the preschool bathroom to be renovated in the 25/26 budget as well as the kitchen cabinetry and benches being replaced.  Hopefully all of this planned work is completed in the timeframes set by the council.

2024 also saw the centre take back control of our own waiting list as we ceased to be connected to the centralized list managed by the council at the end of January. We have been part of the centralized list since its inception around 2010, when it became a requirement to use this system to continue to receive funding from the council.    

The move back to our own list has come about as council decided to move to a new system, where a waiting list algorithm is used to offer places to potential families rather than having a connection made via our own administration team.  We felt that this move to computer generated matching is not a suitable way to make connections with families as they enter into a care and education arrangement.  There are too many nuances involved, and discussions that need to be had around days, availability, age and stage of the child as well as particulars about the child which cannot be factored into an allocation via computer. 

Council did make it difficult to move away from the centralized system and we had many many meetings and conversations throughout 2023.   Council however were committed to the new system they had already been working with for over 12 months and they would not move on the option to still make allocations personally, so we split from the system and worked with an IT developer to install our own online waiting list application for families to use. 

This has been successful and it has been great being able to access our own data and having the ability to make better connections with families. Our waiting list is strong for under 2’s which is usually the case.  We do have vacancies in the 3 to 4 age ranges as there are many alternatives for kinder in the local area.  Sessional kinder is still a drawcard for those who  can manage the shorter sessions and holiday closures, as well as private schools. 

Staffing in 2024 has been very settled with only a few changes to room teams. Ellie Edwards changed from a casual role in 2023 to permanent part time, however left us in June to pursue an opportunity in a family business.  Mary Holloway was with us for 11 months on her working holiday visa.  Mary was required to move employers in June as per her visa conditions.  Leila Paul was only with us 4 weeks and left under conditions of her probation. 

Our major loss this year has been our wonderful former educational leader Rosanna McDonald.  Rosanna started with Ada way back in February 2003.  Rosanna worked in rooms as an assistant and as a room leader before taking on an educational leader role which she has held since its inception in 2014. 

Positions of responsibility in childcare and education are challenging and the years from 2020 to now have been particularly stressful for us all.  Managing home and work life pressures is also difficult and for many of us, stress builds, and if we ignore it, our body and mind tell us it is time to rest.  Rosanna was struggling with her overall health and wellbeing and took leave in mid-May.  After some support and consultation, Rosanna decided a long break was needed and she resigned her position in August, in order to take as much time as she needed to get her health and wellbeing back on track. 

Rosanna recently popped in to say hello and I am very pleased to say she is looking and sounding very well.  She is enjoying having the freedom to spend time with those closest to her. 

Rosanna shared her Educational Leader role with Jess, since 2021.  Jess and Rosanna have propelled the centre programming and practice forward together, introducing new process and policy which has shaped our curriculum.  Jess was married last year and announced to us in May that she is expecting her first baby.  Knowing that Jess is leaving and unsure of Rosanna’s return, we opened the Ed Leader role to our centre wide team as an Expression of Interest.  We have a very qualified and experienced team and we feel that promotion from within is the best way to fulfil roles which rely on connection and understanding of the centre.  We had interest from a number of educators and based on their centre knowledge and qualifications, we appointed Brodie and Christie to the joint position of Educational leader in July.  Christie was able to assume the role immediately, with Brodie working a split role as Ed Leader and kinder teaching in the Preschool until September when she transitioned fully to the Ed Leader role.  Jess has had about 3 months to work with and train Brodie and Christie in their new positions.  We are very confident that our new Ed Leaders will do themselves and the role proud as they lead the team into 2025.

I had the wonderful opportunity to head to Brisbane with Jess, Tom and Lyvania to attend the Early Childhood Australia conference in September.  This gathering of over 2300 early childhood practitioners was the largest of any previous ECA conference.  We all had four very full, value packed days of Keynote addresses, breakout sessions and exhibitions, as well as visits to local long day care centres and kindergartens who are leaders  in their communities.  Tom had submitted his garden project for selection as a poster presentation, and he was successful.  This was a great achievement for Tom and for the centre.  It was a very proud moment to see his poster detailing the garden project on display at the conference venue for everyone to see. 

The committee this year has been working behind the scenes to develop some succession planning for the centre.  To date there has been no real planning to ensuring how the centre moves forward should one of the key managers move on from their roles.  I was aware for some time of the need to ensure that multiple managers had access to and knowledge of the many systems and governing bodies that we deal with as in business.  As I have been at Ada since its commencement in 1998, my name is linked to all things Ada, and we need to have multiple people able to engage with the various institutions that are part of our business.  The management team this year has made it a priority to work our way through the red tape to ensure communication is ongoing for the centre. 

The staff wellbeing has become more of a focus for the centre since 2020 and many initiatives have been adopted to support the team.  This is an essential area and the Well Being committee have developed a couple of surveys to see what we are doing well and what new initiatives are required.

Results have been good, with lots of positives around the regular team social events that are planned by the different rooms.  The option of having multiple events across the year in lots of different formats means that there is something for everyone.  These whole of team events are supported by a regular donation to the centre, so that the events are free for the team and the centre is not required to absorb the whole cost from our budget.  A pinot and Picasso and bottomless brunch event were very well attended, as well as a trivia night and breakfast/morning teas across the year. 

Based on the results of the recent survey the management teams will structure regular check ins with each educator, just to see how everything is going for them, not only at work, but anything happening outside of work, which may need support.  We will also be structuring specific times for team and individual feedback.   Most feedback is anecdotal or more specifically though appraisals.  The structuring of termly feedback will support educators in their work with children and families, and provide a regular boost that we all need. 

The last months of 2024 and the beginning of the new year will see two particular areas of focus. We are starting to work our way through the very complicated government grant which gives a 15% pay rise to educators over the next two years.  This pay rise is not ongoing, the award has not been changed (though a review is underway) so the increase is funded through a grant for which we must apply.  In order to apply we must be signatories to a workplace instrument , such as a EBA.  One of our peak bodies is supporting centres to move to a Multi Employer Bargaining Agreement.  We are waiting on this detail to ascertain if we are happy to sign on.  Once we sign on, (which has a cost of around $4500) this has to go to fair work to be approved.  Once approved by Fair work we can then apply for the grant, as we have to upload our current workplace instrument in the application.  Once we apply it will take 6 to 8 weeks for the grant to be approved, providing we meet all criteria.

Once this is all done, we can apply the increase to wages.  We need to have all of this approved and in place before June 30th 2025 in order to receive backpay, to the start of the grant period which is 2nd December 2024. 

We are currently expecting to receive notification from QARD as to our next National Quality Standards Visit.  We were previously assessed at Easter time in 2021 with our rating of Exceeding being awarded in May. Rating are in place for 3 years.  Three other local services who had previous visits in February 2021 have all just being assessed again in October and November.  We have used this information as a catalyst to bring forward our end of year review our current Quality Improvement Plan, to ensure that it is as up to date as possible pending notification of our assessment and rating. 

I am pleased to say that we have achieved a great deal over the past 3 years and growth in programming and practice is evident and documented.  The educational leaders report will give you much more detail of the achievements of 2024.  As we wind down to the end of 2024, I anticipate a call to plan our A& R will come early in 2025.  (The team are hoping it is earlier than Easter time, as I will be on a planned trip to Europe, however I am very confident that the visit will be just as successful with or without my presence.

The success of Ada Mary I believe is down to great educators working daily with children offering wonderful care and education.  The team are most certainly the engine room of the centre, and as I regularly mention, the length of tenure of many of our educators as well as the high level of qualification, gives a stability and continuity which is envied by many services.  The underpinning commitment to high quality and high expectations sets us apart. 

 The educators do also need support and guidance and this is where I take time to say thanks to the management team. 

The management team this year has undergone substantial change and yet we have maintained our composure and are finishing out the year with our same sense of accomplishment.  We have been sad to see Rosanna leave us, but so enjoyed the boundless energy and enthusiasm of Brodie and Christie.  I’m sure they will both tell you its been a bit of a ride, but they are staying the course and cementing themselves into their roles, ready to tackle the new year head on.

We have had many proud and exciting moments, welcoming Brodie and Christie to the management team, having many educators express interest in taking on more responsibility helping out the management team when we are short staffed, (thanks Suyusha and Bec) sending Jess off to have her first baby and celebrating Lynette’s engagement.  It’s been a busy year! 

In closing I would like to extend my thanks also the committee of management for their ongoing support.   It is an unappreciated role, being a committee member and yet it is vitally important to the running and success of the centre.  The skills, enthusiasm and attributes that committee members bring to the meetings each month is a great source of wealth for the centre, their knowledge and insight offered is invaluable.  

We are saying goodbye this year to many long-term committee members who have been very generous with their time over many years. This type of commitment is greatly appreciated, as the continuity of having reliable people supporting the centre is absolutely priceless to Not for Profits like us.  Thank you thank you thank you , you will be missed. 

I look forward to working with a new committee and taking the centre forward again in 2025

  

learn, play, grow

Ada Mary A'Beckett Children's Centre

2 Batman Road

Port Melbourne 3207